---
name: "Billy Chapin"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/billy-chapin"
fi1m_id: "billy-chapin"
imdb_id: "nm0152159"
tmdb_id: 30540
wikidata_id: "Q2903613"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "28 December 1943"
died: "2 December 2016"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-18T08:47:04.629784+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Billy Chapin

## Identity

Billy Chapin

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/billy-chapin
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** billy-chapin
- **IMDb ID:** nm0152159
- **TMDB ID:** 30540
- **Wikidata ID:** Q2903613
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Chapin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2903613, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0152159/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/30540

Actor. Born 28 December 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 2 December 2016.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 28 December 1943, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Died:** 2 December 2016
- **Also known as:** William McClellan Chapin
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Chapin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2903613, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0152159/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/30540

## Streaming the US now

- **The Criterion Channel:** [*The Night of the Hunter*](https://film.one/film/the-night-of-the-hunter.md) (91)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Billy Chapin (born William McClellan Chapin) was an American child actor. He appeared in films and television from infancy until 1959 and is best remembered for playing John Harper in Charles Laughton's *The Night of the Hunter* (1955).

Chapin was born in Los Angeles on 28 December 1943 and made his Broadway debut in the musical *Three Wishes for Jamie* (1952), for which he received the New York Drama Critics Award. His other film roles include Christie Cooper in *The Kid from Left Field* (1953), Petey in *Naked Alibi* (1954) and Steve Martin in *Violent Saturday* (1955). He also appeared in television series such as *Fury* and *Leave It to Beaver*.

He was the brother of child actors Lauren Chapin and Michael Chapin. Chapin died on 2 December 2016.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, theguardian.com, hollywoodreporter.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Night of the Hunter* (1955), Fi1m 91, as John Harper — [page](https://film.one/film/the-night-of-the-hunter.md)

## Complete filmography (10)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Tension at Table Rock* (1956), as Jody Burrows
- *Crossroads* (1955), series, as Tommy Langley
- *Cheyenne* (1955), series, as Tommy Scott
- *The Night of the Hunter* (1955), as John Harper — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/the-night-of-the-hunter.md)
- *Violent Saturday* (1955), as Steve Martin
- *A Man Called Peter* (1955), as Peter John Marshall
- *Naked Alibi* (1954), as Petey
- *Tobor the Great* (1954), as Brian 'Gadge' Roberts
- *The Kid from Left Field* (1953), as Christie Cooper
- *Affair with a Stranger* (1953), as Timmy

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/billy-chapin