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CANGEY
(last name pronounced Can-gee) was born Richard M. Cangey (he doesn't
talk about his middle name) on July 9, 1933 in a little apartment
above a large bus garage in the town of Mahoningtown, a suburb of
the city of New Castle, in western Pennsylvania. He graduated from
New Castle High School in 1951 and moved to Cleveland, Ohio to pursue
a boxing career while serving a Tool & Diemaker apprenticeship.
In
May of 1953, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and took his basic
training in Breckenridge, Kentucky. The Korean War ended during
Cangey's fourteenth week of training and he was sent to Aberdeen,
Maryland for the remainder of his time; most of which was spent
in a office pounding a typewriter.
Following
his basic training in October, Cangey returned home long enough
to marry his high school sweetheart, Mary Ann Medina, from Yougstown,
Ohio and take a brief honeymoon. Cangey was discharged in February
1955 and moved back to Cleveland with his wife to resume his apprenticeship
and boxing career.
Cangey
began a boxing career at the age of thirteen and quit the ring in
1959 with 43 wins and 3 loses. Shortly thereafter, Cangey packed
up and moved to Lakewood, California where he acquired a job at
what is now, Rockwell International. He was terminated a second
time in 1962 for Union activity; this time the company offered Cangey
one year's salary, tax free, not to return. He took the offer.
Working
as a bouncer in one of Long Beach's more popular bars, Cangey eventually
purchased and ran his own bar until 1965. During this time, he was
introduced to Peter Breck, who offered him a job on the television
series, THE BIG VALLEY. After one season, Cangey and Breck parted
company and for the next several months Cangey was idle. Into the
new filming season, Cangey was called to the set of THE WILD WILD
WEST where he met with Robert Conrad and began his relationship
with Conrad as a stand-in, stuntman, and eventually, a close friend.
Following
THE WILD WILD WEST, Cangey worked for Conrad through a short lived
series called THE D.A. for Jack Webb, a couple of movies-of-the-week,
and in June of 1972, went to Vienna, Austria to work on the series
called ASSIGNMENT: VIENNA. Cangey returned to the states in October
1972 and opened a pizza store and restaurant.
During
his time in the business, Cangey worked on such shows as DANIEL
BOONE, BRANDED, BERETTA, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, MANNIX, VEGAS, and
many other popular television shows of that time. Cangey is now
retired and living with his wife for over forty years. His four
children and seven grandchildren are a close, happy family.
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