Cast

Frank Orth

Acting

Cast

Frank Orth

Known for

Acting

Born

1880-02-20

From

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Died

1962-03-17

Also known as Frank Kaiser 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.

Frank Orth

Frank Orth

Biography

His Girl Friday

Double Dynamite

Cheaper by the Dozen

Sergeant York

The Lost Weekend

Father of the Bride

Stanley and Livingstone

They Died with Their Boots On

Buyer Beware

Greenwich Village

Roxie Hart

Unwelcome Stranger

The Big Clock

Roger Touhy, Gangster

Tall in the Saddle

Father Is A Prince

Young Mr. Lincoln

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

The Ox-Bow Incident

Rings on Her Fingers

Nancy Drew… Detective

Come Live with Me

Lady in the Lake

At the Circus

Brother Orchid

Within the Law

Tales of Manhattan

Boom Town

Bride for Sale

Houdini

Sweet Rosie O'Grady

The Strawberry Blonde

Something to Live For

Storm Over Lisbon

I Wake Up Screaming

Taking Ways

The Hoodlum Saint

It's Great to Be Young

Right to the Heart

'Til We Meet Again

The Secret of Dr. Kildare

The Great Rupert

Two Against the World

Over My Dead Body

Comet Over Broadway

It Had to Be You

Coney Island

Idiot's Delight

Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant

The Guilt of Janet Ames

Respect the Law

So This Is New York

Broadway Serenade

Dr. Kildare's Crisis

Here Come the Girls

The Doctor Takes a Wife

The Petty Girl

Thunder Afloat

My Gal Sal

You, the People

Dr. Kildare's Strange Case

Tell No Tales

Summer Storm

A Bird in the Hand

Michael Shayne: Private Detective

The Impatient Years

Dust Be My Destiny

The Bride Wore Boots

The Patient in Room 18

Orchestra Wives

Dr. Kildare Goes Home

Doll Face

Blue, White and Perfect

San Quentin

Wilson

Pillow to Post

The Magnificent Dope