Frank J. Delfino (February 13, 1911 – February 19, 1997) was an American actor. Delfino had
dwarfism
Dwarfism is a condition of people and animals marked by unusually small size or short stature. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is . '' ...
, and most of his roles were related to his small stature. He remains best known for portraying the character of
the Hamburglar in the
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
advertising campaign television commercial's over a 20-year period.
Early life and career
Delfino was born in Brooklyn, New York. Standing 4 feet, 5 inches tall, he became a professional violinist and performed in "Midget Village" at the 1933
Chicago World's Fair. Delfino began his professional acting career appearing as "Johnnie" selling cigarettes for
Philip Morris. He subsequently appeared in advertisements for Curtis Candy,
Little Caesars
Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. (doing business as Little Caesars) is an American multinational chain of Pizzeria, pizza restaurants that was formed in 1959. Little Caesars is the fourth largest pizza chain by total sales in the United States b ...
,
Sprite, and
Snickers
Snickers (stylized in all caps) is a chocolate bar consisting of nougat topped with Caramel#Candy, caramel and peanuts, all encased in milk chocolate. The bars are made by the American company Mars Inc. The annual global sales of Snickers is ...
. He first appeared in commercials for McDonald's, beginning in 1971 and continuing for more than 20 years, portraying The Hamburglar.
In 1949, Delfino moved to Los Angeles to perform in his own local cartoon show, ''Jupiter Mars from Out of the Stars.'' He made his feature film debut in 1956 with an uncredited role in ''
The Court Jester''. He later had minor parts in films such as ''
Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' and ''
Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
''. He also had more significant roles in productions including ''
At the End of the Rainbow'' (aka: ''
The Princess and the Magic Frog''), ''
The Odd Couple'', ''
Little Cigars'', ''
White House Madness'', ''
The Feather and Father Gang'' and ''
Never Con a Killer''.
Delfino and his wife, Sadie, also worked as stand-ins for well-known Hollywood child actors, including
Mike Lookinland and
Susan Olsen, who portrayed Bobby and Cindy Brady on ''
The Brady Bunch
''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired five seasons from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three gir ...
''. In addition to serving as stand-ins, the Delfinos appeared as "Kaplutian" extraterrestrials in one of the episodes of the final season of ''The Brady Bunch'' entitled, "Out of This World". One of Frank Delfino's last on-screen roles came in 1988, when he played a minor character in the TV series ''Circus''.
Death
Delfino died of bone marrow cancer at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, California on February 19, 1997, just six days after his 86th birthday.
Filmography
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Delfino, Frank
1911 births
1997 deaths
Actors with dwarfism
Deaths from multiple myeloma in California
Male actors from Brooklyn
20th-century American male actors