Darren McGavin
Encyclopedia
Darren McGavin was an American
actor
best known for playing the title role in the television horror
series Kolchak: The Night Stalker
and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story
of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears. He appeared as the tough-talking, funny detective in the 1950s television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
. From 1959-1961, McGavin starred in the NBC
western
series Riverboat
, first with Burt Reynolds
and then with Noah Beery, Jr.
, and in later years, he had a recurring role in the sitcom Murphy Brown
, as the title character's father, for which he received and Emmy Award.
, a son of Reid Delano Richardson and his wife Grace Bogart. However, some sources list his birthplace as San Joaquin County, California
. He graduated from Puyallup High School
.
In magazine interviews in the 1960s, he said his parents divorced when he was very young. His father, not knowing what else to do, put him in an orphanage at the age of 11. McGavin began to run away, sleeping on the docks and in warehouses. He lived in three orphanages. The last was the Dyslin Boys Ranch in Pierce County, Washington, a boys' home, which turned out to be a safe haven. Farm chores were assigned, and he lived with several other boys who had also been abandoned. McGavin commented that the owners of the home helped him develop a sense of pride and responsibility that turned his life around. McGavin did not serve in the military during World War II
because he had bad knees, though he did make a training film for the military on venereal disease.
movie studios in 1945. When an opening became available for a bit part in A Song to Remember
, on the movie set where he was working, McGavin applied for the role. He was hired for it, and that was his first foray into movie acting. (He had spent a year at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California
). Shortly afterwards, he moved to New York City
and spent a decade there learning the acting profession in television and plays. McGavin studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse
and the Actors Studio
under teacher Sanford Meisner
and began working in live TV drama and on Broadway
. A few of the plays in which he starred included The Rainmaker
(where he created the title role on Broadway), The King and I
and Death of a Salesman
.
McGavin returned to Hollywood and became a busy actor in a wide variety of TV and movie roles; in 1955 he broke through with roles in the films Summertime and The Man with the Golden Arm
. During this period, McGavin also appeared on the anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents
in an episode titled "The Cheney Vase", in which he demonstrated his talent for playing complex roles, as a scheming caretaker and aspiring art thief, opposite Carolyn Jones
and Ruta Lee
.
Over the course of his career, McGavin starred in seven different TV series and guest-starred in many more; these television roles increased in the late 1950s and early 1960s with leading parts in series such as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
and Riverboat
. McGavin held a black belt in traditional Japanese karate and the series are notable for him doing many of his own stunts and for the "enthusiasm" he put into some of the fight scenes, sometimes forgetting to pull his punches and "ad-libbing" moves, much as Robert Conrad
did years later in The Wild, Wild West
.
When the comedy team Martin and Lewis
broke up as a result of Dean Martin
's refusal to play a cop in a movie, McGavin played the role originally earmarked for Martin in The Delicate Delinquent
, Jerry Lewis
's first solo film.
In 1970, he was in negotiations to replace Larry Hagman
as the male lead in the television series I Dream of Jeannie
for the sixth season, but NBC stated they would rather cancel the series than have any other similarities to Bewitched
, in which the male lead was replaced by another actor.
McGavin was also known for his role as Sam Parkhill in the miniseries adaptation of The Martian Chronicles
. He appeared as a fill-in regular in The Name of the Game
in an episode entitled "Goodbye Harry" and was featured as a reporter in one of the Gene Barry segments.
The first of his two best-known roles came in 1972, in the supernatural-themed TV movie The Night Stalker (1972). With McGavin playing a reporter who discovers the activities of a modern-day vampire on the loose in Las Vegas
, the film became the highest-rated made-for-TV movie in history at that time; and when the sequel The Night Strangler (1973) also was a strong success, a subsequent television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker
(1974) was made. In the series, McGavin played Carl Kolchak, an investigative reporter for the INS, a Chicago
-based news service, who regularly stumbles upon the supernatural or occult basis for a seemingly mundane crime; although his involvement routinely assisted in the dispelment of the otherworldly adversary, his evidence in the case was always destroyed or seized, usually by a public official or major social figure who sought to cover up the incident. He would write his ensuing stories in a sensational, tabloid style which advised readers that the true story was being withheld from them. McGavin and the cast were enthusiastic about the series. McGavin reportedly entered into a verbal agreement with Sid Sheinberg (President of MCA and Universal TV) to produce The Night Stalker as a TV series as a coproduction between Universal and McGavin's Taurean Productions. Early promises were never fulfilled, and McGavin expressed concern over script quality and lack of network commitment toward promoting the show. His concerns appeared justified, as the series drifted into camp humor and the production values declined in later episodes.
Kolchak is acknowledged as being a main inspiration forThe X-Files
,. McGavin was asked to play the role of Arthur Dales, founder of the X-Files, in three episodes: Season 5
's "Travelers" and two episodes from Season 6
, "Agua Mala" and "The Unnatural". Failing health forced him to withdraw from the latter, and the script (written and directed by series star David Duchovny
) was rewritten to feature M. Emmet Walsh
as Dales's brother, also called Arthur.
In 1983, he starred as "Old Man Parker", the narrator's father, in the movie A Christmas Story
. He portrayed a middle-class father in 1940s Hammond, Indiana who was endearing in spite of his being comically oblivious to his own use of profanity and completely unable to recognize his unfortunate taste for kitsch
. Blissfully unaware of his family's embarrassment by his behavior, he took pride in his self-assessed ability to fix anything in record time, and carried on a tireless campaign against his neighbor's rampaging bloodhounds. McGavin allegedly received a fee of $2 million to play the role, making him one of the highest paid actors of the time.
McGavin made an uncredited appearance in 1984's The Natural
as a shady gambler and appeared on a Christmas episode ("Midnight of the Century") of Millennium
, playing the long-estranged father of Frank Black (Lance Henriksen
); he also appeared as Adam Sandler
's hotel
-magnate father in the 1995 movie Billy Madison
.
During the filming of The Natural, Robert Redford was so pleased with McGavin's portrayal of his character that they began to expand the role. However, after a certain point, union rules dictated that the actor's contract needed to be renegotiated for salary and billing. After haggling on salary, and holding up production of the movie because of it, the billing had to be decided. McGavin became somewhat fed up with the proceedings and instructed his agent to waive his billing in the credits entirely so they could get back to filming.
He won a CableACE Award
(for the 1991 TV movie Clara) and received a 1990 Emmy Award
as an Outstanding Guest Star in a Comedy Series on Murphy Brown
, in which he played Murphy's father.
There was a brief and unsuccessful remake of the Night Stalker TV series in 2005 starring Stuart Townsend
. In the initial episode aired on September 29, 2005, McGavin appeared momentarily in the background, using digitally inserted footage from his role in the original series.
Darren McGavin narrated the majority of the audio book versions of the adventure novels by John D. MacDonald
in which each title included a color. The central character and main voice of the novels was Travis McGee
.
on December 31, 1969, ending with her death in 2003.
McGavin died on February 25, 2006 at the age of 83 in a Los Angeles
hospital. He is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
best known for playing the title role in the television horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
series Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law...
and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story
A Christmas Story
A Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author and raconteur Jean Shepherd, including material from his books In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories. It was directed by Bob Clark...
of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears. He appeared as the tough-talking, funny detective in the 1950s television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is the title used for two syndicated television series that followed the adventures of fictional private detective Mike Hammer...
. From 1959-1961, McGavin starred in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series Riverboat
Riverboat (TV series)
Riverboat is a western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds that was broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961....
, first with Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
and then with Noah Beery, Jr.
Noah Beery, Jr.
Noah Lindsey Beery , known professionally as Noah Beery, Jr. or just Noah Beery, was an American actor specializing in warm, friendly character parts similar to the ones played by his uncle Wallace Beery, although Noah Beery, Jr., unlike his uncle, seldom broke away from playing supporting...
, and in later years, he had a recurring role in the sitcom Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
, as the title character's father, for which he received and Emmy Award.
Early life
McGavin was born William Lyle Richardson in Spokane, WashingtonSpokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, a son of Reid Delano Richardson and his wife Grace Bogart. However, some sources list his birthplace as San Joaquin County, California
San Joaquin County, California
San Joaquin County is a county located in Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 685,306. The county seat is Stockton.-History:...
. He graduated from Puyallup High School
Puyallup High School
Puyallup High School is a high school in the Puyallup School District in Pierce County, Washington state, commonly referred to as PHS. Originally founded in 1890 as Central High School, PHS has survived several earthquakes, a fire, and numerous renovations and additions...
.
In magazine interviews in the 1960s, he said his parents divorced when he was very young. His father, not knowing what else to do, put him in an orphanage at the age of 11. McGavin began to run away, sleeping on the docks and in warehouses. He lived in three orphanages. The last was the Dyslin Boys Ranch in Pierce County, Washington, a boys' home, which turned out to be a safe haven. Farm chores were assigned, and he lived with several other boys who had also been abandoned. McGavin commented that the owners of the home helped him develop a sense of pride and responsibility that turned his life around. McGavin did not serve in the military during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
because he had bad knees, though he did make a training film for the military on venereal disease.
Career
Still untrained as an actor, McGavin worked as a painter in the paint crew at the Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
movie studios in 1945. When an opening became available for a bit part in A Song to Remember
A Song to Remember
A Song to Remember is a 1945 Columbia Pictures biographical film which tells a fictionalised life story of Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin...
, on the movie set where he was working, McGavin applied for the role. He was hired for it, and that was his first foray into movie acting. (He had spent a year at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
). Shortly afterwards, he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and spent a decade there learning the acting profession in television and plays. McGavin studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse
Neighborhood Playhouse
The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is an actor training school at 340 East 54th Street in New York City, generally associated with the Meisner technique of Sanford Meisner.-History:...
and the Actors Studio
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
under teacher Sanford Meisner
Sanford Meisner
Sanford Meisner , also known as Sandy, was an American actor and acting teacher who developed a form of Method acting that is now known as the Meisner technique....
and began working in live TV drama and on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. A few of the plays in which he starred included The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker (play)
The Rainmaker is a play written by N. Richard Nash in the early 1950s. The play opened on October 28, 1954 at the Cort Theatre in New York and ran for 125 performances. It was directed by Joseph Anthony and produced by Ethel Linder Reiner....
(where he created the title role on Broadway), The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
and Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
.
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
. During this period, McGavin also appeared on the anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
in an episode titled "The Cheney Vase", in which he demonstrated his talent for playing complex roles, as a scheming caretaker and aspiring art thief, opposite Carolyn Jones
Carolyn Jones
Carolyn Sue Jones was an American actress.Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses...
and Ruta Lee
Ruta Lee
Ruta Lee is a Canadian actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers...
.
Over the course of his career, McGavin starred in seven different TV series and guest-starred in many more; these television roles increased in the late 1950s and early 1960s with leading parts in series such as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is the title used for two syndicated television series that followed the adventures of fictional private detective Mike Hammer...
and Riverboat
Riverboat (TV series)
Riverboat is a western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds that was broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961....
. McGavin held a black belt in traditional Japanese karate and the series are notable for him doing many of his own stunts and for the "enthusiasm" he put into some of the fight scenes, sometimes forgetting to pull his punches and "ad-libbing" moves, much as Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...
did years later in The Wild, Wild West
The Wild, Wild West
Wild Wild West or The Wild Wild West may refer to:In film and television:*The Wild Wild West , a 1921 film starring Hoot Gibson*The Wild Wild West, a CBS television show, 1965-1969...
.
When the comedy team Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy team, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis as the comedic "foil". The pair first met in 1945; their debut as a duo occurred at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 24/25, 1946....
broke up as a result of Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
's refusal to play a cop in a movie, McGavin played the role originally earmarked for Martin in The Delicate Delinquent
The Delicate Delinquent
The Delicate Delinquent is a 1957 American black-and-white film starring Jerry Lewis. It was filmed in 1956 and released on June 6, 1957 by Paramount Pictures and is notable as the first film that Lewis made without his longtime partner Dean Martin....
, Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
's first solo film.
In 1970, he was in negotiations to replace Larry Hagman
Larry Hagman
Larry Martin Hagman is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early life and career:Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
as the male lead in the television series I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
for the sixth season, but NBC stated they would rather cancel the series than have any other similarities to Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, in which the male lead was replaced by another actor.
McGavin was also known for his role as Sam Parkhill in the miniseries adaptation of The Martian Chronicles
The Martian Chronicles
The Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story collection by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists...
. He appeared as a fill-in regular in The Name of the Game
The Name of the Game (TV series)
The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for the likes of The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s...
in an episode entitled "Goodbye Harry" and was featured as a reporter in one of the Gene Barry segments.
The first of his two best-known roles came in 1972, in the supernatural-themed TV movie The Night Stalker (1972). With McGavin playing a reporter who discovers the activities of a modern-day vampire on the loose in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, the film became the highest-rated made-for-TV movie in history at that time; and when the sequel The Night Strangler (1973) also was a strong success, a subsequent television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law...
(1974) was made. In the series, McGavin played Carl Kolchak, an investigative reporter for the INS, a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based news service, who regularly stumbles upon the supernatural or occult basis for a seemingly mundane crime; although his involvement routinely assisted in the dispelment of the otherworldly adversary, his evidence in the case was always destroyed or seized, usually by a public official or major social figure who sought to cover up the incident. He would write his ensuing stories in a sensational, tabloid style which advised readers that the true story was being withheld from them. McGavin and the cast were enthusiastic about the series. McGavin reportedly entered into a verbal agreement with Sid Sheinberg (President of MCA and Universal TV) to produce The Night Stalker as a TV series as a coproduction between Universal and McGavin's Taurean Productions. Early promises were never fulfilled, and McGavin expressed concern over script quality and lack of network commitment toward promoting the show. His concerns appeared justified, as the series drifted into camp humor and the production values declined in later episodes.
Kolchak is acknowledged as being a main inspiration forThe X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
,. McGavin was asked to play the role of Arthur Dales, founder of the X-Files, in three episodes: Season 5
The X-Files (season 5)
-Episodes:Episodes marked with an asterisk are part of the series' mytharc. Episodes with a double asterisk are part of the series' Alien Mythology....
's "Travelers" and two episodes from Season 6
The X-Files (season 6)
The sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox Broadcasting Network in the United States on November 8, 1998, concluding on the same channel on May 16, 1999, and contained 22 episodes. The series was developed by Chris Carter, who also serves as...
, "Agua Mala" and "The Unnatural". Failing health forced him to withdraw from the latter, and the script (written and directed by series star David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
) was rewritten to feature M. Emmet Walsh
M. Emmet Walsh
Michael Emmet Walsh is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions.-Life and career:Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Kathrine and Harry Maurice Walsh, Sr., a customs agent...
as Dales's brother, also called Arthur.
In 1983, he starred as "Old Man Parker", the narrator's father, in the movie A Christmas Story
A Christmas Story
A Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author and raconteur Jean Shepherd, including material from his books In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories. It was directed by Bob Clark...
. He portrayed a middle-class father in 1940s Hammond, Indiana who was endearing in spite of his being comically oblivious to his own use of profanity and completely unable to recognize his unfortunate taste for kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
. Blissfully unaware of his family's embarrassment by his behavior, he took pride in his self-assessed ability to fix anything in record time, and carried on a tireless campaign against his neighbor's rampaging bloodhounds. McGavin allegedly received a fee of $2 million to play the role, making him one of the highest paid actors of the time.
McGavin made an uncredited appearance in 1984's The Natural
The Natural (film)
The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
as a shady gambler and appeared on a Christmas episode ("Midnight of the Century") of Millennium
Millennium (TV series)
Millennium is an American television series created by Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files. Millennium aired on the Fox Network from 1996 to 1999. The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, though most episodes were ostensibly set in or around Seattle, Washington...
, playing the long-estranged father of Frank Black (Lance Henriksen
Lance Henriksen
Lance James Henriksen is an American actor and artist best known to film and television audiences for his roles in science fiction, action, and horror films such as the Alien film franchise, and on television shows such as Millennium....
); he also appeared as Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
's hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
-magnate father in the 1995 movie Billy Madison
Billy Madison
Billy Madison is a 1995 American comedy film directed by Tamra Davis and starring Adam Sandler, in the title role, Bradley Whitford, Bridgette Wilson, Norm Macdonald and Darren McGavin. The film was written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy, and produced by Universal Studios. It made over $25.5 million...
.
During the filming of The Natural, Robert Redford was so pleased with McGavin's portrayal of his character that they began to expand the role. However, after a certain point, union rules dictated that the actor's contract needed to be renegotiated for salary and billing. After haggling on salary, and holding up production of the movie because of it, the billing had to be decided. McGavin became somewhat fed up with the proceedings and instructed his agent to waive his billing in the credits entirely so they could get back to filming.
He won a CableACE Award
CableACE Award
The CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
(for the 1991 TV movie Clara) and received a 1990 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
as an Outstanding Guest Star in a Comedy Series on Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
, in which he played Murphy's father.
There was a brief and unsuccessful remake of the Night Stalker TV series in 2005 starring Stuart Townsend
Stuart Townsend
Stuart Townsend is an Irish actor and director. His most notable portrayals are of the characters Lestat de Lioncourt in the 2002 film adaptation of Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned, and Dorian Gray in the 2003 film adaptation of Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.-Early life and...
. In the initial episode aired on September 29, 2005, McGavin appeared momentarily in the background, using digitally inserted footage from his role in the original series.
Darren McGavin narrated the majority of the audio book versions of the adventure novels by John D. MacDonald
John D. MacDonald
John Dann MacDonald was an American crime and suspense novelist and short story writer.MacDonald was a prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many of them set in his adopted home of Florida...
in which each title included a color. The central character and main voice of the novels was Travis McGee
Travis McGee
Travis McGee is a fictional character, created by prolific American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. Unlike most detectives in crime fiction, McGee is neither a police officer nor a licensed private investigator; instead, he is a self-described "salvage consultant" who recovers others' property...
.
Personal life
McGavin was married twice. The first was to Melanie York on March 20, 1944. It ended in divorce in 1969, but produced four children: Bogart, York, Megan, and Bridget McGavin. The second was to Kathie BrowneKathie Browne
Kathie Browne was an American film and television actress.-Background:Born in San Luis Obispo, California as Jacqueline Katherine Browne she appeared in many films and TV shows such as Star Trek: The Original Series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason,...
on December 31, 1969, ending with her death in 2003.
McGavin died on February 25, 2006 at the age of 83 in a Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
hospital. He is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood...
.
Filmography
- A Song to RememberA Song to RememberA Song to Remember is a 1945 Columbia Pictures biographical film which tells a fictionalised life story of Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin...
(1945) - Counter-AttackCounter-AttackCounter-Attack is a 1945 war film starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman as two Russians trapped in a collapsed building with seven enemy German soldiers during World War II...
(1945) - Kiss and TellKiss and Tell (1945 film)Kiss and Tell is a 1945 American comedy film starring then 15 year old Shirley Temple. Two teenaged girls cause their respective parents cause for concern when they start to become interested in boys...
(1945) - She Wouldn't Say Yes (1946)
- FearFearFear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
(1946) - Queen for a DayQueen for a DayQueen for a Day is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. Queen for a Day originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945 in New York City before moving to Los Angeles a few months...
(1951) - Summertime (1955)
- The Man with the Golden ArmThe Man with the Golden ArmThe Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
(1955) - The Court Martial of Billy MitchellThe Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (film)The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell is a 1955 film directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gary Cooper as Billy Mitchell, Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger and Elizabeth Montgomery in her film debut.-Plot:...
(1955) - A Word to the WivesA Word to the WivesA Word to the Wives is a 1955 sponsored comedy film about two women, one of whom wants a new kitchen, and decides to trick her husband, with the help of her friend, to buy that new kitchen. She leaves her husband alone as she visits a relative. He tries to prepare some simple meals while she is...
(1955) - The Delicate DelinquentThe Delicate DelinquentThe Delicate Delinquent is a 1957 American black-and-white film starring Jerry Lewis. It was filmed in 1956 and released on June 6, 1957 by Paramount Pictures and is notable as the first film that Lewis made without his longtime partner Dean Martin....
(1957) - Beau JamesBeau JamesBeau James is a 1957 film based on a non-fiction book of the same name by Gene Fowler.The movie stars Bob Hope as Jimmy Walker, the colourful but controversial Mayor of New York City from 1926-32. American prints of this film are narrated by Walter Winchell; in Britain, the film was narrated by...
(1957) - The Case Against BrooklynThe Case Against BrooklynThe Case Against Brooklyn is a 1958 film directed by Paul Wendkos. It stars Darren McGavin and Margaret Hayes. It was based on a True Magazine article I Broke the Brooklyn Graft Scandal by crime reporter Ed Reid...
(1958) - Bullet for a Badman (1964)
- The Great Sioux Massacre (1965)
- African Gold (1966)
- Mission Mars (1968)
- Anatomy of a Crime (1969)
- The ChallengeThe Challenge (1970 film)The Challenge is a 1970 made-for-television movie starring Darren McGavin and Mako. Director George McGowan chose to hide his involvement by using the pseudonym Alan Smithee.-Plot:An American space satellite lands in an uninhabited area of the Pacific...
(1970) - TribesTribes (film)Tribes, also known as The Soldier Who Declared Peace , is a 1970 television film, broadcast as an ABC Movie of the Week directed by Joseph Sargent. A big ratings success when it first aired November 10, 1970, Tribes was later released theatrically in Britain and Europe under the title The Soldier...
(1970) - Mooch Goes to HollywoodMooch Goes to HollywoodMooch Goes to Hollywood is a 1971 television movie about an ambitious dog and her attempts to become a canine star after befriending Zsa Zsa Gabor, who provides the pooch with the skinny on the INs and OUTs of achieving Hollywood fame...
(1971) - Mrs. Pollifax - SpyEmily PollifaxMrs. Emily Pollifax is the heroine of a series of comic spy-mystery novels by Dorothy Gilman. Mrs. Pollifax is a widow and senior citizen who decides one day to leave her comfortable apartment in New Brunswick, New Jersey and join the CIA. Through an initial misunderstanding, Mrs. Pollifax is given...
(1971) - Happy Mother's Day, Love George (1973) (also director and producer)
- 43: The Richard Petty Story (1974)
- B Must Die (1975)
- The Demon and the Mummy (1976)
- No Deposit, No ReturnNo Deposit, No ReturnNo Deposit, No Return is a 1976 comedy film directed by Norman Tokar. It was written by Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson. It is the story of two children who hold themselves for ransom, reluctantly aided by an expert safecracker and his sidekick .-Cast:*David Niven - J.W...
(1976) - Airport '77Airport '77Airport '77 is a 1977 disaster film and second sequel in the Airport franchise.The film stars a number of veteran actors, including Jack Lemmon, James Stewart, Joseph Cotten, Christopher Lee and Olivia de Havilland. Like its predecessors, Airport '77 was a box office hit earning US$30 million and...
(1977) - Hot Lead and Cold FeetHot Lead and Cold FeetHot Lead and Cold Feet is a comedy western film made by Walt Disney Productions for Buena Vista Distribution Company starring Jim Dale, Don Knotts, Karen Valentine, Darren McGavin, and Jack Elam released on July 5, 1978.-Plot:...
(1978) - Zero to SixtyZero to SixtyZero to Sixty is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Don Weis. The film never received a theatrical release, but it was later reviewed by TV Guide, which called McGavin "fun to watch" in the film but noted the premise was brought to the screen six years later in a different film, Repo...
(1978) - Hangar 18Hangar 18The most notable Hangar 18 are:* Hangar 18 at Area 51 - the former biggest and still most famous building at the base.* Hangar 18 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base which allegedly houses evidence from the Roswell UFO incident...
(1980) - The Martian ChroniclesThe Martian ChroniclesThe Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story collection by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists...
(1980) (Sam Parkill) - Firebird 2015 AD (1981)
- A Christmas StoryA Christmas StoryA Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author and raconteur Jean Shepherd, including material from his books In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories. It was directed by Bob Clark...
(1983) - The NaturalThe Natural (film)The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
(1984) - Turk 182Turk 182Turk 182! is a 1985 film starring Timothy Hutton, Robert Urich, Kim Cattrall, Robert Culp and Peter Boyle. It is also one of the first movies to receive a PG-13 rating.-Film synopsis:...
(1985) - Flag (1986)
- Raw DealRaw Deal (1986 film)Raw Deal is 1986 action film directed by John Irvin and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is the story of an elderly and embittered high-ranking FBI agent who wants to get revenge against a Mafia organization, and sends a former FBI agent played by Schwarzenegger to destroy the organization from...
(1986) - From the HipFrom the Hip (film)From the Hip, is a 1987 comedy film directed by Bob Clark from a screenplay by Bob Clark and David E. Kelley. The film stars Judd Nelson, Elizabeth Perkins and John Hurt. Nelson's performance earned him a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actor....
(1987) - Dead Heat (1988)
- Inherit the WindInherit the Wind (1988 film)Inherit the Wind is a 1988 television film adaptation of the play of the same name. The original 1955 play was written as a parable which fictionalized the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means of discussing the 1950s McCarthy trials...
(1988) - In the Name of Blood (1990)
- Captain America (1991)
- Blood and Concrete (1991)
- Perfect HarmonyPerfect HarmonyPerfect Harmony is a Disney movie that is set in the US Civil Rights era. The story highlights the racial tensions of the Black and White populations within a South Carolina town and its private school. The production was filmed at Berry College, and is noted for its soundtrack which featured...
(1991) - Happy Hell Night (1992)
- Billy MadisonBilly MadisonBilly Madison is a 1995 American comedy film directed by Tamra Davis and starring Adam Sandler, in the title role, Bradley Whitford, Bridgette Wilson, Norm Macdonald and Darren McGavin. The film was written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy, and produced by Universal Studios. It made over $25.5 million...
(1995) - Still Waters Burn (1996)
- Small Time (1996)
- Pros and ConsPros & ConsPros & Cons is a 1999 comedy film starring Larry Miller and Tommy Davidson. It was directed by Boris Damast. It was released straight to video and is shown on cable television....
(1999)
Television work
- Crime Photographer (1951 – 1952)
- Tales of Tomorrow (1952), episode "The Duplicates"
- Alfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
(1955), episode 13: "Triggers in Leash" - Mickey Spillane's Mike HammerMickey Spillane's Mike HammerMickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is the title used for two syndicated television series that followed the adventures of fictional private detective Mike Hammer...
(1956 – 1959) - RiverboatRiverboat (TV series)Riverboat is a western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds that was broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961....
(1959 – 1961) - The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie FordThe Ford ShowThe Ford Show is a half-hour comedy/variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired in color on NBC television on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961....
(November 5, 1959, McGavin is Tennessee Ernie FordTennessee Ernie FordErnest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...
's guest star in a comedy skit about a Riverboat captain.) - The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1964), season 2: "A Matter of Murder"
- GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
(1966), three episodes as Joe Bascome - Cimarron StripCimarron StripCimarron Strip is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown, the series was produced by the creators of Gunsmoke...
episode: "The Legend of Jud Starr" (1967) - CusterCuster (TV series)Custer, also known as The Legend of Custer, is a 17-episode military-western television series which ran on ABC from September 6 to December 27, 1967, with Wayne Maunder in the starring role of then Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. During the American Civil War, Custer had risen to the...
, ABC series with Wayne MaunderWayne MaunderWayne E. Maunder is a retired actor, originally from Canada, who starred in three American television series between 1967 and 1974.-Three television series:...
(1967) - Mission: Impossible (1967)
- The Outsider (1967) (pilot episodeTelevision pilotA "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
) - The Outsider (1968 – 1969)
- Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1968), two-part episode "Boomerang, Dog of Many Talents" with Patricia Crowley, Darby HintonDarby HintonDarby Hinton is an American actor and filmmaker initially cast in commercials when he was six months old. From 1964–1970 he portrayed Israel Boone, a son of American pioneer Daniel Boone, on the NBC adventure series Daniel Boone, with Fess Parker in the title role...
, and Russ ConwayRuss Conway (actor)Russ Conway was a Canadian-American character actor who appeared on film and television between 1947 and 1975.-Early years:... - The Forty-Eight Hour Mile (1970)
- The Challenge (1970)
- The Challengers (1970)
- Berlin Affair (1970)
- Tribes (1970)
- Banyon (1971) (pilot episode)
- The Death of Me Yet (1971)
- The Night StalkerThe Night Stalker (telemovie)The Night Stalker is a made for television movie which aired on ABC on January 11, 1972. It is about an investigative reporter, played by Darren McGavin, who comes to suspect that a serial killer in the Las Vegas area is in fact a vampire.-Plot:...
(1972) - Something Evil (1972)
- The RookiesThe RookiesThe Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It followed the exploits of three rookie police officers in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department .-History:...
(1972) (pilot episode) - Here Comes the Judge (1972)
- Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole (1972)
- The Night Strangler (1973)
- The Six Million Dollar ManThe Six Million Dollar ManThe Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
(1973) (pilot episode) - Police StoryPolice StoryPolice Story is an anthology television crime drama that aired on NBC from 1973 through 1978. The show was the brainchild of author and former policeman Joseph Wambaugh and represented a major step forward in the realistic depiction of police work and violence on network TV...
(1974) - Kolchak: The Night StalkerKolchak: The Night StalkerKolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law...
(1974 – 1975) - Crackle of Death (1976)
- Brinks: The Great Robbery (1976)
- Ike: The War Years (1978)
- The Users (1978)
- A Bond of Iron (1979)
- Donovan's Kid (1979)
- IkeDwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
(1979) (miniseries) - Not Until Today (1979)
- Love for Rent (1979)
- Waikiki (1980)
- The Martian ChroniclesThe Martian ChroniclesThe Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story collection by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists...
(1980) (miniseries) - Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
(1981) - Nero WolfeNero Wolfe (1981 TV series)Nero Wolfe is a television series based on the characters in Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired January 16 – August 25, 1981, on NBC. William Conrad fills the role of the detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Lee Horsley is his assistant Archie Goodwin...
(1981) - Freedom to Speak (1982) (miniseries)
- Small & Frye (1983) (canceled after six episodes)
- The Baron and the Kid (1984)
- The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.Marcus Welby, M.D.Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell...
(1984) - My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol FlynnErrol FlynnErrol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
(1985) - The O'Briens (1985) (sitcom pilot)
- Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson (1987)
- Tales from the Hollywood Hills: A Table at Ciro's (1987)
- Inherit the WindInherit the Wind (1988 film)Inherit the Wind is a 1988 television film adaptation of the play of the same name. The original 1955 play was written as a parable which fictionalized the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means of discussing the 1950s McCarthy trials...
(1988) - The Diamond Trap (1988)
- Murphy Brown (1989)
- Around the World in 80 DaysAround the World in 80 Days (TV miniseries)Around the World in 80 Days is a 1989 three-part television Eastmancolor miniseries originally broadcast on NBC. The production garnered three nominations for Emmy awards that year...
(1989) (miniseries) - Kojak: It's Always SomethingKojakKojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
(1990) - Child in the NightChild in the NightChild In The Night is a motion picture made for television broadcast during the 1990 May Sweeps. It aired on the CBS Network before a subsequent release to home video and syndication. The psychological thriller stars JoBeth Williams as a child psychologist, Tom Skerritt as a local police chief...
(1990) - By Dawn's Early LightBy Dawn's Early LightBy Dawn’s Early Light is an HBO Original Movie, aired in 1990 and set in 1991. It is based on the 1983 novel Trinity's Child, written by William Prochnau. The film is one of the last films to depict the events of a fictional World War III before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the...
(1990) - Clara (1991)
- Perfect Harmony (1991)
- Miracles and Other Wonders (1992–199?)
- Mastergate (1992)
- The American Clock (1993)
- A Perfect Stranger (1994)
- Fudge-A-ManiaFudge-a-ManiaFudge-a-Mania is a 1990 children's novel by Judy Blume and the third in the "Fudge" series .-Plot:...
(1995) - Derby (1995)
- Touched by an AngelTouched by an AngelTouched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...
(1997), guest appearance - X-Files (1999), two episodes
Further reading
- Riverboat: The Evolution of a Television Series, by S. L. Kotar and J. E. Gessler. Albany, BearManor Media, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59393-505-4.