Eastham's birth name was chosen in honor of Miss Helen Dickinson Swift, one of his mother's college classmates.
His performance was so well received that he was made the male lead for a two-year national tour of the musical.
[5] Eastham and co-star Janet Blair, in their original roles, headed another tour of South Pacific in 1965.
[6] In 1981 he appeared as Wesley Northridge on The Waltons “The Lumberjack” (TV Episode 1981) Prompted by his playing of a guitar in The Sound of Music, Eastham invented the "Sidewinder", a mechanical device that attaches to the tuning gears and assists restringing a guitar.
[2] Eastham married Betty Jean Van Allen, who was his high school classmate.