Kevin Corcoran

Kevin Corcoran's father, William "Bill" Corcoran, Sr. (1905-1958), was a studio-police security officer and then became the MGM Studio's Director of Maintenance at the Louis B. Mayer Culver City MGM Film Studios. Corcoran's mother, the former Kathleen McKenney (1917-1972), was a native of Quincy, Massachusetts, while husband William Corcoran and his family were native of Milford, Massachusetts. Born in Santa Monica, California, to Kathleen and Bill, Kevin Corcoran had seven siblings, all of whom did some film acting. "While my father was working at MGM, he heard that children were needed to play some extra roles," Corcoran recalled. "By the time I arrived - No 5 of eight children - the Corcoran kids had been established in the (film) industry. My folks were very down to earth," Kevin Corcoran said in 2000. "Some people's families are in the delicatessen business. My family was in the picture business." Kevin had already been in the business for a long time, having, from the age of four, had brief roles in several feature films even before he signed with Walt Disney. These included "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954) as the band leader's son; as the childhood incarnation of the lead character Paul van Riebeck (Tyrone Power) in "Untamed" (1955), and as one of Quaker farmer Ernest Borgnine's children in "Violent Saturday" (1955). Corcoran's real sisters, Noreen and Donna, played the other children. Young Kevin was fortunate to come along during a successful period of Disney's live-action movies. But Disney was fortunate too, because Corcoran embodied its vision of the "American every-kid", who the Disney studio saw as "a highly intelligent human being - characteristically sensitive, humorous, open-minded, eager to learn, (with) a strong sense of excitement, energy, and healthy curiosity about the world in which he lives." Kevin Corcoran was the sibling whose work is best remembered. Kevin Corcoran was the brother of Donna Corcoran, Noreen Corcoran, Hugh Corcoran, Brian Corcoran, Kerry Corcoran, and Kelly Corcoran (1958-2002). Another brother, Bill Corcoran Jr. (former Dean of Students at California State University, Fresno) died in 2007. Elder siblings Donna, Noreen, and Hugh Corcoran have extensive film and television film credits as child actors during the 1950s. Donna, Noreen, and Kevin all appeared in the 1955 feature film "Violent Saturday." Noreen Corcoran starred as 'Kelly Gregg' on the CBS-NBC-ABC television film series "Bachelor Father" featuring John Forsythe from 1957-1962. During its five-year run, "Bachelor Father" was seen on all three national networks. Brian Corcoran played Kevin's brother, and Kerry, his sister, in the 1960 "Daniel Boone" miniseries "Walt Disney Presents," then on ABC. Brian also was 'Willie Winkie' to Kevin Corcoran's "Boy Blue" in the 1961 feature film "Babes in Toyland." Donna Corcoran played 'Moochie's sister Marian' in "Moochie of the Little League" (1960). She also played 'Bridget White', ("...eight years old") as the little orphan who saw the "Angels in the Outfield" in the original 1951 feature film version with Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh. Younger brother Kelly Corcoran (1958-2002) portrayed 8-year-old 'Kip Pride' in the NBC western series "The Road West" (1966-1967), starring Barry Sullivan.

Kevin Corcoran was born on June 10, 1949 in Santa Monica, California, USA as Kevin Anthony Corcoran.

He was one of eight children, all of whom acted in films during the 1950's and 60's.

Kevin made his movie debut in Anthony Mann's "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954), then played 'Moochie,' an irrepressible sort who hates being treated like a little kid, on a pair of "Spin and Marty" TV series and on Walt Disney's "Wonderful World of Color". Shortly after appearing in "Blue" (1968), Corcoran went in for an interview for another feature film, he recalled in a 2012 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. "Usually they would give you pages from the script, let you know what the character is like," Kevin said. "But this director and producer said they wanted to hear about my version of the character. I said, 'Well, what is this character about?' And they fumbled around because they didn't know. Then it hit me. You know what? I know more about making movies than the guy making this picture. I'm done acting. I left that meeting and called my agent. I said, 'Thanks a lot, but no more auditions. I'm done!' ".

"Moochie" - a nick-name supposedly bestowed by Walt Disney himself, became Kevin Corcoran's on set moniker - as well as the "Mickey Mouse Club" character's name, during much of Kevin's performing career. At age 7, he started appearing as 'Moochie' in 1956 on "Adventures in Dairyland," a serial short that took place on a dude ranch with fellow child actor David Stollery who played 'Marty.' David Stollery said, "Moochie - an adorable, talkative kid who was always getting into jams - was not far removed from the real-life Corcoran. He was just this little rambunctious bundle of energy," Stollery said in an interview with the L.A. Times. "He was 'Moochie', a perfect fit for the character." Other Disney child stars of the era got more notice and bigger parts. But television viewers took the pint-sized Corcoran to heart. "To kids of my generation, 'Moochie' was an irresistible figure, a kid we could all relate to," film critic Leonard Maltin said in taped comments released by Disney. "Because he was so genuine, not a goody-goody type of a model child. He had a touch of mischief and curiosity, and you couldn't help but like him." The character was so popular that Corcoran, as 'Moochie Morgan,' was featured in Disney film serials including "Moochie of Pop Warner Football" (1959) and "Moochie of the Little League" (1960), with character actor Russ Conway playing his father. Continuing his fictional 'Moochie' roles, Corcoran played Montgomery "Moochie" Daniels in the 1959 Disney film "The Shaggy Dog" (1959) . "I'll always be 'Mooch' to the guys around here," he said in a Disney studio interview. "Heck, they've practically raised me".

He was an assistant director and actor, known for Old Yeller (1957), Swiss Family Robinson (1960) and Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960). He was married to Laura Soltwedel.

Other Disney movies in which Corcoran had leading roles were "Pollyanna" (1960), where, as Jimmy Bean, a mischievous orphan boy, he counterbalances the sweetness and light spread by the 12-year-old heroine (Hayley Mills), and "Toby Tyler" (1960), in which he played the title role, another orphan, this time running away from his foster parents to join a circus, where he makes friends with an endangered chimpanzee. However, after "A Tiger Walks" (1964), another animal movie aimed at children - a tiger is threatened with death after escaping from a circus, Corcoran, at the grand old age of 15, quit acting. "I decided to retire when I realized that I knew more about making movies than the older bunch of guys making them".

Kevin Corcoran produced the 1983 pilot episode of CBS' "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" and went on to serve as a second assistant director on that series as well as on other hour long (60 minutes) television film series like "Simon & Simon," "Baywatch," "Quantum Leap," "Murder, She Wrote" and "Providence". Corcoran was a co-producer on nine episodes of "The Shield" and on 14 installments of another FX drama, "Sons of Anarchy," created by Kurt Sutter, who said, "Corcoran was a delightful person and producer, including on "The Shield"".

David Stollery, who played 'Marty' with Kevin as 'Moochie' in the Disney short "Adventures in Dairyland," led to them being cast in "Spin and Marty." Stollery said that even at a young age, Corcoran was a professional who knew his lines and took direction. But Corcoran admitted that he didn't always have to fake being mischievous. "Tommy Kirk and I had a great relationship," Corcoran said in a 2000 Times interview. He played Kirk's younger brother in several productions, and the two often played practical jokes on each other. "I remember one sequence," Corcoran said, "in which I was supposed to be throwing rocks at him. Tommy and I had been battling off-screen about something, so instead of the prop rubber rocks, I started throwing real ones".

Kevin 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 Corcoran's "Spin and Marty" serials, Tim Considine and David Stollery, and Corcoran's frequent co-star, Tommy Kirk, himself a veteran of the "Mickey Mouse Club" serials.