J. M. Kerrigan
Joseph Michael Kerrigan was an Irish actor.
Early life
Joseph Michael Kerrigan was born on 16 December 1884 in Dublin, which was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland at that time. He studied at Belvedere College and worked as a newspaperman.
Career
In 1907, Kerrigan joined the Irish National Theatre, later known as the Abbey Players. There he became a stalwart, appearing in plays by Lady Gregory, William Butler Yeats and John Millington Synge. He toured with the company to New York City in 1908 and again in 1911, when their American premiere of The Playboy of the Western World met with riotous disapproval. By the 1920s he was appearing on Broadway, often in plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Sheridan. In 1924, he and Abbey colleague Dudley Digges appeared in Sutton Vane's Outward Bound, along with Alfred Lunt, Leslie Howard, Margalo Gillmore, and Beryl Mercer. All in all, he played in 35 Broadway productions in his career.
His first screen appearance was in Food of Love, one of six silent films he did in 1916. He settled permanently in Hollywood in 1935, having been recruited along with several other Abbey performers to appear in John Ford's The Informer. In this film and in Ford's The Long Voyage Home, he played similar roles, that of a leech who attaches himself to men until they run out of money. Perhaps his best-known role was in The General Died at Dawn, wherein he plays a character named Leach, a sinister thief who, holding a gun on Cooper, says: "I may be fat, but I'm agile."
He had little screen time in films in which he had minor roles, such as the First Drayman in Merely Mary Ann with Janet Gaynor. One of his more recognizable roles was in Gone with the Wind, in which he played John Gallegher, the seemly jovial mill owner who whips his convict labor into "co-operation". He appeared in Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the film version of Jules Verne's 1870 novel, in a minor role at the beginning of the film.
In a 1946 attempt to reach Broadway, Kerrigan starred as the discombobulated leprechaun Jackeen J. O'Malley in the show Barnaby and Mr. O'Malley, based on the Crockett Johnson comic strip. The play was unsuccessful, completing only four performances. Kerrigan made his final Broadway appearance later that year, however, in Guthrie McClintic's revival of The Playboy of the Western World, this time playing Michael James Flaherty. Over his career, he had roles in 114 short and feature-length motion pictures, and between 1952 and 1960 he appeared in episodes of 15 different TV series.
Kerrigan died in Hollywood on 29 April 1964, aged 79. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6621 Hollywood Blvd.
Partial filmography
Little Old New York – John O'Day Lucky in Love – ConnorsNew Movietone Follies of 1930 – Gateman in Show Song o' My Heart – PeterJust Imagine – Traffic Policeman in 1980 Lightnin' – Judge Lemuel TownsendUnder Suspicion – DoyleDon't Bet on Women – Chipley DuffThe Black Camel – Thomas MacMastersMerely Mary Ann – First DraymanThe Rainbow Trail – Paddy HarriganCareless Lady – TrowbridgeState's Attorney – Coachman Vanity Street – Dan – Irish Cop Rockabye – FaginThe Monkey's Paw – Cpl. O'Leary Air Hostess – Pop KearnyA Study in Scarlet – Jabez WilsonPaddy the Next Best Thing – CollinsLone Cowboy – Mr. CurranThe Lost Patrol – QuincannonA Modern Hero – Mr. RyanThe Key – O'DuffyTreasure Island – Tom Morgan – Pirate The Fountain – ShordleyHappiness Ahead – Window Washer BossThe Mystery of Edwin Drood – Chief Verger TopeVanessa: Her Love Story – Perkins The Informer – TerryWerewolf of London – HawkinsThe Farmer Takes a Wife – Angus Hot Tip – MattBarbary Coast – Judge HarperA Feather in Her Hat – PobjoyTimothy's Quest – Dr. CuddThe Prisoner of Shark Island – Judge MaibenLaughing Irish Eyes – TimColleen – Pop ReillySpecial Investigator – Judge PlumgateHearts in Bondage – Paddy CallahanSpendthrift – Pop O'ConnellThe General Died at Dawn – LeachLloyd's of London – Brook WatsonLet's Make a Million – Sam SmithThe Plough and the Stars – Uncle PeterThe Barrier – Sergeant ThomasMotor Madness – Henry John 'Cap' McNeilLondon by Night – TimsVacation from Love – Danny Dolan, Hansom CabbieSpring Madness – Mr. Maloney Little Orphan Annie – Tom JenningsRide a Crooked Mile – Sgt. FlynnThe Great Man Votes – Hot Shot GillingsBoy Slaves – Brakeman The Flying Irishman – Mr. Clyde Corrigan Sr.The Kid from Texas – FarrUndercover Agent – Tom 'Pop' MadisonUnion Pacific – MonahanSorority House – Lew FisherThe Zero Hour – Timothy6,000 Enemies – Dan BarrettTwo Bright Boys – Mike CaseyThe Witness Vanishes – FlintersSabotage – MelTwo Thoroughbreds – Jack LenihanGone with the Wind – Johnny GallagherCongo Maisie – Captain FinchYoung Tom Edison – Mr. McCarneyThree Cheers for the Irish – ScanlonCurtain Call – Mr. MiddletonThe Sea Hawk – Eli MatsonUntamed – Angus McGavityOne Crowded Night – JosephNo Time for Comedy – JimThe Long Voyage Home – CrimpAdventure in Washington – Jim O'BrienAppointment for Love – TimothyThe Wolf Man – Charles ConliffeThe Vanishing Virginian – John PhelpsCaptains of the Clouds – FosterAction in the North Atlantic – Caviar Jinks Mr. Lucky – Mr. McDougal The Fighting Seabees – Sawyer CollinsWilson – Edward SullivanAn American Romance – Charlie O'Rourke – Steam Shovel Operator The Big Bonanza – Judge Jasper KincaidTarzan and the Amazons – SplivensThe Great John L. – Father O'MalleyCrime Doctor's Warning – Robert MacPherson The Spanish Main – Pillery GowShe Went to the Races – Jeff HabbardBlack Beauty – JohnAbie's Irish Rose – Patrick MurphyCall Northside 777 – Sullivan – Court Bailiff The Luck of the Irish – Tatie the InnkeeperThe Fighting O'Flynn – TimothyMrs. Mike – Uncle JohnDouble Crossbones – Debtor Sealed Cargo – Skipper BenTwo of a Kind – Father Lanahan The Wild North – CallahanPark Row – Dan O'RourkeMy Cousin Rachel – Reverend PascoeThe Silver Whip – Riley20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – Old BillyIt's a Dog's Life – Paddy CorbinThe Fastest Gun Alive – Kevin McGovern Shirley Temple's Storybook – The Magic FishboneTales of Wells Fargo – SmalleyWagon Train – John ReedThe Loretta Young Show – Mr. Thomas J. FlahertyLock-Up – Professor Caldwell