Richard Coogan born April 4 1914 is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Captain Video from 19491950 Born in Short Hills New Jersey Coogan worked in radio for some time including appearing as Abie Levy in Abies Irish Rose He also appeared on Broadway in five different productions between 1945 and 1955 all of them shortlived 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 730 pm 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 19571959 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 Gunsmokes Marshal Matt Dillon He also had a continuing role on the police procedural series Vice Raid 19601961 as Sergeant Whitney Brandon During 19511963 he gueststarred 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 CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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