Harry Hamlin (Actor)

Harry Hamlin arrives at the annual Daytime Emmy nominee party, 2006. (Photo: Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

Whether he was battling the myths of Greek legend In "Clash of the Titans" or fighting crooked judges on "L.A. Law" (NBC, 1986-1991), Harry Hamlin's easy charm and rough-hewn features impressed movie and television fans and critics for close to thirty years.

Born on Oct. 30, 1951, in Pasadena, CA, Hamlin attended The Hill School, a prestigious boarding school In Pennsylvania. While there, he excelled in soccer, lacrosse, and starred in several musicals and plays. After graduation, he headed back to California to attend the University of California, Berkley, immersing himself in late 1960s counter-culture as a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Following college, Hamlin moved back to Los Angeles, where, just as he began trying his hand at acting, he met and became romantically involved with the sultry, original Bond Girl, Ursula Andress. A favorite of the tabloids, the couple eventually had a child, Dmitri, together out of wedlock in 1980. Following his feature film debut in "Movie, Movie" (1978), starring alongside Oscar-winning actor George C. Scott, he received a career-making boost after beating out several actors for the role of Perseus, starring opposite yet another legendary actor, Laurence Olivier, in the campy "Clash of the Titans" (1981). The sci-fi hit made a lot of noise with fanboys, resulting in numerous film offers starting to pour in. Unfortunately, Hamlin chose poorly and his career faltered somewhat with such box office flops as the sanitized, gay-themed soap opera feature, "Making Love" (1982). Many felt that by tackling the then-controversial role of an openly homosexual novelist hurt the actor's feature career and indeed it was nearly a decade before he landed leads in low-budget fare like "Under Investigation" (1993) and "Ebbtide" (1994).

While his screen career faltered, his personal life heated up. After leaving Andress, the hunky actor became romantically with and then married to actress Laura Johnson. Things just kept getting better, when NBC head honcho Brandon Tartikoff greenlit a new law show on NBC,"L.A. Law" (1986-1994), tapping Hamlin to play the brooding, yet passionate Michael Kuzak, a key character on the show. Over his five year stint (1986-91), he proved to be a performer of intelligence and understated conviction, with his onscreen romance with co-star Susan Dey keeping fans titillated as well. "L.A. Law" would go on to cement NBC's lock on primetime TV in the mid 1980s. This success spilled over to the cast, helping Hamlin to land the coveted title of People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1987. It was during this time, that the actor's marriage to Johnson collapsed, followed on its heels by the cancellation of the show that made him a star.

After his star turn as Kuzak, Hamlin attempted to revive his movie career, but was only able to land B-fare and direct-to-video movies. At such a vulnerable time in his career, he met primetime TV soap vixen, Nicollette Sheridan, star of "Knot's Landing" (CBS, 1979-1993) – later, of "Desperate Housewives" fame. With all their up-and-downs chronicled on every tabloid cover, the marriage between the older, some would say "washed up" man and the up-and-coming younger star didn't last long. By the end of the divorce, Hamlin was left bitter and broken for a time. He managed to land a voice-over gig on two episodes of "Batman: The Animated Series" (Fox, 1992-95) entitled "The Joker's Wild" and "Moon of the Wolf," but the pickings were slim.

It was at this low ebb both professionally and personally that Hamlin finally got it right, romance-wise. Upon meeting actress and television host, Lisa Rinna, the sparks flew. The well-matched couple were married and had two daughters, Delilah and Amelia, giving Hamlin the happy home life he had always wanted. Ever the supportive husband, when Rinna went on to dance her way to fame on “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC, 2005- ) in 2006, Hamlin was always present to cheer on his wife as she tackled every new Samba and Foxtrot.

In 2004, Hamlin returned to primetime TV, with a recurring role on the Joel Silver produced teen detective series, "Veronica Mars" (UPN/The CW, 2004 - ). On the critically lauded show, Hamlin played fading action hero Aaron Echolls, father to central show character Logan Echolls. Interestingly, Aaron's wife, Lynn, was played by Hamlin's wife, Rinna. Rumors that Hamlin might follow his wife’s lead as a contestant on the next season of “Dancing with the Stars” continued to circulate. Those rumors proved true when he emerged on the show for season three, joining the likes of Joey Lawrence, Willa Ford, Vivica Fox, Emmitt Smith, Jerry Springer and others for the weekly dance competition. Hamlin entered the fray with high hopes from the judges, but immediately disappointed in his first week with a rather stiff and mechanical take on the Cha Cha. He didn’t fair much better week two with the Quick Step, as he continued to look awkward despite managing to master the actual steps. Hamlin seemed poised for an early exit and was indeed shown the door when he became the third person to be voted off.