Dick Foran


John Nicholas "Dick" Foran was an American actor and singer, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures. He appeared in dozens of movies of every type during his lengthy career, often with top stars leading the cast.

Early years

Foran was born in Flemington, New Jersey, the first of five sons to Arthur F. Foran and Elizabeth Foran. His father was a Republican member of the New Jersey Senate, 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. 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.
Foran studied music at the Leibling Studio in New York before singing on radio. As Nick Foran, he went on to become a lead singer with a band and later formed his own orchestra.

Film

Foran was still billed as Nick Foran when he signed a contract with Fox in 1934. In 1935, Foran, who stood 6-foot-2 and had red hair, could also sing when called upon in films such as Change of Heart with Janet Gaynor. His handsome appearance and good-natured personality made him a natural choice for the supporting cast.
Fox didn't pick up Foran's contract option, and he was released after one year. He was soon signed by Warner Bros., which changed his name to Dick Foran and cast him as a singing cowboy, to compete with the successful Gene Autry musical westerns. His first starring role was in Moonlight on the Prairie. His other singing-cowboy features included Song of the Saddle, Guns of the Pecos, and Empty Holsters ; some of these were remakes of earlier Warner westerns starring John Wayne.
Foran also appeared as a character actor in Warners' important films, like The Petrified Forest with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, The Sisters with Errol Flynn and Bette Davis, and Boy Meets Girl and The Fighting 69th, both with James Cagney and Pat O'Brien.
In 1940, Foran moved to Universal Studios, where he acted in many different genres of film from horror to comedy, such as My Little Chickadee with Mae West and W.C. Fields; Keep 'Em Flying and Ride 'Em Cowboy, both with Abbott and Costello; Private Buckaroo with Harry James, the Andrews Sisters, and Shemp Howard; and The Mummy's Hand with Tom Tyler as the Mummy. Foran reprised the same role in the sequel The Mummy's Tomb, this time with Lon Chaney Jr. as the Mummy. He also starred in the studio's western serials Winners of the West and Riders of Death Valley.
One of his last film roles was a small one in Donovan's Reef, starring his longtime friend John Wayne and Lee Marvin. His final film appearance was as the prospector "Old Timer" in the sentimental film Brighty of the Grand Canyon with Joseph Cotten, Pat Conway, and Karl Swenson.

Stage

Foran left Universal in 1943 to star 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.

Television

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.
Foran appeared in at least four episodes of Science Fiction Theatre. One of these, "The Miracle Hour", aired December 22, 1956. Foran appeared three times as Father Brophy on the ABC anthology series Crossroads. He guest-starred in the syndicated crime drama Sheriff of Cochise starring John Bromfield. He also appeared as Burt, a carnival hustler, in 1957 on NBC's Father Knows Best with Robert Young.
Foran was prominently featured as a sheriff in the episode "The Third Rider" in the first season of the ABC/Warner Bros. Western series Maverick starring Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, the brother of James Garner's character Bret Maverick. He also portrayed Tuck Degan in the 1957 episode "Final Payment" of another ABC/WB Western series, Colt.45 starring Wayde Preston.
In the January 1959 episode "The Spurs", he portrayed Sheriff Wilkes on Wanted Dead or Alive starring Steve McQueen. He made another guest appearance in the December 1960 episode: "The Choice", portraying aging bounty hunter Frank Koster. Also 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 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 appeared in this episode.
In 1962, Foran appeared with Marie Windsor in the roles of Frank and Ann Jesse in the episode "The Wanted Man" of the ABC/WB Western series Lawman, starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop.
Foran later appeared as Gabriel Marion, brother of title character Francis Marion, 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 one, 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.

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.

Selected filmography

  • Stand Up and Cheer! as Nick Foran
  • Change of Heart as Nick
  • Student Tour as Assistant Manager
  • Gentlemen Are Born as Smudge Casey
  • The Lottery Lover as Cadet
  • One More Spring as Park Policeman
  • It's a Small World as Cop
  • Farmer Takes a Wife as Walt Lansing
  • Accent of Youth as Butch
  • Ladies Love Danger as Sergeant Bender
  • Shipmates Forever as Gifford
  • Moonlight on the Prairie as Ace Andrews
  • Dangerous as Teddy
  • The Petrified Forest as Boze Hertzlinger
  • Song of the Saddle as Frank Wilson Jr. aka The Singing Kid
  • Treachery Rides the Range as Captain Red Taylor
  • The Golden Arrow as Tommy Blake
  • The Big Noise as Don Andrews
  • Public Enemy's Wife as Thomas Duncan McKay
  • Earthworm Tractors as Emmet McManus
  • Trailin' West as Lieutenant Red Colton
  • California Mail as Bill Harkins
  • Guns of the Pecos as Steve Ainslee
  • Black Legion as Ed Jackson
  • Land Beyond the Law as John 'Chip' Douglas Jr.
  • The Cherokee Strip as Dick Hudson
  • Blazing Sixes as Red Barton
  • Empty Holsters as Clay Brent
  • The Devil's Saddle Legion as Tal Holladay
  • Prairie Thunder as Rod Farrell
  • The Perfect Specimen as Jink Carter
  • She Loved a Fireman as James 'Red' Tyler
  • Love, Honor and Behave as Pete Martin
  • Over the Wall as Jerry Davis
  • Cowboy from Brooklyn as Sam Thorne
  • Four Daughters as Ernest
  • Boy Meets Girl as Larry Toms
  • The Sisters as Tom Knivel
  • Secrets of a Nurse as Lee Burke
  • Heart of the North as Sergeant Alan Baker
  • Inside Information as Danny Blake
  • Daughters Courageous as Eddie Moore
  • I Stole a Million as Paul Carver
  • Hero for a Day as Brainy Thornton
  • Private Detective as Jim Rickey
  • Four Wives as Ernest Talbot
  • The Fighting 69th as Lt. 'Long John' Wynn
  • My Little Chickadee as Wayne Carter
  • The House of Seven Gables as Matthew Holgrave
  • Winners of the West as Jeff Ramsay
  • Rangers of Fortune as Johnny Cash
  • The Mummy's Hand as Steve Banning
  • Four Mothers as Ernest Talbot
  • Horror Island as Bill Martin
  • In the Navy as Dynamite Dugan
  • Riders of Death Valley as Jim Benton
  • Unfinished Business as Frank
  • The Kid from Kansas as Kansas
  • Mob Town as Sgt. Frank Conroy
  • Keep 'Em Flying as Jinx Roberts
  • Road Agent as Duke Masters
  • Ride 'Em Cowboy as Bronco Bob Mitchell
  • Butch Minds the Baby as Dennis Devlin
  • Private Buckaroo as Lon Prentice
  • The Mummy's Tomb as Stephen Banning
  • Behind the Eight Ball as Bill Edwards
  • Hi, Buddy as Dave O'Connor
  • He's My Guy as Van Moore
  • Guest Wife as Christopher Price
  • Easy Come, Easy Go as Dale Whipple
  • Fort Apache as Sgt. Quincannon
  • El Paso as Sheriff La Farge
  • Deputy Marshall as Joel Benton / Jed Northey
  • Al Jennings of Oklahoma as Frank Jennings
  • Treasure of Ruby Hills as Alan Doran
  • Please Murder Me as Joe Leeds
  • Sierra Stranger as Bert Gaines
  • Chicago Confidential as Arthur 'Artie' Blane
  • Violent Road as Frank 'Sarge' Miller
  • Thundering Jets as Lt. Col. Henry Spalding
  • The Fearmakers as Jim McGinnis
  • The Atomic Submarine as Cmdr. Dan Wendover
  • The Big Night as Ed
  • Studs Lonigan as Patrick Lonigan
  • Lassie as the fire chief Ed Washburne
  • Donovan's Reef as Australian Navy Officer Sean O'Brien
  • Taggart as Adam Stark
  • Brighty of the Grand Canyon as Old Timer, the Prospector