Hal Frederick was an American actor who had a very brief career in Europe. He actually made his debut in an Italian film, Sandokan Against the Leopard of Sarawak, although how he ended up appearing in it is a mystery to me. His other work was mainly in TV, appearing as a guest star in the likes of Ironside, CHIPS and BJ and the Bear, as well as recurring roles in the Broderick Crawford series the Interns (1970 / 71). His only other film role would appear to be the forgotten British drama Two Gentlemen Sharing (“They were as different as BLACK and WHITE… but they had one thing in common!”), opposite Robin Philips & Judy Geeson.
I have been unable to discover any further biographical information.
Hal Frederick”s Italian films:
- Sandokan contro il leopardo di Sarawak (1964)
Hi – I came across Hal Frederick for the first time last night when watching ‘Two Gentlemen Sharing’ on Prime. His acting performance was great and he also had a great charisma, which the camera picked up on. Confused that I had not seen more of this guy in movies, I went hunting – turns out that he did just 2-3 movies in Europe, then appeared in a few US TV series before eventually quitting to become a successful and well-known restrauteur in Venice, LA – ‘Hal’s Restaurant’.
The LA Oral History Project has a video interview with him online, and even at 90 his screen presence is strong. He clearly avoided publicity for most of his life, hence the difficulty in finding information about him.
‘Two Gentlemen Sharing’ is worth seeking out – Ted Kotchieff’s favourite UK movie, though not a predictable film by any means. All the performances are great, including probably the best Judy Geeson performance, though be prepared for a downbeat ending.
Hal Frederick I am sure could have been a major star – for some reason that never happened, but from the interview it looked like he died a happy guy.