Butch bernard biography
Here’s something I hadn’t known before: Long before he embarked on a freelance-writing career, became The Wall Street Journal’s crime-fiction critic (a post he’s held since 1990), and wrote Ross Macdonald: A Biography(1999), Tom Nolan was a child actor.
Born Bernard Girouard in Montreal, Quebec, on January 15, 1948, he says he moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1953. Soon thereafter, he started working in Hollywood, appearing—originally as “Butch Bernard” (1953-1958), later as “Tommy Nolan”—in such TV programs as Medic(starring Richard Boone), My Friend Flicka, The Life of Riley, and The Thin Man(inspired by Dashiell Hammett’s 1933 mystery novel of that same name). IMDb sayshe was an “adorable, jug-eared presence, … considered a reliable and talented tyke who could easily turn on the waterworks on command.” Its short bio continues:
Born Bernard Girouard in Montreal, Quebec, on January 15, 1948, he says he moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1953. Soon thereafter, he started working in Hollywood, appearing—originally as “Butch Bernard” (1953-1958), later as “Tommy Nolan”—in such TV programs as Medic(starring Richard Boone), My Friend Flicka, The Life of Riley, and The Thin Man(inspired by Dashiell Hammett’s 1933 mystery novel of that same name). IMDb sayshe was an “adorable, jug-eared presence, … considered a reliable and talented tyke who could easily turn on the waterworks on command.” Its short bio continues:
Tommy hit his TV peak at age 10 after being cast a