Tommy Noonan

Tommy Noonan, born Thomas Patrick Noone on April 29, 1921, in Bellingham, Washington, was an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer whose career spanned stage, film, and television from the 1940s through the 1960s. His father, Michael Joseph Noone, was an Irish vaudeville comedian from Dunmore, County Galway, and his mother, Gracie Ferguson, was a Scottish piano teacher originally from Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Noonan attended New York University and was the younger half-brother of actor John Ireland.

Noonan and Ireland made their stage debuts together in 1934 with a New York-based experimental theatre company. Prior to World War II, Noonan operated a repertory company of his own. He served in the U.S. Navy during the war, after which he made his film debut in George White's Scandals in 1945. He and Ireland later appeared together in three films, among them I Shot Jesse James in 1949.

In the late 1940s, Noonan partnered with Peter Marshall to form a comedy duo. The two men shared a family connection beyond their professional one: Ireland was married to Marshall's sister, actress Joanne Dru. As Noonan and Marshall, the pair performed in nightclubs, on television, and in several films together, including Starlift and FBI Girl, both released in 1951, The Rookie in 1959, and Swingin' Along in 1962. Because each continued pursuing his individual career simultaneously, their joint appearances were limited to periods when both were available. The duo also wrote material for other comedians, including Rowan and Martin. They parted ways following the release of Swingin' Along.

Noonan's most prominent film work came in the early to mid-1950s. In 1953 he appeared in the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, playing Gus Esmond, the wealthy fiancé of Lorelei Lee, the character portrayed by Marilyn Monroe. The following year he played musician Danny McGuire in Warner Brothers' A Star Is Born, appearing alongside Judy Garland. In 1955 he took on the role of a voyeuristic bank manager in Violent Saturday, a film noir melodrama directed by Richard Fleischer.

His Broadway career ran from 1944 to 1961. He appeared in the play Men to the Sea in 1944 and in How to Make a Man in 1960. In 1961 he also appeared on the CBS courtroom drama Perry Mason, playing comedian Charlie Hatch in the episode titled "The Case of the Crying Comedian."

During the early 1960s, Noonan worked on several B movies, including Promises! Promises! in 1963 with Jayne Mansfield and 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt in 1964 with Mamie Van Doren, the latter of which he also directed, wrote, and produced. His final producing credit was Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers in 1967, which was also the last film made by actor Sonny Tufts.

Noonan was married five times and had six children in total, including a daughter from his first marriage and a son from his second. His final marriage was to actress Carole Langley, who performed under the stage name Pocahontas Crowfoot; the two were married for sixteen years and had four children together. Eight months after undergoing an operation for a brain tumor, Noonan died at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in 1968, just days before what would have been his 47th birthday.