Frank Orth
Age: 82 | From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Person Details
Birthday: 1880-02-20 16:32:31
Death: 1962-03-17 16:32:31
Aliases: Frank Kaiser Orth
Gender: Male
Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 62
TV Involvements: 0
Most Famous Work
Biography
Frank Orth was an American actor born in Philadelphia. He is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Inspector Faraday in the 1951-1953 television series “Boston Blackie”. By 1897, Orth was performing in vaudeville with his wife, Ann Codee, in an act called “Codee and Orth.” In 1909, he expanded into song writing, with songs such as “The Phone Bell Rang” and “Meet Me on the Boardwalk, Dearie.” His first contact with motion pictures was in 1928, when he was part of the first foreign-language shorts in sound produced by Warner Bros. He and his wife also appeared together in a series of two-reel comedies in the early 1930s. Orth's first major screen credit was in “Prairie Thunder,” a Dick Foran western, in 1937. From then on, he was often cast as bartenders, pharmacists, and grocery clerks, and always distinctly Irish. He had a recurring role in the Dr. Kildare series of films and also in the Nancy Drew series as the befuddled Officer Tweedy. Among his better roles were the newspaper man Cary Grant telephones early in “His Girl Friday,” one of the quartet singing “Gary Owen” in “They Died with Their Boots On” (thereby giving Errol Flynn as Gen. Custer the idea of associating the tune with the 7th Cavalry), and as the little man carrying the sign reading “The End Is Near” throughout Colonel Effingham's Raid. However, Orth is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Inspector Faraday in the 1951-1953 television series “Boston Blackie.” A short, plump, round-faced man, often smoking a cigar, Orth as Faraday wore his own dark-rimmed spectacles, though rarely in feature films. In 1959, Orth retired from show business after throat surgery. His wife died in 1961 after around fifty years of marriage. Orth died on March 17, 1962. He is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills next to his wife.
Most Famous Work
The Lost Weekend
(1945) Opera Cloak Room Attendant
Sergeant York
(1941) Drummer (uncredited)
The Ox-Bow Incident
(1943) Larry Kinkaid (uncredited)
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
(1946) Hotel Clerk
Young Mr. Lincoln
(1939) Loafer (uncredited)
Houdini
(1953) Mr. Hunter
They Died with Their Boots On
(1941) Barfly (uncredited)
Lady in the Lake
(1946) Floyd Greer (Uncredited)Acting
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Mr. Hungerford | |
| Mr. Hunter | ||
| 1952 | Waiter (uncredited) | |
| 1951 | Mr. Kofer | |
| N/A | ||
| 1950 | Moody (process server) | |
| Joe | ||
| Higgins (uncredited) | ||
| Mr. Frank Dingle | ||
| 1949 | Police Sergeant | |
| Wallace 'Wally' Stoner | ||
| 1948 | Mr. Philpotts | |
| Oscar Newsome | ||
| Burt | ||
| 1947 | Train Conductor | |
| Police Captain | ||
| Mike Connelly, Vic's Agent | ||
| Danny | ||
| Breezy Bradley | ||
| 1946 | Floyd Greer (Uncredited) | |
| Milkman | ||
| Franklin Johnson | ||
| Hotel Clerk | ||
| Judge | ||
| Henderson | ||
| Chronicle Editor (uncredited) | ||
| 1945 | Peters | |
| Opera Cloak Room Attendant | ||
| Skelly | ||
| Augustus T. Goodman | ||
| Clayfield Taxi Driver | ||
| 1944 | Murgatroyd | |
| Counterman | ||
| Smith (uncredited) | ||
| Cafe Maitre d' at End (uncredited) | ||
| . Comic in Theater (uncredited) | ||
| 1943 | Taxi Driver | |
| Bartender | ||
| Lou, Bartender at Sharkey's | ||
| Larry Kinkaid (uncredited) | ||
| Bartender | ||
| 1942 | Bickel (uncredited) | |
| Mike Ryan | ||
| Rex Willet | ||
| Secondhand Clothes Dealer (Rogers sequence) | ||
| Mike | ||
| Messenger | ||
| Joe McGuire | ||
| McGuiness | ||
| N/A | ||
| Bar Client #2 (uncredited) | ||
| Mike Ryan | ||
| Detective | ||
| Mr. Toby | ||
| 1941 | Barfly (uncredited) | |
| Cemetery Caretaker | ||
| Drummer (uncredited) | ||
| Lou, Cafe Proprietor | ||
| Mike Ryan | ||
| Auctioneer | ||
| Jerry | ||
| Peter Brennan | ||
| 1940 | Steve | |
| Soda Jerk | ||
| Mike Ryan, Cafe Owner | ||
| Drugstore Proprieter | ||
| Newspaper Foreman (uncredited) | ||
| Window Washer | ||
| Mike Ryan (uncredited) | ||
| Barber | ||
| Smith (uncredited) | ||
| Dead Pan Charlie | ||
| Harris | ||
| Waiter at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited) | ||
| Detective | ||
| Dennis O'Brien | ||
| New York Editor | ||
| Hong Kong Bartender (uncredited) | ||
| Mike Ryan, Sullivan's Hospital Cafe | ||
| Tobacconist (uncredited) | ||
| Duffy | ||
| 1939 | Mike Sullivan | |
| Chef in Diner (uncredited) | ||
| Joe Burke | ||
| Wedding Witness on Stage (uncredited) | ||
| Old Sailor in Bilge Area (uncredited) | ||
| Captain Tweedy | ||
| Newspaperman with Pills | ||
| Vic - Bartender (uncredited) | ||
| Loafer (uncredited) | ||
| Mike Sullivan - Hospital Cafe Owner (uncredited) | ||
| Mr. Fellows | ||
| Jim Jenks | ||
| Captain Tweedy (uncredited) | ||
| Detective Hendricks | ||
| Benny Zinsser | ||
| Tim McKelvy | ||
| 1938 | Cab Driver (uncredited) | |
| Captain Tweedy | ||
| Mike Ryan (uncredited) | ||
| Sheriff Frank Hinton | ||
| Brown, Clothing Store Owner | ||
| First Leopard (uncredited) | ||
| Joe Higgins - Night Watchman | ||
| 1937 | Wichita | |
| Justice Abner Cuttler | ||
| Judge Barko | ||
| Burlesque Theatre Manager (uncredited) | ||
| Cocktail Waiter (uncredited) | ||
| Bar owner | ||
| Convict in Bunkhouse (uncredited) | ||
| Shorty Long | ||
| 1936 | Bert | |
| Hank Ford | ||
| Tommy - Bartender | ||
| 1935 | Jackson | |
| Porter (uncredited) | ||
| 1930 | N/A | |
| 1929 | N/A | |
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
Sound
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Songs | |
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
