Saturday, July 29, 2006

Tribute to Moochie

A few of you, I'm sure, will know who Moochie is. The rest of you: bear with me.

This is Kevin Corcoran, otherwise known as Moochie. Born in 1949, he was a child actor for Disney in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I know him best from the second and third Spin and Marty serials on the Mickey Mouse Club, where Moochie was the littlest boy but just about the biggest handful at the Triple R Ranch. Before that, Kevin played a dairy farmer's son, Moochie McCandless, in another Mickey Mouse Club serial, Adventure in Dairyland, which I've never seen. Kevin played a different Moochie in the 1959 film The Shaggy Dog, and yet another Moochie, apparently, in Moochie of the Little League. My favorite bit in that one is when Moochie, having practiced switch-hitting against his manager's orders, steps up to the plate from the other side, connects with a ball - and proceeds to run clockwise instead of counterclockwise around the bases!

Kevin Corcoran also played Toby Tyler in the movie Toby Tyler (imagine that!), co-starring two of my favorites from Zorro, Henry Calvin and Gilbert Shelton. Kevin also played Jimmy Bean in Pollyanna, another Disney film I like a lot, a member of the Swiss Family Robinson, and the younger brother in Old Yeller and its sequel. I tell you, the kid got around in those days!

This is Kevin Corcoran as an adult, talking about The Shaggy Dog. He retired from acting around 1965 to 1968, and went to college. He later returned to show business, but not to acting. I didn't connect the name with Moochie until much later, but Corcoran was First Assistant Director on at least three episodes of Quantum Leap. He's been a producer on Murder, She Wrote, and on a lot of Disney stuff. Good for him!

Why am I telling you all this? I wrote his Wikipedia article today, from scratch. I was shocked that Disney's once ubiquitous, irrepressible Moochie didn't even have an entry, despite his name appearing on a lot of Disney films that did have entries. There ya go, Kevin. I've tried to do well by you, one of my favorite kid actors.

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Nothing at all is happening with the Barbara Bauer article at the moment (a good thing), as everyone tries to resolve whether the Disemvoweling article is to be deleted entirely. People are mostly being polite in all the discussion and fact-finding, and since my initial few comments I've mostly stayed out of it.

*****

Five minutes ago it was raining heavily, and I'm hearing a lot of thunder now. John and I are both pleased at all the rain and cooler weather we'd have the last couple of days. I gather there's been flooding in the usual parts of town, but I haven't heard of any major disasters, just minor inconveniences.

(Update: Tucson Citizen had a lot of flooding pictures and news story updates by the time I got up today (Saturday). Click here to see the story, and don't skip the photo gallery. I'm off to try for some pictures of my own!)

I've got a Writer's Weekly Question to do, but I'll hold it for Saturday night.

Karen

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4 comments:

Bea said...

What a helpful service you provide with your Wikipedia research and articles. I read it. I always wondered what happened to that cute little boy! I do remember him in Old Yeller, Swiss Family Robinson, Toby Tyler, and the Shaggy Dog. Good Job, Karen! bea

Becky said...

OMG yeah! Now there's a familiar face! I loved him in those old Disney films! Especially Shaggy Dog and Pollyanna.

DesLily said...

OH neat Karen.. I remember him well.. I looked at your work from the link.. looks excellent!! I sure didn't know he worked on Quantum or Murder she Wrote..

Marylka said...

So sorry to hear about Moochie's death today. He was the cute kid in movies of my day. Less than a year older than I am ... he died way too young!