Joe Flynn Biography

A former ventriloquist and radio deejay, bespectacled character-actor Joe Flynn was a professional even before he graduated from Northwestern University. He made his first film appearance as a priest in the Bob Hope comedy The Seven Little Foys (1955) then spent several years in uncredited roles before building up a reputation as a reliable comic foil on television. He was one of the regulars on the first season of The Joey Bishop Show (1961), but left early on, reportedly because he was stealing too many scenes from star Bishop. From 1962 through 1966, Flynn played the irascible Captain Binghamton on the TV sitcom McHale's Navy (1962) and also starred in two theatrical films spun off from the series. In the early 1970s, Flynn spearheaded a movement on behalf of the Screen Actors' Guild for more equitable distribution of TV residual payments. Shortly after completing his voiceover work in the Disney animated feature The Rescuers, 50-year-old Joe Flynn died of a heart attack. - Hal Erickson, Rovi

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