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