Frank Orth
Acting • Born 1880-02-20 – Died 1962-03-17
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.
Filmography
127 credits
His Girl Friday
Movie • 1940
Duffy
Blondie's Secret
Movie • 1948
Mr. Philpotts
Taking Ways
Movie • 1930
Father of the Bride
Movie • 1950
Joe
I Wake Up Screaming
Movie • 1941
Cemetery Caretaker
Come Live with Me
Movie • 1941
Jerry
Red Light
Movie • 1949
Wallace 'Wally' Stoner
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Movie • 1946
Hotel Clerk
Storm Over Lisbon
Movie • 1944
Murgatroyd
Unwelcome Stranger
Movie • 1935
Jackson
Cheaper by the Dozen
Movie • 1950
Higgins (uncredited)
The Lost Weekend
Movie • 1945
Opera Cloak Room Attendant
Houdini
Movie • 1953
Mr. Hunter
Footlight Serenade
Movie • 1942
Mike
The Guilt of Janet Ames
Movie • 1947
Danny
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
Movie • 1939
Captain Tweedy
Nancy Drew… Detective
Movie • 1938
Captain Tweedy
The Great Rupert
Movie • 1950
Mr. Frank Dingle
The Big Clock
Movie • 1948
Burt
Wilson
Movie • 1944
Smith (uncredited)
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
Movie • 1941
Mike Ryan
Pillow to Post
Movie • 1945
Clayfield Taxi Driver
San Quentin
Movie • 1937
Convict in Bunkhouse (uncredited)
Pier 13
Movie • 1940
Dead Pan Charlie
The Petty Girl
Movie • 1950
Moody (process server)
Here Come the Girls
Movie • 1953
Mr. Hungerford
Broadway Serenade
Movie • 1939
Mr. Fellows
Think It Over
Movie • 1938
Brown, Clothing Store Owner
Springtime in the Rockies
Movie • 1942
Bickel (uncredited)
Doll Face
Movie • 1945
Peters
Tell It to a Star
Movie • 1945
Augustus T. Goodman
Fast and Furious
Movie • 1939
Captain Joe Burke
Mr. Chump
Movie • 1938
Sheriff Frank Hinton
Marry the Girl
Movie • 1937
Bar owner
Land Beyond the Law
Movie • 1937
Shorty Long
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
Movie • 1939
Tim McKelvy
Polo Joe
Movie • 1936
Bert
Wake Up and Dream
Movie • 1946
Milkman
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Movie • 1940
Steve
She Went to the Races
Movie • 1945
Skelly
Boom Town
Movie • 1940
Barber
The Patient in Room 18
Movie • 1938
Joe Higgins - Night Watchman
Ever Since Eve
Movie • 1937
Cocktail Waiter (uncredited)
Young Dr. Kildare
Movie • 1938
Mike Ryan (uncredited)
Tell No Tales
Movie • 1939
Vic - Bartender (uncredited)
At the Circus
Movie • 1939
Chef in Diner (uncredited)
Greenwich Village
Movie • 1944
Ordway
Henry and Dizzy
Movie • 1942
Joe McGuire
The Footloose Heiress
Movie • 1937
Justice Abner Cuttler
Idiot's Delight
Movie • 1939
Benny Zinsser
Fast and Loose
Movie • 1939
Detective Hendricks (uncredited)
Nancy Drew... Reporter
Movie • 1939
Captain Tweedy (uncredited)
Within the Law
Movie • 1939
Jim Jenks
Calling Dr. Kildare
Movie • 1939
Mike Sullivan - Hospital Cafe Owner (uncredited)
Young Mr. Lincoln
Movie • 1939
Loafer (uncredited)
Thunder Afloat
Movie • 1939
Old Sailor in Bilge Area (uncredited)
Stanley and Livingstone
Movie • 1939
Newspaperman with Pills
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
Movie • 1939
Mike Sullivan
Dust Be My Destiny
Movie • 1939
Wedding Witness on Stage (uncredited)
Summer Storm
Movie • 1944
Cafe Maitre d' at End (uncredited)
It Had to Be You
Movie • 1947
Conductor Brown
You, the People
Movie • 1940
Soda Jerk
Missing Witnesses
Movie • 1937
Gordon (uncredited)
Born to Speed
Movie • 1947
Breezy Bradley
Sweet Rosie O'Grady
Movie • 1943
Taxi Driver
Roger Touhy, Gangster
Movie • 1944
. Comic in Theater (uncredited)
The Ox-Bow Incident
Movie • 1943
Larry Kinkaid (uncredited)
Blue, White, and Perfect
Movie • 1942
Mr. Toby
The Devil's Saddle Legion
Movie • 1937
Judge Barko
Brother Orchid
Movie • 1940
Waiter at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited)
Coney Island
Movie • 1943
Bartender
Over My Dead Body
Movie • 1942
Detective
Two Against the World
Movie • 1936
Tommy - Bartender
Ride on Vaquero
Movie • 1941
Auctioneer
Heartaches
Movie • 1947
Mike Connelly, Vic's Agent
The Gas House Kids in Hollywood
Movie • 1947
Police Captain
Prairie Thunder
Movie • 1937
Wichita
Sergeant York
Movie • 1941
Drummer (uncredited)
The Hoodlum Saint
Movie • 1946
Chronicle Editor (uncredited)
Orchestra Wives
Movie • 1942
Rex Willet
Gallant Sons
Movie • 1940
Newspaper Foreman (uncredited)
The Payoff
Movie • 1935
Porter (uncredited)
The Doctor Takes a Wife
Movie • 1940
New York Editor (uncredited)
Talent Scout
Movie • 1937
Burlesque Theatre Manager (uncredited)
'Til We Meet Again
Movie • 1940
Hong Kong Bartender (uncredited)
Hot Money
Movie • 1936
Hank Ford
Father Is A Prince
Movie • 1940
Drugstore Proprieter
Florian
Movie • 1940
Detective
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
Movie • 1940
Mike Ryan, Cafe Owner
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Movie • 1940
Mike Ryan (uncredited)
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
Movie • 1940
Mike Ryan, Sullivan's Hospital Cafe
Dr. Kildare's Victory
Movie • 1942
Mike Ryan
My Gal Sal
Movie • 1942
McGuiness
La Conga Nights
Movie • 1940
Dennis O'Brien
Respect the Law
Movie • 1941
Peter Brennan
A Bird in the Hand
Movie • 1929
Something to Live For
Movie • 1952
Waiter (uncredited)
They Died with Their Boots On
Movie • 1941
Barfly (uncredited)
Mexican Spitfire Out West
Movie • 1940
Window Washer
The Bride Wore Boots
Movie • 1946
Judge (uncredited)
The Impatient Years
Movie • 1944
Counterman
Bride for Sale
Movie • 1949
Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Know Your Money
Movie • 1940
Tobacconist (uncredited)
Buyer Beware
Movie • 1940
Smith (uncredited)
Murder in the Music Hall
Movie • 1946
Henderson
Torchy Blane in Panama
Movie • 1938
First Leopard (uncredited)
Gold Rush Maisie
Movie • 1940
Harris
Roxie Hart
Movie • 1942
Bar Client #2 (uncredited)
Rings on Her Fingers
Movie • 1942
Kellogg
Broadway Limited
Movie • 1941
Lou, Cafe Proprietor
Hello, Frisco, Hello
Movie • 1943
Lou, Bartender at Sharkey's
It's Great to Be Young
Movie • 1946
Franklin Johnson
The Girl from Manhattan
Movie • 1948
Oscar Newsome
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
Movie • 1942
Mike Ryan
Comet Over Broadway
Movie • 1938
Cab Driver (uncredited)
The Magnificent Dope
Movie • 1942
Messenger
Tales of Manhattan
Movie • 1942
Secondhand Clothes Dealer
Lady in the Lake
Movie • 1946
Floyd Greer (Uncredited)
The Meanest Man in the World
Movie • 1943
Bartender
Double Dynamite
Movie • 1951
Mr. Kofer
The Victim
Movie • 1931
The Husband
Tall in the Saddle
Movie • 1944
'Shorty' Davis (uncredited)
The Strawberry Blonde
Movie • 1941
Baxter - Livery Stable Owner (uncredited)
Let's Make Music
Movie • 1941
Mr. Botts
Right to the Heart
Movie • 1942
Pete
Boston Blackie
TV • 1951
Inspector Faraday
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
TV • 1952
Uncle John