Daniel Hale "Dan" Rowan (July 22, 1922 – September 22, 1987) was an American comedian. He was featured in the television show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, where he played straight man to Dick Martin. Born on a carnival train near the small town of Beggs, Oklahoma under the name of Daniel Hale David, Rowan toured with his parents, Oscar and Nellie David, in a carnival in a singing and dancing act. He was orphaned at age 11, spent four traumatic years at the McClelland Home in Pueblo, Colorado, then was taken in by a foster family at age 16 and enrolled in Pueblo's Central High School. After graduating from high school, he hitchhiked to Los Angeles, California in 1940 and found a job as in the mailroom at Paramount Studios; quickly ingratiating himself with studio head Buddy DeSylva, a year later he became Paramount's youngest staff writer. During World War II, Rowan served as a fighter pilot in the Army Air Force. He flew P-40s and scored two kills against Japanese aircraft before he was shot down and seriously wounded over New Guinea. His military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart. After his discharge, he returned to California where he teamed with Dick Martin and started a comedy night-club act. The team had appeared on television before, but it was not until the success of a summer special in 1967 that they found fame on Laugh-In. In 1946 he married the 1945 Miss America first-runner-up Phyllis J. Mathis and had three children: Thomas Patrick (born 2 Oct 1947), Mary Ann (born 1 Nov 1949), and Christie Esther (born 13 Sep 1951). In 1963 Rowan married again. His second wife was Australian model Adriana Van Ballegooyen (born 5 May 1942); they divorced in Los Angeles County, California in July 1974. His daughter Mary was briefly married to Peter Lawford. Rowan retired to Florida. He was a type II diabetic, and died of lymphatic cancer in Manasota Key, Florida on September 22, 1987. In 1986, a book of letters written between himself and author John D. MacDonald was published entitled A Friendship: The Letters of Dan Rowan and John D. MacDonald, 1967-1974.
References
Obituary Los Angeles Times September 23, 1987. Who's Who in America 1970-71 Chicago: Marquis Who's Who Obituary - New York Times, September 23, 1987
External links
- Dan Rowan at the Internet Movie Database
