William Gargan
| William Gargan | |
|---|---|
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from the trailer for the film Black Fury (1935).
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| Born | July 17, 1905 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Died in flight between New York and San Diego |
| Cause of death | heart attack |
| Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery (San Diego), California |
| Years active | 1925–1958 |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Kenny (1928–1979) (his death) |
William Gargan (July 17, 1905 – February 17, 1979) was an American film, television and radio actor.
Contents
Early years
Gargan was born William Dennis Gargan on July 17, 1905, in Brooklyn, New York. He was the younger brother of actor Edward Gargan, whose birthday July 17 he shared. His father was a detective, and his mother was a teacher. He graduated from St. James School in Brooklyn.[1]
On leaving school, Gargan became a salesman of bootleg whiskey to New York speakeasies and then joined a detective agency.
Stage
While visiting his brother on a musical comedy stage, he was offered a stage job which he accepted. He began his stage career in Aloma of the South Seas[1]
Film
Gargan's first movie was Rain[1] later he played in Misleading Lady and had character roles in many Hollywood productions, including two appearances as detective Ellery Queen.
He was cast in a number of stereotypical Irish parts in films playing policemen, priests, reporters, and blustering adventurers. In 1945 he played Joe Gallagher in The Bells of St. Mary's, starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman.
In 1935, Gargan went to England and made several movies there.[1]
In 1940, Gargan was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Joe, the foreman, in They Knew What They Wanted.[2]
Radio
Gargan was best known for his role as private detective Martin Kane in the 1949–51 radio-television series, Martin Kane, Private Eye, sponsored by U.S. Tobacco. He also appeared as a private detective in the NBC radio show Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator, which ran from 1951 to 1955.
Television
Gargan starred in 39 episodes of The New Adventures of Martin Kane, a syndicated series premiering September 14, 1957, and distributed in Europe by United Artists Television for Ziv Television Programs.
Later years
Gargan's acting career came to an end in 1958 when he developed throat cancer, and doctors were forced to remove his larynx in 1960.[3] Speaking through an artificial voice box, Gargan became an activist and spokesman for the American Cancer Society, often warning about the dangers of smoking.[4] In 1954, Mutual of Omaha presented its annual Criss Award to Gargan for "his inspirational self-rehabilitation efforts and his outstanding contributions to established rehabilitation programs."[5]
No longer able to act, he formed William Gargan Productions, making traditional films and television movies in Hollywood.[6]
Family
Gargan had a wife, Mary, and two sons, Leslie and Barrie.[7]
Death
He died aged 73 on February 17, 1979, on a flight between New York and San Diego. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, San Diego, California.[8]
Partial filmography
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- Lucky Boy (1929)
- Follow the Leader (1930)
- His Woman (1931)
- Partners (1931)
- The Animal Kingdom (1932)
- The Sport Parade (1932)
- Rain (1932)
- Misleading Lady (1932)
- Lucky Devils (1933)
- Headline Shooter (1933)
- Aggie Appleby Maker of Men (1933)
- Night Flight (1933)
- Emergency Call (1933)
- The Story of Temple Drake (1933)
- Sweepings (1933)
- Lucky Devils (1933)
- Strictly Dynamite (1934)
- British Agent (1934)
- The Lineup (1934)
- Four Frightened People (1934)
- Things Are Looking Up (1935)
- Black Fury (1935)
- Broadway Gondolier (1935)
- Don't Bet on Blondes (1935)
- A Night at the Ritz (1935)
- Navy Born (1936)
- Alibi for Murder (1936)
- Wings Over Honolulu (1937)
- You Only Live Once (1937)
- The Crowd Roars (1938)
- The Devil's Party (1938)
- The Adventures of Jane Arden (1939)
- The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939)
- Star Dust (1940)
- Turnabout (1940)
- Isle of Destiny (1940)
- They Knew What They Wanted (1940) Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941)
- Keep 'Em Flying (1941)
- The Mayor of 44th Street (1942)
- Miss Annie Rooney (1942)
- Swing Fever (1943)
- No Place for a Lady (1943)
- Midnight Manhunt (1945)
- The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
- Behind Green Lights (1946)
- Swell Guy (1946)
- Rendezvous 24 (1946)
- Hot Cargo (1946)
- Till the End of Time (1946)
Radio appearances
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Philip Morris Playhouse | Roberta[9] |
Book
Gargan's autobiography, Why Me? was published by Doubleday in 1969.[10] A reviewer described the book as "a compelling story of the life, faith and courage of a man who as an actor was a notable success."[11]
References
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- ↑ William Gargan at Find a Grave
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. |
- William Gargan at the Internet Movie Database
- William Gargan at the Internet Broadway DatabaseLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
