Frank Orth
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.
Known For
Acting
1940
asDuffy
1948
asMr. Philpotts
1930
as
1950
asJoe
1941
asCemetery Caretaker
1941
asJerry
1949
asWallace 'Wally' Stoner
1946
asHotel Clerk
1944
asMurgatroyd
1935
asJackson
1950
asHiggins (uncredited)
1945
asOpera Cloak Room Attendant
1953
asMr. Hunter
1942
asMike
1947
asDanny
1939
asCaptain Tweedy
1938
asCaptain Tweedy
1950
asMr. Frank Dingle
1948
asBurt
1944
asSmith (uncredited)
1941
asMike Ryan
1945
asClayfield Taxi Driver
1937
asConvict in Bunkhouse (uncredited)
1940
asDead Pan Charlie
1950
asMoody (process server)
1953
asMr. Hungerford
1939
asMr. Fellows
1938
asBrown, Clothing Store Owner
1942
asBickel (uncredited)
1945
asPeters
1945
asAugustus T. Goodman
1939
asCaptain Joe Burke
1938
asSheriff Frank Hinton
1937
asBar owner
1937
asShorty Long
1939
asTim McKelvy
1936
asBert
1946
asMilkman
1940
asSteve
1945
asSkelly
1940
asBarber
1938
asJoe Higgins - Night Watchman
1937
asCocktail Waiter (uncredited)
1938
asMike Ryan (uncredited)
1939
asVic - Bartender (uncredited)
1939
asChef in Diner (uncredited)
1944
asOrdway
1942
asJoe McGuire
1937
asJustice Abner Cuttler
1939
asBenny Zinsser
1939
asDetective Hendricks (uncredited)
1939
asCaptain Tweedy (uncredited)
1939
asJim Jenks
1939
asMike Sullivan - Hospital Cafe Owner (uncredited)
1939
asLoafer (uncredited)
1939
asOld Sailor in Bilge Area (uncredited)
1939
asNewspaperman with Pills
1939
asMike Sullivan
1939
asWedding Witness on Stage (uncredited)
1944
asCafe Maitre d' at End (uncredited)
1947
asConductor Brown
1940
asSoda Jerk
1937
asGordon (uncredited)
1947
asBreezy Bradley
1943
asTaxi Driver
1944
as. Comic in Theater (uncredited)
1943
asLarry Kinkaid (uncredited)
1942
asMr. Toby
1937
asJudge Barko
1940
asWaiter at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited)
1943
asBartender
1942
asDetective
1936
asTommy - Bartender
1941
asAuctioneer
1947
asMike Connelly, Vic's Agent
1947
asPolice Captain
1937
asWichita
1941
asDrummer (uncredited)
1946
asChronicle Editor (uncredited)
1942
asRex Willet
1940
asNewspaper Foreman (uncredited)
1935
asPorter (uncredited)
1940
asNew York Editor (uncredited)
1937
asBurlesque Theatre Manager (uncredited)
1940
asHong Kong Bartender (uncredited)
1936
asHank Ford
1940
asDrugstore Proprieter
1940
asDetective
1940
asMike Ryan, Cafe Owner
1940
asMike Ryan (uncredited)
1940
asMike Ryan, Sullivan's Hospital Cafe
1942
asMike Ryan
1942
asMcGuiness
1940
asDennis O'Brien
1941
asPeter Brennan
1929
as
1952
asWaiter (uncredited)
1941
asBarfly (uncredited)
1940
asWindow Washer
1946
asJudge (uncredited)
1944
asCounterman
1949
asPolice Sergeant
1940
asTobacconist (uncredited)
1940
asSmith (uncredited)
1946
asHenderson
1938
asFirst Leopard (uncredited)
1940
asHarris
1942
asBar Client #2 (uncredited)
1942
asKellogg
1941
asLou, Cafe Proprietor
1943
asLou, Bartender at Sharkey's
1946
asFranklin Johnson
1948
asOscar Newsome
1942
asMike Ryan
1938
asCab Driver (uncredited)
1942
asMessenger
1942
asSecondhand Clothes Dealer (Rogers sequence)
1946
asFloyd Greer (Uncredited)
1943
asBartender
1951
asMr. Kofer
as
asUncle John
Production
Crew
Directing
