Dick Foran

Dick Foran
from the trailer for the film Public Enemy's Wife (1936).
Born John Nicholas Foran
(1910-06-18)June 18, 1910
Flemington, New Jersey, US
Died August 10, 1979(1979-08-10) (aged 69)
Panorama City, California , US
Resting place San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Los Angeles, California
Years active 1934–1969
Spouse(s) Ruth Piper Hollingsworth (1937–1940; divorced)
Carole Gallagher (1943–1944; divorced)
Susanne Rosser (1951–1979; his death)
Children 4

John Nicholas "Dick" Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was an American actor, known for his performances in western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures.

Early years

Foran was born in Flemington, New Jersey, the first of five sons to Arthur F. and Elizabeth Foran. His father Arthur F. Foran was a Republican member of the New Jersey Senate,[1] as was Dick Foran's younger brother, Walter E. Foran.

He attended Mercersburg Academy, where he competed on the track team under Scots-American athletics coach Jimmy Curran.[2] After graduation he attended the Hun School, a college preparatory school in nearby Princeton, and then enrolled at Princeton University, pursuing a degree in geology. He played on the football team while taking courses in the arts, where he developed an interest in the theater.[1]

Foran studied music at the Leibling Studio in New York before singing on radio.[1] As Nick Foran, he went on to become a lead singer with a band[3] and later form his own orchestra.

Film

Foran was still billed as Nick Foran when he signed a contract with Fox in 1934.[4] In 1935, Foran, who stood 6-foot-2 and had red hair, was hired by Warner Bros. as a supporting actor, changing his first name to Dick.[1] He would also croon when called upon in films such as Change of Heart (1934) with Janet Gaynor, made for Fox Film Corporation. His handsome appearance and good-natured personality made him a natural choice for the supporting cast. He first appeared as a singing cowboy in his first starring role, in Moonlight on the Prairie (1935). Other singing cowboy features included Song of the Saddle (1936), Guns of the Pecos (1937), Empty Holsters (1937) and Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938).[5]

In 1938 Foran moved to Universal Studios, where he acted in many different genres of film from horror to comedies with Abbott and Costello such as Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942).[5] In 1942, Foran starred as Lon Prentice in a 68-minute war support film, Private Buckaroo. Foran starred in The Petrified Forest (1936), The Sisters (1938), Rangers of Fortune (1940), The Mummy's Hand (1940) and Keep 'Em Flying (1941).

One of his last film roles was a small one in Donovan's Reef (1963), starring his longtime friend John Wayne. His final film appearance was as the prospector "Old Timer" in the sentimental film Brighty of the Grand Canyon (1967) with Joseph Cotten, Pat Conway and Karl Swenson.

Foran in The Petrified Forest (1936)

Stage

In 1943, Foran starred on Broadway in the Rodgers and Hart musical comedy A Connecticut Yankee, based on Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.[6]

Television

Foran appeared in at least four episodes of Science Fiction Theatre (1955). One of these, "The Miracle Hour" (aired December 22, 1956), is about a man who never gives up hope that his fiancée's blind six-year-old son won't have to spend the holidays in darkness. The show featured Jean Byron as the fiancée and Charles Herbert as the child. Foran appeared three times (1955–1956) as Father Brophy on the ABC anthology series Crossroads. He guest starred in the syndicated crime drama Sheriff of Cochise, starring John Bromfield. He was cast as a lawman in the episode "The Third Rider" in the first season (1957) of the ABC/Warner Brothers Western series Maverick, with Jack Kelly.

Foran portrayed the character Tuck Degan in the 1957 episode "Final Payment" of another ABC/WB Western series, Colt .45, starring Wayde Preston.[7] In the January 1959 episode of "The Spur", he portrayed Sheriff Wilkes on "Wanted: Dead or Alive" with Steve McQueen. In 1959, Foran portrayed defendant Dr. David Craig on CBS's Perry Mason, in the episode "The Case of the Bedeviled Doctor." Later that year, he played defendant Steve Benton in another Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Garrulous Gambler." He was also featured as Perry Mason's client in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Renegade Refugee."

In 1962, Foran appeared with Marie Windsor in the roles of Frank and Ann Jesse in the episode "The Wanted Man" of the ABC/Warner Brothers Western series Lawman, starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop. In the story line, Ann dies in childbirth, and Frank, who is wanted and frequently absent from their farm, orders their grown son, Ben (Jan Stine), to turn him over to Marshal Troop in order to collect the $5,000 reward and thus be able to rear his surviving infant brother, whom he names Frank. Meanwhile, Troop counters Joe Street (Alan Baxter), a bounty hunter seeking the same reward.[8]

In 1954, Foran guest starred on NBC's Justice, a legal drama starring Dane Clark and Gary Merrill, on CBS's The Public Defender starring Reed Hadley and Hugh Beaumont, and on NBC's The Martha Raye Show, a comedy/variety show starring comedian Martha Raye. He also appeared as Burt, a carnival hustler, in 1957 on NBC's Father Knows Best, with Robert Young.

In 1959, Foran was cast as David Steele in the episode "The Adjuster" of the NBC crime drama series Richard Diamond, Private Detective, starring David Janssen. Dabbs Greer and DeForest Kelley also appear in this episode.[9]

Foran later appeared as Gabriel Marion, brother of title character Francis Marion (Leslie Nielsen), in the Walt Disney Presents miniseries The Swamp Fox. In 1965–1966 he had his only regular role on a TV series playing "Slim" on O.K. Crackerby!. In 1968 Foran was cast in the role of "Fred Haines" in Season 1, Episode 13, of the NBC television series Adam-12.

Death

On August 10, 1979, Foran died aged 69 of respiratory ailments and pneumonia in Burbank, California. He was buried in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery.[10]

Recognition

Foran has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to television, at 1600 Vine Street. It was dedicated on February 8, 1960.[11]

Partial filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mayer, Geoff (2017). Encyclopedia of American Film Serials. McFarland. p. 127. ISBN 9780786477623. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Curran Watched Stars on Cinders First, St Petersburg Independent, April 24, 1960
  3. ↑ Varner, Paul (2009). The A to Z of Westerns in Cinema. Scarecrow Press. p. 92. ISBN 9780810870512. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  4. ↑ Monush, Barry (2003). Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 246–247. ISBN 9781557835512. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  5. 1 2 Phillips, Robert W. Singing Cowboy Stars. Salt Lake City: Gibbs-Smith, 1994. pp. 26–27.
  6. ↑ "("Dick Foran" search results)". Playbill Vault. Playbill. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "Colt .45". ctva.biz. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  8. ↑ ""The Wanted Man", April 8, 1962". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  9. ↑ ""The Adjuster", Richard Diamond, Private Detective, December 7, 1959". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  10. ↑ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 196. ISBN 9780786450190. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  11. ↑ "Dick Foran". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
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