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Darby Hinton (born August 19, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker initially cast in commercials when he was six months old. From 1964-1970 he portrayed Israel Boone, a son of American pioneer Daniel Boone, on the NBC western adventure series Daniel Boone, with Fess Parker in the title role. He also co-starred as Simon Graham in the two-part 1968 episode, Boomerang, Dog of Many Talents of NBC's Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, with Darren McGavin, Patricia Crowley, and Russ Conway.^[1]

Early years and family

Hinton was born in Santa Monica, California. His father, actor Edgar Latimer "Ed" Hinton, Jr. (1927-1958), was a native of Wilmington, North Carolina. Ed Hinton's father, Edgar Latimer Hinton, Sr. (1887-1965),^[2] was in the hotel and laundry business and also an actor in the community.^[3] Ed Hinton appeared in the role of Special Agent Henderson in the 1950s syndicated television series I Led Three Lives, starring Richard Carlson and based on the espionage activities of Herbert Philbrick. Ed Hinton, particularly active in television westerns, perished in an airplane crash on Catalina Island, when Darby was fourteen months old. Mrs. Hinton, of German extraction, did not remarry until Darby was in his teens. Darby therefore became personally close to Fess Parker, his Daniel Boone "father" and subsequently a Los Angeles area businessman. Hinton has two sisters who were child actors, Daryn Hinton and Darcy Hinton Cook.^[4] Darby Hinton was also a godson of Charlton Heston, a neighbor of Zsa Zsa Gabor, and childhood friend of Jon Provost of the Lassie series.^[3]

Hinton attended high school at the American School in Switzerland (TASIS) Lugano, Switzerland. He began college on a cruise ship, the World Campus Afloat Institute for Shipboard Education, which travels around the world to study different cultures. Hinton returned to California to continue his studies at the Church of Christ-affiliated Pepperdine University near Malibu, while he still made television appearances. He is skilled in the martial arts.^[4]

Hinton and his English-born wife, Shan, have four children: Nick (born 1985), Dakota (born 1988), Ryder (born 1994), and India (born 1997).^[3]

Acting career

Hinton's first acting role was as Jafar Mainwaring, a child character in the 1962 film Hero's Island. In 1963, he was cast in an uncredited role in Walt Disney's Son of Flubber and as Rocky in the episode "Getting Ed's Goat" of CBS's sitcom, Mr. Ed, starring Alan Young and Connie Hines. Shortly before he was cast as Israel Boone, Hinton appeared as Benjie Diel in the 90-minute episode "The Ben Engel Story" of ABC's western series Wagon Train.^[1]

He appeared in fifty-one Daniel Boone episodes beginning with the September 24, 1964, premiere, "Ken-Tuck-E", a reference to Kentucky, the setting of the series. Patricia Blair played his mother, Rebecca Boone; Veronica Cartwright, his sister, Jemima Boone. Ed Ames co-starred as the Indian Mingo. Hinton's last Daniel Boone roles, filmed when he was twelve, were in the 1969-1970 season: "A Very Small Rifle", "The Road to Freedom", "The Printing Press", "Target Boone", "Hannah Comes Home", and "Sunshine Patriots".^[1]

After Daniel Boone, Hinton acted only occasionally, with appearances as Hal Parker in "This Will Really Kill You" (1970), of NBC's The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, as Tom Woods in "Legacy of Fear" (1971) of ABC's Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, as James Scott in "How to Steal a Submarine" (1975) of CBS's Hawaii Five-O, starring Jack Lord, and as Buddy Moran in "Beauty Knows No Pain" (1981) of CBS's Magnum P.I., starring Tom Selleck. In 1982 and 1983, he appeared in two episodes of ABC's The Fall Guy starring Lee Majors. From 1985-1986, Hinton was cast as the second "Ian Griffith" on NBC's daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives. He was named in the starring role of Cody Abilene in the 1985 Andy Sidaris film, Malibu Express.^[1]

In 1988, Hinton appeared in the first episode, "Road Ranger", of the short-lived NBC series The Highwayman, starring Sam J. Jones. Hinton's later appearances were on NBC's Hunter, starring Fred Dryer, and CBS's Knot's Landing. He also appeared in the 1991-1992 series P.S. I Luv U starring Greg Evigan and Connie Sellecca. He guest starred too on Fox Television's Beverly Hills 90210 in the role of a physician. His last screen appearances were on March 16, 1999, in the episode "Career Day" of the Warner Brothers series Rescue 77 and as Mikey's father in the 2003 film Just for Kicks.^[1]

Latest project

Hinton is working on a proposed television series tentatively titled Hinton's Living History. The pilot episodes follows him, his wife, and four children as they travel around the United States to experience history in different ways. Among other locations, he expects to cover Fort Fisher near Wilmington, North Carolina, Fort Boonesborough near Lexington, Kentucky, Jamestown, Virginia, and a ghost town in California. Hinton is also working with producer Gail Calloway on a documentary which traces Boone's journeys.^[3] The documentary on which Hinton is working is not from the book Footsteps of Daniel Boone.

References