Kevin Corcoran
Encyclopedia
Kevin Anthony "Moochie" Corcoran (born June 10, 1949, in Santa Monica, California
) is an American
director
, producer
, and former child actor
. He appeared in numerous Disney
projects between 1957 and 1963, frequently as an irrepressible character with the nickname Moochie. One of eight children, most of whom did some acting in the late 1950s to early 1960s, Corcoran is the sibling whose work is best remembered. His father, William "Bill" Corcoran, Sr. (1905–1958), was a police
officer and then director of maintenance at MGM Studios. Corcoran's mother, the former Kathleen McKenney (1917–1972), was like her husband a native of Quincy, Massachusetts
.
serials, beginning with Adventure in Dairyland
, where he played Moochie McCandless, a farmer's son. This was the first of Corcoran's many Disney credits. He soon returned, as Montgomery (Moochie) O'Hara, in two Spin and Marty
serials, The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty and The New Adventures of Spin and Marty.
Corcoran appeared in a Mouseketeer outfit with the name Moochie across his chest - once. In Disneyland: The Fourth Anniversary Show (1957), an episode of the Disney anthology television series
, "Mouseketeer" Moochie repeatedly badgers Walt Disney
for information about Zorro.
Continuing his fictional Moochie roles, Corcoran played Montgomery "Moochie" Daniels in the 1959 Disney film The Shaggy Dog
. He also starred as Moochie Morgan in Moochie of the Little League (1959) and Moochie of Pop Warner Football (1960), both for the Disney anthology series. Character actor
Russ Conway
played his father.
In each iteration, Moochie likes to hang out with the older "guys" (big brother Wilby in The Shaggy Dog, the title characters in Spin and Marty), and hates being treated like the little kid he is. His determination to emulate elder peers despite adult warnings (swimming, helping Wilby, even switch-hitting) frequently gets him in trouble, but Moochie's bravado always returns soon afterward. Film writer Donald Liebenson has called Corcoran's character "part All-American boy and part hellion."
, or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960). This was the only theatrical film in which Corcoran had the lead role. Important co-starring roles include the following:
Kevin Corcoran and Tommy Kirk
played brothers in five films, beginning with 1957's Old Yeller. The other films in this category were The Shaggy Dog (1959), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), Bon Voyage! (1962) and Savage Sam
(sequel to Old Yeller, 1963). Fred MacMurray
played their father in The Shaggy Dog and Bon Voyage! Dorothy McGuire
played their mother in Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson.
Corcoran largely retired from acting after A Tiger Walks, although he also appeared in the 1968 film Blue in a minor role. It was probably around the time of the latter film that he attended college. In an interview for the DVD release of The Shaggy Dog, he credits his studio teachers with having prepared him well for his college studies.
with a degree in theatre arts. After this he returned to Disney, this time working behind the camera as an assistant director and producer. His credits from this era include Superdad
(1973), The Island at the Top of the World (1974) and Pete's Dragon
(1977). Appropriately, he also worked on The New Mickey Mouse Club
(1977). He was an associate producer on The Treasure of Matecumbe (1976), on the sequel Return from Witch Mountain
(1978) and on The North Avenue Irregulars
(1979). He co-produced Herbie Goes Bananas
(1980), and was the producer of the comedy television series Zorro and Son (1983). Corcoran's more recent contributions to Disney include commentaries and interviews on such Disney DVD releases as The Shaggy Dog and Pollyanna.
He has also served as first assistant director on several non-Disney television series, including Scarecrow and Mrs. King
, Quantum Leap, Profiler
and Karen Sisco
; and produced a number of projects. Over the course of his tenure on the Angela Lansbury
series Murder She Wrote, he was credited as first assistant director, assistant producer, and director.
, Noreen Corcoran
, Hugh Corcoran, Brian Corcoran, Kerry Corcoran, and Kelly Corcoran
(1958–2002). Elder siblings Donna, Noreen, and Hugh Corcoran have extensive film and television credits as child actors during the 1950s. Donna, Noreen, and Kevin all appeared in the 1955 film Violent Saturday.
Noreen Corcoran starred as Kelly Gregg on the television series Bachelor Father from 1957-1962. During its five-year run, Bachelor Father was seen on all three national networks. Brian Corcoran played Kevin's brother, and Kerry, his sister, in the 1960 Daniel Boone miniseries
on Walt Disney Presents, then on ABC. Brian also was Willie Winkie to Kevin Corcoran's Boy Blue in the 1961 film Babes in Toyland
.
Donna Corcoran played Moochie's sister Marian in Moochie of the Little League (1960). She also played Bridget White, ("...eight years old") as the little orphan who saw the "Angels in the Outfield" in the original 1951 version
with Paul Douglas
and Janet Leigh
. Younger brother Kelly Corcoran (1958–2002) portrayed 8-year-old Kip Pride in the NBC western series The Road West
(1966–1967), starring Barry Sullivan
.
Kevin Corcoran and his wife have been married since 1972.
on October 9, 2006. Among the other recipients at the 2006 ceremony were the two lead actors in Corcoran's Spin and Marty serials, Tim Considine
and David Stollery
, and Corcoran's frequent co-star, Tommy Kirk
, himself a veteran of Mickey Mouse Club serials about the Hardy Boys.
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and former child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
. He appeared in numerous Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
projects between 1957 and 1963, frequently as an irrepressible character with the nickname Moochie. One of eight children, most of whom did some acting in the late 1950s to early 1960s, Corcoran is the sibling whose work is best remembered. His father, William "Bill" Corcoran, Sr. (1905–1958), was a police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
officer and then director of maintenance at MGM Studios. Corcoran's mother, the former Kathleen McKenney (1917–1972), was like her husband a native of Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
.
Moochie
Between 1956 and 1960, Corcoran played several different (but similar) characters, each bearing the nickname Moochie. Although he was never a Mouseketeer, Corcoran appeared in three Mickey Mouse ClubMickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
serials, beginning with Adventure in Dairyland
Adventure in Dairyland
Adventure in Dairyland is a television serial that aired in 1956 on ABC as part of the second season of The Mickey Mouse Club. The serial starred Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and Sammy Ogg of Spin and Marty and featured Kevin Corcoran in his first Walt Disney production.-Plot:Annette Funicello...
, where he played Moochie McCandless, a farmer's son. This was the first of Corcoran's many Disney credits. He soon returned, as Montgomery (Moochie) O'Hara, in two Spin and Marty
Spin and Marty
Spin and Marty was a popular series of television shorts that aired as part of ABC's Mickey Mouse Club show of the mid-1950s produced by Walt Disney. There were three serials in all, set at the Triple R Ranch, a boys' western-style summer camp. The first series of 25 eleven-minute episodes,...
serials, The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty and The New Adventures of Spin and Marty.
Corcoran appeared in a Mouseketeer outfit with the name Moochie across his chest - once. In Disneyland: The Fourth Anniversary Show (1957), an episode of the Disney anthology television series
Disney anthology television series
The Walt Disney anthology television series refers to a television series which has been produced by the Walt Disney Company under several different titles from 1955 to 2008...
, "Mouseketeer" Moochie repeatedly badgers Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
for information about Zorro.
Continuing his fictional Moochie roles, Corcoran played Montgomery "Moochie" Daniels in the 1959 Disney film The Shaggy Dog
The Shaggy Dog (1959 film)
The Shaggy Dog is a black and white 1959 Walt Disney film about Wilby Daniels, a teenage boy who is transformed into an Old English Sheepdog by an enchanted ring of the Borgias. The film was based on the story, The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten...
. He also starred as Moochie Morgan in Moochie of the Little League (1959) and Moochie of Pop Warner Football (1960), both for the Disney anthology series. Character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
Russ Conway
Russ Conway (actor)
Russ Conway was a Canadian-American character actor who appeared on film and television between 1947 and 1975.-Early years:...
played his father.
In each iteration, Moochie likes to hang out with the older "guys" (big brother Wilby in The Shaggy Dog, the title characters in Spin and Marty), and hates being treated like the little kid he is. His determination to emulate elder peers despite adult warnings (swimming, helping Wilby, even switch-hitting) frequently gets him in trouble, but Moochie's bravado always returns soon afterward. Film writer Donald Liebenson has called Corcoran's character "part All-American boy and part hellion."
Other childhood roles
Corcoran appeared in numerous Disney projects (and a handful of non-Disney ones) without the Moochie name. He starred as Toby, an orphan who runs off to join the circus, in Toby TylerToby Tyler
Toby Tyler is a Disney film released on January 21, 1960 by Buena Vista Distribution Company, based on the 1880 children's book Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus by James Otis Kaler....
, or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960). This was the only theatrical film in which Corcoran had the lead role. Important co-starring roles include the following:
- Old YellerOld Yeller (1957 film)Old Yeller is a 1957 Walt Disney Productions film starring Tommy Kirk, Dorothy McGuire and Beverly Washburn, and directed by Robert Stevenson. It is about a boy and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas. The story is based upon the 1956 Newbery Honor-winning book Old Yeller by Fred Gipson. Gipson...
(1957) - younger son Arliss Coates - Goliath IIGoliath IIGoliath II is an animated short film, produced by Walt Disney Productions and was released on January 21, 1960. It was the first time the Xerox process was used in a Disney cartoon. Sterling Holloway narrates this cartoon film, starring Kevin Corcoran. It was released to theaters in the U.S.,...
(1960) - Goliath II - PollyannaPollyannaPollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same optimistic outlook. The book was such a success, that Porter soon produced a sequel, Pollyanna...
(1960) - Pollyanna's friend, orphan Jimmy Bean - Swiss Family RobinsonSwiss Family Robinson (film)Swiss Family Robinson is a 1960 American Technicolor feature film starring John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, and Sessue Hayakawa in a tale of a shipwrecked family building an island home. The screenplay by Lowell S. Hawley was loosely based upon the 1812 novel Der Schweizerische Robinson by Johann...
(1960) - youngest son Francis Robinson - Daniel Boone (1960 Disney miniseries) - son James Boone
- Babes in ToylandBabes in Toyland (1961 film)Babes in Toyland is a 1961 Christmas musical film in Technicolor, directed by Jack Donohue, produced by Walt Disney, and distributed to theatres by Buena Vista Distribution. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker.The...
(1961) - nursery rhyme character Boy Blue - Bon Voyage! (1962) - younger son Skipper Willard
- The Mooncussers (1962 Disney TV) - Jonathan Feather
- Johnny Shiloh (1963 Disney TV) - Union Army drummer Johnny Lincoln Clem
- Savage SamSavage SamSavage Sam is the 1963 film sequel to Old Yeller written by Fred Gipson. It was inspired by the story of former Apache captive Herman Lehmann, whom Gipson had seen give an exhibition when he was a child....
(1963) - Arliss Coates again - A Tiger WalksA Tiger WalksA Tiger Walks is a 1964 family drama film, directed by Norman Tokar and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is based on a novel of the same name by Ian Niall...
(1964) - Tom Hadley
Kevin Corcoran and Tommy Kirk
Tommy Kirk
Thomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk is a former American actor, and later a businessman.-Disney years:Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of thirteen in a production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California...
played brothers in five films, beginning with 1957's Old Yeller. The other films in this category were The Shaggy Dog (1959), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), Bon Voyage! (1962) and Savage Sam
Savage Sam
Savage Sam is the 1963 film sequel to Old Yeller written by Fred Gipson. It was inspired by the story of former Apache captive Herman Lehmann, whom Gipson had seen give an exhibition when he was a child....
(sequel to Old Yeller, 1963). Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
played their father in The Shaggy Dog and Bon Voyage! Dorothy McGuire
Dorothy McGuire
Dorothy Hackett McGuire was an American actress.-Career:Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she began her acting career on the stage at the Omaha Community Playhouse...
played their mother in Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson.
Corcoran largely retired from acting after A Tiger Walks, although he also appeared in the 1968 film Blue in a minor role. It was probably around the time of the latter film that he attended college. In an interview for the DVD release of The Shaggy Dog, he credits his studio teachers with having prepared him well for his college studies.
Adult career
Corcoran graduated from California State University, NorthridgeCalifornia State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge is a public university in Northridge, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, United States....
with a degree in theatre arts. After this he returned to Disney, this time working behind the camera as an assistant director and producer. His credits from this era include Superdad
Superdad
Superdad is a 1973 American comedy film by Walt Disney Productions and starring Bob Crane, Barbara Rush, Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, and Kathleen Cody...
(1973), The Island at the Top of the World (1974) and Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon is a 1977 live-action/animated musical film from Walt Disney Productions and the first Disney film to be recorded in the Dolby Stereo sound system...
(1977). Appropriately, he also worked on The New Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
(1977). He was an associate producer on The Treasure of Matecumbe (1976), on the sequel Return from Witch Mountain
Return from Witch Mountain
Return from Witch Mountain is the 1978 sequel to Walt Disney Productions' 1975 film, Escape to Witch Mountain. It was written by Malcolm Marmorstein and is based on the novel by Alexander Key. Ike Eisenmann, Kim Richards, and Denver Pyle reprise their roles as Tony, Tia, and Uncle Bené—humanoid...
(1978) and on The North Avenue Irregulars
The North Avenue Irregulars
The North Avenue Irregulars is a 1979 Disney film distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company starring Edward Hermann, Barbara Harris and Susan Clark. It was based on original work by Albert Fay Hill, as adapted by Don Tait...
(1979). He co-produced Herbie Goes Bananas
Herbie Goes Bananas
Herbie Goes Bananas is the fourth of a series of films made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie – the white Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own. The film stars former Mel Brooks collaborators Cloris Leachman and Harvey Korman....
(1980), and was the producer of the comedy television series Zorro and Son (1983). Corcoran's more recent contributions to Disney include commentaries and interviews on such Disney DVD releases as The Shaggy Dog and Pollyanna.
He has also served as first assistant director on several non-Disney television series, including Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scarecrow and Mrs. King is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987 on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative Lee Stetson who begin a strange association, and eventual romance,...
, Quantum Leap, Profiler
Profiler (TV series)
Profiler was an American crime drama that aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The series follows the exploits of a criminal profiler working with the fictional FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force based in Atlanta, Georgia....
and Karen Sisco
Karen Sisco
Karen Sisco is a television series about a fictional United States Marshal created by novelist Elmore Leonard.As a U.S. Deputy Marshal, based on Miami, Florida's Gold Coast, Karen must deal with the underbelly of South Beach nightlife and Palm Beach highlife while tracking down fugitives. She also...
; and produced a number of projects. Over the course of his tenure on the Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
series Murder She Wrote, he was credited as first assistant director, assistant producer, and director.
Family
Kevin Corcoran is the brother of Donna CorcoranDonna Corcoran
Donna Corcoran, is a former child actress who appeared in several Hollywood films of the early 1950s. She most notably appeared in several aquatic musicals that featured Esther Williams ,and as a vulnerable girl being victimized by an emotionally disturbed babysitter in a more...
, Noreen Corcoran
Noreen Corcoran
Noreen M. Corcoran is a former actress and dancer best known for her costarring role as the teenager Kelly Gregg, the niece of wealthy attorney Bentley Gregg, played by John Forsythe, in the television sitcom Bachelor Father, the only series to have been carried at one time by all three major...
, Hugh Corcoran, Brian Corcoran, Kerry Corcoran, and Kelly Corcoran
Kelly Corcoran
Kelly Corcoran was an American child actor, a brother of Donna Corcoran, Hugh Corcoran, Noreen Corcoran, Brian Corcoran, and Kevin Corcoran. He was the youngest child born to William "Bill" Corcoran, Sr. , and the former Kathleen McKenney...
(1958–2002). Elder siblings Donna, Noreen, and Hugh Corcoran have extensive film and television credits as child actors during the 1950s. Donna, Noreen, and Kevin all appeared in the 1955 film Violent Saturday.
Noreen Corcoran starred as Kelly Gregg on the television series Bachelor Father from 1957-1962. During its five-year run, Bachelor Father was seen on all three national networks. Brian Corcoran played Kevin's brother, and Kerry, his sister, in the 1960 Daniel Boone miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
on Walt Disney Presents, then on ABC. Brian also was Willie Winkie to Kevin Corcoran's Boy Blue in the 1961 film Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (1961 film)
Babes in Toyland is a 1961 Christmas musical film in Technicolor, directed by Jack Donohue, produced by Walt Disney, and distributed to theatres by Buena Vista Distribution. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker.The...
.
Donna Corcoran played Moochie's sister Marian in Moochie of the Little League (1960). She also played Bridget White, ("...eight years old") as the little orphan who saw the "Angels in the Outfield" in the original 1951 version
Angels in the Outfield (1951 film)
Angels in the Outfield is a 1951 American black-and-white film starring Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh, directed by Clarence Brown, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
with Paul Douglas
Paul Douglas (actor)
Paul Douglas was an American actor, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Paul Douglas Fleischer.-Career:...
and Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
. Younger brother Kelly Corcoran (1958–2002) portrayed 8-year-old Kip Pride in the NBC western series The Road West
The Road West
The Road West is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 12, 1966 to May 1, 1967 for twenty-nine episodes with rebroadcasts continuing until August 28. The hour-long series, sponsored by Kraft Foods, aired in the 9 p.m...
(1966–1967), starring Barry Sullivan
Barry Sullivan (actor)
Barry Sullivan was an American movie actor who appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s.Born in New York City, Sullivan fell into acting when in college playing semi-pro football...
.
Kevin Corcoran and his wife have been married since 1972.
Disney Legend
Kevin Corcoran was honored as a Disney LegendDisney Legends
Established in 1987, the Disney Legends program recognizes people who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. The honor is awarded annually during a special ceremony....
on October 9, 2006. Among the other recipients at the 2006 ceremony were the two lead actors in Corcoran's Spin and Marty serials, Tim Considine
Tim Considine
Timothy Daniel "Tim" Considine is a former American child actor and young adult actor who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
and David Stollery
David Stollery
David John Stollery, III , is a former American child actor and, as an adult, a noted industrial designer. He appeared in numerous Disney movies and television programs in the 1950s...
, and Corcoran's frequent co-star, Tommy Kirk
Tommy Kirk
Thomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk is a former American actor, and later a businessman.-Disney years:Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of thirteen in a production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California...
, himself a veteran of Mickey Mouse Club serials about the Hardy Boys.