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Frank Coghlan, Jr. Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Naval Aviator and Actor
Francis Edward Coghlan, Jr., son of Frank Edward Coughlan and Katherine Coyle Coghlan(March 15, 1916 – September 7, 2009) also known as "Junior Coghlan", was an American actor and naval aviator. He appeared in approximately 129 films and television programs between 1920 and 1974. During the 1920s and 1930s, he became a popular child and juvenile actor, appearing in films with Pola Negri, Jack Dempsey, William Haines, Shirley Temple, Mickey Rooney and Bette Davis. He appeared in early "Our Gang" comedies, but he is best known for the role of Billy Batson in the 1941 motion picture serial, Adventures of Captain Marvel. Coghlan later served 23 years as an aviator and officer in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1965. After retiring from the Navy, he returned to acting and appeared in television, films and commercials. He published an autobiography in 1992 and died in 2009 at age 93.
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During World War II, Coghlan enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Naval aviator. After 23 years as an actor, Coghlan spent the next 23 years in the Navy. In 1954, Hedda Hopper included a report on Coghlan in her newspaper column:
"I hope the press didn't miss the arrival of Frank Coghlan, now lieutenant in the USN, and a far cry from Junior Coghlan of the 'Our Gang' comedies. He's assigned to Air Transport Squadron 7 at Hickam Field and will fly the Pacific. Wife Betty and three little Coghlans will live at Oahu so they can see Frank when he returns from his trips to the Orient."
Coghlan achieved the rank of a lieutenant commander and was often assigned as a liaison and technical advisor on motion pictures, including PT 109, The Caine Mutiny, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, Mister Roberts and In Harm's Way starring John Wayne. In the 1960s, he was the officer in charge of the Navy's Hollywood station where he headed the Navy's motion picture cooperation program (and other similar programs), acting as liaison between the Navy and the Hollywood studios.
By the time he retired in 1965, Coghlan had accumulated over 4500 hours of flight time and had flown during World War II, the Korean War and had been to Vietnam.
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1960-1965, Chief of US Navy Information (CHINFO), CNO - OPNAV
