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  "description": "Darren McGavin (born William Lyle Richardson; May 7, 1922 – February 25, 2006) was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity in the film A Christmas Story. He appeared as the tough-talking, funny detective in the 1950s television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer. From 1959-1961, McGavin starred in the NBC western series Riverboat, first with Burt Reynolds and then with Noah Beery, Jr.\n\nDescription above from the Wikipedia article Darren McGavin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.",
  "birthDate": "1922-05-07",
  "deathDate": "2006-02-25",
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