The Life and Death of Danny Lockin

Of course, all life stories have a downer ending, insomuch as they, well, end. We regret that this is our third tale in one day with a premature finish however. In addition to Danitra Vance and Seth Allen we must now tell of Danny Lockin (1943-1977), best known as Barnaby from the movie version of Hello, Dolly (1969). (Full disclosure: there was a time when I might have quipped that that performance earned the triple threat his eventual end. Or that his final performance was in a pirated version of Sweeney Todd. I would never dream of doing that now. What eventually happened to Lockin is no laughing matter.)

Lockin grew up in the Omaha area, where he began performing at state and county fairs with a friend when still a young child. The pair tapped danced, told jokes, did impressions, and performed mime. Later his family moved to Anaheim, California, where he starred in high school musicals. He went professional immediately after graduating and had success coming right out of the gate. He was cast as one of the kids in Dainty June’s act in the screen version of Gypsy in 1962. (Small and slight, Lockin looked like a child well into adulthood). He had a bit part in the movie The Stripper (1963), and then plunged into stage work, putting his dance skills to work in an off-Broadway production of Morning Sun (1963) with Bert Convy, the 1964 Broadway revival of West Side Story, and regional productions of Take Me Along and Tom Sawyer. He auditioned to play Rolf in The Sound of Music (1965) but lost to Daniel Truhitte. During this period, he also guest starred in a 1964 episode of My Three Sons.

Then — five years of Hello, Dolly (1965-70). He went on the national tour, then was in the movie, then back into the Broadway cast. He had the opportunity to act opposite Dollys played by Barbra Streisand,Betty Grable, Ginger Rogers, Eve Arden, Dorothy Lamour, Ethel Merman, and Carol Channing. He was in the show so long that he got married, fathered a child, and got divorced while still playing the same part. During the run, he also appeared in three episodes of The Dean Martin Show, and made some other tv appearances.

Lockin’s career ended up abruptly after Dolly closed on Broadway. Reportedly, a drinking problem and possible other substance abuse issues prevented him from working. He taught at dance studios to make ends meet. One of the schools was run by his mother Jean Lockin (which also explains how he already knew how to tap by age eight).

In 1977, Lockin appeared on The Gong Show with dance partner Billy Jo Conway. The team tied with another act for first place. After the taping, Lockin stopped at a gay bar and picked up a man named Charles Leslie Hopkins. The decision proved fatal. Hopkins, who was already on probation for previous crimes, called the police later than night, claiming to have killed an intruder. When police arrived they found Lockin’s body, which had been stabbed over 100 times and then mutilated. Hopkins claimed he had no idea how that had happened. Later, they found a “torture diary” and pornographic pictures of men being tortured during sex orgies. Unfortunately, this evidence (which prosecutors planned to use to prove premeditation) was found AFTER they had already committed to charging Hopkins with manslaughter, and the judge would not allow the adjustment to a tougher charge. Because the additional search was warrantless, the materials were inadmissible as evidence, and Hopkins was only sentenced to four years, a gross miscarriage of justice. Come, come! 100 stab wounds and mutilation in response to a home invasion? What do you take us for? Whatever happened to bonking ’em on the head with a baseball bat and running outside?

Hopkins did his time and died a free man at age 63. Lockin, who was the same age as Hopkins, did not enjoy the same privilege. What a dark energy day! Today is also the birthday of Bob Crane (also murdered in similar circumstances), Dave Garroway (who died by his own hand), and Sidney Blackmer from Rosemary’s Baby!

For more on show business history,please consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, and pleasestay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.