{{Short description|American actor (1914–2014)}} {{Infobox person | name = Richard Coogan | image = Richard Coogan 1958.JPG | image_size = 220px | caption = Coogan in 1958 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|4|4|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Madison, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|3|12|1914|4|4|mf=yes}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1941–1963 | spouse = | children = 1<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/richard-coogan-star-captain-video-688192|title=Richard Coogan, Star of 'Captain Video and His Video Rangers,' Dies at 99|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=12 March 2014}}</ref> | partner = Leona }}
'''Richard Charles Potter Coogan'''<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Val |title=Space Opera Hero |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/111446103 |access-date=December 6, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=March 26, 1950 |page=107|id={{ProQuest|111446103}} }}</ref> (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.
==Career== Born in Madison, New Jersey,<ref name=nyt/> Coogan worked in radio for some time,<ref>{{cite book|last=Terrace|first=Vincent|title=Radio Programs, 1924–1984|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|year=1999|isbn=0-7864-0351-9}}</ref> 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 and was replaced by Al Hodge, who played the part until the series ended on April 1, 1955. Coogan transferred to the soap opera ''Love of Life'', where he played the heroic Paul Raven. {{citation needed|date=March 2014}}
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.
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 ''Gunsmoke'', ''Laramie'', ''Bonanza'', ''Maverick'', ''Stagecoach West'', ''Cheyenne'', ''Sugarfoot'', ''Bronco'', and ''Wichita Town'', as well as crime dramas, such as ''Perry Mason'', ''Surfside 6'', and ''77 Sunset Strip''. In 1960 Coogan appeared as Sheriff Charley Emmett on ''Cheyenne'' in the episode titled "Alabi for the Scalped Man".{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} In 1960 he appeared as Hank Lawson on ''Maverick'' in the episode "Thunder from the North".{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
Coogan retired from film and television in 1963 following an appearance on ''Perry Mason'' 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.
{{Portal|Biography|New Jersey|Los Angeles|California|Radio|Theatre|Film|Television}}
==Death== Coogan died on March 12, 2014, in Los Angeles from natural causes a few weeks before his 100th birthday.<ref>{{cite news|last=Barnes|first=Mike|title=Richard Coogan, Star of 'Captain Video and His Video Rangers,' Dies at 99|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/richard-coogan-star-captain-video-688192|accessdate=March 13, 2014|newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter|date=March 12, 2014}}</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1953|| ''Girl on the Run'' || Bill Martin || |- |1954|| ''Three Hours to Kill'' || Niles Hendricks || |- |1956|| ''The Revolt of Mamie Stover'' || Captain Eldon Sumac || |- |1959|| ''Vice Raid'' || Whitey Brandon || |}
==References== <references/>
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060113023220/http://www.slick-net.com/space/snaps/index.phtml Richard Coogan as Captain Video] * {{IMDb name|id=0176866|name=Richard Coogan}} * {{IBDB name}} * {{emmytvlegends name|richard-coogan}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Coogan, Richard}} Category:1914 births Category:2014 deaths Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male radio actors Category:American male stage actors Category:Male actors from Morris County, New Jersey Category:People from Madison, New Jersey