CineScope
Richard Coogan picture

Richard Coogan

Acting
Known For

111 Years Old

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. 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.

Born

Short Hills, New Jersey, United States on 4th April 1914

All Credits

Perry Mason Image
Perry Mason
Police Sgt. Gifford
Surfside 6 Image
Surfside 6
No Image
Love of Life
The Philco Television Playhouse Image
The Philco Television Playhouse
Robert Montgomery Presents Image
Robert Montgomery Presents
No Image
The Clear Horizon
Johnny Midnight Image
Johnny Midnight
Hans Weidman
Maverick Image
Maverick
Suspense Image
Suspense
Suspense Image
Suspense
Investigator Westcott
Cheyenne Image
Cheyenne
The Californians Image
The Californians
Marshal Matthew Wayne
Wichita Town Image
Wichita Town
Bronco Image
Bronco
77 Sunset Strip Image
77 Sunset Strip
Sugarfoot Image
Sugarfoot
Judd Mallory
Gunsmoke Image
Gunsmoke
Luke
Letter to Loretta Image
Letter to Loretta
Henry Roberts
No Image
Captain Video and His Video Rangers
Girl on the Run Image
Girl on the Run
Bill Martin
Three Hours to Kill Image
Three Hours to Kill
Niles Hendricks
The Revolt of Mamie Stover Image
The Revolt of Mamie Stover
Capt. Eldon Sumac
Vice Raid Image
Vice Raid
Police Sgt. Whitey Brandon