Brett Halsey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brett Halsey
Halsey in March 2011
Born	Charles Oliver Hand (1933-06-20) June 20, 1933 (age 92) Santa Ana, California, U.S.
Other names	Montgomery Ford
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1953–2015
Spouse(s)	Renate Hoy ​ ​ (m. 1954; div. 1959)​ Luciana Paluzzi ​ ​ (m. 1960; div. 1962)​ Heidi Brühl ​ ​ (m. 1964; div. 1976)​ Victoria Korda
Children	5
Relatives	William Halsey Jr. (great-uncle) Alexander Korda (grandfather-in-law)

Brett Halsey (born Charles Oliver Hand) is an American actor. He was born on June 20, 1933. You might know him from movies or TV shows. Sometimes, he used the name Montgomery Ford. He even played John Abbott in the soap opera The Young and the Restless for a while.

A cool fact about Brett Halsey is that he is the great-nephew of Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.. Admiral Halsey was a famous leader in the United States Navy during World War II. The movie studio Universal Pictures chose Brett Halsey's acting name to honor the admiral.

Brett Halsey's Acting Journey

Starting in Show Business

Brett Halsey was interested in acting from a young age. He worked as a page at CBS Television studios. There, he met famous comedian Jack Benny and his wife, Mary Livingstone. They introduced him to William Goetz, who was in charge of Universal Pictures. Goetz helped Brett join an acting school at the studio.

Serving His Country

Before becoming a full-time actor, Halsey served in the United States Navy during the Korean War. While in the Navy, he worked as a disc jockey.

Early TV and Movie Roles

In 1956, Brett Halsey appeared in the Western series Brave Eagle. He played Swift Otter, a Cheyenne Indian. That same year, he was in an episode of the TV Western Gunsmoke.

In 1958, he guest-starred in the Western series Mackenzie's Raiders. He also had a main role as a life-saving sailor in Highway Patrol. He appeared in other shows like Harbor Command and Perry Mason. He also starred in the movie The Cry Baby Killer. In 1959, he was in the science-fiction film The Atomic Submarine.

Hollywood and European Films

Brett Halsey took on many supporting roles in Hollywood movies. These included Return of the Fly (1959) and The Best of Everything (1959).

In the early 1960s, he moved to Italy. There, he became very popular in adventure films. He often played a hero who used swords. Some of these movies were Seven Swords for the King (1962) and The Avenger of Venice (1964). He also acted in Spaghetti Westerns and Eurospy films. For some of these, he used the name Montgomery Ford.

Returning to the U.S. and Later Work

In the 1970s, Brett Halsey came back to the United States. He continued to work in both film and television. He appeared in TV shows like General Hospital. He also had roles in movies such as Where Does It Hurt? (1972) with Peter Sellers.

Later in his career, he was in bigger movies like Ratboy (1986) and The Godfather Part III (1990). He also worked with Italian horror director Lucio Fulci on several films. You might have seen him in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Cruise Ship to the Stars". He also appeared in an episode of Columbo. His later films include Beyond Justice (1992) and Free Fall (1999).

Brett Halsey's Family Life

In 1954, Brett Halsey married Renate Hoy. She was an actress and had won the Miss Germany contest. They had two children, Charles Oliver Hand, Jr. and Tracy Leigh. They divorced in 1959.

From 1960 to 1962, Halsey was married to Italian actress Luciana Paluzzi. They had one son, Christian. They even acted together in the movie Return to Peyton Place. In 1964, Halsey married the German actress and singer Heidi Brühl. They had two children, Clayton Alexander Siegfried and Nicole. They divorced in 1976.

Later, Brett Halsey moved to San José, Costa Rica, to teach acting. He now lives in Laguna Hills with his fourth wife, Victoria. Victoria is the granddaughter of the famous filmmaker Alexander Korda. Brett Halsey still writes and sometimes appears in films.

Selected Filmography