A Christmas Story

DARREN McGAVIN
May 7, 1922 - Feb. 25, 2006

For boomers watching TV between the mid-1950s and the late '70s, actor Darren McGavin was a familiar face. The Washington State native stumbled into acting while working on the Columbia Pictures lot as a painter in 1945, beginning ... morein bit parts. McGavin was emboldened enough to move to New York City and study at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio. Work in live TV drama and on Broadway sharpened his craft before McGavin returned to Hollywood in the mid-'50s with notable feature film roles in "Summertime" and "The Man with the Golden Arm." Yet television was where McGavin made his most indelible impression, at one point starring in two hit series, "Mike Hammer" and "Riverboat," back to back. His most iconic role came with skeptical reporter Carl Kolchak in "The Night Stalker," the 1972 TV movie that spawned a series widely cited as an inspiration for "The X-Files." While the small screen dominated his resume, McGavin reaped a satisfying late career triumph with his signature role in the Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story," embodying the irascible "old man" of the fable's kid protagonist.

(Image: Photofest/Retna Ltd.)