Frank Coghlan Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. | March 15, 1916
Died | September 7, 2009 Saugus, California, U.S. | (aged 93)
Resting place | All Souls Cemetery, Long Beach, California |
Other names | Junior Coghlan |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1920–1969 |
Spouses | Betty Corrigan
(m. 1943; died 1974)Letha Schwarzrock
(m. 1975; died 2001) |
Children | 5 |
Frank Coghlan Jr. (March 15, 1916 – September 7, 2009) also known as Junior Coghlan, was an American actor who later became a career officer in the United States Navy and a naval aviator. He appeared in approximately 129 films and television programs between 1920 and 1974. During the 1920s and 1930s, he became a popular child and juvenile actor, appearing in films with Pola Negri, Jack Dempsey, William Haines, Shirley Temple, Mickey Rooney, William Boyd and Bette Davis. He appeared in early "Our Gang" comedies, but he is best known for the role of Billy Batson in the 1941 motion picture serial, and first comic book superhero film, Adventures of Captain Marvel. Coghlan later served 23 years as an aviator and officer in the U.S. Navy, from 1942 to 1965. After retiring from the Navy, he returned to acting and appeared in television, films, and commercials. He published an autobiography in 1992[1] and died in 2009 at age 93.