His sister, Lauren Chapin, announced the news Saturday afternoon, citing a long illness as the cause of death.
Billy Chapin, a former child actor best known for starring opposite Robert Mitchum in 1955's The Night of the Hunter, has died. He was 72.
His sister Lauren Chapin, also a child star who appeared on the sitcom Father Knows Best, announced the news Saturday afternoon in a Facebook post.
"It is with a saddened heart that I say goodbye to my precious brother Billy Chapin," her message, posted to her personal page, reads. "He passed away last night after a long illness but now is in the arms of his Savior. ... He will be greatly missed."