This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Steven Loomis, IC3
to remember
Denning, Richard (born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger, Jr), Y1c.
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Contact Info
Home Town Poughkeepsie, NY
Last Address Escondido, CA Buried, Maui Veterans Cemetery, Makawao, HI
Date of Passing Oct 11, 1998
Location of Interment Maui Veterans Cemetery - Makawao, Hawaii
Actor. Born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger, Jr, he originally studied business management in Los Angeles. He graduated with an MBA from Woodbury Business College, but decided to break into acting instead. He won a radio contest called "Do You Want to Be an Actor", and was awarded a Warner Bros. screen test. Warner rejected him, but Paramount took him on the condition that he change his name to Denning. (Studio execs worried that "Denninger" sounded too much like gangster John Dillinger).
1942: During World War II he enlisted in the submarine service, and served as a Navy Yeoman 1st Class in the South Pacific. He served out the war there, receiving an honorable discharge in October, 1945.
He played the recurring role of the Hawaiian Governor in the popular television series "Hawaii five-0". Richard died of a heart attack in Escondido, California, and was interred beside his first wife in Maui Veterans cemetery.
Other Comments:
Denning also worked in radio, most notably alongside Lucille Ball in "My Favorite Husband", becoming one of the most popular male leads in radio. He hoped continue this role in television, but Ball wanted to work with her then husband Desi Arnaz in the TV show "I Love Lucy".