Frank A. Eyman (1898–1984) was a U.S.

prison warden The warden ( US, Canada) or governor ( UK, Australia), also known as a superintendent (US, South Asia) or director (UK, New Zealand), is the official who is in charge of a prison. Name In the United States, Mexico, and Canada, warden is the m ...

, who appeared in a couple of movies as a prison warden. One of them was the 1969 film ''

Riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

'' that starred

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American professional American football, football player, civil rights activist, and actor. He played as a Fullback (gridiron football), fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the ...

and

Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – ) was an American actor. Hackman made his credited film debut in the drama ''Lilith (film), Lilith'' (1964). He later won two Academy Awards, his first for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ...

. He was also one of the policemen that captured

John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (; June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He commanded the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing twenty-four banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprison ...

Career

He was born in Illinois. In

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served in the 5th Cavalry, on horseback. Before he was a prison warden, he was a policeman. In 1921, he began his career in law in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...

. He then moved to

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

and in 1926 joined its police department, eventually becoming captain. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he resigned to join the U.S. Navy Intelligence. After the war, he briefly worked for the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...

and later returned to Tucson. In 1950, he successfully ran for Pima County Sheriff. At the beginning of his third term as County sheriff in 1955, he was appointed as superintendent of the prison by Governor

Ernest McFarland Ernest William McFarland (October 9, 1894 – June 8, 1984) was an American politician, jurist and, with Warren Atherton, one of the "Fathers of the G.I. Bill". He served in all three branches of government, two at the state level, one at the ...

. From 1955 to 1972, he was the warden of Arizona State Prison in

Florence, Arizona Florence ( O'odham: S-auppag) is a town in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. Florence, which is the county seat of Pinal County, is one of the oldest towns in that county and includes a National Historic District with over 25 buildings li ...

. When he retired in 1972 at the age of 74, he said that he'd never rehabilitated anyone in his life. Rather he re-educated and trained them. That was his philosophy. He retired in

Casa Grande Casa Grande ( O'odham: ''Wainom Wo:g'') is a city in Pinal County, approximately halfway between Phoenix and Tucson, in the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 census, the population of the city was 55,653. It is named after the Casa ...

and died in Phoenix in 1984.

Film

He appeared in two feature films. The first, in 1957 was ''

The Way to the Gold ''The Way to the Gold'' is a 1957 American adventure film directed by Robert D. Webb and starring Jeffrey Hunter, Sheree North, and Barry Sullivan. It was released by 20th Century-Fox. Plot After serving his time in prison, Joe Mundy (Hunter) ...

'', directed by

Robert D. Webb Robert D. Webb (January 8, 1903April 18, 1990) was an American film director. He directed 16 films between 1945 and 1968. He won the Academy Award for Best Assistant Director for ''In Old Chicago'', the last time that category was offered. Biog ...

, starring

Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Ki ...

and

Sheree North Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang; January 17, 1932 – November 4, 2005) was an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe. Early life North was born Dawn Shirley Cr ...

. In that film he played himself. Imd
Full cast and crew for The Way to the Gold
/ref> The other film was ''Riot'' in 1969, directed by

Buzz Kulik Seymour "Buzz" Kulik (July 23, 1922 – January 13, 1999) was an American film director and film producer, producer. He directed 72 films and television shows, including the landmark CBS television network anthology series ''Playhouse 90'' ...

. In that film he played The Warden.

References

External links

* American prison wardens 1984 deaths 1898 births {{US-law-enforcement-bio-stub