William Gargan, born William Dennis Gargan July 17, 1905 in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, USA and died February 17, 1979 aged 73 on a flight between New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and San Diego.

He was an American motion picture

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...

, television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 and radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 actor. Gargan played character roles in many Hollywood productions, including two appearances as detective Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...

, but was best known for his role as Detective Martin Kane in the 1949-51 radio-television series, Martin Kane, Private Eye

Martin Kane, Private Eye

Martin Kane, Private Eye was an early radio series and television crime series sponsored by United States Tobacco Company.- Radio:Martin Kane, Private Eye began as a 1949-52 radio series starring William Gargan in the title rôle as New York City private detective Martin Kane...

, sponsored by U.S. Tobacco. He also appeared as a private detective 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...

 radio show Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator

Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator

Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator was a radio detective drama heard on NBC from October 3, 1951 to June 30, 1955.Detective Barrie Craig worked alone from his Madison Avenue office. Unlike his contemporaries Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, Craig had a laid-back personality, somewhat cutting...

, which ran from 1951 to 1955.

On leaving school, Gargan became a salesman of bootleg

Rum-running

Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...

 whiskey to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 speakeasies and then joined a detective agency. While visiting his brother on a musical comedy stage, he was offered a stage job which he accepted. He began his stage career in Aloma of the South Seas and later his film career in Misleading Lady

Misleading Lady

Misleading Lady is a 1932 film directed by Stuart Walker, and starring Claudette Colbert and Edmund Lowe.Paramount closed its studio in Astoria, Queens upon the completion of this film on 1 March 1932.-Plot:...

.

He was cast in a number of stereotypical Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 parts in films playing policemen, priests, reporters, and blustering adventurers.

Gargan's career came to an end in 1958 when he developed throat cancer, and doctors were forced to remove his larynx. Speaking through an artificial voice box, Gargan became an activist and spokesman for the American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...

, often warning about the dangers of smoking.

Gargan was the younger brother of actor Edward Gargan

Edward Gargan

Edward Gargan born July 17, 1902 in Brooklyn, New York, USA and died February 19, 1964, aged 61 in New York City, New York, USA. He born of Irish parents, he was one of the most prolific bit players in the history of the movies ; the Internet Movie Database lists 293 feature films to his credit...

, whose birthday July 17 he shared.

Selected filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1929 1929 in film -Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....	Lucky Boy		(uncredited)
1930 1930 in film -Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...	Follow the Leader	gangster
1931 1931 in film -Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...	His Woman His Woman His Woman is a 1931 romantic drama film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Edward Sloman, and written by Melville Baker and Adelaide Heilbron, based on novel by Dale Collins.-Plot:...	(uncredited)
	Partners
1932 1932 in film -Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....	The Animal Kingdom	'Red' Regan, Tom's Butler
	The Sport Parade The Sport Parade The Sport Parade is a film directed by Dudley Murphy, starring Joel McCrea, Marian Marsh, William Gargan, Robert Benchley, and Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, and released by RKO Radio Pictures...	Johnny Baker
	Rain Rain (1932 film) Rain is a 1932 South Seas drama film directed by Lewis Milestone with portions filmed at Santa Catalina Island, California. The film stars Joan Crawford as prostitute Sadie Thompson and Walter Huston as a conflicted missionary who wants to reform Sadie, but whose own morals start decaying...	Sgt. O'Hara
	Misleading Lady Misleading Lady Misleading Lady is a 1932 film directed by Stuart Walker, and starring Claudette Colbert and Edmund Lowe.Paramount closed its studio in Astoria, Queens upon the completion of this film on 1 March 1932.-Plot:...	Fitzpatrick
1933 1933 in film -Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....	Headline Shooter	Bill Allen
	Aggie Appleby Maker of Men	Red Branahan
	Night Flight Night Flight (1933 film) Night Flight is a 1933 aviation drama film produced and distributed by MGM and directed by Clarence Brown. The film stars Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Clark Gable, and Helen Hayes among the star-studded cast...	Brazilian pilot
	Emergency Call	Steve Brennan
	The Story of Temple Drake The Story of Temple Drake The Story of Temple Drake is a 1933 Pre-Code drama film adapted from the highly controversial novel Sanctuary by William Faulkner. Though watered down, the movie was still so scandalous, it was one of reasons for the introduction of the Hays Code...	Stephen Benbow
	Sweepings	Gene Pardway
	Lucky Devils	Bob Hughes
1934 1934 in film -Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...	Strictly Dynamite	Georgie Ross
	The Lineup	Bob Curtis
	Four Frightened People Four Frightened People Four Frightened People is a film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Claudette Colbert, Herbert Marshall, Mary Boland, and William Gargan.-Plot:...	Stewart Corder
1935 1935 in film -Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...	Black Fury Black Fury (1935 film) Black Fury is a 1935 American crime film starring Paul Muni, Karen Morley, and William Gargan. It was adapted from the short story "Jan Volkanik" by Judge Michael A. Musmanno and the play Bohunk by Harry R...	Slim Johnson
1937 1937 in film The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....	You Only Live Once	Father Dolan
1938 1938 in film The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...	The Crowd Roars The Crowd Roars (1938 film) The Crowd Roars is a 1938 film starring Robert Taylor as a boxer who gets entangled in the seamier side of the sport. It was remade in 1947 as Killer McCoy, featuring Mickey Rooney in the title role.-Cast:*Robert Taylor as Tommy "Killer" McCoy...	Johnny Martin
1940 1940 in film The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....	They Knew What They Wanted	Joe	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
1941 1941 in film The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...	Cheers for Miss Bishop Cheers for Miss Bishop Cheers for Miss Bishop is a film based on the novel Miss Bishop by Bess Streeter Aldrich. It was directed by Tay Garnett and stars Martha Scott in the title role. The other cast members include William Gargan, Edmund Gwenn, Sterling Holloway, Dorothy Peterson, Marsha Hunt, Don Douglas, and Sidney...	Sam Peters
	Keep 'Em Flying Keep 'Em Flying -Plot:Jinx Roberts is a stunt pilot and his assistants are Blackie and Heathcliffe . All three are fired from the carnival and air show that they work for after a disagreement. Jinx decides that he should join the Army Air Force, so they go to a nightclub to party one last time. While there...	Craig Morrison
1942 1942 in film The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...	Miss Annie Rooney Miss Annie Rooney Miss Annie Rooney is a 1942 American drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin. The screenplay by George Bruce was based on the silent film, Little Annie Rooney starring Mary Pickford. Miss Annie Rooney is about a teenager from a humble background who falls in love with a rich classmate...	Tim Rooney
1945 1945 in film The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....	Midnight Manhunt Midnight Manhunt Midnight Manhunt is a 1945 crime film mystery directed by William C. Thomas and written by David Lang. The film premiered on July 24, 1945 and is in the public domain.The film stars William Gargan, Ann Savage, Leo Gorcey and George Zucco.-Plot summary:...	Pete Willis
	The Bells of St. Mary's The Bells of St. Mary's The Bells of St. Mary's is a 1945 American film which tells the story of a priest and a nun at a school who set out, despite their good-natured rivalry, to save the school from being shut down. It stars Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman...	Joe Gallagher

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