Child actor Darryl Hickman has died at the age of 92 - star of The Grapes of Wrath at age 8

Child actor Darryl Hickman - who appeared in dozens of movies - has died at the age of 92. The star, who appeared on John Ford's adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath when aged just eight, died on Wednesday (May 22) in Montecito, California.

Contracted to studio giants Paramount and MGM in the late 1930s, Hickman appeared in more than 40 films, including The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, in 1946. However, in 1951, he retired from acting and entered a monastery - but was back in front of the camera a month later.

He went on to star in TV shows including The Untouchables, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. After stints on Broadway, he later became a screenwriter and television executive, including five years as head of daytime programming at UK TV network, CBS.

Hickman was married to actress Pamela Lincoln from 1959 to 1982, with the couple having two sons. In 1985 one of them, Justin, tragically committed suicide when he was 19. The cause of Hickman’s death this week has yet to be given.