Luke Austin Halpin was born in Astoria, Queens, New York, the youngest of three children of Helen Joan (Szczepanski) and Eugene A. Halpin. His father was of Irish and German descent, and his maternal grandparents were Polish. Luke's acting career started when a music teacher encouraged him to try out acting. Luke turned out to be a natural; his film debut was in the Studio One (1948) episode, entitled "Miracle at Potter's Farm", starring Natalie Wood. His performance was well-received, and when he was in his mid-teens, he had already appeared in many TV series and in film as well. His big break when he was cast in Flipper (1963), which co-starred Chuck Connors. The film was a major success and spawned a sequel, Flipper's New Adventure (1964), which subsequently led to a highly successful TV series. But when the series was canceled, he was unable to maintain his career momentum, and he eventually faded from the public eye. He subsequently retired from acting. However, he remains well-known around the world, where the "Flipper" series continues to run in syndication.