Richard Coogan obit

Richard Coogan, Star of ‘Captain Video and His Video Rangers,’ Dies at 99

After quitting the live sci-fi series, a ratings sensation in the early days of television, he toplined “The Californians,” a Western on NBC. 

He was not on the list.

Richard Coogan, who played Captain Video on the early TV sci-fi adventure series Captain Video and His Video Rangers, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 99.

Captain Video and His Video Rangers, which aired on the DuMont Television Network from 1949-55, was set in the distant future and revolved around a band of heroes fighting for truth and justice. The show was broadcast live five to six days a week, usually starting at 7 p.m., and was beloved by adults and children alike.

The show was a huge, and unexpected, hit.

“Captain Video and His Video Rangers started off from scratch, no advance notice or publicity. It caught on so rapidly that we caught up with Milton Berle’s rating, and he was Mr. Television!” Coogan exclaimed in a 2003 interview with the Archive of American Television. “He was at 37.6 [rating], and we got 37.4 or something … When word got back from the front office that Captain Video was even with Berle, it was unbelievable!”

Coogan starred as Captain Video until December 1950, when, unhappy with the show’s shoestring budget, he quit and was replaced by Al Hodge.

Folks today are perhaps aware of the nascent TV series from an episode of The Honeymooners; in a 1955 installment, Ed Norton (Art Carney) hogs a TV set shared by him and Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) in order to watch Captain Video, his favorite show.

Coogan later starred for six years on the CBS daytime soap opera Love of Life and then for two seasons as Marshal Matthew Wayne (an obvious clone of Gunsmoke’s Marshal Dillon, played by James Arness) on NBC’s The Californians, a Western that aired from 1957-59.

A native of Short Hills, N.J., Coogan worked as an announcer and news anchor on radio before making his Broadway debut in 1945 in the comedy Alice in Arms. He also appeared with Kirk Douglas in Spring Again and with Geraldine Page in The Rainmaker, and while starring in Captain Video, he also appeared opposite Mae West on stage in Diamond Lil, taking a cab to get from one job to another.

Coogan’s other TV appearances came on such series as 77 Sunset Strip, Cheyenne, Maverick, Bonanza, Laramie and Perry Mason. His film résumé includes Girl on the Run (1953), Three Hours to Kill (1954), The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956) and Vice Raid (1960).

In 2010 at age 96, Coogan was teaching kids golf and running a monthly tournament that raised funds for a children’s center.

Survivors include his son Richard Jr., daughter-in-law Debbie, granddaughter Melissa, grandson Christopher, great-grandchildren Keira and Dylan and “soul mate” Leona.

Actor

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

Gunsmoke

8.1

TV Series

Luke

1963

1 episode

 

Robert Fuller and John Smith in Laramie (1959)

Laramie

7.7

TV Series

Marshall Petrie

Paul Halleck

Sheriff Vince Cutter ...

1960–1963

6 episodes

 

Raymond Burr in Perry Mason (1957)

Perry Mason

8.3

TV Series

Police Sgt. Gifford

1963

1 episode

 

The Clear Horizon (1960)

The Clear Horizon

7.9

TV Series

Mitchell Corbin (1960-1961)

1960–1962

256 episodes

 

Don Collier, Judy Lewis, and Bruce Yarnell in Outlaws (1960)

Outlaws

7.3

TV Series

Slater

1962

1 episode

 

Diane McBain and Van Williams in Surfside 6 (1960)

Surfside 6

7.8

TV Series

Eddie Regis

1961

1 episode

 

Bonanza (1959)

Bonanza

7.3

TV Series

Jake Moss

1961

1 episode

 

Loretta Young in The Loretta Young Show (1953)

The Loretta Young Show

7.5

TV Series

Henry Roberts

1961

1 episode

 

Stagecoach West (1960)

Stagecoach West

7.3

TV Series

Major Leslie St. Clair

1960

1 episode

 

James Garner and Jack Kelly in Maverick (1957)

Maverick

8.0

TV Series

Hank Lawson

1960

1 episode

 

Cheyenne (1955)

Cheyenne

8.0

TV Series

Sheriff Charley Emmett

1960

1 episode

 

Edd Byrnes, Roger Smith, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in 77 Sunset Strip (1958)

77 Sunset Strip

7.7

TV Series

Doug Walters

1960

1 episode

 

Sugarfoot (1957)

Sugarfoot

7.4

TV Series

Judd Mallory

1960

1 episode

 

Ty Hardin in Bronco (1958)

Bronco

7.1

TV Series

Cole Younger

1960

1 episode

 

Johnny Midnight (1960)

Johnny Midnight

7.7

TV Series

Hans Weidman

1960

1 episode

 

Mamie Van Doren in Vice Raid (1959)

Vice Raid

5.6

Whitey Brandon

1959

 

Jody McCrea and Joel McCrea in Wichita Town (1959)

Wichita Town

7.4

TV Series

Rev. Nichols

1959

1 episode

 

Richard Coogan in The Californians (1957)

The Californians

6.6

TV Series

Matt Wayne

1958–1959

46 episodes

 

True Story (1957)

True Story

TV Series

1957–1958

3 episodes

 

Barry Sullivan in Harbourmaster (1957)

Harbourmaster

7.7

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Harry Wilson

1957

1 episode

 

Modern Romances

6.6

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1957

5 episodes

 

The Kaiser Aluminum Hour (1956)

The Kaiser Aluminum Hour

7.5

TV Series

1957

1 episode

 

Jane Russell in The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956)

The Revolt of Mamie Stover

6.4

Captain Eldon Sumac

1956

 

Birgitta Tolksdorf in Love of Life (1951)

Love of Life

7.4

TV Series

Paul Raven

1955

3 episodes

 

Dana Andrews and Donna Reed in Three Hours to Kill (1954)

Three Hours to Kill

6.4

Niles Hendricks

1954

 

The Mask

7.1

TV Series

1954

1 episode

 

The Motorola Television Hour (1953)

The Motorola Television Hour

6.6

TV Series

1954

1 episode

 

Girl on the Run (1953)

Girl on the Run

5.2

Bill Martin

1953

 

Eye Witness

TV Series

1953

1 episode

 

Dark Destiny

TV Series

1952

1 episode

 

Martin Kane (1949)

Martin Kane

6.9

TV Series

1952

1 episode

 

Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Rod Serling in Suspense (1949)

Suspense

7.4

TV Series

Investigator Westcott

1949–1951

3 episodes

 

Kraft Theatre (1947)

The Philco Television Playhouse

7.4

TV Series

1949–1951

2 episodes

 

Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)

Robert Montgomery Presents

7.6

TV Series

1951

1 episode

 

Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1949)

Captain Video and His Video Rangers

6.5

TV Series

Captain Video

1949–1950

7 episodes

 

The Front Page

7.7

TV Movie

1945

 

Self

The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (1997)

The Interviews: An Oral History of Television

7.3

TV Series

Self

2003

1 episode

 

Here's Hollywood (1960)

Here's Hollywood

8.5

TV Series

Self

1962

2 episodes

 

Archive Footage

KTLA at 40: A Celebration of Los Angeles Television (1987)

KTLA at 40: A Celebration of Los Angeles Television

TV Movie

Self (archive footage, as Dick Coogan)

1987