J. M. Kerrigan

Joseph Michael Kerrigan (16 December 1884 – 29 April 1964) was an Irish actor.

Early life Joseph Michael Kerrigan was born on 16 December 1884 in Dublin, which was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland at that time. He studied at Belvedere College and worked as a newspaperman.

Career In 1907, Kerrigan joined the Irish National Theatre, later known as the Abbey Players.

His first screen appearance was in Food of Love, one of six silent films he did in 1916. He settled permanently in Hollywood in 1935, having been recruited along with several other Abbey performers to appear in John Ford's The Informer. In this film and in Ford's The Long Voyage Home, he played similar roles, that of a leech who attaches himself to men until they run out of money. Perhaps his best-known role was in The General Died at Dawn, wherein he plays a character named Leach, a sinister thief who, holding a gun on Cooper, says: "I may be fat, but I'm agile."

He had little screen time in films in which he had minor roles, such as the First Drayman in Merely Mary Ann (1931) with Janet Gaynor. One of his more recognizable roles was in Gone with the Wind (1939), in which he played John Gallegher, the seemly jovial mill owner who whips his convict labor into "co-operation". He appeared in Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), the film version of Jules Verne's 1870 novel, in a minor role at the beginning of the film.

In a 1946 attempt to reach Broadway, Kerrigan starred as the discombobulated leprechaun Jackeen J. O'Malley in the show Barnaby and Mr. O'Malley, based on the Crockett Johnson comic strip. The play was unsuccessful, completing only four performances. Kerrigan made his final Broadway appearance later that year, however, in Guthrie McClintic's revival of The Playboy of the Western World, this time playing Michael James Flaherty. Over his career, he had roles in 114 short and feature-length motion pictures, and between 1952 and 1960 he appeared in episodes of 15 different TV series.

Kerrigan died in Hollywood on 29 April 1964, aged 79. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6621 Hollywood Blvd.

Partial filmography

Little Old New York (1923) – John O'Day (film debut) Lucky in Love (1929) – Connors New Movietone Follies of 1930 (1930) – Gateman in Show (uncredited) Song o' My Heart (1930) – Peter Just Imagine (1930) – Traffic Policeman in 1980 (uncredited) Lightnin' (1930) – Judge Lemuel Townsend Under Suspicion (1930) – Doyle Don't Bet on Women (1931) – Chipley Duff The Black Camel (1931) – Thomas MacMasters Merely Mary Ann (1931) – First Drayman The Rainbow Trail (1932) – Paddy Harrigan Careless Lady (1932) – Trowbridge State's Attorney (1932) – Coachman (uncredited) Vanity Street (1932) – Dan – Irish Cop (uncredited) Rockabye (1932) – Fagin The Monkey's Paw (1933) – Cpl. O'Leary (uncredited) Air Hostess (1933) – Pop Kearny A Study in Scarlet (1933) – Jabez Wilson Paddy the Next Best Thing (1933) – Collins Lone Cowboy (1933) – Mr. Curran The Lost Patrol (1934) – Quincannon A Modern Hero (1934) – Mr. Ryan The Key (1934) – O'Duffy Treasure Island (1934) – Tom Morgan – Pirate (uncredited) The Fountain (1934) – Shordley Happiness Ahead (1934) – Window Washer Boss The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935) – Chief Verger Tope Vanessa: Her Love Story (1935) – Perkins (uncredited) The Informer (1935) – Terry Werewolf of London (1935) – Hawkins The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) – Angus (uncredited) Hot Tip (1935) – Matt Barbary Coast (1935) – Judge Harper A Feather in Her Hat (1935) – Pobjoy Timothy's Quest (1936) – Dr. Cudd The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936) – Judge Maiben Laughing Irish Eyes (1936) – Tim Colleen (1936) – Pop Reilly Special Investigator (1936) – Judge Plumgate Hearts in Bondage (1936) – Paddy Callahan Spendthrift (1936) – Pop O'Connell The General Died at Dawn (1936) – Leach Lloyd's of London (1936) – Brook Watson Let's Make a Million (1936) – Sam Smith The Plough and the Stars (1936) – Uncle Peter The Barrier (1937) – Sergeant Thomas Motor Madness (1937) – Henry John 'Cap' McNeil London by Night (1937) – Tims Vacation from Love (1938) – Danny Dolan, Hansom Cabbie Spring Madness (1938) – Mr. Maloney (uncredited) Little Orphan Annie (1938) – Tom Jennings Ride a Crooked Mile (1938) – Sgt. Flynn The Great Man Votes (1939) – Hot Shot Gillings Boy Slaves (1939) – Brakeman (uncredited) The Flying Irishman (1939) – Mr. Clyde Corrigan Sr. The Kid from Texas (1939) – Farr Undercover Agent (1939) – Tom 'Pop' Madison Union Pacific (1939) – Monahan Sorority House (1939) – Lew Fisher The Zero Hour (1939) – Timothy 6,000 Enemies (1939) – Dan Barrett Two Bright Boys (1939) – Mike Casey The Witness Vanishes (1939) – Flinters Sabotage (1939) – Mel Two Thoroughbreds (1939) – Jack Lenihan Gone with the Wind (1939) – Johnny Gallagher Congo Maisie (1940) – Captain Finch Young Tom Edison (1940) – Mr. McCarney Three Cheers for the Irish (1940) – Scanlon Curtain Call (1940) – Mr. Middleton The Sea Hawk (1940) – Eli Matson Untamed (1940) – Angus McGavity One Crowded Night (1940) – Joseph No Time for Comedy (1940) – Jim The Long Voyage Home (1940) – Crimp Adventure in Washington (1941) – Jim O'Brien Appointment for Love (1941) – Timothy The Wolf Man (1941) – Charles Conliffe The Vanishing Virginian (1942) – John Phelps Captains of the Clouds (1942) – Foster Action in the North Atlantic (1943) – Caviar Jinks (uncredited) Mr. Lucky (1943) – Mr. McDougal (uncredited) The Fighting Seabees (1944) – Sawyer Collins Wilson (1944) – Edward Sullivan An American Romance (1944) – Charlie O'Rourke – Steam Shovel Operator (uncredited) The Big Bonanza (1944) – Judge Jasper Kincaid Tarzan and the Amazons (1945) – Splivens The Great John L. (1945) – Father O'Malley Crime Doctor's Warning (1945) – Robert MacPherson (uncredited) The Spanish Main (1945) – Pillery Gow She Went to the Races (1945) – Jeff Habbard Black Beauty (1946) – John Abie's Irish Rose (1946) – Patrick Murphy Call Northside 777 (1948) – Sullivan – Court Bailiff (uncredited) The Luck of the Irish (1948) – Tatie the Innkeeper The Fighting O'Flynn (1949) – Timothy Mrs. Mike (1949) – Uncle John Double Crossbones (1951) – Debtor (uncredited) Sealed Cargo (1951) – Skipper Ben Two of a Kind (1951) – Father Lanahan (uncredited) The Wild North (1952) – Callahan Park Row (1952) – Dan O'Rourke My Cousin Rachel (1952) – Reverend Pascoe The Silver Whip (1953) – Riley 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) – Old Billy It's a Dog's Life (1955) – Paddy Corbin The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) – Kevin McGovern (final film) Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958, TV) – The Magic Fishbone Tales of Wells Fargo (1959, TV) – Smalley Wagon Train (1959, TV) – John Reed The Loretta Young Show (1960, TV) – Mr. Thomas J. Flaherty Lock-Up (1960, TV) – Professor Caldwell (last appearance)