Fred McCarren(1951-2006)
- Actor
Handsome, charming, and amiable everyman character actor Frederick West
McCarren was born on April 12, 1951 in Butler, Pennsylvania. McCarren
acted in numerous stage productions while a student at Butler Area
Senior High School. Fred attended not only the University of Cincinatti
and Point Park College, but also Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Clown College in Venice, Florida. After college McCarren went to New
York, where he immediately found employment doing TV commercials. A
subsequent career in film and television followed soon thereafter. Fred
married his wife Lisa Hogan on December 30, 1982. A onetime resident of
Tarzana, California, McCarren and his wife moved back to his native
Pennsylvania in the late 1980's. Fred focused on raising his six
children while continuing to work in both radio and television
commercials that included the crazy Dr. Sanchez in radio spots for the
Mad Rex restaurant chain and the coach in a series of TV commercials
for Dick's Sporting Goods as well as TV spots for PNC, PPG, Comcast,
and Builder's Surplus. McCarren had two brothers and three sisters. He
died at age 55 on July 2, 2006 from colon cancer at Butler Memorial
Hospital in Butler, Pennsylvania.
