CANGEY (last name pronounced Can-gee) was born Richard M. Cangey on July 9, 1933 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.
In May of 1953, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and took his basic training in Breckenridge, Kentucky.
Following his basic training 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 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 Rockwell International.
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. Mr. Cangey passed away on October 29, 2003 leaving his wife of over forty years. His four children and seven grandchildren.
In May of 1953, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and took his basic training in Breckenridge, Kentucky.
Following his basic training 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 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 Rockwell International.
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. Mr. Cangey passed away on October 29, 2003 leaving his wife of over forty years. His four children and seven grandchildren.
