Noreen Corcoran
Encyclopedia
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 networks during its run from 1957-1962.
Corcoran was the third of eight children born in Quincy
, Massachusetts
, to William "Bill" Corcoran, Sr. (1905–1958), and the former Kathleen McKenney (1917–1972). In 1947, the Corcorans moved to Santa Monica
, California
, where the father became the maintenance chief at MGM Studios. Her sister, Donna Corcoran
, earned a speaking role in the 1951 film
Angels in the Outfield
.
Thereafter, the Corcoran children studied dramatics or dance
as a means to launch potential acting careers. During the 1950s, younger brother Kevin Corcoran
gained fame in the role of Moochie on Walt Disney
's The Adventures of Spin and Marty
with Tim Considine
and David Stollery
and in the serial Moochie of the Little League on ABC
's Walt Disney Presents. Other Corcoran siblings who went into acting were Brian Corcoran, Hugh Corcoran, and Kelly Corcoran
(1958–2002). Bill Corcoran, Jr. (died December 2007), became the dean of students at California State University, Fresno
. Noreen herself attended California State, where she studied English
and drama
for two years from 1962-1964 but did not graduate.
Noreen'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
," a 1955 Four Star Playhouse production starring David Niven as Robert Louis Stevenson; and 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
.
In 1957, future U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan, who was working at the same studio on his General Electric Theater
on CBS, viewed the screen tests for Bachelor Father and recommended Corcoran to John Forsythe for the part of Kelly. In the story line, Kelly Gregg was orphan
ed at thirteen when her parents were killed in an automobile
accident
. She was hence reared by her bachelor
uncle
.
As a popular young actress, Corcoran made the cover of numerous magazine
s. Slowly before the viewers' eyes, she seemed to grow from a somewhat awkward teenager into a sophisticated young woman. The series ended as Kelly entered college
. In the story line, Kelly was often acting as an unwelcome matchmaker for Uncle Bentley.
In 1963, Corcoran played a supporting role in Paul Wendkos
' Gidget Goes to Rome
and starred in William Witney
's The Girls on the Beach, an attempt by Paramount Pictures
to compete in the "Beach Party" genre of films, which had been particularly successful for Annette Funicello
and Frankie Avalon
. The movie featured great performances from the Beach Boys and The Crickets
(after the death of Buddy Holly
).
Corcoran guest-starred in two similar series, NBC
's Mr. Novak
with James Franciscus
and ABC
's Channing
with Jason Evers
. She appeared in 1964 as Alice Lang in NBC's medical drama
about psychiatry
, The Eleventh Hour
in the episode "You're So Smart, Why Can't You Be Good". Then she appeared in two westerns, CBS's Gunsmoke
with James Arness
, and ABC's The Big Valley
with Barbara Stanwyck
. In the latter, she played "Sharon" in a 1965 episode entitled "The Brawlers".
Noreen Corcoran left acting for a private career behind the scenes in theatre arts and dance. In 1966, she began an 11-year association with the Lewitzky Dance Company, which was opened that year by the renowned choreographer Bella Lewitzky
. Corcoran has been retired since 2004. She resides in Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley
with her brother Hugh. She never married. She kept in contact with her friend John Forsythe
until his death.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Bentley Gregg, played by John Forsythe
John Forsythe
John Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...
, in the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcom Bachelor Father, the only series to have been carried at one time by all three major networks during its run from 1957-1962.
Corcoran was the third of eight children born in Quincy
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...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, to William "Bill" Corcoran, Sr. (1905–1958), and the former Kathleen McKenney (1917–1972). In 1947, the Corcorans moved to Santa Monica
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...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where the father became the maintenance chief at MGM Studios. Her sister, Donna Corcoran
Donna 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...
, earned a speaking role in the 1951 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Angels in the Outfield
Angels in the Outfield
Angels in the Outfield may refer to:* Angels in the Outfield , the original 1951 film* Angels in the Outfield , the 1994 remake...
.
Thereafter, the Corcoran children studied dramatics or dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
as a means to launch potential acting careers. During the 1950s, younger brother Kevin Corcoran
Kevin Corcoran
Kevin Anthony "Moochie" Corcoran 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...
gained fame in the role of Moochie on 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...
's The Adventures of 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,...
with 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 in the serial Moochie of the Little League on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Walt Disney Presents. Other Corcoran siblings who went into acting were Brian Corcoran, Hugh 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). Bill Corcoran, Jr. (died December 2007), became the dean of students at California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno, often referred to as Fresno State University and synonymously known in athletics as Fresno State , is one of the leading campuses of the California State University system, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, USA.The campus sits at the foot of...
. Noreen herself attended California State, where she studied English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
and drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
for two years from 1962-1964 but did not graduate.
Noreen's screen debut was a small role in the emotional film, Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. She was next cast in the MGM musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
I Love Melvin
I Love Melvin
I Love Melvin is a 1953 comedy film directed by Don Weis and starring Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds.-Plot:Small-time actress Judy Schneider dreams of becoming a Hollywood star even as she struggles along playing a human football in a kitschy Broadway musical. One day in Central Park she bumps...
in 1953. More roles followed, including the role of "Anna," the girl who was granted another birthday in "Tusitala
Tusitala
Tusitala is a spider genus of the Salticidae family . It is also a word in the Samoan language which means 'writer of stories'...
," a 1955 Four Star Playhouse production starring David Niven as Robert Louis Stevenson; and Band of Angels
Band of Angels
Band of Angels is a 1957 romantic drama film set in the American South before and during the American Civil War, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. It starred Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo, and Sidney Poitier. The movie was directed by Raoul Walsh.-Plot:Amantha Starr is the...
in 1957 and television appearances in Circus Boy
Circus Boy
Circus Boy is an American action/adventure/drama series that aired in prime time on NBC, and then on ABC, from 1956 to 1958. It was then rerun by NBC on Saturday mornings, from 1958 to 1960...
, starring Micky Dolenz
Micky Dolenz
George Michael "Micky" Dolenz, Jr. is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a member of the 1960s made-for-television band The Monkees.-Biography:...
, later of the singing group The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
. Noreen also had a part in the short-lived series The World of Mr. Sweeney
The World of Mr. Sweeney
The World of Mr. Sweeney is an American sitcom that aired on NBC in primetime and daytime. The series first aired live in primetime from June 30, 1954 to August 20, 1954, four nights a week from Tuesday to Friday, and from October 1954 to December 1955 five days a week in daytime. A total of 345...
with Charles Ruggles
Charles Ruggles
Charles Sherman “Charlie” Ruggles was a comic American actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films. He was also the brother of director, producer, and silent actor Wesley Ruggles .-Background:Charlie Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California in 1886...
.
In 1957, future U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan, who was working at the same studio on his General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
on CBS, viewed the screen tests for Bachelor Father and recommended Corcoran to John Forsythe for the part of Kelly. In the story line, Kelly Gregg was orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
ed at thirteen when her parents were killed in an automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
accident
Accident
An accident or mishap is an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance, often with lack of intention or necessity. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its...
. She was hence reared by her bachelor
Bachelor
A bachelor is a man above the age of majority who has never been married . Unlike his female counterpart, the spinster, a bachelor may have had children...
uncle
Uncle
An uncle is a type of familial relationship.Uncle may also refer to:* Uncle , by J. P. Martin* U.N.C.L.E., a fictional organization in the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E....
.
As a popular young actress, Corcoran made the cover of numerous magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s. Slowly before the viewers' eyes, she seemed to grow from a somewhat awkward teenager into a sophisticated young woman. The series ended as Kelly entered college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
. In the story line, Kelly was often acting as an unwelcome matchmaker for Uncle Bentley.
In 1963, Corcoran played a supporting role in Paul Wendkos
Paul Wendkos
Paul Wendkos was an American television and film director....
' Gidget Goes to Rome
Gidget Goes to Rome
Gidget Goes to Rome is a 1963 Columbia Pictures feature film starring Cindy Carol as the archetypal high school teen surfer girl originally created by Sandra Dee in the 1959 film Gidget. The film is the third of three Gidget films directed by Paul Wendkos and expands upon Gidget's romance with...
and starred in William Witney
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the movie serials he co-directed with John English for Republic Pictures such as Daredevils of the Red Circle, Zorro's Fighting Legion and Drums of Fu Manchu.He directed many Westerns during his career,...
's The Girls on the Beach, an attempt by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
to compete in the "Beach Party" genre of films, which had been particularly successful for Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
and Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
. The movie featured great performances from the Beach Boys and The Crickets
The Crickets
The Crickets are a rock & roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer/songwriter Buddy Holly in the 1950s. Their first hit record was "That'll Be the Day", released in 1957....
(after the death of Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
).
Corcoran guest-starred in two similar series, 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...
's Mr. Novak
Mr. Novak
Mr. Novak is an American dramatic series starring James Franciscus in the title role, which aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965.-Overview:...
with James Franciscus
James Franciscus
James Grover Franciscus was an American actor, known for his roles in the series The Naked City and The Investigators, and in feature films.-Life and career:...
and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Channing
Channing (TV series)
Channing is an American drama series that aired on American Broadcasting Company from September 18, 1963 to April 8, 1964...
with Jason Evers
Jason Evers
Jason Evers was an American actor.Evers was born Herb Evers in New York City, New York. After quitting high school to join the United States Army, Evers was so inspired by stars like John Wayne that he decided to try acting...
. She appeared in 1964 as Alice Lang in NBC's medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
about psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)
The Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging, and Ralph Bellamy, which aired sixty-two new episodes plus selected rebroadcasts on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.-Series premise:...
in the episode "You're So Smart, Why Can't You Be Good". Then she appeared in two westerns, CBS's Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke 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....
with James Arness
James Arness
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
, and ABC's The Big Valley
The Big Valley
The Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
with Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
. In the latter, she played "Sharon" in a 1965 episode entitled "The Brawlers".
Noreen Corcoran left acting for a private career behind the scenes in theatre arts and dance. In 1966, she began an 11-year association with the Lewitzky Dance Company, which was opened that year by the renowned choreographer Bella Lewitzky
Bella Lewitzky
Bella Lewitzky was a modern dance choreographer and noted teacher....
. Corcoran has been retired since 2004. She resides in Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
with her brother Hugh. She never married. She kept in contact with her friend John Forsythe
John Forsythe
John Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...
until his death.