Actor. A former child star, he was best known for playing the character roles of young boys, even Tad Lincoln, the son of President Abraham Lincoln, before going on to play several adolescent roles and adult roles in both films and on television. He will be best remembered for playing the role of 'Timmy' in the family comedy film drama, "Affair With A Stranger" (1953). The film which was directed by Roy Rowland, which was written for the screen by Richard Flournoy, and which also starred Jean SImmons, Victor Mature, Dabbs Greer, Monica Lewis, Linda Darwell, Linda Douglas, and Nicholas Carey, tells the story of when a TV gossip columnist wrongly announces that the marriage between now successful playwright William Blakeley and his wife Carolyn is breaking up, New York friends variously reminisce about how the two met and married. He will also be best remembered for playing the role of 'Tommy Scott' in the episode entitled, "Julesberg," of the classic western television series, "Cheyenne," which originally aired on October 11, 1955, and which also starred Clint Walker, L.Q. Jones, Adele August, Ray Teal, Tom Monroe, and Edwin Rand, tells the story of Cheyenne Bodie and Smitty who encounter settlers headed to Wyoming who lost their guide. On the way to Fort Laramie, a group of rustlers steals their cattle, and a boy's brother is killed. The two head to a nearby to try to recover the stolen cattle. He was born one of three children as William McClellan Chapin in Los Angeles, California, to Roy Chapin, a bank manager, and his wife Marguerite Alice Barringer Chapin, who became of a personal coach for all of her children's acting careers, on December 28, 1943. He began his acting career in several stage appearances as a newborn and appeared in a supporting role in the Broadway stage musical "Three Wishes For Jamie" which, while passably successful, toured the West Coast in the summer of 1951. For this role, he was awarded the New York Drama Critics Award as the most promising young actor of the year 1951. After essential changes regarding dramatization of the play and replacements in the original West Coast cast, he appeared on Broadway in New York City, New York, in the stage production of the play, as 'Kevin' in Three Wishes For Jamie" (March 21, 1952, to June 7, 1952. He made his actual film debut playing the role of 'The Brown's Baby Girl' while still an infant in the romantic comedy film, "Casanova" (1944). The film which was directed by Sam Wood, which was written for the screen by Nunnally Johnson, which was based on the play by Floyd Dell and Thomas Mitchell, and which also starred Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Frank Morgan, Anita Louise, Edmund Breon, Patricia Collinge, Jill Esmond, and Mary Treen, tells the story of a man named Casanova Brown gets a lesson in diapers and formula after stealing his child from his ex-wife, who was planning to give her up for adoption. Besides, playing the role of 'The Brown's Baby Girl' while still an infant in the romantic comedy film, "Casanova" (1944), and playing the role of 'Timmy' in the family comedy film drama, "Affair With A Stranger" (1953), his many other film credits include, "The Cockeyed Miracle" (1946), "The Kid From Left Field" (1953), "Tobor The Great" (1954), "Naked Alibi" (1954), "There's No Business Like Show Business" (1954), "A Man Called Peter" (1955), "Violent Saturday" (1955), "The Night Of The Hunter" (1955), and "Tension At Table Rock" (1956). Besides, playing the role of 'Tommy Scott' in the episode entitled, "Julesberg," of the classic western television series, "Cheyenne," which originally aired on October 11, 1955, and which also starred Clint Walker, L.Q. Jones, Adele August, Ray Teal, Tom Monroe, and Edwin Rand, tells the story of Cheyenne Bodie and Smitty who encounter settlers headed to Wyoming who lost their guide. On the way to Fort Laramie, a group of rustlers steals their cattle and a boy's brother is killed. The two head to a nearby field to try to recover the stolen cattle, his many other television roles include, "Celanese Theatre," "Chevron Theatre," "Topper," "Dragnet," "The Loretta Young Show," "Waterfront," "Stage 7," "Celebrity Playhouse," "Cheyenne," "General Electric Theatre," "The Millionaire," "My Friend Flicka," "Matinee Theatre," "Four Star Jubilee," "TV Reader's Digest," "Frontier Justice," "Climax!" "Telephone Time," "Crossroads," "The Ford Television Theatre," "Zane Grey Theatre," "Panic!" "Lux Video Theatre," "The Adventures Of McGraw," "The Californians," and "Leave It To Beaver." He lastly played the roles of 'Vic Rockwell,' 'Louis Baxter Jr.,' and 'Lewis Baxter,' in three episodes entitled, "The Boy Scout Story," "The Test," and "The Rocketeers," of the classic family western television series, which originally aired from 1956 to 1959, and which also starred Peter Graves, William Fawcett, Bobby Diamond, Roger Mobley, and James Seay, tells the story of a horse and the boy who loved him. His acting career started to dwindle during the 1950s and he retired from appearing in films, on television, and on the stage, completely by 1960. During his acting career, he worked with the likes of Anne Bancroft, Lloyd Bridges, Dan Dailey, Lillian Gish, Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Sam Wood, S. Sylvan Simon, Harmon Jones, Walter Lang, Henry Koster, Ray Nazarro, Delbert Mann, Richard Fleischer, and Charles Laughton who had personally picked the young actor to play the role of 'John Harper' in his crime Film-Noir drama, "The Night Of The Hunter" (1955), which tells the story of a religious fanatic who marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real daddy hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery. Following his retirement from acting, he served in the United States Marines, achieved a college education, went into private industry, and married and had three children of his own. In his later years, he suffered a stroke, was diagnosed with dementia, suffered from lung cancer, and was confined to a wheelchair. He passed away following a long illness at a nursing home on December 2, 2016, at the age of 72, just a month shy away from what would have been his 73rd birthday. A memorial service for family, friends and fans was held at the Monroe Street Christian Church in Los Angeles, California, and in lieu of flowers, the family asked for donations to the Salvation Army. Following his death, he was cremated and his ashes were given to his family members. He was the brother of actor Michael Chapin who was born in Hollywood, California, on July 25, 1936, and who played in such classic films as, "It's A Wonderful Life" (1946), "Heaven Only Knows" (1947), "The Reformer And The Redhead" (1950), "The Dakota Kid" (1951), and "Pride Of The Blue Grass" (1954). He was also the brother of actress Lauren Chapin who was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 23, 1945, and who played Kathy "Kitten" Anderson in the classic family comedy, "Father Knows Best," which originally aired from 1954 to 1960. After her brother's death, his sister made a statement, saying that her brother was living in poverty and didn't have enough money to pay for his funeral. In her own biography, "Father Does Know Best: The Lauren Chapin Story" (1989), she also noted that their mother was a single, alcoholic Hollywood stage mom who was more interested in promoting her children's celebrity status than they were and that sexual abuse was in the troubled family.