Darren McGavin

ACTOR, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Darren McGavin Movies or Tv Shows (upto Apr 2024) - Watch Online

29th May 2022 | FlixCatalog Staff

A remarkably seasoned actor of stage, screen and television, Darren McGavin has notched in excess of 200 performances; however, he is most fondly remembered by cult TV fans as heroic newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak in the classic but short-lived horror TV series Der Nachtjäger (1974). In a long and varied career, McGavin has often turned up as authority figures including policemen, military officers, stern-faced business executives or father figures; however, he is equally adept at light-hearted comedic performances.Darren McGavin was born William Lyle Richardson on May 7, 1922, in Spokane, Washington, to Grace Mitton (Bogart) and Reed D. Richardson. His mother was from Ontario, Canada. He received his dramatic arts training at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio, and debuted on screen in an uncredited role in Polonaise (1945). Several standard roles followed over the next decade before he landed the key role of Louie the drug pusher in Der Mann mit dem goldenen Arm (1955) and Capt. Russ Peters in Verdammt zum Schweigen (1955), both directed by Otto Preminger. Each of these performances showcased McGavin's versatility, and his virile looks scored him the role of Mickey Spillane's hard-boiled private eye in Mike Hammer (1958).McGavin stayed continually employed throughout the 1960s, appearing in such films as Entscheidung am Big Horn (1965), Der Einzelgänger (1967), Herausforderung zum Grand-Prix (1970) and Tribes (1970). In addition, he was regularly guest-starring in dozens of TV shows, including Rauchende Colts (1955), Assistenzarzt Dr. Kildare (1961), Kobra, übernehmen Sie (1966) and Solo für O.N.K.E.L. (1964). In 1971 he landed the role of cynical reporter Carl Kolchak in the low-budget horror thriller The Night Stalker (1972), about a vampire running amok in Las Vegas. The film was a monster ratings winner (pun intended!) and the highest-rated telemovie of 1972, and original scriptwriters were soon hard at work on a punchier sequel. The Night Strangler (1973) saw Kolchak in Seattle (after being booted out of Las Vegas by the police), and this time on the trail of a serial killer seeking the elixir of eternal youth. The second movie was equally successful, and spawned the short-lived TV series Der Nachtjäger (1974) with Simon Oakland as McGavin's long-suffering editor and a host of weekly guest stars including Jim Backus, Phil Silvers, Richard Kiel, Tom Skerritt, Scatman Crothers and Larry Storch."Kolchak" only lasted one season, but it became a bona-fide cult classic, and many years later its premise of "the unknown amongst us" inspired writer Chris Carter to create the phenomenally successful long-running TV series Akte X: Die unheimlichen Fälle des FBI (1993), which saw McGavin guest-star in several episodes.McGavin remained busy throughout the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s, appearing in Airport III - Verschollen im Bermuda-Dreieck (1977), as Gen. George S. Patton in the TV miniseries Ike (1979), alongside Rock Hudson in the uneven sci-fi miniseries Die Marschroniken (1980) and a few years later endeared himself to to a whole new generation of fans with his superb performance as the vitriolic, yet buffoonish, father in the delightful Christmas classic Fröhliche Weihnachten (1983). The always versatile McGavin also popped up as a detective in Das Schlitzohr (1985), assisted Arnold Schwarzenegger in cleaning up the mob in Der City Hai (1986) and was a doctor in the bizarre zombie/cop/zombie cop film Dead Heat (1988).At this point it's worth mentioning that, along with his film and TV work, McGavin has also enjoyed an illustrious career on the stage, with appearances in dozens of critically acclaimed productions across the length and breadth of the US. He has appeared in stage presentations of "Death of a Salesman", "The Rainmaker", "The King and I" and "Blood Sweat & Stanley Poole", to name a few.In 1990 the opportunity arose for McGavin to play another somewhat stern, yet comedic, father figure, this time as "Bill Brown" to Candice Bergen in the much loved sitcom Murphy Brown (1988). McGavin was again wonderful, and his entertaining performances resulted in an Emmy Award in 1990. Several other film roles followed in the 1990s, in such films as Adam Sandler's hit Billy Madison - Ein Chaot zum Verlieben (1995). He died on 25th February 2006 at the age of 83. - IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44@hotmail.com

Fan Zone

Streaming Availability

Amazon Video has the most number of Darren McGavin’s flixes, followed by DIRECTV compared to other streaming platforms. See the full graph below.

Releases by Year

Darren McGavin on average has worked on 2 movies per year from 1970 to 1999. See the full graphs of the number of Darren McGavin movies released per year from 1986 till 1999.

Top Genres

Darren McGavin works mostly in Drama Genre followed by Comedy Genre flixes. 28% of Darren McGavin movies are Drama Genre movies. See Top Genres that Darren McGavin worked on in the graph below.

Average IMDB Score

On average the IMDB score of the movies that Darren McGavin has worked on is 6.5.

6.5 / 10

Darren McGavin's Movies and Tv Series available to Stream now ..

Horror,Mystery,Thriller
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)

A newspaper reporter investigates strange supernatural occurrences in Chicago.

8.5/1051 min

Available in 6 platform(s).

In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie attempts to convince his parents, his teacher and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.

7.9/1093 min

Available in 12 platform(s).

Action,Adventure,Comedy
Around the World in 80 Days (1989)

A Victorian Age English gentleman takes a wager that he can circle the globe in the unprecedented time of just eighty days.

7.1/10266 min

Available in 1 platform(s).

After discovering the connection between a corrupt city commissioner and Colombian killers, Kojak is framed for the murder of a call girl and is prosecuted by former police detective Crocker, now an assistant D.A.

6.7/1096 min

Available in 3 platform(s).

A biblical orator opposes a liberal lawyer defending a man for teaching Darwinism in the 1920s South.

6.6/1096 min

Available in 8 platform(s).

During school-break, two kids are to stay with their rich Grandpa but they would rather join their mother overseas, so, in need of plane-ticket cash, they convince two petty-criminals to fake-kidnap them for a ransom they could all share.

6.4/10112 min

Available in 7 platform(s).

In order to inherit his fed up father's hotel empire, an immature and lazy man must repeat grades 1-12 all over again.

6.3/1089 min

Available in 13 platform(s).

Comedy,Crime
Small Time (1996)

Ben is a small-time gangster who gets the opportunity to earn a lot of money. His boss sends him to a remote ranch with bag full of drugs and orders him to wait for the buyer. But the ...

6.2/1096 min

Available in 1 platform(s).