CINEFILER

Frank Orth

Born
February 20, 1880
Died
March 17, 1962
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
His Girl Friday
(1940)
Duffy
Lady in the Lake
(1946)
Floyd Greer (Uncredited)
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
(1946)
Hotel Clerk
Sergeant York
(1941)
Drummer (uncredited)
The Ox-Bow Incident
(1943)
Larry Kinkaid (uncredited)
Boom Town
(1940)
Barber
The Lost Weekend
(1945)
Opera Cloak Room Attendant
They Died with Their Boots On
(1941)
Barfly (uncredited)
Father of the Bride
(1950)
Joe
Houdini
(1953)
Mr. Hunter
Gold Rush Maisie
(1940)
Harris
Roxie Hart
(1942)
Bar Client #2 (uncredited)
Orchestra Wives
(1942)
Rex Willet
Mr. Chump
(1938)
Sheriff Frank Hinton
Brother Orchid
(1940)
Waiter at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited)
Double Dynamite
(1951)
Mr. Kofer
Full Filmography
Acting
A Bird in the Hand
(1929)
Taking Ways
(1930)
The Payoff
(1935)
Porter (uncredited)
Unwelcome Stranger
(1935)
Jackson
Hot Money
(1936)
Hank Ford
Polo Joe
(1936)
Bert
Two Against the World
(1936)
Tommy - Bartender
San Quentin
(1937)
Convict in Bunkhouse (uncredited)
Missing Witnesses
(1937)
Gordon (uncredited)
The Devil's Saddle Legion
(1937)
Judge Barko
The Footloose Heiress
(1937)
Justice Abner Cuttler
Talent Scout
(1937)
Burlesque Theatre Manager (uncredited)
Land Beyond the Law
(1937)
Shorty Long
Ever Since Eve
(1937)
Cocktail Waiter (uncredited)
Marry the Girl
(1937)
Bar owner
Prairie Thunder
(1937)
Wichita
Nancy Drew… Detective
(1938)
Captain Tweedy
Young Dr. Kildare
(1938)
Mike Ryan (uncredited)
Mr. Chump
(1938)
Sheriff Frank Hinton
Comet Over Broadway
(1938)
Cab Driver (uncredited)
The Patient in Room 18
(1938)
Joe Higgins - Night Watchman
Think It Over
(1938)
Brown, Clothing Store Owner
Torchy Blane in Panama
(1938)
First Leopard (uncredited)
Idiot's Delight
(1939)
Benny Zinsser
Stanley and Livingstone
(1939)
Newspaperman with Pills
Broadway Serenade
(1939)
Mr. Fellows
Fast and Furious
(1939)
Joe Burke
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
(1939)
Mike Sullivan
Dust Be My Destiny
(1939)
Wedding Witness on Stage (uncredited)
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
(1939)
Captain Tweedy
Nancy Drew... Reporter
(1939)
Captain Tweedy (uncredited)
Thunder Afloat
(1939)
Old Sailor in Bilge Area (uncredited)
Calling Dr. Kildare
(1939)
Mike Sullivan - Hospital Cafe Owner (uncredited)
Young Mr. Lincoln
(1939)
Loafer (uncredited)
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
(1939)
Tim McKelvy
Fast and Loose
(1939)
Detective Hendricks
Tell No Tales
(1939)
Vic - Bartender (uncredited)
At the Circus
(1939)
Chef in Diner (uncredited)
Within the Law
(1939)
Jim Jenks
Father Is A Prince
(1940)
Drugstore Proprieter
Boom Town
(1940)
Barber
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
(1940)
Steve
Florian
(1940)
Detective
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
(1940)
Mike Ryan, Sullivan's Hospital Cafe
Pier 13
(1940)
Dead Pan Charlie
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
(1940)
Mike Ryan (uncredited)
Know Your Money
(1940)
Tobacconist (uncredited)
Mexican Spitfire Out West
(1940)
Window Washer
Gallant Sons
(1940)
Newspaper Foreman (uncredited)
La Conga Nights
(1940)
Dennis O'Brien
His Girl Friday
(1940)
Duffy
Gold Rush Maisie
(1940)
Harris
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
(1940)
Mike Ryan, Cafe Owner
'Til We Meet Again
(1940)
Hong Kong Bartender (uncredited)
The Doctor Takes a Wife
(1940)
New York Editor
Brother Orchid
(1940)
Waiter at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited)
You, the People
(1940)
Soda Jerk
Buyer Beware
(1940)
Smith (uncredited)
Broadway Limited
(1941)
Lou, Cafe Proprietor
Come Live with Me
(1941)
Jerry
I Wake Up Screaming
(1941)
Cemetery Caretaker
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
(1941)
Mike Ryan
They Died with Their Boots On
(1941)
Barfly (uncredited)
Sergeant York
(1941)
Drummer (uncredited)
Ride on Vaquero
(1941)
Auctioneer
Respect the Law
(1941)
Peter Brennan
Roxie Hart
(1942)
Bar Client #2 (uncredited)
Over My Dead Body
(1942)
Detective
Blue, White, and Perfect
(1942)
Mr. Toby
Henry and Dizzy
(1942)
Joe McGuire
Tales of Manhattan
(1942)
Secondhand Clothes Dealer (Rogers sequence)
The Magnificent Dope
(1942)
Messenger
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
(1942)
Mike Ryan
Orchestra Wives
(1942)
Rex Willet
Footlight Serenade
(1942)
Mike
Rings on Her Fingers
(1942)
Springtime in the Rockies
(1942)
Bickel (uncredited)
Dr. Kildare's Victory
(1942)
Mike Ryan
My Gal Sal
(1942)
McGuiness
Hello, Frisco, Hello
(1943)
Lou, Bartender at Sharkey's
Coney Island
(1943)
Bartender
The Ox-Bow Incident
(1943)
Larry Kinkaid (uncredited)
Sweet Rosie O'Grady
(1943)
Taxi Driver
The Meanest Man in the World
(1943)
Bartender
Roger Touhy, Gangster
(1944)
. Comic in Theater (uncredited)
Greenwich Village
(1944)
Ordway
Summer Storm
(1944)
Cafe Maitre d' at End (uncredited)
Wilson
(1944)
Smith (uncredited)
Storm Over Lisbon
(1944)
Murgatroyd
The Impatient Years
(1944)
Counterman
She Went to the Races
(1945)
Skelly
Doll Face
(1945)
Peters
Tell It to a Star
(1945)
Augustus T. Goodman
Pillow to Post
(1945)
Clayfield Taxi Driver
The Lost Weekend
(1945)
Opera Cloak Room Attendant
The Hoodlum Saint
(1946)
Chronicle Editor (uncredited)
It's Great to Be Young
(1946)
Franklin Johnson
Lady in the Lake
(1946)
Floyd Greer (Uncredited)
Wake Up and Dream
(1946)
Milkman
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
(1946)
Hotel Clerk
Murder in the Music Hall
(1946)
Henderson
The Bride Wore Boots
(1946)
Judge
The Gas House Kids in Hollywood
(1947)
Police Captain
Heartaches
(1947)
Mike Connelly, Vic's Agent
Born to Speed
(1947)
Breezy Bradley
It Had to Be You
(1947)
Train Conductor
The Guilt of Janet Ames
(1947)
Danny
The Girl from Manhattan
(1948)
Oscar Newsome
Blondie's Secret
(1948)
Mr. Philpotts
The Big Clock
(1948)
Burt
Bride for Sale
(1949)
Police Sergeant
Red Light
(1949)
Wallace 'Wally' Stoner
The Petty Girl
(1950)
Moody (process server)
The Great Rupert
(1950)
Mr. Frank Dingle
Father of the Bride
(1950)
Joe
Cheaper by the Dozen
(1950)
Higgins (uncredited)
Double Dynamite
(1951)
Mr. Kofer
Something to Live For
(1952)
Waiter (uncredited)
Here Come the Girls
(1953)
Mr. Hungerford
Houdini
(1953)
Mr. Hunter
Sound
Data provided by TMDB