Born in Feodosia, in the Crimea, Russia, Vallin came to the United States at age three with his South American mother, Mrs. Nardine Thomes, on the S/S Muskegon, which arrived at the Port of Boston on May 6, 1922. His father, an Imperial Army officer, was murdered by the Bolsheviks. His mother, known as Nadja Yatsenko, was a ballerina in Tsarist Russia; in the States, she was billed as a Gypsy dancer.^[3][4]

In 1940, Vallin (billed as Eric Efron) acted on stage with the Hollytown Theater.^[5] He started his Hollywood career with an uncredited part in the film Freshman Year and played minor roles in feature films at various studios. In 1942, he joined the Pasadena Playhouse, and received his first co-star billing in the film The Panther's Claw together with Sidney Blackmer, and showed promise in Secrets of a Co-Ed with Otto Kruger.

Vallin's fortunes improved in 1943 when he was hired as the villain in the East Side Kids comedy Clancy Street Boys. Producer Sam Katzman liked Vallin's darkly handsome looks and convincing delivery of dialogue, and cast him first as a juvenile lead (in Ghosts on the Loose) and then as a full-fledged leading man (in Vallin's only starring film, Smart Guy). When producer Katzman moved from Monogram Pictures to Columbia Pictures, he took Rick Vallin with him. This sealed Vallin's fate as a player in low-budget "B" movies, but it also gave him more than 10 years of job security.^{[citation needed]} Vallin worked steadily in many of Katzman's features and serials, playing a variety of character roles: streetwise reporters, sinister villains, heroic internationals, and savage natives. His voice was also heard as the narrator of coming-attractions trailers.^{[citation needed]}

Occasionally he showed up in such television series as Brave Eagle, Sheriff of Cochise, Bat Masterson, Jefferson Drum, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, The Lone Ranger and Wyatt Earp. He was also cast on The Adventures of Superman, as well in both The Gene Autry Show and The Roy Rogers Show. His last appearance was a guest role on Daniel Boone in 1966.^{[citation needed]}

Vallin died in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 57. He is interred at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills, California.

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Television shows edit

• Rick Vallin at AllMovie
• Rick Vallin at IMDb