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Dick Foran — news, coverage & facts — IJR

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 (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); 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 Universal Studios, where he acted in many different genres of film from horror to comedy, such as My Little Chickadee (1940) with Mae West and W.C. Fields; Keep 'Em Flying (1941) In The Navy (1941) and Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942), all three with Abbott and Costello; Private Buckaroo with Harry James, the Andrews Sisters, and Shemp Howard; and The Mummy's Hand (1940) with Tom Tyler as the Mummy. Foran reprised the same role in the sequel The Mummy's Tomb (1942), this time with Lon Chaney Jr. as the Mummy. He also starred in the studio's western serials Winners of the West (1940) and Riders of Death Valley (1941).

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.

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 (1955). One of these, "The Miracle Hour", aired December 22, 1956. 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 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 (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.

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 (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 one, episode 13, of the NBC television series Adam-12.