Donna Corcoran
Encyclopedia
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
(playing swimmer Annette Kellerman
as a child in one of them),and as a vulnerable girl being victimized by an emotionally disturbed babysitter (played by Marilyn Monroe
) in a more serious drama.
After making her last film in 1955, she made a token comeback as a young adult in an episode of the long-running television
sit-com My Three Sons
(starring Fred MacMurray
) in the early 1960s before finally leaving acting altogether.
Corcoran was born in Quincy, Massachusetts
, to William "Bill" Corcoran, Sr. (1905–1958) and the former Kathleen McKenney (1917–1972). Several of her siblings were also child stars, including younger sister Noreen Corcoran
, who played Kelly Gregg on John Forsythe
's Bachelor Father (CBS
, NBC
, and ABC
). Two younger brothers also went into acting: Kevin Anthony Corcoran
, a star of various Walt Disney
films and later a director
and producer
, and Kelly Corcoran
(1958–2002), as a child star, appeared in the Barry Sullivan
western
series The Road West
(1966–1968). Another brother, Brian Corcoran, also worked in television as a youth.
Esther Williams
Esther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star.Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team...
(playing swimmer Annette Kellerman
Annette Kellerman
Annette Marie Sarah Kellerman was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville and film star, and writer...
as a child in one of them),and as a vulnerable girl being victimized by an emotionally disturbed babysitter (played by Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
) in a more serious drama.
After making her last film in 1955, she made a token comeback as a young adult in an episode of the long-running television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sit-com My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
(starring Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
) in the early 1960s before finally leaving acting altogether.
Corcoran was born in Quincy, Massachusetts
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...
, to William "Bill" Corcoran, Sr. (1905–1958) and the former Kathleen McKenney (1917–1972). Several of her siblings were also child stars, including younger sister Noreen Corcoran
Noreen Corcoran
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...
, who played Kelly Gregg on 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...
's Bachelor Father (CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, 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...
, 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...
). Two younger brothers also went into acting: Kevin Anthony 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...
, a star of various 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...
films and later a director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, 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), as a child star, appeared in the Barry Sullivan
Barry Sullivan (actor)
Barry Sullivan was an American movie actor who appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s.Born in New York City, Sullivan fell into acting when in college playing semi-pro football...
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 The Road West
The Road West
The Road West is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 12, 1966 to May 1, 1967 for twenty-nine episodes with rebroadcasts continuing until August 28. The hour-long series, sponsored by Kraft Foods, aired in the 9 p.m...
(1966–1968). Another brother, Brian Corcoran, also worked in television as a youth.
Selected filmography
- Angels in the OutfieldAngels in the Outfield (1951 film)Angels in the Outfield is a 1951 American black-and-white film starring Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh, directed by Clarence Brown, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
(with Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh) (1951) - Don't Bother to KnockDon't Bother to KnockDon't Bother to Knock is a 1952 American thriller film starring Marilyn Monroe and Richard Widmark, directed by Roy Ward Baker and written by Daniel Taradash. Monroe is featured as a disturbed babysitter watching a child at the same New York hotel where a pilot, played by Widmark, is staying...
(with Marilyn Monroe) (1952) - Million Dollar MermaidMillion Dollar MermaidMillion Dollar Mermaid is a 1952 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer biographical musical film of the life of Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Arthur Hornblow Jr. from a screenplay by Everett Freeman. The music score was by Adolph Deutsch, the...
(with Esther Williams) (1952) - Dangerous When WetDangerous When WetDangerous When Wet is an Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical starring Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, and Jack Carson, directed by Charles Walters, and featuring an animated swimming sequence starring Williams with the famous cat-and-mouse duo, Tom and Jerry.-Plot summary:Katie Higgins is...
(again with Esther Williams) (1953) - Scandal at ScourieScandal at ScourieScandal at Scourie is an American drama movie released in 1953 and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon "above the title", and co-starring Donna Corcoran.- Plot :...
(with Walter Pidgeon and Greer Garson) (1953) - Gypsy Colt (with Ward Bond) (1954)
- MoonfleetMoonfleetMoonfleet is a tale of smuggling by the English novelist J. Meade Falkner, first published in 1898. The book was extremely popular among children worldwide up until the 1970s, mostly for its themes of adventure and gripping storyline...
(with Stewart Granger) (1955)