Richard Coogan
| Richard Coogan | |
|---|---|
Coogan in 1958
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| Born |
April 4, 1914 Short Hills, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | March 12, 2014 (aged 99) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1941–1963 |
| Partner(s) | Leona |
| Children | Richard Jr. |
Richard P. Coogan (April 4, 1914 – March 12, 2014) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Captain Video in Captain Video and His Video Rangers from 1949 to 1950.
Born in Short Hills, New Jersey, Coogan worked in radio for some time, including appearing as Abie Levy in Abie's Irish Rose. He appeared on Broadway in five different productions between 1945 and 1955, all of them short-lived except for Diamond Lil with Mae West, and The Rainmaker. He was still appearing on Broadway with West when he took the role of Captain Video and His Video Rangers on the DuMont Television Network on June 27, 1949. After the live telecast each day, ending at about 7:30 pm EST, he took a cab to the theatre where Diamond Lil was playing. As the popularity of Captain Video increased, Coogan grew less and less comfortable with both the role and the very, very low budget of the production. He left Captain Video in December 1950, replaced by Al Hodge, who played the part for the remainder of the run of the series, until April 1, 1955. Hodge became so completely identified with the character that he was never able to escape it. Coogan transferred to the soap opera Love of Life, where he played the heroic Paul Raven.
Between 1954 and 1961, Coogan appeared in such films as Three Hours to Kill, The Revolt of Mamie Stover, Vice Raid, and Girl on the Run. On the NBC Western television series, The Californians (1957–1959) set in the California Gold Rush in San Francisco during the 1850s, Coogan appeared as Marshal Matthew Wayne, a character who struck most viewers and critics as a deliberate clone of Gunsmoke's Marshal Matt Dillon. His co-stars included Carole Mathews in a romantic role as the young widow Wilma Fansler and later Jeopardy! host, Art Fleming.
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