Biography
Frank Coghlan Jr. (also known as Junior Coghlan) was an American actor. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he began working in films as a child extra after his family moved to Los Angeles. He appeared in approximately 129 films and television programmes between 1920 and 1974, including early Our Gang comedies and uncredited roles such as Tom as a Boy in The Public Enemy (1931) and a collapsing soldier in Gone with the Wind (1939).
He is best known for playing Billy Batson in the 1941 serial Adventures of Captain Marvel. Coghlan enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942, serving 23 years as a naval aviator and officer until his retirement in 1965; he later acted as a liaison between the Navy and Hollywood studios on several films. After retiring, he returned to acting in television, films and commercials, and published an autobiography in 1992.
