Kevin Corcoran

Kevin Corcoran
Background information
Born	Kevin Anthony Corcoran June 10, 1949 Santa Monica, California, United States
Died	October 6, 2015 (aged 66) Burbank, California, United States
Cause of death	Colorectal cancer
Nationality	American
Alternate names	"Moochie"
Occupation	Director, producer, actor
Years active	1954-2009
Family information
Spouse	Laura Soltwedel (1972-2015; his death)

Kevin Anthony "Moochie" Corcoran was 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.

Between 1956 and 1960, Corcoran played several different (but similar) characters, each bearing the nickname Moochie. Although he was never a Mouseketeer, he appeared in three Mickey Mouse Club serials, beginning with Adventure in Dairyland, where he played Moochie McCandless, a farmer's son. This was the first of his many Disney credits. He soon returned, as Montgomery (Moochie) O'Hara, in two Spin and Marty serials, The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty, and The New Adventures of Spin and Marty.

Corcoran appeared in a Mouseketeer outfit with the name Moochie across his chest - once. In Disneyland: The Fourth Anniversary Show (1957), an episode of the Disney anthology television series, "Mouseketeer" Moochie repeatedly badgers Walt Disney for information about Zorro.

Continuing his fictional Moochie roles, Corcoran played Montgomery "Moochie" Daniels in the 1959 Disney film The Shaggy Dog. He also starred as Moochie Morgan in Moochie of the Little League (1959) and Moochie of Pop Warner Football (1960), both for the Disney anthology series. Character actor Russ Conway played his father.

In each iteration, Moochie likes to hang out with the older "guys" (big brother Wilby in The Shaggy Dog, the title characters in Spin and Marty), and hates being treated like the little kid he is. His determination to emulate elder peers despite adult warnings (swimming, helping Wilby, even switch-hitting) frequently gets him in trouble, but Moochie's bravado always returns soon afterward. Film writer Donald Liebenson has called Corcoran's character "part All-American boy and part hellion."

Corcoran appeared in numerous Disney projects (and a handful of non-Disney ones) without the Moochie name. He starred as Toby, an orphan who runs off to join the circus, in Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960). This was the only theatrical film in which Corcoran had the lead role. Important co-starring roles include the following:

• Old Yeller (1957) - Arliss Coates
• The Shaggy Dog (1959) - Moochie Daniels
• Goliath II (1960) - Goliath II
• Pollyanna (1960) - Jimmy Bean
• Swiss Family Robinson (1960) - Francis Robinson
• Daniel Boone (1960 Disney miniseries) - James Boone
• Toby Tyler (1960) - Toby Tyler
• Aquamania (1961) - Goofy Jr.
• Babes in Toyland (1961) - Boy Blue
• Bon Voyage! (1962) - Skipper Willard
• The Mooncussers (1962 Disney TV) - Jonathan Feather
• Johnny Shiloh (1963 Disney TV) - Johnny Lincoln Clem
• Savage Sam (1963) - Arliss Coates again
• A Tiger Walks (1964) - Tom Hadley

Corcoran and Tommy Kirk played brothers in five films, beginning with 1957's Old Yeller. The other films in this category were The Shaggy Dog (1959), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), Bon Voyage! (1962), and Savage Sam (sequel to Old Yeller, 1963). Fred MacMurray played their father in The Shaggy Dog and Bon Voyage!. Dorothy McGuire played their mother in Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson. He was considered to voice Lucky in One Hundred and One Dalmatians.

Corcoran largely retired from acting after A Tiger Walks, although he also appeared in the 1968 film Blue in a minor role. It was probably around the time of the latter film that he attended college. In an interview for the DVD release of The Shaggy Dog, he credits his studio teachers with having prepared him well for his college studies.

Corcoran graduated from California State University, Northridge with a degree in theatre arts. After this he returned to Disney, this time working behind the camera as an assistant director and producer. His credits from this era include Superdad (1973), The Island at the Top of the World (1974), and Pete's Dragon (1977). Appropriately, he also worked on The New Mickey Mouse Club (1977). He was an associate producer on Treasure of Matecumbe (1976), on the sequel Return from Witch Mountain (1978), and on The North Avenue Irregulars (1979). He coproduced Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), and was the producer of the comedy television series Zorro and Son (1983). His more recent contributions to Disney include commentaries and interviews on such Disney DVD releases as The Shaggy Dog and Pollyanna.

Brian Corcoran played Kevin's brother, and Kerry, his sister, in the 1960 Daniel Boone miniseries on Walt Disney Presents, then on ABC. Brian also was Willie Winkie to Kevin's Boy Blue in the 1961 film Babes in Toyland.

Corcoran was honored as a Disney Legend on October 9, 2006. Among the other recipients at the 2006 ceremony were the two lead actors in his Spin and Marty serials, Tim Considine and David Stollery, and his frequent co-star, Tommy Kirk, himself a veteran of Mickey Mouse Club serials about the Hardy Boys.

Corcoran died at the age of 66 from colorectal cancer.

Gallery

References

The Wonderful World of Disney Television: A Complete History by Bill Cotter. Hyperion, 1997. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5

External links

• Kevin Corcoran at the Internet Movie Database
• Allmovie bio
• Disney Legends profile
• Profile on The Original Mickey Mouse Club Show website

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Kevin Corcoran. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.