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Brandon De Wilde was born into a theatrical family and made a much-acclaimed Broadway debut in "The Member of the Wedding" at age 9. He was the first child actor to win the Donaldson Award, and went on to repeat his role in the film version, directed by Fred Zinnemann in 1952. As the blond-haired, blue-eyed Joey who idolizes the strange gunman played by Alan Ladd in the film Shane (1953), he stole the picture and received an Oscar nomination for his work. During 1953-54, Brandon starred in his own television series, Jamie (1953), and made his mark as a screen adolescent during the 1960s playing a younger brother in All Fall Down (1962) and nephew in Hud (1963), starring Paul Newman. He managed to keep his career-building into early adulthood, but his career was tragically cut short: en route to visit his wife at a hospital where she had recently undergone surgery, he was killed when the camper-van he was driving struck a parked truck. He was only 30 years old.

Gerald Hamer (born Geoffrey Earl Watton) the Anglo-American movie and television character actor, was born in Llandudno , Wales in November 1886 to parents John Watton and Evelyn Clara Earl. Hamer learned his craft on stage in the United Kingdom, appearing as a professional from 1916 in Shakespeare and such venerable theatrical warhorses as "The Admirable Chrichton". He appeared in British film, but moved to the U.S. in 1935, where he made his debut in an uncredited role in George Stevens classic Astaire-Rogers musical Swing Time (1936).

Hamer appeared mostly in small and bit roles in B-movies in the 1930s and 1940s. Hamer is best remembered for playing the psychopath in the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movie The Scarlet Claw (1944). He also appeared in four other entries in the Holmes series: Pursuit to Algiers (1945), Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943), Terror by Night (1946), and Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943). He began appearing on TV in the 1950s.

Gerald Hamer died on July 6, 1972 in Hollywood, California after suffering a heart attack. He was 88 years old.

Ed Zimmermann was born on 30 March 1933 in Queens, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Guiding Light (1952), Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971) and The Star Wagon (1966). He died on 6 July 1972 in York, Maine, USA.

Josef Kankovský was born on 4 April 1913 in Náchod, Cechy, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Útek ze stínu (1959) and Skola hrísníku (1966). He died on 6 July 1972 in Ceské Budéjovice, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].

Jerzy Kowalski was born on 5 March 1932 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Cierpkie glogi (1966) and Wilczy bilet (1964). He died on 6 July 1972 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland.