Steve Franken

Stephen Robert Franken (May 27, 1932 – August 24, 2012)Slotnik, Daniel E. (August 31, 2012)
"Long Career Followed 'Dobie Gillis' Role"
''The Atlanta Constitution''. p. B7. Retrieved November 20 , 2023. was an American actor who worked in film and television for over fifty years.

Early life and career

Franken was born in Queens, New York. He earned his B.A. from Cornell University, and returned to New York to pursue acting rather than realize his parents' dreams for a medical career.

Franken's first screen role was in 1958 as Willie in the episode " The Time of Your Life" on the anthology series ''Playhouse 90''.

Producer Rod Amateau saw him in a Los Angeles stage production of '' Say, Darling'' and cast him as playboy dilettante Chatsworth Osborne Jr. on the sitcom '' The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'', starring Dwayne Hickman. Franken appeared as a recurring guest in numerous episodes from 1960 to 1963. He attributed the character's look of pained condescension to an ulcer he had suffered since the age of 14 when his mother had died.

Another early role was as Bully in the 1961 episode "The Pit" of the series '' The Rebel'', starring Nick Adams. He played the lead guest-starring role in the 1961 episode "The Case of Willie Betterley" in '' Lock Up''. In 1962, he was cast as Dunc Tomilson in "The Yacht-Club Gang" on ''Checkmate''. He appeared as Jerry Allen in two episodes of ''Mr. Novak''. In 1964, he appeared in ''The Time Travelers''. In 1965, he appeared in "Birth of a Salesman" on ''McHale's Navy'', and in "Tim and Tim Again" on '' My Favorite Martian''.

He appeared in 1964 on ''Petticoat Junction'' as the son of the villain, Homer Bedloe in "Bedloe and Son". He played another rich wastrel on the short-lived sitcom ''Tom, Dick and Mary''. Franken appeared in the famous 1963 '' Perry Mason'' episode "The Case of the Deadly Verdict" (in which Mason actually loses a case, at least initially) as Christopher Barton.

Immediately after ''Dobie Gillis'' was cancelled, Franken was cast as Lieutenant Samwell "Sanpan" Panosian in the Gary Lockwood series ''The Lieutenant'' episode "To Take Up Serpents", the first television series created by Gene Roddenberry. He played other military roles, such as a decorated U.S. flier turned arms-dealer and traitor in "The Gun Runner Raid" episode of '' The Rat Patrol'' and as a P.O.W. lieutenant in '' Follow Me, Boys!''. From 1966 to 1971, he appeared in various roles in at least six episodes of '' Bewitched''.

Franken appeared as the drunken waiter Levinson in the 1968 Blake Edwards film '' The Party'', alongside Peter Sellers. One journalist, writing on the fortieth anniversary of the film, stated:

From 1970 to 1973, he appeared five times on ''Love, American Style''. He appeared as Officer Albert Porter in three episodes of ''Adam-12'' from 1971 to 1972 as well as Ralph Salisbury in the 1971 episode "The Ferret." In 1972, he appeared as Jonas Lasser on the season three episode "The Courtship of Mary's Father's Daughter" on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.

He appeared on ''Barney Miller'' in 1975 (episode: "The Arsonist") and again in 1981 (episode: "Resignation"). In 1979, he starred as Tom Voorhies alongside Michael Constantine in Disney's '' The North Avenue Irregulars''. He appeared with Peter Sellers in 1980's '' The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu''.

He acted and directed in various episodes of ''Insight''. He appeared in small roles in such contemporary television series as ''Murphy Brown'', ''The King of Queens'' and ''Seinfeld''. From 2002 to 2003, he provided voices for ''Law & Order'' computer games. He voiced Professor Eugene Atwater in the animated series '' Road Rovers''.

He voice-acted as Rundle in the 1993 '' Batman: The Animated Series'' episode "The Mechanic" and was Mr. Beal in '' Detention'' episodes "Little Miss Popular" and "Comedy of Terrors" (both 1999). The following year, he voiced the role of Mr. Janus in the episode "Grounded" of '' Static Shock'' and provided voices in '' Smurfs'' (1981), ''The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda'' (1990), and ''Spawn'' (1997).

Death

Franken died on August 24, 2012, at a nursing and rehabilitation center in Canoga Park, California, of complications from cancer, aged 80. He had three daughters, two from his first marriage to Julia Carter, and one from his second marriage to Jean Garrett. He was the second cousin of actor and politician Al Franken.Gitlin, Martin (2014).
The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time
'. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 303. .

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
*
"GAF Super 8 Movie Cameras from $49.50"
(1971 TV commercial with Henry Fonda and Steve Franken) at OVGuide.com. Retrieved August 18, 2012.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franken, Steve
1932 births
2012 deaths
20th-century American Jews
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
Cornell University alumni
Jewish American male actors
Male actors from Greater Los Angeles
Deaths from cancer in California
Male actors from California