Anecdotes

Some accounts list the cause of his death as a sudden heart attack suffered while sitting in his car waiting for his wife, actress Virginia Carroll, to finish shopping. However, in an interview Carroll said that he actually died of cancer in the Sawtelle Veterans Administration hospital in Los Angeles.

Best known as portrayer of comic-strip detective "Dick Tracy" in 40's "B" films. (See also Morgan Conway.)

Enlisted in the US Army Signal Corps during World War II and taught demolition.

Was an Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster.

Performed on stage frequently in Hollywood with the Bliss-Hayden Little Theatre where he met his wife, actress Virginia Carroll. They would have one daughter, Carroll.

Signed to a Republic Pictures contract after he appeared for the studio in Blake of Scotland Yard (1937).

Started acting as a member of the stock company Allbright Players in which he toured the Midwest.

Originally singing in church, he later sang with a dance orchestra in the early 1930s.

He and wife Virginia Carroll performed in three projects together: A Tenderfoot Goes West (1936), Dick Tracy Returns (1938) and Lucy and the Stranger (1950).