 In 1938, after graduating from Bennet High School in Buffalo, NY, Hammond began acting in Fred and Ethel Dampier's radio skits on WGR, one of the city's major radio stations.He moved on to California, studied acting at Los Angeles City College, and graduated in 1941 with future stars Donna Reed and Alexis Smith among his classmates.He was drafted into the U.S. Army for World War II.