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Joe Flynn

Joe Flynn was an omnipresent comic character actor in the 1960s and 70s, appearing in numerous Disney productions and the hit military comedy "McHale's Navy." Originally from Ohio, Flynn served three years in the Army before completing his education, studying drama but majoring in political science. Flynn performed in theater and on radio, also unsuccessfully running for the Senate on the Republican ticket in Ohio in 1950. Flynn landed small character roles in television and film in 50s, including work on two films directed by Jack Webb. Starting in 1960, he found a recurring role on "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet," playing the son David's ornery boss, Mr. Kelley, and later appeared during the first season of "The Joey Bishop Show." But in 1962, he landed the role he was best known for, the cantankerous Navy Captain Wallace B. Binghamton on "McHale's Navy." The show lasted four seasons, including two feature films in 1964 and 1965, making Joe Flynn an in-demand comic actor. Through the late '60s to the mid-1970s, Flynn played comic villains in numerous Disney family films, including "The Love Bug" in 1968. He played the irascible college head Dean Higgins in a trio of comic fantasies starring a young Kurt Russell: 1969's "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes," 1972's "Now You See Him, Now You Don't," and 1975's "The World's Strongest Man." Flynn was found dead in his swimming pool in 1974, the suspected victim of a heart attack.