Frank Orth

Acting · 0.5 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

They Died with Their Boots On

19416.7

The Ox-Bow Incident

19437.7

Tall in the Saddle

19446.6

Father of the Bride

19507.0

Houdini

19536.6

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

19467.1

Young Mr. Lincoln

19397.2

The Lost Weekend

19457.6

The Big Clock

19487.3

Double Dynamite

19516.5

Boom Town

19406.9

I Wake Up Screaming

19416.9

Greenwich Village

19446.7

Father Is A Prince

19406.5

Roxie Hart

19427.0

Stanley and Livingstone

19396.4

Lady in the Lake

19466.1

Unwelcome Stranger

19359.0

Idiot's Delight

19396.1

Nancy Drew… Detective

19386.5

Sweet Rosie O'Grady

19436.5

At the Circus

19396.4

Roger Touhy, Gangster

19447.0

The Strawberry Blonde

19417.0

Dr. Kildare's Strange Case

19404.8

Rings on Her Fingers

19426.8

The Great Rupert

19505.8

Brother Orchid

19406.6

Michael Shayne: Private Detective

19406.6

So This Is New York

19486.7

Wilson

19445.6

Red Light

19495.9

The Secret of Dr. Kildare

19396.1

Hello, Frisco, Hello

19436.4

Something to Live For

19526.9

Heartaches

19475.3

It Had to Be You

19477.8

Buyer Beware

19406.5

Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant

19426.5

Come Live with Me

19416.8

Dr. Kildare's Crisis

19406.7

Tales of Manhattan

19426.4

Taking Ways

19307.0

Within the Law

19396.5

Dust Be My Destiny

19396.5

Respect the Law

19417.0

Nancy Drew... Reporter

19396.0

The Doctor Takes a Wife

19406.8

Young Dr. Kildare

19386.7

Coney Island

19436.3

The Hoodlum Saint

19465.5

The Guilt of Janet Ames

19475.8

Missing Witnesses

19377.0

Fast and Furious

19395.2

Calling Dr. Kildare

19396.6

You, the People

19406.2

Florian

19404.5

Over My Dead Body

19428.0

The Patient in Room 18

19385.1

Broadway Limited

19415.0

The Meanest Man in the World

19436.9

Here Come the Girls

19534.6

A Bird in the Hand

19298.0

The Bride Wore Boots

19466.1

Murder in the Music Hall

19465.3

Tell No Tales

19395.4

Talent Scout

19376.7

Summer Storm

19445.7

The Impatient Years

19446.3

Marry the Girl

19376.5

Springtime in the Rockies

19426.9

Comet Over Broadway

19385.7

Dr. Kildare Goes Home

19406.8

Know Your Money

19408.3

Right to the Heart

19427.0

'Til We Meet Again

19406.4

Doll Face

19454.6

It's Great to Be Young

19469.0

Bride for Sale

19497.0

San Quentin

19376.6

Polo Joe

19367.0

Gold Rush Maisie

19406.8

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

19396.8

Footlight Serenade

19426.5

Orchestra Wives

19426.5

The Gas House Kids in Hollywood

19478.0

Blue, White and Perfect

19426.5

Dr. Kildare's Victory

19426.2

Broadway Serenade

19396.6

The People Vs. Dr. Kildare

19417.0

Prairie Thunder

19374.3

Pillow to Post

19455.5

My Gal Sal

19425.8

Two Against the World

19366.2

Let's Make Music

19416.0

Wake Up and Dream

19467.4

Fast and Loose

19395.9

Storm Over Lisbon

19445.4

She Went to the Races

19456.0

The Magnificent Dope

19427.3

Burn 'Em Up O'Connor

19396.3

The Girl from Manhattan

19486.3

Torchy Blane in Panama

19385.8

Born to Speed

19478.0

Land Beyond the Law

19378.5

The Petty Girl

19504.3

Gallant Sons

19407.4

Mexican Spitfire Out West

19405.0

Hot Money

19367.0

Ever Since Eve

19375.8

Pier 13

19405.7

The Footloose Heiress

19374.7

Ride on Vaquero

19415.2

Thunder Afloat

19396.1

Blondie's Secret

19486.5

Mr. Chump

193810.0

The Payoff

19355.5

La Conga Nights

19407.7

Tell It to a Star

194510.0

Henry and Dizzy

19429.0

Think It Over

19387.3

The Devil's Saddle Legion

19373.8

The Victim

19319.0