Frank Gorshin

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Frank Gorshin (right) with Lou Rawls (1977)

Frank John Gorshin, Jr. (born April 5, 1933 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , † May 17, 2005 in Burbank , California ) was an American actor and voice actor .

Life

The son of a railroad worker worked as a doorman at Sheridan Square Theater while in high school, imitating some of his screen idols, such as Al Jolson , James Cagney , Cary Grant and Edward G. Robinson . At 17, he won a one-week engagement at Jackie Heller's Carousel night club in a talent competition . It became his first paid job as an entertainer and the cornerstone of his career. He attended Carnegie-Mellon Tech School of Drama and continued to appear in Pittsburgh nightclubs.

In 1953 Gorshin joined the army at the age of 19 and worked as an entertainer in a special unit for two years during the Korean War . He met Maurice Bergman, who put him to an agent in Hollywood . He soon got his first film role in "Even Heroes Can Weep" ( The Proud and Profane ) (1956) and a year later in "Avengers of the Disinherited" ( The True Story of Jesse James ). In " Invasion of the Saucer Men " (1957) he first became acquainted with the science fiction subject and then played in a series of B-films until his "Call is enough - come into the house" ( Bells Are Ringing ) ( 1960) was finally allowed to act in an A-film alongside Dean Martin .

In addition to acting, he also appeared in Hollywood nightclubs and was a guest on the Steve Allen Show (1956) and over a dozen times on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Gorshin got his best known role as " Riddler " in the classic series Batman (1966-68), which he also played in the 1966 movie " Batman Keeps the World in Breath ". For the role of Riddler, he was the only actor in the series to be nominated for an Emmy in 1966.

Frank Gorshin is known to Star Trek fans as Bele , from the episode "Bele chasing Lokai" (in the original Let That Be Your Last Battlefield ) by Starship Enterprise . The episode dealt with racism, which in the case was based on Bele (Frank Gorshin) being black on the right and white on the left, while his opponent Lokai ( Lou Antonio ) was white on the right and black on the left. The two protagonists belonged to two races on the same planet, each of which they were the last representative, and at the end of the episode they killed each other. The events surrounding Bele and Lokai are among the strongest denunciations of racial hatred in the Star Trek universe, at least in the original Star Trek series.

In 1970 Gorshin made his Broadway debut as the star of the play "Jimmy", which was to be followed by many other appearances, for example in the musicals "Promises, Promises" and "Guys and Dolls", in Peter Pan and "Prisoner of Second Street". 1980 Gorshin became honorary chairman of the American "Heart Association". In total, Gorshin played in over 70 films and had guest appearances in more than 40 television series. His last film work was "Angels with Angles," which was also Rodney Dangerfield's last film .

On a flight back to Los Angeles after playing the play Say Goodnight, Gracie for the last time in Memphis , Tennessee , Gorshin complained of breathing difficulties which worsened so badly that he was rushed to the hospital by the ambulance upon landing. There he died on May 17, 2005 of lung cancer , pneumonia and emphysema . He left behind his wife Christina Randazzo, with whom he had been married since 1957, and their child.

Filmography (selection)

Movies

TV Shows

Web links

Commons : Frank Gorshin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dennis McLellan: Frank Gorshin, 71; Impressionist, Actor Famously Played Riddler, George Burns on latimes.com, May 19, 2005, accessed May 21, 2012
  2. ↑ Jesse McKinley: Frank Gorshin, 'Batman' Riddler, Dies at 72 , The New York Times, May 19, 2005 (English)
personal data
SURNAME Gorshin, Frank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gorshin, Frank John Junior (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor and voice actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 5, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, USA
DATE OF DEATH May 17, 2005
Place of death Burbank , California, USA