- When he came down with lung cancer, he was the first actor to do a TV commercial on the danger of smoking.
- In an interview Talman recalled an incident that happened shortly after the release of The Hitch-Hiker (1953), in which he gave a chilling portrayal of escaped murderer and serial killer Emmett Meyers. He was driving his convertible in Los Angeles with the top down, and he stopped at a red light. Another driver in a convertible who was stopped next to him stared at him for a few seconds, then said, "You're the hitchhiker, right?" Talman nodded, indicating that he was. The other driver got out of his car, went over to Talman's car and slapped him across the face, then got back in his car and drove off. In recalling the story, Talman said, "You know, I never won an Academy Award but I guess that was about as close as I ever will come to one."
- Appears as district attorney Hamilton Burger, with Raymond Burr as lawyer Perry Mason, on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Early TV Memories issue honoring Perry Mason (1957), issued 11 August 2009.
- He was actually fired from the Perry Mason (1957) series after a party at which he was a guest was raided by Los Angeles police. Although he denied any wrongdoing, he was fired from the show due to the morals clause in his contract. Although the cast and crew persuaded the network to rehire him, it damaged his acting career. He did not work very much as an actor after the incident.
- Interred at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, CA--Plot: Court of Liberty, Lot 833.
- Once worked in nightclubs as a dancer and emcee. One of his children, Timothy, went on to become a musical comedy dancer, once performing on Broadway in Cathy Rigby's revival of "Peter Pan" in 1990.
- Auditioned for the part of Perry Mason but lost out to another noir B film star, Raymond Burr.
- He was regularly cast as villains in noir B films in the forties and fifties.
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