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
Duffy
His Girl Friday
Mr. Philpotts
Blondie's Secret
Taking Ways
Joe
Father of the Bride
Cemetery Caretaker
I Wake Up Screaming
Jerry
Come Live with Me
Wallace 'Wally' Stoner
Red Light
Hotel Clerk
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Murgatroyd
Storm Over Lisbon
Jackson
Unwelcome Stranger
Higgins (uncredited)
Cheaper by the Dozen
Opera Cloak Room Attendant
The Lost Weekend
Mr. Hunter
Houdini
Mike
Footlight Serenade
Danny
The Guilt of Janet Ames
Captain Tweedy
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
Captain Tweedy
Nancy Drew… Detective
Mr. Frank Dingle
The Great Rupert
Burt
The Big Clock
Smith (uncredited)
Wilson
Mike Ryan
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
Clayfield Taxi Driver
Pillow to Post
Convict in Bunkhouse (uncredited)
San Quentin
Dead Pan Charlie
Pier 13
Moody (process server)
The Petty Girl
Mr. Hungerford
Here Come the Girls
Mr. Fellows
Broadway Serenade
Brown, Clothing Store Owner
Think It Over
Bickel (uncredited)
Springtime in the Rockies
Peters
Doll Face
Augustus T. Goodman
Tell It to a Star
Captain Joe Burke
Fast and Furious
Sheriff Frank Hinton
Mr. Chump
Bar owner
Marry the Girl
Shorty Long
Land Beyond the Law
Tim McKelvy
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
Bert
Polo Joe
Milkman
Wake Up and Dream
Steve
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Skelly
She Went to the Races
Barber
Boom Town
Joe Higgins - Night Watchman
The Patient in Room 18
Cocktail Waiter (uncredited)
Ever Since Eve
Mike Ryan (uncredited)
Young Dr. Kildare
Vic - Bartender (uncredited)
Tell No Tales
Chef in Diner (uncredited)
At the Circus
Ordway
Greenwich Village
Joe McGuire
Henry and Dizzy
Justice Abner Cuttler
The Footloose Heiress
Benny Zinsser
Idiot's Delight
Detective Hendricks (uncredited)
Fast and Loose
Captain Tweedy (uncredited)
Nancy Drew... Reporter
Jim Jenks
Within the Law
Mike Sullivan - Hospital Cafe Owner (uncredited)
Calling Dr. Kildare
Loafer (uncredited)
Young Mr. Lincoln
Old Sailor in Bilge Area (uncredited)
Thunder Afloat
Newspaperman with Pills
Stanley and Livingstone
Mike Sullivan
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
Wedding Witness on Stage (uncredited)
Dust Be My Destiny
Cafe Maitre d' at End (uncredited)
Summer Storm
Conductor Brown
It Had to Be You
Soda Jerk
You, the People
Gordon (uncredited)
Missing Witnesses
Breezy Bradley
Born to Speed
Taxi Driver
Sweet Rosie O'Grady
. Comic in Theater (uncredited)
Roger Touhy, Gangster
Larry Kinkaid (uncredited)
The Ox-Bow Incident
Mr. Toby
Blue, White, and Perfect
Judge Barko
The Devil's Saddle Legion
Waiter at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited)
Brother Orchid
Bartender
Coney Island
Detective
Over My Dead Body
Tommy - Bartender
Two Against the World
Auctioneer
Ride on Vaquero
Mike Connelly, Vic's Agent
Heartaches
Police Captain
The Gas House Kids in Hollywood
Wichita
Prairie Thunder
Drummer (uncredited)
Sergeant York
Chronicle Editor (uncredited)
The Hoodlum Saint
Rex Willet
Orchestra Wives
Newspaper Foreman (uncredited)
Gallant Sons
Porter (uncredited)
The Payoff
New York Editor (uncredited)
The Doctor Takes a Wife
Burlesque Theatre Manager (uncredited)
Talent Scout
Hong Kong Bartender (uncredited)
'Til We Meet Again
Hank Ford
Hot Money
Drugstore Proprieter
Father Is A Prince
Detective
Florian
Mike Ryan, Cafe Owner
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
Mike Ryan (uncredited)
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Mike Ryan, Sullivan's Hospital Cafe
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
Mike Ryan
Dr. Kildare's Victory
McGuiness
My Gal Sal
Dennis O'Brien
La Conga Nights
Peter Brennan
Respect the Law
A Bird in the Hand
Waiter (uncredited)
Something to Live For
Barfly (uncredited)
They Died with Their Boots On
Window Washer
Mexican Spitfire Out West
Judge (uncredited)
The Bride Wore Boots
Counterman
The Impatient Years
Police Sergeant
Bride for Sale
Tobacconist (uncredited)
Know Your Money
Smith (uncredited)
Buyer Beware
Henderson
Murder in the Music Hall
First Leopard (uncredited)
Torchy Blane in Panama
Harris
Gold Rush Maisie
Bar Client #2 (uncredited)
Roxie Hart
Kellogg
Rings on Her Fingers
Lou, Cafe Proprietor
Broadway Limited
Lou, Bartender at Sharkey's
Hello, Frisco, Hello
Franklin Johnson
It's Great to Be Young
Oscar Newsome
The Girl from Manhattan
Mike Ryan
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
Cab Driver (uncredited)
Comet Over Broadway
Messenger
The Magnificent Dope
Secondhand Clothes Dealer (Rogers sequence)
Tales of Manhattan
Floyd Greer (Uncredited)
Lady in the Lake
Bartender
The Meanest Man in the World
Mr. Kofer
Double Dynamite
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
120
Gender
Male
Birthday
1880-02-20
Place of Birth
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Also Known As
Frank Kaiser Orth