Frank Marth

Frank Marth
Frank Marth
	Marth in the Beverly Garland crime drama, Decoy (1958)
Born	July 29, 1922; New York City, U.S.
Died	January 12, 2014 (aged 91); Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1949–1987
Spouse	Hope Holiday (m. 1967)

Frank Marth (July 29, 1922 – January 12, 2014) was an American film and television actor. He may be best known as a cast-member of Cavalcade of Stars (1949; 1950–1957), especially segments of The Honeymooners, which later became a television series (1955–56).

Early years

Marth was born in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan to Mr. And Mrs. Frank Marth, Sr. He attended public schools graduating from Commerce High School. He initially worked in building construction, but after World War II he attended the Feagin School of Dramatic Art with plans to work in radio.^[1]

Career

Early in his career, Marth worked in radio, including being announcer, commentator, and disc jockey on WOV in New York City and WWDX-FM^[1] and WPAT in New Jersey.^[2]

On stage, Marth acted in productions of local and regional theaters, including the Greenwood Playhouse in Maine and the Willimantic Playhouse in Connecticut.^[2]

Marth's big screen credits included roles in films such as Madame X (1966), Madigan (1968), Pendulum (1969), The Lost Man (1969), Marooned (1969) and Telefon (1977).

On television, Marth appeared in two episodes of Perry Mason, five episodes of The Big Valley, one episode of The Wild, Wild West and Mannix, five episodes of Hogan's Heroes, three episodes of Barnaby Jones, two episodes of Mission: Impossible, as well as on Hawaii Five-O, The Fugitive, Cannon, The Invaders, The F.B.I., The Streets of San Francisco, The Six Million Dollar Man, The New Adventures of Wonder Woman, Dallas and M*A*S*H. In 1970 Marth appeared as Rawlings in the western TV series The Virginian in the episode titled "The Gift." In 1976, he appeared in an episode of Sara and played the Commanding Officer of Ben Murphy's leading officer in the TV mini series version of The Dirty Dozen.^[3] He also played Ben Fraser, Jr. in the NBC drama From These Roots (1958-1961)^[3]^: 369 and was a regular on Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine and The Jackie Gleason Show.^[3]^: 521

Tall and fair-haired, Marth, often in tandem with the short, dark-haired George O. Petrie, played various recurring and one-time roles on The Honeymooners; e.g., as one of the brutal hoods who hold the Kramdens and Ed Norton hostage after Ralph witnesses a bank robbery; as Harvey Walstatter, who hires Alice Kramden to babysit his son, Harvey, Jr.; and as the inquiring news photographer who lands Ralph Kramden in hot water after he quotes Kramden declaring that he is "head of the household". ^{[citation needed]}

Death

Marth died of congestive heart failure and Alzheimer's disease on January 12, 2014, in Rancho Mirage, California, aged 91.^[4]

Filmography (partial)

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1956	Fright	George Morley
1961	Breakfast at Tiffany's	Party Guest	Uncredited
1963	Love with the Proper Stranger	Carlos	Uncredited
1966	Madame X	Det. Combs
1968	Madigan	Lt. James Price
1969	Pendulum	Lt. Smithson
1969	The Lost Man	Warren
1969	Marooned	Air Force Systems Director
1977	Telefon	Harley Sandburg
1994	Loving Deadly	John	(final film role)