Charles Herbert
Charles Herbert was a former child actor best known for his roles in the films The Fly and William Castle's 13 Ghosts. He had accumulated nearly 20 film credits and 50 television credits by age 20, when he retired from show business.
In The Fly he played Philippe Delambre, the son of a scientist who turns himself into an insect. In 1960’s 13 Ghosts he played Buck Zorba, the main character in a family that inherits a haunted house. In the movie's story the family has to wear a special pair of goggles in order to see the ghosts in their house. The gimmick carried over to the audience as well, and theatergoers had to wear a special pair of glasses in order to see the ghosts in the film.
Herbert received his first role at age four as “Little Boy” (an uncredited role which was later cut), in the 1953 film The Long, Long Trailer, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. More film roles followed, including The Night Holds Terror; Ransom!, starring Glenn Ford and Donna Reed; These Wilder Years, with James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Pidgeon; John Sturges’ Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas; The Reluctant Debutante; Houseboat, with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren; The Five Pennies; The Last Angry Man; Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, with Doris Day; and the title role in The Boy and the Pirates.
Charles Herbert was a former child actor best known for his roles in the films The Fly and William Castle's 13 Ghosts. He had accumulated nearly 20 film credits and 50 television credits by age 20, when he retired from show business.
In The Fly he played Philippe Delambre, the son of a scientist who turns himself into an insect. In 1960’s 13 Ghosts he played Buck Zorba, the main character in a family that inherits a haunted house. In the movie's story the family has to wear a special pair of goggles in order to see the ghosts in their house. The gimmick carried over to the audience as well, and theatergoers had to wear a special pair of glasses in order to see the ghosts in the film.
Herbert received his first role at age four as “Little Boy” (an uncredited role which was later cut), in the 1953 film The Long, Long Trailer, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. More film roles followed, including The Night Holds Terror; Ransom!, starring Glenn Ford and Donna Reed; These Wilder Years, with James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Pidgeon; John Sturges’ Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas; The Reluctant Debutante; Houseboat, with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren; The Five Pennies; The Last Angry Man; Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, with Doris Day; and the title role in The Boy and the Pirates.
Herbert also appeared on the television shows It’s a Great Life, Playhouse 90, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Jack Benny Program, Tombstone Territory, M Squad, The Millionaire, Riverboat, The Loretta Young Show, The Donna Reed Show, Men Into Space, Lassie, Shirley Temple’s Storybook, Klondike, 77 Sunset Strip, The Twilight Zone, Rawhide, Wagon Train, The Patty Duke Show, The Fugitive, Hazel, The Farmer’s Daughter, The Outer Limits, My Three Sons, Family Affair and Julia.
He died October 31, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was 66.
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