Richard Coogan, the Broadway actor best remembered to the first generation of network television viewers for his portrayal of the title role in the DuMont Network series Captain Video and His Video Rangers, passed away on Wednesday at Los Angeles of natural causes.
Mr. Coogan was roughly a month away from what would have been his 100th birthday.
During 1949 and 1950 (before leaving the series, to be replaced by Al Hodge), Dick played the role of the leader of a group of fighters for truth and justice in the distant future.
Unhappy with the cheap sets and low budgets, Dick left the series in December, 1950 and was replaced by Al Hodge, who had been radio's original Britt Reid (The Green Hornet). Mr. Hodge played the role for the rest of the series' run, which ended in 1955 as the DuMont network was falling apart. Al became so identified with the character that he never was able to leave the role.
As for Mr. Coogan, he did star in one other series, The Californians.
On this NBC Western, which ran from 1957-59, Dick appeared as US Marshall Matthew Wayne, which viewers thought was a clone of Gunsmoke's Marshall Matt Dillon.
Later in life, Dick was becoming best known as a professional golfer and golf instructor.
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