Frank Maxwell
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Charles Francis Maxwell (November 17, 1916 – August 4, 2004) was an American
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. ...
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 ...
from 1984 to 1989.


Life and career

A native of
The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
borough of New York City, and a graduate of the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
, 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 the 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 ...
'' (playing the role of Willy Loman's son, "Happy"), '' South Pacific'' (playing "Luther Billis," a role that went to
Ray Walston Herman Ray Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor. He started his career on Broadway theatre, Broadway earning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Mr. Applegate in ''Damn Yankees'' (1956 ...
in the film version), and ''
Stalag 17 ''Stalag 17'' is a 1953 American war film directed by Billy Wilder. It 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 ...
''. His first television acting roles were in 1950 in episodes of the '' Goodyear Playhouse''/'' 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 p ...
''. Maxwell subsequently appeared in such series as ''
Decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''eenden 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 ...
'' with Beverly Garland, ''
Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American detective fiction, private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens (actor), Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, lounge singer Edie Hart. The series was broadcast by NBC from Sept ...
'' (twice), ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...
'' (five episodes), '' The Fugitive'' (three episodes), ''
Whirlybirds ''Whirlybirds'' (sometimes called ''The Whirlybirds'' or ''Copter Patrol'') is a Television syndication, syndicated American Dramatic programming, drama/adventure television series, which aired for 111 episodes — broadcast from February ...
'', ''
Black Saddle ''Black Saddle'' is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck that aired 44 half-hour black-and-white episodes from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The first season of 20 episodes aired on NBC from January 1959 to September ...
'', ''
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 1959–60 television season. Synopsis Dr. Glenn Barton i ...
'', '' The Deputy'', '' Cain's Hundred'', '' Follow the Sun'', ''
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
'', ''
The Asphalt Jungle ''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American heist film noir directed and cowritten by John Huston and starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire and Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest role ...
'', '' Target: The Corruptors'', and ''
Mr. Novak ''Mr. Novak'' is an American television drama (film and television), drama television series starring James Franciscus in the title role as a high school teacher. The series aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965. It won a Peabody Award ...
''. He was cast three times each on ''
Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The Live television, live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run ...
'', ''
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 during th ...
,'' and ''
Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American Action fiction, 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 two situatio ...
'' and four times each on ''
Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...
''; '' Quincy, M.E.''; and '' The F.B.I.'' In 1960, Maxwell was cast in
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
's
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
series, ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'' as Marty Fisher in the episode " A World of Difference". 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'': 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 (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
, '' Our Man Higgins'', starring
Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles Stanley Holloway on stage and screen, on stage and screen, especially t ...
in the title role and with Audrey Totter 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'' with
Howard Duff Howard Green Duff (November 24, 1913July 8, 1990) was an American actor. He started in radio during World War II before appearing in many Hollywood features and television programs from 1947 to 1990. He also directed for television. His career ...
from 1966-68 and '' The Second Hundred Years'' with
Monte Markham Monte Markham (born June 21, 1935) is an American actor. He has appeared in films, television series, and on Broadway. Early life Markham was born in Manatee County, Florida, one of four sons of Millie Content (née Willbur) and Jesse Edwar ...
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 fiction, detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law. They run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, Califor ...
'', 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. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS television sitcom ''The Beverly Hillb ...
. 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 created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...
'', 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 professional American football, football executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL), and son of ...
, the lovable aging hospital administrator on ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'' 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. He died in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, and was buried in
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Holy Cross Cemetery is a Catholic Church, Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Archdiocese. It is partially in the Culver City city limi ...
, California.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.


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 Los Angeles 20th-century American male actors Male actors from the Bronx Presidents of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists