Actor Wore Hat For Photograph

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31054, 9 May 1966, Page 16

Actor Wore Hat For Photograph

When a photographer knocked on the door to

take his picture, Mr Bill Mullikin, a lead in the American musical show “Hello Dolly!”, promptly put his has on.

In song and verse, he insisted on a photograph with his hat.

“An actor’s licence, you know,” said Mr Mullikin. “My balding head you see. . ..” He mimicked Rex Harrison in the role of Professor Higgins while the photograph was taken.

Mr Mullikin plays a downtrodden clerk named Cornelius in “Hello Dolly!" which will open its three-

week Christchurch season in the Theatre Royal on Friday. Mr Mullikin was once a repairman in the United States Navy. He is 39. “I liked my electronics in the Navy,” he said. “I like anything scientific—it gives you a good answer. You work very hard, and it comes out right. “I work that way as an actor. But I try not to let the people think I am.” Mr Mullikin and his Baltimore wife, Gina, have been on tour with “Hello Dolly!” for 15 months in Australia and New Zealand. Mrs Mullikin gave birth to their baby in Sydney during a matinee. “She’s more tired out than I am,” said Mr’ Mullikin. In Christchurch Mr Mullikin will act and sing in eight shows a week, or 27 shows in just over three weeks.

For all but five of the 14 years of their married life the Mullikin’s have been on the road. At the end of the next four years, when their daughter, Kate, is old enough to go to school, they hope to own their first home. It will either be in Los Angeles or New York, depending on Mr Mullikin’s career. On three of Mr Mullikin’s tours of America with stage shows, Mrs Mullikin has gone too. He toured America with “South Pacific” for two years after he left college. He played all across America in “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.” Mr Mullikin describes himself as “an actor who sings.” “1 have a darn good voice for an actor,” he said, “ft is a high baritone. It is a musical comedy voice, but it’s good.” In “Hello Dolly!” Mr Mullikin sings four songs, “ft Only Takes A Moment,” “Put On Your Sunday Clothes,” “Elegance,” and “I Am Dancing.”