Frank Orth
Acting
🎂 1880-02-20
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.
Cast credits(123)
Uncle John
1952
Mike Ryan
1941
Drummer (uncredited)
1941
1951
Mike Ryan (uncredited)
1938
Dead Pan Charlie
1940
Duffy
1940
Auctioneer
1941
Mr. Hunter
1953
Wichita
1937
Detective Hendricks (uncredited)
1939
Hotel Clerk
1946
Bickel (uncredited)
1942
Chronicle Editor (uncredited)
1946
Mike Ryan, Sullivan's Hospital Cafe
1940
Larry Kinkaid (uncredited)
1943
Waiter at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited)
1940
Burt
1948
Higgins (uncredited)
1950
Joe
1950
Mike Sullivan
1939
McGuiness
1942
. Comic in Theater (uncredited)
1944
Barfly (uncredited)
1941
Cocktail Waiter (uncredited)
1937
Opera Cloak Room Attendant
1945
Dennis O'Brien
1940
Police Captain
1947
Mr. Kofer
1951
Waiter (uncredited)
1952
Mike Ryan
1942
Mike Sullivan - Hospital Cafe Owner (uncredited)
1939
Smith (uncredited)
1944
Gordon (uncredited)
1937
Murgatroyd
1944
Lou, Bartender at Sharkey's
1943
Secondhand Clothes Dealer (Rogers sequence)
1942
Mr. Frank Dingle
1950
Mr. Fellows
1939
Window Washer
1940
Cemetery Caretaker
1941
Joe McGuire
1942
Newspaper Foreman (uncredited)
1940
Convict in Bunkhouse (uncredited)
1937
Drugstore Proprieter
1940
Vic - Bartender (uncredited)
1939
Danny
1947
Tobacconist (uncredited)
1940
Brown, Clothing Store Owner
1938
Floyd Greer (Uncredited)
1946
Bartender
1943
Hong Kong Bartender (uncredited)
1940
Mike Ryan (uncredited)
1940
Chef in Diner (uncredited)
1939
Ordway
1944
Mr. Philpotts
1948
Mike Connelly, Vic's Agent
1947
Sheriff Frank Hinton
1938
Captain Joe Burke
1939
Harris
1940
Peters
1945
Cab Driver (uncredited)
1938
Judge Barko
1937
Mike Ryan, Cafe Owner
1940
Burlesque Theatre Manager (uncredited)
1937
Old Sailor in Bilge Area (uncredited)
1939
Barber
1940
Steve
1940
New York Editor (uncredited)
1940
Rex Willet
1942
Detective
1942
Bert
1936
Lou, Cafe Proprietor
1941
Bar owner
1937
Loafer (uncredited)
1939
Wallace 'Wally' Stoner
1949
Mike
1942
Clayfield Taxi Driver
1945
Captain Tweedy
1939
Oscar Newsome
1948
Mr. Toby
1942
Milkman
1946
Newspaperman with Pills
1939
Mr. Hungerford
1953
Tim McKelvy
1939
Captain Tweedy (uncredited)
1939
The Husband
1931
Benny Zinsser
1939
Skelly
1945
Cafe Maitre d' at End (uncredited)
1944
Henderson
1946
Bartender
1943
Wedding Witness on Stage (uncredited)
1939
Conductor Brown
1947
Jerry
1941
Justice Abner Cuttler
1937
Moody (process server)
1950
Hank Ford
1936
Jackson
1935
Judge (uncredited)
1946
Bar Client #2 (uncredited)
1942
Detective
1940
Jim Jenks
1939
Mike Ryan
1942
Franklin Johnson
1946
Breezy Bradley
1947
Joe Higgins - Night Watchman
1938
Captain Tweedy
1938
1929
Smith (uncredited)
1940
Tommy - Bartender
1936
1930
First Leopard (uncredited)
1938
Peter Brennan
1941
Shorty Long
1937
Soda Jerk
1940
Messenger
1942
Porter (uncredited)
1935
Police Sergeant
1949
Augustus T. Goodman
1945
Taxi Driver
1943
Counterman
1944
Kellogg
1942
