
Frank Orth
Biography
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.
Acting (120 movies)

His Girl Friday
1940

Blondie's Secret
1948

Father of the Bride
1950

I Wake Up Screaming
1941

Come Live with Me
1941

Red Light
1949

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
1946

Storm Over Lisbon
1944

Unwelcome Stranger
1935

Cheaper by the Dozen
1950

The Lost Weekend
1945

Houdini
1953

Footlight Serenade
1942

The Guilt of Janet Ames
1947

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
1939

Nancy Drew… Detective
1938

The Great Rupert
1950

The Big Clock
1948

Wilson
1944

The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
1941

Pillow to Post
1945

San Quentin
1937

Pier 13
1940

The Petty Girl
1950

Here Come the Girls
1953

Broadway Serenade
1939

Think It Over
1938

Springtime in the Rockies
1942

Doll Face
1945

Tell It to a Star
1945

Fast and Furious
1939

Mr. Chump
1938

Marry the Girl
1937

Land Beyond the Law
1937

Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
1939

Polo Joe
1936

Wake Up and Dream
1946

Michael Shayne: Private Detective
1940

She Went to the Races
1945

Boom Town
1940

The Patient in Room 18
1938

Ever Since Eve
1937

Young Dr. Kildare
1938

Tell No Tales
1939

At the Circus
1939

Greenwich Village
1944

Henry and Dizzy
1942

The Footloose Heiress
1937

Idiot's Delight
1939

Fast and Loose
1939

Nancy Drew... Reporter
1939

Within the Law
1939

Calling Dr. Kildare
1939

Young Mr. Lincoln
1939

Thunder Afloat
1939

Stanley and Livingstone
1939

The Secret of Dr. Kildare
1939

Dust Be My Destiny
1939

Summer Storm
1944

It Had to Be You
1947

You, the People
1940

Missing Witnesses
1937

Born to Speed
1947

Sweet Rosie O'Grady
1943

Roger Touhy, Gangster
1944

The Ox-Bow Incident
1943

Blue, White, and Perfect
1942

The Devil's Saddle Legion
1937

Brother Orchid
1940

Coney Island
1943

Over My Dead Body
1942

Two Against the World
1936

Ride on Vaquero
1941

Heartaches
1947

The Gas House Kids in Hollywood
1947

Prairie Thunder
1937

Sergeant York
1941

The Hoodlum Saint
1946

Orchestra Wives
1942

Gallant Sons
1940

The Payoff
1935

The Doctor Takes a Wife
1940

Talent Scout
1937

'Til We Meet Again
1940

Hot Money
1936

Father Is A Prince
1940

Florian
1940

Dr. Kildare's Crisis
1940

Dr. Kildare Goes Home
1940

Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
1940

Dr. Kildare's Victory
1942

My Gal Sal
1942

La Conga Nights
1940

Respect the Law
1941

A Bird in the Hand
1929

Something to Live For
1952

They Died with Their Boots On
1941

Mexican Spitfire Out West
1940

The Bride Wore Boots
1946

The Impatient Years
1944
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