Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy | |
|---|---|
| File:FrankLovejoy.JPG Lovejoy in Try and Get Me! (1950) | |
| Years active | 1948 – 1962 |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Williams (? - ?; divorced) Joan Banks (1940 - October 2 1962; his death) 2 children |
Frank Lovejoy (March 28, 1912 – October 2, 1962) was a American actor on radio and in films and television.
Radio
A successful radio actor, Lovejoy was heard on the 1930s crime drama series Gang Busters. He played the title character on the syndicated The Blue Beetle during the 1940s, and starred in the later crime drama series Nightbeat in the early 1950s.
Films
In films of the 1940s and 1950s, Lovejoy mostly played supporting roles. Appearing in movies such as Goodbye, My Fancy with Joan Crawford, Lovejoy was effective playing the movie's everyman (because of his somewhat bland looks and unassuming personality) in extraordinary situations. He was in several war movies, notably Joseph H. Lewis' Retreat, Hell! (1952) which portrayed the United States Marine Corps' withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir (aka the Changjin Reservoir) during the Korean War. In 1951, he had the title role in I Was a Communist for the FBI with co-stars Ron Hagerthy, Paul Picerni, and Philip Carey.
Television
Lovejoy starred in two short-run TV series, Man Against Crime and Meet McGraw. Episodes of these two series have never been released commercially on DVD or VHS and never aired on reruns. Meet McGraw episodes were screened at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention.
Lovejoy was first married to Frances Williams (1901-59) but divorced in the late 1930s. In 1940, Lovejoy married actress Joan Banks (1918-1998), with whom he had two children (a boy and a girl).
Among Lovejoy's last performances was with Donald May in the episode "County General" (March 18, 1962) on the ABC series Bus Stop with Marilyn Maxwell in the role of Grace Sherwood, owner of a diner in Sunrise, Colorado. That same season, he appeared on the ABC crime drama Target: The Corruptors! about the efforts of a New York City reporter to expose organized crime.
Frank Lovejoy died of a heart attack while appearing in a New Jersey production of The Best Man with his wife Joan Banks.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
| 1949 | Home of the Brave | Sergeant Mingo | |
| 1950 | In a Lonely Place | Detective Sergeant Brub Nicolai | |
| Try and Get Me! | Howard Tyler | AKA The Sound of Fury | |
| 1951 | I Was a Communist for the FBI | Matt Cvetic | |
| 1952 | Retreat, Hell! | Lieutenant Colonel Steve L. Corbett | |
| 1953 | House of Wax | Lieutenant Thomas "Tom" Brennan | |
| The Hitch-Hiker | Gilbert Bowen | ||
| 1955 | The Americano | Bento Hermany | |
| Strategic Air Command | General Ennis C. Hawkes | ||
| 1954 | Beachhead | Sgt. Fletcher | |
| 1956 | Julie | Detective Lieutenant Pringle | |
| 1958 | Cole Younger, Gunfighter | Cole Younger | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1957-58 | Meet McGraw | McGraw | |
| Radio | |||
| Year | Title | Role | |
| 1952 | Gang Busters | — | |
| 1950-52 | Nightbeat | — | |
| 1948 | The Blue Beetle | — | |
External links
- Frank Lovejoy at IMDb
- Frank Lovejoy at the Notable Names Database