Frank Maxwell
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Charles Francis Maxwell (November 17, 1916 – August 4, 2004) was an American
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
who served as president of the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording a ...
from 1984 to 1989.''Frank Maxwell -- actor and union activist'', article by Jon Thurber, Los Angeles Times for SFGate.com, Tuesday, August 10, 2004.
/ref>


Life and career

A native of
The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
borough of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and a graduate of the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, he appeared in 151 films or television programs. Maxwell began his acting career on the Broadway stage, appearing in such notable plays as ''
Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montage ...
'' (playing the role of Willy Loman's son, "Happy"), ''
South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
'' (playing "Luther Billis," a role that went to
Ray Walston Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian, well known as the title character on ''My Favorite Martian''. His other major film, television, and stage roles included Luther Billis (''South Paci ...
in the film version), and ''
Stalag 17 ''Stalag 17'' is a 1953 American war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen confined with 40,000 prisoners in a World War II German prisoner of war camp "somewhere on the Danube". Their compound holds 630 Sergeants representi ...
''. His first television acting roles were in 1950 in episodes of the ''
Goodyear Playhouse ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television. Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the '' Philco ...
''/'' Philco Playhouse'' followed in 1951 by an appearance in the episode "The Overcoat" of the television series ''
Big Town ''Big Town'' is a popular long-running radio drama featuring a corruption-fighting newspaper editor initially played from 1937 to 1942 by Edward G. Robinson in his first radio role, with echoes of the conscience-stricken tabloid editor he had ...
''. Maxwell subsequently appeared in such series as ''
Decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''ende kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lu ...
'', with
Beverly Garland Beverly Lucy Garland (née Fessenden; October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress. Her work in feature films primarily consisted of small parts in a few major productions or leads in low-budget action or science-fiction movie ...
, ''
Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...
'' (twice), ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...
'' (five episodes), '' The Fugitive'' (three episodes), ''
Whirlybirds ''Whirlybirds'' (sometimes called ''The Whirlybirds'' or ''Copter Patrol'') is a syndicated American drama/adventure television series, which aired for 111 episodes — broadcast from February 4, 1957, through January 18, 1960. It was pro ...
'', '' Black Saddle'', ''
The Man and the Challenge ''The Man and the Challenge'' is an American adventure fiction television series about a scientist who tests problems of human survival. It stars George Nader and aired on NBC during the 1959–1960 television season. Synopsis Dr. Glenn Barton ...
'', '' The Deputy'', ''
Cain's Hundred ''Cain's Hundred'' is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from 1961 to 1962. The series was produced by Vanadas Productions, Inc. in association with MGM Television. Synopsis ''Cain's Hundred'' follows the life of Nicholas Cain (Pet ...
'', '' Follow the Sun'', ''
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
'', '' The Asphalt Jungle'', '' Target: The Corruptors'', and '' Mr. Novak''.
Mission Impossible ''Mission: Impossible'' is a multimedia franchise based on a fictional secret espionage agency known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). The 1966 TV series ran for seven seasons and was revived in 1988 for two seasons. It inspired a serie ...
. He was cast three times each on ''
Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...
'', ''
Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
,'' and ''
Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situa ...
'' and four times each on '' Rawhide'', '' Quincy, M.E.'', and ''
The F.B.I. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
'' In 1960, Maxwell was cast in CBS's
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
series, ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'' as Marty Fisher in the episode "
A World of Difference "A World of Difference" is episode 23 of the American television anthology series '' The Twilight Zone''. Opening narration Plot Arthur Curtis is a successful businessman planning a vacation to San Francisco with his loving wife Marian. After ...
". That same year, he appeared as Hackett in the episode "Millionaire Jessica March" of the CBS fantasy drama, '' The Millionaire''. In 1960 he made two guest appearances on ''
Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...
'': as Harry Wilson in "The Case of the Wayward Wife," and defendant Joe Dixon in "The Case of the Red Riding Boots." He made a third appearance in 1961 as Dr. Mooney in "The Case of the Injured Innocent." In the 1962–1963 television season, he was a co-star of the ABC
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
, '' Our Man Higgins'', starring Stanley Holloway in the title role and with
Audrey Totter Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s. Early life Audrey – some sources indicate "Audra" – Totter w ...
and Ricky Kelman. Maxwell played the father, Duncan MacRoberts, in all thirty-four episodes of the series. He also appeared as a regular on the TV series "
Felony Squad ''The Felony Squad'' is a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966, to January 31, 1969, a span encompassing seventy-three episodes. Overview The program starred Howard Duff (as Sergeant ...
" with
Howard Duff Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
from 1966-68 and " The Second Hundred Years" with Monte Markham from 1967-68. In 1970, he appeared as a producer in “That Girl”. From 1973 to 1975, he appeared in five episodes of CBS's ''
Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was o ...
'', with
Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS ...
. In 1977, he appeared an in episode of ABC's '' The Feather and Father Gang''. In 1984, he appeared in a two-part episode of ABC's ''
The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...
'', in which he was cast as Colonel Charles Holmsey. His last regular acting role was as
Dan Rooney Daniel Milton Rooney (July 20, 1932 – April 13, 2017) was an American executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL), and son of the Steelers ...
, the lovable aging hospital administrator on ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...
'' which he appeared on from 1978-1988. Over the years, the character had a hand in practically every storyline and was a major participant in the now famous "Ice Princess" storyline which dominated the daytime ratings in 1981.


Filmography


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Frank 1916 births 2004 deaths University of Michigan alumni American male stage actors American male television actors American male film actors Male actors from New York City Male actors from Los Angeles 20th-century American male actors People from the Bronx Presidents of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists