The former child actor who went on to become a successful producer, passed away on Tuesday after a five-year battle with colorectal cancer.
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A native of Santa Monica, Corcoran was one of eight children, all of whom acted in the 1950s and “60s”. Shortly after that, though, he got a proper start as an actor by appearing in several movies and TV shows produced by Disney in which he played a kid nicknamed “Moochie”.
Corcoran most famous role was that of Arliss Coates, the youngest son of Jim (Fess Parker) and Katie (Dorothy McGuire) and the brother of Travis (Tommy Kirk), in the post-Civil War tear-jerker Old Yeller, which revolved around the family’s heroic dog.
Corcoran made his screen debut aged four, in The Glen Miller Story, playing the son of the big bandleader, and went on to appear as “Moochie” i nine television and film titles, before getting his big break in Old Yeller three years later.
After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in theatre arts, Kevin returned to Disney, working behind the camera on such films as Superdad, Island at the Top of the World, and Pete’s Dragon. Kevin remembers going to Walt’s office after one contract negotiation: “He called me up there and said, ‘This is between you and me”.
Corcoran was added to the exclusive list of “Disney Legends” in 2006.
Over his career, he served as assistant director on such shows as Quantum Leap, Profiler, and Karen Sisco, and worked for a long period of time on Murder, She Wrote. “I want to know if you feel you’re being treated fairly.’ I know darn well if I had said I was unhappy, he would have done something about it”.
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Corcoran was a co-producer on nine episodes of The Shield and on 14 installments of another FX drama, Sons of Anarchy, created by Kurt Sutter.
