Kim Spalding

Kim Spalding, born Ross F. Latimer on December 7, 1915, in Washington, Missouri, was an American actor whose career spanned film, television, and theatre. He died on November 18, 2000, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 84.

Before establishing himself as a screen actor, Spalding held a variety of occupations, including work as an auto mechanic, upholsterer, lithography seller, and photographer. He also competed as a professional boxer and led his own musical ensemble. His film career began in 1940 with an appearance in Rancho Grande, followed by a role as a soldier in the 1942 production Shepherd of the Ozarks.

During the early 1940s, Spalding turned his attention to the New York stage, appearing in three Broadway productions between 1943 and 1945. Those credits included Tobacco Road, Lower North, and The Little Stranger. By 1949 he had returned to Hollywood to resume his screen career.

His subsequent film work was extensive. He portrayed a navy lieutenant in the 1950 film Three Came Home, and went on to appear in The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Gunfighter, A Man Alone, Hurricane Smith, Off Limits, Experiment Alcatraz, Three Desperate Men, The Jackpot, and The True Story of Lynn Stuart. His final film credit came with the 1958 science fiction picture It! The Terror from Beyond Space, in which he took the starring role of Commander Van Heusen.

On television, Spalding accumulated credits across numerous series, among them State Trooper, The Loretta Young Show, The Deputy, Stories of the Century, The Californians, The Millionaire, and 26 Men. By 1959 he had settled in the Sierra Madre Mountains.

In his personal life, Spalding married actress Jeanne Cagney in 1944. Cagney filed for divorce in February 1951, and the divorce was finalized on March 9, 1951. The couple had no children.