Actor, Vocalist. He was very versatile in his movie roles, appearing in a wide category of movies from horror, comedies, drama, musicals, and Westerns spanning from the 1930s thru the 1960s, performing in over 200 movies with such stars as James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, and Shirley Temple. Although always billed as a prolific "B" actor, he received an Oscar nomination "Best Supporting Actor" for his role in "The Petrified Forest," filmed in 1936. Hoping to cash into the Western craze of the times, Warner Bros. featured him as their answer to Republic's Gene Autry, Champion, Roy Rogers, and Trigger in a series of "B" Westerns featuring a horse called Smoke or Smokie, billed as the Wonder Horse and he as the "Singing Cowboy." An excellent vocalist prior to his movie career, he achieved singing prominence as the lead singer with an Eastern band and sang on national radio billed as Nick Foran. Motion Picture Herald and Box Office polls showed Foran as one of the top ten cowboy film stars. John Nicholas was born in Flemington, New Jersey, the son of Arthur and Elizabeth Foran. The family would ultimately number five boys. His family was of a political nature. His father was a New Jersey Senator, Mayor of Flemington, New Jersey; Highway Commissioner, and a Customs Official for the Port of New York. His brother Walter (Moose) Foran served as a New Jersey State Assemblyman, its Majority Leader, and was then elected to the State Senate, where he died in office. John was a bright student while growing up in Flemington, a good athlete in high school with a fine singing voice, and often sang in the church choir. After graduation, he attended the Hun School, a college preparatory school in nearby Princeton and then enrolled at Princeton University, pursuing a degree in geology. He played on the football team while taking courses in the arts where he develop an interest in the theatre. After college, indecision led him to a number of jobs, all unsatisfying, until his singing led him to a show business career. He came West and, after a screen test, was signed by Warner Brothers. The first order of business was to change his name to "Dick." After leaving Warner Brothers, the rest of his movie career was as a character actor with some major roles but mostly small parts. Among the better roles were in "The Fighting 69th," "Fort Apache," and "Donovan's Reef." As age crept up, his career waned, but he continued to make guest television and film appearances almost to the end of his life. His last endeavors were in television commercials. Hospitalized at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Panorama City, he would spend a week before his passing at age 69. A public Mass was officiated in Van Nuys at St. Jane Frances de Chantel Catholic Church with a private burial at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.