Richard Charles Potter 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 ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on the DuMont Television Network and was the first series of its genre on American television. The series aired between June 27, 1949, and Apri ...

'' from 1949 to 1950.

Career

Born in

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,937, an increase of 1,092 (+6.9%) from the 2010 United ...

, Coogan worked in radio for some time, including appearing as Abie Levy in ''

Abie's Irish Rose ''Abie's Irish Rose'' is a popular comedy by Anne Nichols, which premiered in 1922. Initially a Broadway theatre, Broadway Play (theatre), play, it has become familiar through repeated stage productions, films and radio programs. The basic premi ...

''. He appeared on Broadway in five different productions between 1945 and 1955, all of them short-lived except for '' Diamond Lil'' with

Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...

, and '' The Rainmaker''. He was still appearing on Broadway with West when he took the role of ''

'' on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...

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 and was replaced by

Al Hodge Albert E. Hodge (April 18, 1912 – March 19, 1979) was an American actor best known for playing space adventurer Captain Video and His Video Rangers, Captain Video on the DuMont Television Network from December 15, 1950, to April 1, 1955. He pla ...

, who played the part until the series ended on April 1, 1955. Coogan transferred to the soap opera ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation '' Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ...

'', 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 ''The Revolt of Mamie Stover'' is a 1951 novel by William Bradford Huie about a young woman from Mississippi who goes to Hollywood to work as an actress. Driven into prostitution, she moves to Honolulu, works at a brothel and takes it over, challe ...

'', ''

Vice Raid ''Vice Raid'' is a 1959 B-movie crime drama directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Mamie Van Doren and Richard Coogan. It was issued on a double bill with '' Inside the Mafia''. Plot Police Sgt. Whitey Brandon works for the Vice Squad and is ...

'', and '' Girl on the Run''. On the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, '' The Californians'' (1957–1959) set in the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

in San Francisco during the 1850s, Coogan appeared as

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Matthew Wayne, a character who struck most viewers and critics as a deliberate clone of ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

s Marshal Matt Dillon. His co-stars included

Carole Mathews Carole Mathews (born Jean Deifel, also credited as Jeanne Francis; September 13, 1920 – November 6, 2014) was an American film and television actress. Early years Born in Montgomery, Illinois, near Chicago, Mathews lived with her grandmoth ...

in a romantic role as the young widow Wilma Fansler and later ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

'' host,

Art Fleming Arthur Fleming Fazzin (May 1, 1924 – April 25, 1995) was an American actor and television host. He hosted the first version of the television game show ''Jeopardy!'', which aired on NBC from 1964 until 1975 and again from 1978 to 1979. ...

. He also had a continuing role on the police procedural series ''Vice Raid'' (1960–1961), as Sergeant Whitey Brandon. During 1951–1963 he guest-starred on a number of other television series, mainly Westerns such ''

'', '' Laramie'', ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'', '' Maverick'', ''

Stagecoach West Stagecoach West is a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England, and Monmouthshire in the South-East of Wales. The company is a subsidia ...

'', ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

'', ''

Sugarfoot ''Sugarfoot'' is an American Western television series that aired for 69 episodes on ABC from 1957-1961 on Tuesday nights on a "shared" slot basis – rotating with ''Cheyenne'' (first season); ''Cheyenne'' and '' Bronco'' (both second and fo ...

'', ''

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed of horse, male or female, with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...

'', and '' Wichita Town'', as well as crime dramas, such as ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'', ''

Surfside 6 ''Surfside 6'' is an ABC television series that aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centers on a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat, and features Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield II, Van Williams as Kenny Madison (a character recycled ...

'', and ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

''. In 1960 Coogan appeared as Sheriff Charley Emmett on ''

'' in the episode titled "Alabi for the Scalped Man". In 1960 he appeared as Hank Lawson on ''Maverick'' in the episode "Thunder from the North". Coogan retired from film and television in 1963 following an appearance on ''

'' as Police Sgt. Gifford in "The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe", and his final appearance as Luke Ryan in an episode of ''Gunsmoke''. In later life, he was best known as a professional golfer and golf instructor.

Death

Coogan died on March 12, 2014, in Los Angeles from natural causes a few weeks before his 100th birthday.

Filmography

References

External links

Richard Coogan as Captain Video
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coogan, Richard 1914 births 2014 deaths Actors from Morris County, New Jersey American male film actors American male television actors American male radio actors American male stage actors Male actors from New Jersey People from Madison, New Jersey