Frank Dwight Alexander (May 25, 1879 – September 8, 1937) was an American

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He was occasionally billed as Fatty Alexander.

Biography

In the mid-1910s, Alexander acted in comedy roles for

Keystone Studios Keystone Studios was an early film studio founded in Edendale, California (which is now a part of Echo Park) on July 4, 1912 as the Keystone Pictures Studio by Mack Sennett with backing from actor-writer Adam Kessel (1866–1946) and Char ...

, often with

Sydney Chaplin Sydney John Chaplin (; 16 March 1885 – 16 April 1965) was an English actor. Chaplin was the elder half-brother of actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin and in later life, served as his business manager. Through their mother Hannah, they were ...

. Alexander, who was

morbidly obese Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic physical and mental illnesses. The health effects of being overweight but not obese are controversial, with some studies showing that the mortality rate for individuals who are classified as overweight ( ...

(350 pounds), played villains in the films of

Larry Semon Lawrence Semon (February 9, 1889 – October 8, 1928) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter during the silent film era. In his day, Semon was considered a major movie comedian, but he is now remembered mainly for working ...

, who are often the

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

of Semon's

love interest (; ) were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th-century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the lovers in some regard. These dramatic and posh characters were present within pl ...

. He is best known to contemporary audiences for portraying a villainous interpretation of Uncle Henry, eventually proclaimed "Prince of Whales" upon reaching the

Emerald City The Emerald City (sometimes called the City of Emeralds) is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's ''Oz'' books, first described in '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). Fictional description Located in the center of ...

in Semon's '' Wizard of Oz''. He was also part of the comedy team called "

A Ton Of Fun A Ton Of Fun (also called Tons Of Fun) was a comedy team who appeared in a series of slapstick silent short films for FBO from 1925 to 1927. The three heavy actors Frank "Fatty" Alexander, Hilliard "Fat" Karr, and Kewpie Ross were each over 3 ...

" with two other large actors, Kewpie Ross and

Hilliard Karr Hilliard Karr (1899 – 1945) was an American comedic actor. He appeared in a series of short films with fellow heavyweights Frank Alexander and Bill "Kewpie" Ross (Ton of Fun). Scenes from the Tons of Fun episode ''Heavy Love'' were used on ...

. Richard M. Roberts's article in ''

Classic Images ''Classic Images'' is a monthly American mail-subscription newspaper in tabloid format, founded in 1962 by film collector Samuel K. Rubin, dedicated to film and television of the "Golden Age". Its offices are located in Muscatine, Iowa, and it i ...

'' listed the top ten ingredients of a Larry Semon film, which began with these four: # Larry Semon # A heroine (usually Larry's current girlfriend or wife) # A fat guy (usually

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his ...

, to play the villain) # A really fat guy (usually Frank Alexander, to play Larry's current girlfriend's father) He was proclaimed at the time as one of the three fattest actors ever to appear on the screen, with

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel ...

as one of the others. Alexander died of a heart attack on September 8, 1937, aged 58. He weighed 465 pounds when he died. He was cremated two days later at Hollywood Cemetery. His ashes are unmarked but lie in the Garden of Beginnings at

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...

near

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14000 Famous Persons by Scott Wilson

Filmography

* '' Melting Millions'' (1917) * ''

By the Sad Sea Waves ''By the Sad Sea Waves'' is a 1917 American short comedy film featuring Harold Lloyd. Plot Trying to woo Bebe on a beach, Harold impersonates a life guard. Among his misadventures, Harold is wrongly credited with saving two male swimmers fro ...

'' (1917) * '' Rainbow Island'' (1917) * '' Huns and Hyphens'' (1918) * ''

Bears and Bad Men ''Bears and Bad Men'' is a 1918 American silent comedy film directed by Larry Semon and featuring Stan Laurel. Cast * Larry Semon as Larry Cutshaw * Madge Kirby as The Slawson Daughter * Stan Laurel as Pete * William McCall as Stranded acto ...

'' (1918) * ''

The Simple Life ''The Simple Life'' is an American reality television series starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. It depicts the two wealthy socialites, as they struggle to do menial, low-paying jobs such as cleaning rooms, farm work, serving meals in fa ...

'' (1919) * '' Dull Care'' (1919) * '' The Star Boarder'' (1919) * ''

The Stage Hand ''The Stage Hand'' is a 1920 American silent short comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy. Cast * Larry Semon as The Stage Hand * Lucille Carlisle as The Leading Lady * Frank Alexander as The Stage Manager * Thelma Percy as The Animal Trainer ...

'' (1920) * '' The Bakery'' (1921) * '' The Rent Collector'' (1921) * ''

The Fall Guy ''The Fall Guy'' is an American action-adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It stars Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who moonl ...

'' (1921) * '' The Bell Hop'' (1921) * '' The Sawmill'' (1922) * ''

The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** S ...

'' (1922) * ''

Cyclone Jones ''Cyclone Jones'' is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by Charles R. Seeling and starring Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Bill Patton and Kathleen Collins. Cast * Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams as Cyclone Jones * Bill Patton as Kirk Davis * ...

'' (1923) * '' Her Boy Friend'' (1924) * '' Kid Speed'' (1924) * '' Wizard of Oz'' (1925) as Uncle Henry * ''

Hop to It! ''Hop to It!'', also released as ''Hop to It, Bellhop'', is a 1925 American silent comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy. Cast * Bobby Ray as A bellhop * Oliver Hardy as A bellhop (as Babe Hardy) * Janet Dawn as Saleswoman * Frank Alexander as ...

'' (1925) * ''

The Perfect Clown ''The Perfect Clown'' is a 1925 American silent slapstick comedy film starring Larry Semon and Kate Price. It features an early screen appearance by Oliver Hardy. Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, the screenplay was written by Thomas J. Crizer, w ...

'' (1925) *'' Oh, What a Night!'' (1926) * '' Play Safe'' (1927) with

Monty Banks Montague (Monty) Banks (born Mario Bianchi; 18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950) was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the United States and United Kingdom. Career Banks was bor ...

* '' The Barber Shop'' (1933) with

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American actor, comedian, juggler and writer. His career in show business began in vaudeville, where he attained international success as a ...

References

External links

*
Frank Alexander; IBDb.com
1879 births 1937 deaths American male silent film actors Male actors from Washington (state) Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery 20th-century American male actors {{US-film-actor-1870s-stub