Frank Orth

Acting · 0.7 popularity

Age

146

Movies

126

Born: February 20, 1880 – March 17, 1962
From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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.

Works

126 films

Sergeant York

19417.2

His Girl Friday

19407.4

Cheaper by the Dozen

19506.4

Father of the Bride

19507.0

They Died with Their Boots On

19416.7

Tall in the Saddle

19446.6

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

19467.1

The Ox-Bow Incident

19437.7

The Big Clock

19487.3

Young Mr. Lincoln

19397.2

Houdini

19536.6

The Lost Weekend

19457.6

Double Dynamite

19516.5

Boom Town

19406.9

Roxie Hart

19427.0

Lady in the Lake

19466.1

Roger Touhy, Gangster

19447.0

Idiot's Delight

19396.1

I Wake Up Screaming

19416.9

At the Circus

19396.4

Stanley and Livingstone

19396.4

The Great Rupert

19505.8

Father Is A Prince

19406.5

Greenwich Village

19446.7

The Strawberry Blonde

19417.0

Tales of Manhattan

19426.4

Brother Orchid

19406.6

Michael Shayne: Private Detective

19406.6

Sweet Rosie O'Grady

19436.5

It Had to Be You

19477.8

Right to the Heart

19427.0

Red Light

19495.9

Something to Live For

19526.9

'Til We Meet Again

19406.4

Wilson

19445.6

Coney Island

19436.3

My Gal Sal

19425.8

So This Is New York

19486.7

Dust Be My Destiny

19396.5

Respect the Law

19417.0

Come Live with Me

19416.8

Nancy Drew... Reporter

19396.0

The Hoodlum Saint

19465.5

The Impatient Years

19446.4

Heartaches

19475.3

Buyer Beware

19406.5

Nancy Drew… Detective

19386.5

Unwelcome Stranger

19359.0

Dr. Kildare's Crisis

19406.7

Rings on Her Fingers

19426.8

Summer Storm

19445.7

The Doctor Takes a Wife

19406.8

Fast and Furious

19395.2

Broadway Limited

19415.0

Missing Witnesses

19377.0

Murder in the Music Hall

19465.3

San Quentin

19376.6

Gallant Sons

19407.4

Bride for Sale

19497.0

The Bride Wore Boots

19466.1

Dr. Kildare Goes Home

19406.8

The Secret of Dr. Kildare

19396.1

Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant

19426.5

The Magnificent Dope

19427.3

Within the Law

19396.5

Fast and Loose

19395.9

Florian

19404.5

Thunder Afloat

19396.1

The Guilt of Janet Ames

19475.8

A Bird in the Hand

19298.0

You, the People

19406.2

Taking Ways

19307.0

Calling Dr. Kildare

19396.6

Gold Rush Maisie

19406.8

Over My Dead Body

19428.0

Talent Scout

19376.7

Tell No Tales

19395.4

Springtime in the Rockies

19426.9

The Meanest Man in the World

19436.9

Young Dr. Kildare

19386.7

Hello, Frisco, Hello

19436.4

Blue, White and Perfect

19426.5

Prairie Thunder

19374.3

The Payoff

19355.5

Know Your Money

19408.3

Comet Over Broadway

19385.7

Doll Face

19454.6

Orchestra Wives

19426.5

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

19396.8

The Patient in Room 18

19385.1

Broadway Serenade

19396.6

The People Vs. Dr. Kildare

19417.0

Tell It to a Star

194510.0

Mexican Spitfire Out West

19405.0

It's Great to Be Young

19469.0

She Went to the Races

19456.0

Dr. Kildare's Strange Case

19404.8

Footlight Serenade

19426.5

Ever Since Eve

19375.8

Polo Joe

19367.0

Burn 'Em Up O'Connor

19396.3

Hot Money

19367.0

Pier 13

19405.7

Two Against the World

19366.2

The Petty Girl

19504.3

Blondie's Secret

19486.5

The Gas House Kids in Hollywood

19478.0

Storm Over Lisbon

19445.4

Henry and Dizzy

19429.0

Marry the Girl

19376.5

The Footloose Heiress

19374.7

Pillow to Post

19455.5

La Conga Nights

19407.7

Think It Over

19387.3

Torchy Blane in Panama

19385.8

Wake Up and Dream

19467.4

Here Come the Girls

19534.6

The Devil's Saddle Legion

19373.8

Dr. Kildare's Victory

19426.2

Let's Make Music

19416.0

Land Beyond the Law

19378.5

Ride on Vaquero

19415.2

Born to Speed

19478.0

The Girl from Manhattan

19486.3

Mr. Chump

193810.0

The Victim

19319.0