Trivia

He was the infamous "dead man walking" from early television, an often-told tale about the "corpse" who got up and walked out of a scene on live TV. The incident was so well known that Los Angeles Times ran an article a few days after the incident, saying, "It seems that on the new high-budgeted CBS dramatic series, Climax! (1954), which had its debut on KNXT (2) Thursday night, actor Tristam Coffin was lying under a blanket and Detective Dick Powell was talking about having the body removed when the actor arose from the dead and strolled off scene. Powell and the other actors went right on talking as if nothing had happened. And the show went on and the private eye finally solved the murder, leaving televiewers a little perplexed. CBS blushingly explained yesterday that Coffin thought the scene was over and that he was off-camera when he took his macabre stroll". However, Coffin vigorously refuted the description (see Personal Quote below).

He was one of the dependable actors of the poverty row era and was in high demand for crime films, serials and westerns. As the industry transitioned from poverty row features to television productions, he continued to be in high demand for low budget features and numerous appearances on episodic television. His forty-plus year career resulted in a very prolific output of hundreds of roles.

He appeared on TV in episodes with two classic superhero's. In 4 episodes with George Reeves as Superman and 2 episodes with Adam West as Batman.