Dwight Frye

Dwight Frye

Known for: Acting
Biography: 1899-02-22
Deathday: 1943-11-07 (44 years old)

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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


Dwight Iliff Frye (February 22, 1899 – November 7, 1943) was an American stage and screen actor, noted for his appearances in the classic horror films Dracula, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.


Frye was born in Salina, Kansas. Nicknamed "The Man with the Thousand-Watt Stare," and "The Man of a Thousand Deaths," he specialized in the portrayal of mentally unbalanced characters, including his signature role, the madman Renfield in Tod Browning's 1931 version of Dracula. Later that same year he also played the hunchbacked assistant in the film Frankenstein. (This character, named Fritz, is often mistakenly referred to as Ygor, a character originated by Béla Lugosi in the later film Son of Frankenstein.)


Frye had a prominent role in the 1933 horror film The Vampire Bat, starring Lionel Atwill, Melvyn Douglas, and Fay Wray, in which he played Herman, a half-wit suspected of being a killer. He also had a memorable role in the classic Bride of Frankenstein, in which he played Karl. The part of Karl was originally much longer and many extra scenes of Frye were shot as a sub plot but were edited out of the final version to shorten the running time as well as to appease the censor boards. The most memorable of these "cut scenes" was that of Karl killing the Burgomaster portrayed by E. E. Clive. No known prints of these scenes survive today, but photographs of the scene were used to illustrate the scene's synopsis and are included in the recent Universal DVD release of the film.


During the early 1940s, Frye alternated between film roles and appearing on stage in a variety of productions ranging from comedies to musicals, as well as appearing in a stage version of Dracula. In 1924 he played the Son in a translation of Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author. There was a Dwight Frye Fan Club at one time, but it is currently dormant. He also made a contribution to the war effort by working nights as a tool designer for Lockheed Aircraft. Frye's strong resemblance to former Secretary of War Newton D. Baker helped land him what would have been a substantial role in the biographical film Wilson, based on the life of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, but he died of a heart attack while riding on a bus in Hollywood a few days before filming was to have begun.


Frye was interred in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.


Description above from the Wikipedia article Dwight Frye, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

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Filmography

all 54

Movies 54

Renfield (archive footage)
The Many Faces of Dracula

The Many Faces of Dracula (2000)

Movie
(archive footage)
Universal Horror

Universal Horror (1998)

Movie
Fritz / Karl (archive footage)
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook

Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)

Movie
Haldine (uncredited)
Submarine Alert

Submarine Alert (1943)

Movie
Hostage
Hangmen Also Die!

Hangmen Also Die! (1943)

Movie
Zolarr
Dead Men Walk

Dead Men Walk (1943)

Movie
Rudi a Vasarian
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

Movie
5.64
Villager at Meeting / Grave Robber (flashback) (uncredited)
The Ghost of Frankenstein

The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

Movie
5.16
Ziggy (uncredited)
Don't Talk

Don't Talk (1942)

Movie
Radio Operator
Devil Pays Off

Devil Pays Off (1941)

Movie
The Blonde from Singapore

The Blonde from Singapore (1941)

Movie
Rader
Mystery Ship

Mystery Ship (1941)

Movie
Leo Qualen
Flying Blind

Flying Blind (1941)

Movie
Pavlov's Secretary (Uncredited)
The Son of Monte Cristo

The Son of Monte Cristo (1940)

Movie
Speavy
Sky Bandits

Sky Bandits (1940)

Movie
Eddie Anders
Phantom Raiders

Phantom Raiders (1940)

Movie
Pinky
Gangs of Chicago

Gangs of Chicago (1940)

Movie
Prof. Anderson
Drums of Fu Manchu

Drums of Fu Manchu (1940)

Movie
Fouquet's Valet
The Man in the Iron Mask

The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

Movie
Gravet, 'the Jackal'
Adventure in Sahara

Adventure in Sahara (1938)

Movie
John Colley
The Night Hawk

The Night Hawk (1938)

Movie
Arsonist
Think It Over

Think It Over (1938)

Movie
Sidney Z. Wheeler
Fast Company

Fast Company (1938)

Movie
Marshall (uncredited)
Sinners in Paradise

Sinners in Paradise (1938)

Movie
Alex
Invisible Enemy

Invisible Enemy (1938)

Movie
Mr. Owen
Who Killed Gail Preston?

Who Killed Gail Preston? (1938)

Movie
Vindecco
The Shadow

The Shadow (1937)

Movie
Mr. Easton (makeup supervisor)
Something to Sing About

Something to Sing About (1937)

Movie
Hysterical patient
The Man Who Found Himself

The Man Who Found Himself (1937)

Movie
SS Paradise Radio Operator (uncredited)
Sea Devils

Sea Devils (1937)

Movie
Swanson
Beware Of Ladies

Beware Of Ladies (1936)

Movie
McBride
Alibi for Murder

Alibi for Murder (1936)

Movie
Jenkins
Florida Special

Florida Special (1936)

Movie
Roger Unthank (uncredited)
The Great Impersonation

The Great Impersonation (1935)

Movie
Dr. Thomas
The Crime of Doctor Crespi

The Crime of Doctor Crespi (1935)

Movie
Spike Jonas
Atlantic Adventure

Atlantic Adventure (1935)

Movie
Karl
Bride of Frankenstein

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Movie
5.73
Reporter (uncredited)
The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man (1933)

Movie
5.3
Flandrin
The Circus Queen Murder

The Circus Queen Murder (1933)

Movie
Herman Gleib
The Vampire Bat

The Vampire Bat (1933)

Movie
5.89
Robert Wayne
A Strange Adventure

A Strange Adventure (1932)

Movie
Dick Loomis
The Western Code

The Western Code (1932)

Movie
Chick Lewis
By Whose Hand?

By Whose Hand? (1932)

Movie
James Wallace
Attorney for the Defense

Attorney for the Defense (1932)

Movie
Fritz
Frankenstein

Frankenstein (1931)

Movie
5.47
Jessop the Butler (uncredited)
The Black Camel

The Black Camel (1931)

Movie
4.5
Wilmer Cook
The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon (1931)

Movie
Renfield (archive footage) (uncredited)
Drácula

Drácula (1931)

Movie
5.15
Renfield
Dracula

Dracula (1931)

Movie
5.88
Vint Glade
Man to Man

Man to Man (1930)

Movie
Monk, Gangster
The Doorway to Hell

The Doorway to Hell (1930)

Movie
Wedding Guest (uncredited)
The Night Bird

The Night Bird (1928)

Movie
Theatre Audience Spectator
Upstream

Upstream (1927)

Movie
Balcony Heckler (uncredited)
Exit Smiling

Exit Smiling (1926)

Movie

Ratings

Average 5.75
Based on 288 Thousand movie and tv ratings over time
1926
1933
1937
1935
2000
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Information

Known For
Acting

Gender
Male

Birthday
1899-02-22

Deathday
1943-11-07 (44 years old)

Birth Place
Kansas, United States of America

Religion
Christian Science

Citizenships
United States of America

Also Known As
Dwight Iliff Fry, Dwight I. Frye


This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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