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Arthur Sofield Franz(February 29, 1920 – June 17, 2006) was an American actor whose most notable feature film role was asLieutenant, Junior GradeH. Paynter Jr. inThe Caine Mutiny(1954).
Arthur Franz | |
|---|---|
 From the film trailer forThe Unholy Wife(1957) | |
| Born | February 29, 1920 |
| Died | June 17, 2006(aged 86) Oxnard, California,U.S. |
| Years active | 1948–1982 |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 3[1] |
Early life
editFranz was born inPerth Amboy,New Jersey on Leap Year Day 1920, a Sunday. His interest in acting developed while he was still a student in high school.[2]
Military service
editDuringWorld War II,Franz served as aB-24 Liberatornavigatorin theUnited States Army Air Forces.He was shot down overRomaniaand incarcerated in aPOW camp,from which he later escaped.[citation needed]
Stage
editFranz'sBroadwaycredits includeCommand Decision(1947),The Moon Vine(1942),Little Darling(1942), andHope for a Harvest(1941).[3]
Film
editFranz made his screen debut inJungle Patrol(1948).[4]He appeared inRoseanna McCoy(1949),Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man(1951),Eight Iron Men(1952),Invaders From Mars(1953),The Unholy Wife(1957), andMonster on the Campus(1958) among many others. InThe Sniper(1952), he played a rare lead in the film's title role as a tormented killer; earlier, he co-starred withJohn Waynein the World War II filmSands of Iwo Jima(1949) and withRonald ReaganinHellcats of the Navy(1957).[5]
Franz's last role was in 1982 filmThat Championship Season.[4]
Television
editFranz portrayed automobile magnateHenry Fordin the 1955 television film,A Story About Henry Ford,withKaren Sharpeas Ford's wife,Clara Bryant Ford.
Franz was also a familiar face on Americantelevision series;he made five guest appearances onPerry Mason,twice playing the defendant and one time the murderer. In 1958 he played the title role of Danny Harrison in "The Case of the Married Moonlighter," and in 1959 he played Richard Vanaman in "The Case of the Golden Fraud." In 1959, he co-starred in the short-lived seriesWorld of Giants.In 1962, he played Mr. Evans in "The Case of the Captain's Coin."
In 1960 Franz appeared asMatt Warneron the TV westernDeath Valley Dayson the episode titled "The Young Gun." In 1961, Franz was cast as the historicalPaine Page Prim,a future chief justice of theOregon Supreme Court,in the episode, "Justice at Jackson Creek", on thesyndicatedanthology series,Death Valley Days,hosted byStanley Andrews.Prim is shown as a drunken, ostracized lawyer who hesitates to help a miner in legal trouble but must overcome his personal demons to excel at the law. The episode also starsDub Tayloras Jake;William Schallertas Carl Spenger, andBill Bixbyas Kinney. In 1962, he was cast as Asa Moran, an acting sheriff who abuses of his power, in the episode "The Lawmaker" of the NBC western seriesBonanza.
He appeared on dozens of other series, includingSchlitz Playhouse,Science Fiction Theatre,Crossroads,Ichabod and Me,Ripcord,Primus,Tarzan,Land of the Giants,The Alaskans,Mr. Novak,The F.B.I.,The Mod Squad,Hawaii Five-O,Rich Man, Poor Man Book II,Custer,Mission: Impossible,Mannix,The Rookies,Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law,Storefront Lawyers,The Six Million Dollar Man,The Invaders,The Waltons,Room 222,The Virginian,Gunsmoke,Rawhide,Wagon Train, Police Story,Medical Story,The Outcasts,McCloud,Lancer,Have Gun – Will Travel,Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond,('Message from Tomorrow', 1960), andBarnaby Jones.
Franz played the role ofU.S. PresidentJames Madisonin the 1965 episode "George Mason" of theNBCdocumentary seriesProfiles in Courage.William BakewellplayedGeorge Wythe,andLaurence Naismithplayed the title role ofGeorge Mason.
Franz portrayedU.S. RepresentativeCharles A. HalleckofIndianain the 1974 made-for-television filmThe Missiles of October,based on theCuban Missile Crisisin October 1962.
Personal life
editFranz's third wife, actressDoreen Lang,died in 1999. He had previously been divorced twice.[1]He married his fourth wife, Sharon, on February 14, 2006.[5]
Death
editFranz died inOxnard, California,at the age of 86 fromemphysemaandheart disease.[5]
Selected filmography
edit- Jungle Patrol(1948) as Lt. 'Mace' Willard
- Red Stallion in the Rockies(1949) as Thad Avery
- The Doctor and the Girl(1949) as Dr. Harvey L. Kenmore
- Red Light(1949) as Capt. Jess Torno (Chaplain)
- Roseanna McCoy(1949) as Thad Wilkins
- Sands of Iwo Jima(1949) as Cpl. Robert Dunne / Narrator
- Tarnished(1950) as Bud Dolliver
- Three Secrets(1950) as Paul Radin
- Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man(1951) as Tommy Nelson
- Strictly Dishonorable(1951) as Henry Greene
- Submarine Command(1951) as Lt. Arnie Carlson
- Flight to Mars(1951) as Dr. Jim Barker
- The Sniper(1952) as Eddie Miller
- Castle in the Air(1952) (uncredited). This film was also called "Rainbow Round My Shoulder" starring Frankie Laine. Franz was 3rd billed.
- Eight Iron Men(1952) as Carter
- The Member of the Wedding(1952) as Jarvis Addams
- Invaders from Mars(1953) as Dr. Stuart Kelston/Narrator
- Flight Nurse(1953) as Capt. Mike Barnes
- Bad for Each Other(1953) as Dr. Jim Crowley
- The Eddie Cantor Story(1953) as Harry Harris
- The Caine Mutiny(1954) as Lt. JG H. Paynter Jr.
- The Steel Cage(1954) as Chaplain Harvey (segment "The Face" )
- Battle Taxi(1955) as Lt. Pete Stacy
- New Orleans Uncensored(1955) as Dan Corbett
- Bobby Ware Is Missing(1955) as George Ware
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt(1956) as Bob Hale
- Running Target(1956) as Scott
- The Wild Party(1956) as Lt. Arthur Mitchell
- Hellcats of the Navy(1957) as Lt. Cmdr. Don Landon
- The Unholy Wife(1957) as Father Stephen Hochen
- Back from the Dead(1957) as Dick Anthony
- The Devil's Hairpin(1957) as Danny Rhinegold
- The Young Lions(1958) as Lt. Green
- The Flame Barrier(1958) as Dave Hollister
- Monster on the Campus(1958) as Prof. Donald Blake
- Woman Obsessed(1959) as Tom Sharron (uncredited)
- The Atomic Submarine(1959) as Lt. Cmdr. Richard 'Reef' Holloway
- Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond('Call from Tomorrow ', episode) (1960) (Series 2, Episode 19) as Kevin Stacy
- The Carpetbaggers(1964) as Morrissey
- Alvarez Kelly(1966) as Capt. Towers
- The Sweet Ride(1968) as Army Psychiatrist
- Anzio(1968) as Maj. Gen. Luke Howard
- Dream No Evil(1970) as John, County Psychiatrist
- Million Dollar Duck(1971) as Prosecutor (uncredited)
- So Long, Blue Boy(1973) as Ed Rilke
- The Missiles of October(1974) as Congressman Charles A. Halleck
- The 'Human' Factor(1975) as Gen. Fuller
- Sisters of Death(1976) as Edmond Clybourn
- King Monster(1976) as Narrator
- Rich Man, Poor Man Book II(1977) as Sen. Jones
- The Amazing Howard Hughes(1977) as Barnes
- The Last Hurrah(1977) as Hack Wiles
- That Championship Season(1982) as Macken (final film role)
References
edit- ^abThurber, Jon (June 19, 2006)."Arthur Franz, 86; He Played the Friendly Guy in Movies and on TV".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on 18 March 2017.Retrieved18 March2017.
- ^Raw, Laurence (2012).Character Actors in Horror and Science Fiction Films, 1930-1960.McFarland. pp. 82–84.ISBN9780786490493.Retrieved17 March2017.
- ^"(" Arthur Franz "search results)".Playbill Vault.Playbill. Archived fromthe originalon 18 March 2017.Retrieved18 March2017.
- ^abBergan, Ronald (August 29, 2006)."Arthur Franz".The Guardian.Archived fromthe originalon 18 March 2017.Retrieved18 March2017.
- ^abc"Arthur Franz, Film and Television Actor, 86, Is Dead".The New York Times.Associated Press. June 21, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 18 March 2017.Retrieved18 March2017.
