A Tragic Ending
Sam might not have gotten along with his father, but he still credited his dad with instilling in him a work ethic and never blamed him for warning him against a Hollywood career. Sam wasn’t even 18 years old and far from stardom when his father had a sudden heart attack. Sadly, the young aspiring actor never got the closure he needed.
Source: Clark College Galapagen (Yearbook) 1965
His father would never be able to witness the success Sam would eventually earn in his Hollywood career – one, his father, not only rejected but didn’t believe would ever happen. So you can only imagine how this left Sam. While he had to carry this burden with him ever since, it seems as though he didn’t allow it to affect his career.