Frank Orth

Person

Frank Orth

Acting February 20, 1880

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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”. B…

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Known for

Popular titles

His Girl Friday

His Girl Friday

7.4 1940 Movie
The Lost Weekend

The Lost Weekend

7.6 1945 Movie
The Ox-Bow Incident

The Ox-Bow Incident

7.7 1943 Movie
Sergeant York

Sergeant York

7.2 1941 Movie
Father of the Bride

Father of the Bride

7.0 1950 Movie
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

7.1 1946 Movie
Young Mr. Lincoln

Young Mr. Lincoln

7.2 1939 Movie
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

6.2 1952 TV Show
The Big Clock

The Big Clock

7.3 1948 Movie
They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On

6.7 1941 Movie
Lady in the Lake

Lady in the Lake

6.1 1946 Movie
At the Circus

At the Circus

6.4 1939 Movie

Biography

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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.

Filmography

Movies and shows, newest first

  1. 1953
    Here Come the Girls

    Movie Mr. Hungerford

  2. 1953
    Houdini

    Movie Mr. Hunter

  3. 1952
    The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

    TV show Uncle John

  4. 1952
    Something to Live For

    Movie Waiter (uncredited)

  5. 1951
    Double Dynamite

    Movie Mr. Kofer

  6. 1951
    Boston Blackie

    TV show Inspector Faraday

  7. 1950
    The Petty Girl

    Movie Moody (process server)

  8. 1950
    Father of the Bride

    Movie Joe

  9. 1950
    Cheaper by the Dozen

    Movie Higgins (uncredited)

  10. 1950
    The Great Rupert

    Movie Mr. Frank Dingle

  11. 1949
    Bride for Sale

    Movie Police Sergeant (uncredited)

  12. 1949
    Red Light

    Movie Wallace 'Wally' Stoner

  13. 1948
    Blondie's Secret

    Movie Mr. Philpotts

  14. 1948
    The Girl from Manhattan

    Movie Oscar Newsome

  15. 1948
    So This Is New York

    Movie AJ Gluskoter

  16. 1948
    The Big Clock

    Movie Burt

More credits
  1. 1947
    It Had to Be You

    Movie Conductor Brown

  2. 1947
    The Gas House Kids in Hollywood

    Movie Police Captain

  3. 1947
    Heartaches

    Movie Mike Connelly, Vic's Agent

  4. 1947
    The Guilt of Janet Ames

    Movie Danny

  5. 1947
    Born to Speed

    Movie Breezy Bradley

  6. 1946
    Lady in the Lake

    Movie Floyd Greer (Uncredited)

  7. 1946
    Wake Up and Dream

    Movie Milkman

  8. 1946
    It's Great to Be Young

    Movie Franklin Johnson

  9. 1946
    The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

    Movie Hotel Clerk

  10. 1946
    The Bride Wore Boots

    Movie Judge (uncredited)

  11. 1946
    Murder in the Music Hall

    Movie Henderson

  12. 1946
    The Hoodlum Saint

    Movie Chronicle Editor (uncredited)

  13. 1945
    Doll Face

    Movie Peters

  14. 1945
    The Lost Weekend

    Movie Opera Cloak Room Attendant

  15. 1945
    She Went to the Races

    Movie Skelly

  16. 1945
    Tell It to a Star

    Movie Augustus T. Goodman

  17. 1945
    Pillow to Post

    Movie Clayfield Taxi Driver

  18. 1944
    The Mummy's Curse

    Movie Songs

  19. 1944
    Storm Over Lisbon

    Movie Murgatroyd

  20. 1944
    Tall in the Saddle

    Movie 'Shorty' Davis (uncredited)

  21. 1944
    Greenwich Village

    Movie Ordway

  22. 1944
    The Impatient Years

    Movie Counterman

  23. 1944
    Wilson

    Movie Smith (uncredited)

  24. 1944
    Summer Storm

    Movie Cafe Maitre d' at End (uncredited)