Patrick McGeehan | |
---|---|
Born | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. | March 4, 1907
Died | January 3, 1988 80) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1935–1988 |
Known for | Announcer on The Red Skelton Show Bear on Rock-a-Bye Bear Doggone Tired The Cat That Hated People |
Spouse | Bernice McGeehan |
Children | 2, including Mary Keegan |
Patrick McGeehan (March 4, 1907 – January 3, 1988) was an American actor.
Early life
Patrick Joseph McGeehan was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on March 4, 1907. He left home at age 14 when he went to sea, later working in vaudeville, and was a tightrope walker's assistant with the Barnum & Bailey Circus.[1]
Career
McGeehan began his career in 1935 on radio.
He played Ben Calvert on the NBC radio soap, Aunt Mary (1942-1951). He was the narrator for Ceiling Unlimited on CBS (1942-1943). He played Detective Bill Lance on The Adventures of Bill Lance on CBS (1945). He was a comic foil for Red Skelton and the announcer for The Red Skelton Show on NBC (1951-1965).
For many years, McGeehan was one of a series of announcers who were the brunt of some of Skelton’s best known-lines. He was also an actor on The Adventures of Maisie (as Eddie Jordan) on the Mutual Radio Network (1949-1952), Stars over Hollywood on CBS (1941-1954), The Jack Benny Program (1932-1955) and Fibber McGee and Molly (1959). At his peak, McGeehan did more than 40 shows a week. He was the voice of The Hour of St. Francis, a Catholic radio show, where he gained worldwide recognition for his recitation of the peace prayer of St. Francis.[2]
Throughout the 1940s and early 1950s, he had roles in many cartoons at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio; the Jimmy Durante Vulture in What's Buzzin' Buzzard (1943, Tex Avery), Butch, Meathead and Topsy in Baby Puss (1943, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera), the Wolf in The Screwy Truant (1945, Avery), the Piano Player in The Shooting of Dan McGoo (1945, Avery), Joe Wolf and the Bar Patrons in Wild and Woolfy (1945, Avery), the Cat in The Cat That Hated People (1948, Avery) and Bad Luck Blackie (1949, Avery), the Hunter in Doggone Tired (1949, Avery), the Lawyer and Dogcatcher in Wags to Riches (1949, Avery), and the Pound Worker and Joe Bear in Rock-a-Bye Bear (1952, Avery).[3][4]
Personal life
He was married to Bernice McGeehan. They had two children, including actress Mary Kate McGeehan.
Death
McGeehan died at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage on January 3, 1988. He was 80.[2]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s). |
---|---|---|---|---|
1941 | Hoola Boola | Jim Dandy | Voice | |
1943 | What's Buzzin' Buzzard | Jimmy Durante Vulture | Voice, uncredited | [3] |
Baby Puss | Butch, Meathead, Topsy | Voice, uncredited | ||
1945 | The Screwy Truant | Wolf | Voice, uncredited | [3] |
The Shooting of Dan McGoo | Piano Player | Voice, uncredited | ||
Jerky Turkey | Indians | Voice, uncredited | ||
Wild and Woolfy | Joe Wolf, Bar Patrons | Voice, uncredited | ||
1946 | Screen Snapshots No. 1: Radio Characters | Announcer - The Red Skelton Show | Voice, uncredited | |
1948 | The Cat That Hated People | Cat | Voice, uncredited | [4] |
The Dark Past | Commentator | Voice, uncredited | ||
1949 | Bad Luck Blackie | Cat | Voice, uncredited | [3] |
Doggone Tired | Hunter | Voice, uncredited | [4] | |
Wags to Riches | Lawyer, Dogcatcher | Voice, uncredited | [3] | |
1952 | Rock-a-Bye Bear | Pound Worker, Joe Bear | Voice, uncredited | |
1953 | The Fossil Story | Narrator | Voice | |
Son of the Renegade | Narrator | Voice | ||
1954 | Challenge the Wild | [5] | ||
1956 | Millionaire Droopy | Lawyer, Dogcatcher | Voice, uncredited | |
1959 | Okefenokee | Narrator | Voice |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s). |
---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | NBC Comics | |||
1951–1965 | The Red Skelton Show | Self - Announcer | 42 episodes | |
1953–1954 | The Bob Hope Show | Self - Announcer | 7 episodes | |
1955–1958 | People Are Funny | Self - Announcer | 2 episodes | |
1958–1959 | The Loretta Young Show | Narrator | Voice | 3 episodes |
1959 | Fibber McGee and Molly | Self - Announcer | 17 episodes | |
1960 | Mel-O-Toons | Self - Announcer | 3 episodes | |
1960–1963 | Insight | Narrator | Voice | 7 episodes |
1961 | The Law and Mr. Jones | Episode: "Exit" |
Radio
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s). |
---|---|---|---|---|
1942–1943 | Ceiling Unlimited | Narrator | ||
1942–1951 | Aunt Mary | Ben Calvert | ||
1945 | The Adventures of Bill Lance | Bill Lance | ||
1948 | The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show | Guest | "Thanksgiving Program" | [6] |
1949–1952 | The Adventures of Maisie | Eddie Jordan | [7] |
References
- ↑ "Happy Birthday, Pat McGeehan!". Radio Spirits. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- 1 2 "Obituaries : P. McGeehan; Radio Performer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 ""Hello All You Happy Tax Payers": Tex Avery's Voice Stock Company". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- 1 2 3 "AVERY…. Vol. 2??? WELL, IMAGINE THAT!". cartoonresearch.com. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ↑ Kear, Lynn; Rossman, John (30 March 2016). The Complete Kay Francis Career Record: All Film, Stage, Radio and Television Appearances. McFarland. p. 252. ISBN 978-1-4766-0287-5. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ↑ rusc.com
- ↑ Terrace, Vincent (2 September 2015). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-0528-9. Retrieved 14 December 2020.