Noreen Corcoran obit

Noreen Corcoran, the Adopted Niece on TV's 'Bachelor Father,' Dies at 72

She was not on the list.

America watched her grow up on the series, which aired from 1957-62. From a family of young actors, she was recommended by Ronald Reagan for the role.

Noreen Corcoran, who starred as the teenager adopted by her uncle (John Forsythe) on the 1950s-’60s sitcom Bachelor Father, has died. She was 72.

Corcoran died Friday of cardiopulmonary disease at Valley Presbyterian in Van Nuys, her niece, author Mell Corcoran, told The Hollywood Reporter. The actress’s younger brother, Kevin Corcoran, who appeared in the 1957 film Old Yeller and played Moochie on several Disney TV shows, died in October.

On Bachelor Father, which aired on CBS, NBC and ABC from 1957-62, the cute Corcoran starred as Kelly, who comes to live at age 13 with her well-to-do uncle Bentley Gregg (Forsythe), a Beverly Hills attorney, after her parents are killed in an automobile accident. The houseboy Peter (Sammie Tong) helps them get by.

America watched Corcoran grow up during the course of 157 episodes, and Bachelor Father ended just as her character was about to begin college.

Corcoran's screen debut was a small role in the emotional film, Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie at 20th Century Fox. She was next cast in the MGM musical I Love Melvin in 1953. More roles followed, including the role of "Anna," the girl who was granted another birthday in "Tusitala",1953 "Young Bess" as Princess Elizabeth as a child, a 1955 Four Star Playhouse production starring David Niven as Robert Louis Stevenson, Band of Angels in 1957, and television appearances in Circus Boy, starring Micky Dolenz, later of the singing group The Monkees. Noreen also had a part in the short-lived series The World of Mr. Sweeney with Charles Ruggles.

 

Corcoran made her movie debut in Apache Drums (1951) and appeared in such films as Hans Christian Andersen (1952), I Love Melvin (1953), Young Bess (1953) and biopic So This Is Love (1953) before being recommended for the part of Kelly by actor Ronald Reagan, who had seen her screen tests.

After Bachelor Father ended, she was in Gidget Goes to Rome (1963) and starred in The Girls on the Beach (1965); showed up on such TV shows as Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Gunsmoke and The Big Valley; and recorded a version of the song “Love Kitten.”

A native of Quincy, Massachusetts, Corcoran was the third of eight children, many of whom acted (in addition to Kevin, their sister, Donna Corcoran, appeared in the 1951 film Angels in the Outfield). The family moved to Santa Monica, and her father worked in maintenance on the MGM lot.

Brian Corcoran, another brother and child actor, died in February 2014.

In addition to her niece and sister Donna, Noreen's survivors include another sister, Kerry.




Filmography

Actress

Lee Majors, Barbara Stanwyck, Linda Evans, Peter Breck, and Richard Long in The Big Valley (1965)

The Big Valley

7.6

TV Series

Sharon

1965

1 episode

 

The Girls on the Beach (1965)

The Girls on the Beach

5.1

Selma

1965

 

James Franciscus in Mr. Novak (1963)

Mr. Novak

7.5

TV Series

Cathy Williams

1964

1 episode

 

James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone, and Dennis Weaver in Gunsmoke (1955)

Gunsmoke

8.1

TV Series

Ellen

1964

1 episode

 

Ben Casey (1961)

Ben Casey

7.1

TV Series

Audrey Kietner

1964

1 episode

 

Angela Lansbury and Tuesday Weld in The Eleventh Hour (1962)

The Eleventh Hour

7.8

TV Series

Alice Lang

1964

1 episode

 

Channing (1963)

Channing

7.2

TV Series

Donna

1963

1 episode

 

Cindy Carol and James Darren in Gidget Goes to Rome (1963)

Gidget Goes to Rome

5.0

Lucy McDougall

1963

 

Dr. Kildare (1961)

Dr. Kildare

7.0

TV Series

Nurse Mary Thompson

1963

1 episode

 

Going My Way (1962)

Going My Way

8.0

TV Series

Sally McMullen

1963

1 episode

 

Nick Adams in Saints and Sinners (1962)

Saints and Sinners

5.7

TV Series

Jane Melton

1962

1 episode

 

Bachelor Father (1957)

Bachelor Father

7.2

TV Series

Kelly Gregg

1957–1962

157 episodes

 

The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.4

TV Series

Marion Morgan (uncredited)

1959

1 episode - Moochie of the Little League: A Diamond Is a Boy's Best Friend

 

Clark Gable and Yvonne De Carlo in Band of Angels (1957)

Band of Angels

6.5

Young Manty (uncredited)

1957

 

Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)

General Electric Theater

6.9

TV Series

Kelly Gregg

1957

1 episode

 

Circus Boy (1956)

Circus Boy

7.3

TV Series

Jill

1957

1 episode

 

Chevron Hall of Stars (1956)

Chevron Hall of Stars

6.9

TV Series

Amy

1956

1 episode

 

Studio 57 (1954)

Studio 57

7.6

TV Series

1955

1 episode

 

Preston Foster in Cavalcade of America (1952)

Cavalcade of America

8.1

TV Series

Nancy Merki at 9

1953–1955

2 episodes

 

Lee Aaker, James Brown, and Rin Tin Tin II in The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1954)

The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin

7.0

TV Series

Judy

1955

1 episode

 

Victor Mature and Virginia Leith in Violent Saturday (1955)

Violent Saturday

6.9

Anna Stadt (uncredited)

1955

 

Four Star Playhouse (1952)

Four Star Playhouse

7.6

TV Series

Anna

1955

1 episode

 

The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse (1953)

The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse

7.7

TV Series

1954

1 episode

 

Van Heflin, Howard Duff, and Ruth Roman in Tanganyika (1954)

Tanganyika

5.9

Sally Marion

1954

 

Loretta Young in The Loretta Young Show (1953)

The Loretta Young Show

7.6

TV Series

Natalie Baxter

1953

1 episode

 

James Cagney, Anne Francis, Larry Keating, and John McIntire in A Lion Is in the Streets (1953)

A Lion Is in the Streets

6.1

Schoolgirl (uncredited)

1953

 

Richard Burton, Victor Mature, and Jean Simmons in The Robe (1953)

The Robe

6.7

Girl (uncredited)

1953

 

So This Is Love (1953)

So This Is Love

6.0

Grace Moore at 8

1953

 

Young Bess (1953)

Young Bess

6.6

Bess as a child

1953

 

Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor in I Love Melvin (1953)

I Love Melvin

6.5

Clarabelle Schneider

1953

 

The Story of Three Loves (1953)

The Story of Three Loves

6.8

Anna (segments "The Jealous Lover" & "Mademoiselle") (uncredited)

1953

 

Chevron Theatre (1952)

Chevron Theatre

6.1

TV Series

1952–1953

2 episodes

 

Hans Christian Andersen (1952)

Hans Christian Andersen

6.8

Little Girl (uncredited)

1952

 

Gene Tierney, Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Dawn Addams, and Leo Genn in Plymouth Adventure (1952)

Plymouth Adventure

6.2

Ellen Moore (uncredited)

1952

 

Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie (1952)

Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie

7.2

Adeline Halper at Age 6 (uncredited)

1952

 

Bill Williams in The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951)

The Adventures of Kit Carson

6.8

TV Series

Anita Alba

1952

1 episode

 

Coleen Gray and Stephen McNally in Apache Drums (1951)

Apache Drums

6.5

Child (uncredited)

1951