William Gargan

William Gargan was born on July 17, 1905, he was an American radio, film, and television actor.

His full name was William Dennis Gargan, and he was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. His older brother was actor Edward Gargan.

After completing his studies, Gargan worked as a salesman of bootleg whiskey to speakeasies in New York, later joining a detective agency. While visiting his brother at a musical theatre, he was offered a stage job, which he accepted, beginning his stage career by performing in the play Aloma of the South Seas.

Gargan played character roles in many Hollywood productions, playing policemen, priests, reporters, adventurers and stereotypical Irishmen. His roles included Detective Ellery Queen, whom he played twice, although he became best known as Detective Martin Kane in the 1949-51 radio-television series Martin Kane, Private Eye. He also played a private detective on Barrie Craig's NBC radio show Confidential Investigator, which aired from 1951 to 1955.

Gargan's first regular radio role was Captain Flagg on Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt, beginning in February 1942. He also portrayed Ross Dolan in I Deal in Crime, and Inspector Burke in Murder Will Out, and was host of G. I. Laffs.

In 1949 Gargan was in New York City when he phoned acquaintance Frank Folsom of RCA. Folsom invited Gargan for lunch. He went to the fifty-third floor of 30 Rockefeller Center. Inside were executives from BBD&O, The New York Stock Exchange, and others. During lunch Gargan mentioned that he was looking for a job in TV.

Folsom phoned Norm Blackburn, VP of TV and Radio at NBC and a good friend of Gargan’s. Gargan was asked if he’d be interested in playing a pipe-smoking detective, sponsored by the U.S. Tobacco Company. The show became Martin Kane, Private Eye. It would be shot for TV and separately done for radio as well. Mutual Broadcasting carried the radio series. It debuted on Sunday August 7, 1949 at 4:30PM eastern time. Meanwhile, the TV version aired on NBC Thursdays at 10PM.

Gargan's career ended in 1958 when he became ill with laryngeal cancer, necessitating the removal of his larynx. Speaking in an artificial voice, Gargan became an activist and spokesman for the American Cancer Society, warning on many occasions about the dangers of smoking.

Gargan and his wife, Mary were married in Baltimore on January 19, 1928. They had two sons. Bill (nicknamed Barrie) was born on February 25, 1929. Leslie was born on June 28, 1933.

William Gargan died of a heart attack in 1979 while on a plane from New York to San Diego, California. He was 73 years old. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in San Diego.