John Nicholas 'Dick' Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was a leading man best known in western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures.
Foran was born in Flemington, New Jersey, the first of five sons to Arthur F. and Elizabeth Foran. His father Arthur F. Foran would go on to serve in the New Jersey Senate, as would his younger brother, Walter E. Foran.
After becoming a lead singer in a band, Foran was hired by Warner Bros. as a supporting actor who could croon when called upon in films such as Change of Heart (1934) with Janet Gaynor. His handsome appearance and good natured personality made him a natural choice for the supporting cast. His first starring role was in Treachery Rides the Range.
In 1943, he starred on Broadway in the Rodgers and Hart musical comedy "A Connecticut Yankee" based on Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court".
He appeared in at leat four episodes of Science Fiction Theatre. One of these, "The Miracle Hour" (aired December 22, 1956), is about a man who never gives up hope that his fiancee's blind six-year-old son won't have to spend the Holidays in darkness.
The show featured Jean Byron as the fiancee and Charles Herbert as the child. Foran also appeared as a western lawman in an episode of Maverick with Jack Kelly called "The Third Rider" the following year.
Throughout his career, he starred in Rangers of Fortune, The Mummy's Hand, Keep 'Em Flying, and Ride 'Em Cowboy. His last movie role was a small one in Donovan's Reef, starring his long-time friend John Wayne.