Kevin Corcoran

One of seven children of MGM studio policeman Bill Corcoran, Kevin Corcoran was five years old when he followed the lead of his older siblings, Bill Jr., Noreen, Donna, and Hugh, by becoming an actor. Corcoran's first film appearance, in the company of his sisters, Noreen and Donna, was as one of Quaker farmer Ernest Borgnine's children in Violent Saturday. In 1957, he was featured in Adventures in Dairyland, a serialized component of Walt Disney's daily TVer The Mickey Mouse Club. Corcoran's character name was Moochie, a tag that stuck when he was signed to a Disney contract. One of the busiest child actors of the late '50s, Corcoran was co-starred in such Disney theatrical features as Old Yeller (1957), The Shaggy Dog (1960), Pollyanna (1960), and Savage Sam (1963). He also played the title role in 1960's Toby Tyler, and was top-billed in the Disney TV projects Moochie of the Little League (1959), Moochie of Pop Warner Football (1961), and Johnny Shiloh (1963). After outgrowing his natural cuteness, Corcoran found roles harder to come by, and called it quits after a minor role in Blue (1968). Upon attaining adulthood, Corcoran returned to Disney as an associate producer, working on such films as Superdad (1977) and Pete's Dragon (1977). Kevin Corcoran's brother, Brian, and sister, Kerry, also showed up in several films and TV programs of the 1950s and 1960s. - Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide