Nicholas Benton "Ben" Alexander III (June 27, 1911 – July 5, 1969) was an American motion picture actor, who started out as a child actor in 1916. He is best remembered for his role as Officer Frank Smith in the Dragnet franchise.
Known For
All Quiet on the Western Front
(1930)
Franz Kemmerich
Los Angeles Plays Itself
(2004)
Officer Frank Smith in Dragnet (archive footage)
Dragnet
(1954)
Officer Frank Smith
Shall We Dance
(1937)
Evans (uncredited)
Full Filmography
Acting
The Little American
(1917)
Bobby Moore
A Wife on Trial
(1917)
Child (uncredited)
The Lady of the Dugout
(1918)
The Lady's son
Little Orphant Annie
(1918)
Orphan
Hearts of the World
(1918)
The Boy's Littlest Brother
The Heart of Rachael
(1918)
Jim
The Hushed Hour
(1919)
Gondy
Josselyn's Wife
(1919)
Tommy Josselyn
The White Heather
(1919)
Donald Cameron
The Triflers
(1920)
Blue Streak McCoy
(1920)
Job the child
The Family Honor
(1920)
Little Ben Tucker
Penrod and Sam
(1923)
Penrod Schofield
Boy of Mine
(1923)
Bill Latimer
The Highbinders
(1926)
Roy Marshall
Two to One
(1927)
George Minafer as a Child
The Divine Lady
(1928)
Young lieutenant
All Quiet on the Western Front
(1930)
Franz Kemmerich
Suicide Fleet
(1931)
Kid
Are These Our Children?
(1931)
Nicholas 'Nick' Crosby
It's a Wise Child
(1931)
Bill Stanton
Many a Slip
(1931)
Ted Coster
High Pressure
(1932)
Geoffrey Weston
Tom Brown of Culver
(1932)
Cpl. John Clarke
The Wet Parade
(1932)
Evelyn's Friend (uncredited)
This Day and Age
(1933)
Morry Dover
Stage Mother
(1933)
Francis Nolan
What Price Innocence?
(1933)
Tommy Harrow
Roadhouse Queen
(1933)
Junior Knox
The Vanishing Frontier
(1933)
Lucien Winfield
Flirtation
(1934)
Dudley
The Life of Vergie Winters
(1934)
Barry Preston
Most Precious Thing in Life
(1934)
Gideon 'Gubby' Gerhart
Once to Every Woman
(1934)
Joe Wilson
Grand Old Girl
(1935)
Tom Miller
The Fire-Trap
(1935)
Bob Fender
Annapolis Farewell
(1935)
Adams
Born to Gamble
(1935)
Paul Mathews
Red Lights Ahead
(1936)
George Wallace
Shall We Dance
(1937)
Evans (uncredited)
The Legion of Missing Men
(1937)
Don Carter
The Outer Gate
(1937)
Bob Terry
The Life of the Party
(1937)
Orchestra Leader
Western Gold
(1937)
Bart
Mr. Doodle Kicks Off
(1938)
Larry Weldon
The Spy Ring
(1938)
Capt. Don Mayhew
Convict's Code
(1939)
Jeff Palmer
Buried Alive
(1939)
Riley
American Portrait
(1940)
David
The Leather Pushers
(1940)
Dan Brown, Announcer
Criminals Within
(1941)
Sgt. Paul
Dragnet
(1954)
Officer Frank Smith
Man in the Shadow
(1957)
Ab Begley
Los Angeles Plays Itself
(2004)
Officer Frank Smith in Dragnet (archive footage)