
Acting
February 19, 1880 (82 years old)
March 16, 1962
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Also Known As
Frank Kaiser 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.

Here Come the Girls
1953
as Mr. Hungerford

Houdini
1953
as Mr. Hunter

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
1952
as Uncle John

Something to Live For
1952
as Waiter (uncredited)

Double Dynamite
1951
as Mr. Kofer

Boston Blackie
1951
as Inspector Faraday

The Petty Girl
1950
as Moody (process server)

Father of the Bride
1950
as Joe

Cheaper by the Dozen
1950
as Higgins (uncredited)

The Great Rupert
1950
as Mr. Frank Dingle

Bride for Sale
1949
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)

Red Light
1949
as Wallace 'Wally' Stoner

Blondie's Secret
1948
as Mr. Philpotts

The Girl from Manhattan
1948
as Oscar Newsome

The Big Clock
1948
as Burt

It Had to Be You
1947
as Conductor Brown

The Gas House Kids in Hollywood
1947
as Police Captain

Heartaches
1947
as Mike Connelly, Vic's Agent

The Guilt of Janet Ames
1947
as Danny

Born to Speed
1947
as Breezy Bradley