Frank Orth

Known for ActingBorn 1880-02-20Died 1962-03-17Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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.Read more

Movies & web series

Tell It to a Star

Mr. Chump

It's Great to Be Young

Henry and Dizzy

Know Your Money

Unwelcome Stranger

The Victim

Land Beyond the Law

Born to Speed

The Gas House Kids in Hollywood

Over My Dead Body

A Bird in the Hand

It Had to Be You

The Ox-Bow Incident

La Conga Nights

The Lost Weekend

Wake Up and Dream

Gallant Sons

His Girl Friday

The Big Clock

The Magnificent Dope

Respect the Law

Think It Over

Sergeant York

Young Mr. Lincoln

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Bride for Sale

Father of the Bride

Something to Live For

Roger Touhy, Gangster

Roxie Hart

Right to the Heart

The People Vs. Dr. Kildare

The Strawberry Blonde

Missing Witnesses

Polo Joe

Hot Money

The Meanest Man in the World

Springtime in the Rockies

Taking Ways

Boom Town

I Wake Up Screaming

Gold Rush Maisie

Come Live with Me

Dr. Kildare Goes Home

The Doctor Takes a Wife

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Rings on Her Fingers