Background
Wallace was born in New York City.
Wallace was born in New York City.
But today he may be best remembered for playing Commando Cody in the movie serial Radar Men from the Moon. When he was 13 his family moved to McMechen, West Virginia. While still in his teens Wallace worked as a coal miner and also joined the Civilian Conservation Corps.
He joined the United States Navy in 1936 and served for eight years through World World War World War II Stage In 1955, on the set of Forbidden Planet, Walter Pidgeon introduced him to Richard Rodgers.
Wallace"s Broadway debut was in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Pipe Dream, starring the operatic soprano Helen Traubel. Wallace"s next break on Broadway came when he was chosen to replace John Raitt in The Pajama Game when Raitt left the cast to co-star in the film version of the musical.
He starred opposite Mary Martin in the 1963 flop Jennie. The couple later appeared together in road company productions of Company, Kiss Maine, Kate, and Funny Girl.
Wallace died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from injuries he sustained during a fall while on vacation in Pisa, Italy.
He was interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.