Joe Flynn: Legendary Comic Scene Stealer of McHALE'S NAVY & Many a Walt Disney Film

''I could just scream!''

The brilliant, bespectacled comic actor, best known for playing tetchy & forever frustrated Navy Capt. Wallace ''Wally'' Binghamton aka Old Leadbottom on the hit sitcom McHALE'S NAVY (ABC 1962-66), was born on November 8th, 1924 in Youngstown, Ohio. Flynn was found dead at the bottom of his Beverly Hills swimming pool on July 19th, 1974. He had apparently gone for a swim even though he had a cast on his recently broken leg and suffered a heart attack and drowned. Flynn was only 49.

Flynn and his superb straight man Bob Hastings (toady Lt. Elroy Carpenter) on MN

''Why me? Why is it always always me?''

''What is it? What, what, what, WHAT!?''

The cast of McHALE'S NAVY:

Flynn, Ernest Borgnine, Tim Conway, Yoshio Yoda, Billy Sands, Gavin MacLeod, Hastings, Edson Stroll, John Wright, Carl Ballantine & Gary Vinson

Flynn played Binghamton in 2 feature films as well:

1964's McHALE'S NAVY & 1965's McHALE'S NAVY JOINS THE AIR FORCE

Flynn was also a favorite of Walt Disney, making his first appearance in SON OF FLUBBER and later appearing in 5 Kurt Russell kid-friendly comedy faves--THE BAREFOOT EXECUTIVE, SUPERDAD, THE COMPUTER WORE TENNIS SHOES, NOW YOU SEE HIM NOW YOU DON'T, & THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD--playing the crotchety Dean Higgins of fictional Medfield College in the last 3. He also appeared in 2 Disney films with Dean Jones: THE LOVE BUG & THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK. Flynn also popped up a couple of times on WALT DISNEY'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR.

Joe with THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK

With David Tomlinson in THE LOVE BUG

With John Ritter, Wally Cox, and Heather North, the voice of SCOOBY-DOO's Daphne (1970-97), in THE BAREFOOT EXECUTIVE

Flynn gives Eve Arden a lift in

THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD

With Russell, William Windom and...

...another member of the Disney Rep Co., Micheal McGreevey, in NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON'T

With Harry Morgan, Kurt Russell and THE BAREFOOT EXECUTIVE

With Frank Webb (who died in a car accident just 5 months after Flynn)

and Jon LASSIE Provost in THE COMPUTER WORE TENNIS SHOES

Flynn's last gig before he died was the voice of Mr. Snoopers in the Disney

animated classic THE RESCUERS, which was released 3 years after his passing.

My other favorite Flynn film & TV roles include:

Lionel Blandsforth, Dick Van Dyke's horny pal in

DIVORCE AMERICAN STYLE

One of his last and best dramatic roles, newspaperman Hy Shapiro in Jack Webb's

1959 film -30- aka DEADLINE MIDNIGHT

With Richard Deacon in -30-

Working with Webb again, as Pvt. Russell Dexter in the DRAGNET man's

one foray into intentional comedy, THE LAST TIME I SAW ARCHIE, with Robert Mitchum, Louis Nye, and Del Moore

The recurring role of David Nelson's boss, Mr. Kelley, of the law firm Dobson & Kelley, for 3 seasons (1960-63) of the long-running ABC sitcom THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE & HARRIET.

With Mr. and Mrs. David Nelson (Connie was David's on-screen wife as well)

with Flynn on OZZIE & HARRIET

His guest spot as Dr. Corbett on the I DREAM OF JEANNIE episode

Dr. Bellows Goes Sane

With Larry Hagman on JEANNIE

Cranky Herbert T. Kenworth, President & co-owner of Triple A Airlines, which

re-teamed Flynn with his McHALE'S NAVY nemesis, Ensign Parker, on THE TIM CONWAY SHOW, a very short-lived 1970 CBS sitcom

Lightning didn't struck twice for Conway & Flynn

Kermit Sanderson in HOW TO FRAME A FIGG

With Don Knotts, Edward Andrews. Yvonne Craig & Parker Fennelly in FIGG

Flynn's other notable TV and film roles include:

Jenkins on THE LIFE OF RILEY NBC series with William Bendix, Benton Belgoody on the BATMAN episodes The Cat's Meow & The Bat's Kow Tow, the inept Dr. Green in the hilarious 1973 ABC Movie of the Week black comedy THE GIRL MOST LIKELY TO... with Stockard Channing, Hadley in LOVER COME BACK with Rock Hudson & Doris Day, Frank, the star's brother-in-law, on the 1st season of THE JOEY BISHOP SHOW, a regular performer on THE GEORGE GOBEL SHOW during the 1958-59 season, Dr. McCafferty, the drunk dentist boss of Debbie Reynolds in THIS HAPPY FEELING, Hubert Shelton in DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT THE TRAVELING SALESLADY? with Phyllis Diller, and mortician Morton Silkline in the NIGHT GALLERY segment The Funeral.

With Werner Klemperer on NIGHT GALLERY

The killer doctor in THE GIRL MOST LIKELY TO...

Flynn wants THIS HAPPY FEELING to last--

Debbie Reynolds doesn't

His other credits include:

HIGHWAY PATROL, THE COURT OF LAST RESORT, THE GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN SHOW, THE SILENT SERVICE, THE REAL McCOYS, THE RESTLESS GUN, THE DENNIS O'KEEFE SHOW, MEN INTO SPACE, JOHNNY MIDNIGHT, WAGON TRAIN, THE TAB HUNTER SHOW, M SQUAD, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY, BACHELOR FATHER, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM, GUNSMOKE, CHANNING, CAPTAIN NICE, BLONDIE, LAREDO, THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW, THAT GIRL, LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE, INSIGHT, FARADAY AND COMPANY, THE MAGICIAN, ALIAS SMITH AND JONES, and more.

With David Wayne in THE TWILIGHT ZONE episode

Escape Clause

WAGON TRAIN

Film

GENTLE SAVAGE aka CAMPER JOHN, INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN, THE DESPERATE HOURS, THE BOSS, THE SEVEN LITTLE FOYS, THE BIG CHASE, TRIAL, THE STEEL JUNGLE, GO, JOHNNY, GO!, PANAMA SAL, CRY FOR HAPPY, and more.

With Lon Chaney Jr. and Robert Shayne in

INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN

Flynn knew comedy was his forte when he went to the theater to watch the low-budget sci-fi/horror film and the audience laughed at everything he did!

Flynn also popped up on several talk and game shows like THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW, MATCH GAME, THE VIN SCULLY SHOW, THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, and THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARSON.