
Richard Coogan
Biography
Richard Coogan (born April 4, 1914) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Captain Video from 1949-1950.
Born in Short Hills, New Jersey, Coogan worked in radio for some time, including appearing as Abie Levy in Abie's Irish Rose. He also 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 on the DuMont Television Network on June 27, 1949. After the live telecast each day, ending at about 7:30 p.m. EST, he would take a cab to the theatre where Diamond Lil was playing.
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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 television series The Californians (1957–1959) set in the San Francisco gold rush of 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. He also had a continuing role on the police procedural series Vice Raid (1960–1961), as Sergeant Whitney Brandon. During 1951–1963 he guest-starred on a number of other TV series, mainly Westerns such as Gunsmoke, Laramie, Bonanza, Maverick, Stagecoach West, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Bronco, and Wichita Town, as well as detective series such as Perry Mason, Surfside 6, and 77 Sunset Strip.
Coogan retired from film and television around 1964. In later life he was best known as a professional golfer and golf instructor.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard Coogan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Perry MasonPolice Sgt. Gifford7.7
GunsmokeLuke6.7
MaverickSeries7.0
77 Sunset StripSeries7.2
CheyenneSeries6.2
The Revolt of Mamie StoverCapt. Eldon Sumac6.5
Vice RaidPolice Sgt. Whitey Brandon
Three Hours to KillNiles Hendricks
SuspenseInvestigator Westcott
BroncoSeries
The Philco Television PlayhouseSeries
SugarfootJudd Mallory
Filmography
- TBACaptain Video and His Video RangersSeries (2 episodes)
- 1960Surfside 6Series (1 episode)
- 1960The Clear HorizonSeries (230 episodes)
- 1960Johnny MidnightSeries: Hans Weidman (1 episode)
- 1959Vice RaidFilm: Police Sgt. Whitey Brandon
- 1959Wichita TownSeries (1 episode)
- 195877 Sunset StripSeries (1 episode)
- 1958BroncoSeries (1 episode)
- 1957The CaliforniansSeries: Marshal Matthew Wayne (69 episodes)
- 1957MaverickSeries (1 episode)
- 1957Perry MasonSeries: Police Sgt. Gifford (1 episode)
- 1957SugarfootSeries: Judd Mallory (1 episode)
- 1956The Revolt of Mamie StoverFilm: Capt. Eldon Sumac
- 1955CheyenneSeries (1 episode)
- 1955GunsmokeSeries: Luke (1 episode)
- 1954Three Hours to KillFilm: Niles Hendricks
- 1953Girl on the RunFilm: Bill Martin
- 1953Letter to LorettaSeries: Henry Roberts (1 episode)
- 1950Robert Montgomery PresentsSeries (1 episode)
- 1949SuspenseSeries: Investigator Westcott (1 episode)
- 1948The Philco Television PlayhouseSeries (1 episode)
Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.