Reliable "B" character actor Rick Vallin had the rangy physique, prominent cheekbones and swarthy look ideal for rugged films. In the 1940s and '50s he was seen almost everywhere -- in mysteries, musicals, oaters and, especially, the ever-popular edge-of-your-seat cliffhangers. Born in Russia in 1919, he was the son of Nedja Yatsenko, an aspiring ballerina. He came to America while still young. By the time he was in his late teens, he was doing stock productions and had somehow elbowed his way into the radio and movie business. He later joined the Pasadena Playhouse in 1942. After a few years of unbilled parts, he finally made some leeway in "poverty row" pictures and received his first co-star billing in the whodunnit film _The Panther's Claw ' weekly shows. Work grew scarce in the late 1950s unfortunately, and he developed a drug problem, retiring in 1967. One of his last programs was a guest role on "Daniel Boone." Vallin died a decade later in Los Angeles at age 57, and was buried in Eden Memorial Park in Chatsworth, California.
