His appearances on TV included guest spots on Bonanza, 77 Sunset Strip, Bat Masterson, Perry Mason, My Favorite Martian, Wagon Train, The Untouchables, and Maverick.
After the war, in 1946, Alan signed a contract with Monogram Studios, Hollywood's "bargain basement" studio, where he proceeded to churn out dozens of films.īesides his work on low-budget "quickies" at Monogram, Alan had an extremely eclectic resume of movie appearances for the next almost 20 years, including an uncredited bit in Monsieur Beaucaire with Bob Hope (1946), It Happens Every Spring with Ray Milland (1949), The West Point Story with James Cagney (1950), Home Town Story with a young Marilyn Monroe (1951), and The True Story of Jesse James with Robert Wagner (1957).Īlan also kept busy as one of Hollywood's most active thespians in the new medium of television in the 1950's and early '60's. During World War II, Alan enlisted and served in the U.S. Alan and Bettina were to be married for 20 years, until 1963. In 1943, Alan married Bettina Doerr, who was to have four children with him- Brian, Chris, Lana and Dorian. While it is known that Alan did sell vacuums, no specific dates for this alternate employment are given. It was probably during this period that Alan, to supplement his income, also found work as a vacuum cleaner salesman. Alan appeared in scores of other films before world war ii, including Dive Bomber (1941) with Errol Flynn, Time Out for Rhythm (1941) with Rudy Vallee and The Shores of Tripoli (1942) with Harry Morgan. His film debut came in 1933 in Wild Boys of the Road, where he was billed, but was edited out of the film's final release.Īfter being educated and graduating from Blacke-Fox Military Academy, Alan soon began a steady career as the classic "working actor" in motion pictures.
He was to appear in five or six more plays in his checkered career, before devoting himself full-time to films and later, television. Alan made his Broadway debut in Caught Wet in 1931 (the show ran for less than two months). Alan thus grew up around show business personalities (he was a classmate of Mickey Rooney and the two remained lifelong close friends).Īlan caught "the bug" early and started acting at the age of 10. Under the name Grace Barrett, she was a silent film actress in the 1920s. His mother, Gretchen Hartman, was also a screen actress. Alan's father, Alan Hale, had been a legendary journeyman supporting actor in over 200 films, both silent and talkies. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.Īlan Hale MacKahan was born on Main Los Angeles, California. Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen.