Dick Foran

John Nicholas "Dick" Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was an American

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,^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4] He played on the football team while taking courses in the arts, where he developed an interest in the theater.^[2]

Foran studied music at the Leibling Studio in New York before singing on radio.^[2] As Nick Foran, he went on to become a lead singer with a band^[5] and later formed his own orchestra.

Film

Foran was still billed as Nick Foran when he signed a contract with Fox in 1934.^[6] 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 (1934) 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 (1935). His other singing-cowboy features included Song of the Saddle (1936), Guns of the Pecos (1937), and Empty Holsters (1937);^[7] 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 (1936) with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, The Sisters (1938) with Errol Flynn and Bette Davis, and Boy Meets Girl (1938) and The Fighting 69th (1940), both with James Cagney and Pat O'Brien.

In 1940, Foran moved to

One of his last film roles was a small one in Donovan's Reef (1963), 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 (1967) 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.^[8]

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

Foran was prominently featured as a sheriff in the episode "The Third Rider" in the first season (1957) 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.^{[citation needed]}

In the January 1959 episode "The Spurs", he portrayed Sheriff Wilkes on

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.^[9]

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.^[10]

Selected filmography

Selected television

References