Franklin Pangborn

Franklin Pangborn
Screenshot of trailer for
Topper Takes a Trip, 1939
Born (1889-01-23)January 23, 1889
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died July 20, 1958(1958-07-20) (aged 69)
Laguna Beach, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1910–1958

Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break. For his contributions to motion pictures, Pangborn received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street on February 8, 1960.[1][2]

Pangborn was born in Newark, New Jersey.

Career

In the early 1930s, Pangborn worked in short subjects for Mack Sennett, Hal Roach, Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Pathé Exchange, almost always in support of the leading players. (He played a befuddled photographer opposite "Spanky" McFarland in the Our Gang short subject Wild Poses, for example.) He also appeared in scores of feature films in small roles, cameos, and in recurring gags of various types.

One of those character actors who always played essentially the same character no matter the situation, Pangborn portrayed a prissy type of person, polite, elegant, and highly energetic, often officious, fastidious, somewhat nervous, prone to becoming flustered but essentially upbeat, and with an immediately recognizable high-speed patter-type speech pattern. He typically played an officious desk clerk in a hotel, a self-important musician, a fastidious headwaiter, an enthusiastic birdwatcher, and the like, and was usually put in a situation of frustration or was comedically flustered by someone else's topsy-turvy antics.

Pangborn's screen character, which might be described at times as prissy or flighty, was often considered a gay stereotype, although such a topic was too sensitive in his day to be discussed overtly in the dialogue. A rare exception occurred in International House, which was filmed before the Hays Office fully censored filmmaking, and was notable for several risqué references (by 1933 standards). In one scene, Professor Quail, played by W. C. Fields, has just landed his autogyro on the roof of the titular hotel in the Chinese city of Wuhu, but he does not know where he is. Pangborn plays the hotel manager:

Professor Quail: Hey! Where am I?

Woman: Wu-Hu.

Professor Quail: Woo-Hoo to you sweetheart! Hey Charlie! where am I?

Pangborn: WU-HU!

(Fields then removes the flower from his lapel)

Professor Quail: Don't let the posy fool you!

Pangborn was an effective foil for many major comedians, including Fields, Harold Lloyd, Olsen and Johnson, and The Ritz Brothers. He appeared regularly in comedies (including several directed by Preston Sturges) and musicals of the 1940s. When movie roles became scarce, he worked in television, including The Red Skelton Show (in which he played a Murderous bandit) and a This Is Your Life tribute to his old boss, Mack Sennett. Pangborn was briefly the announcer on Jack Paar's The Tonight Show in 1957, but was fired after the first few weeks for a lack of "spontaneous enthusiasm" and replaced by Hugh Downs.

Pangborn's final public performance came as a supporting player in The Red Skelton Show episode for April 22, 1958.[3]

Personal life

Pangborn lived in Laguna Beach, California in a house with his mother and his "occasional boyfriend" according to William Mann in Behind the Screen.[4] He died on July 20, 1958.[5]

Partial filmography

All feature films are listed below. Many shorts, however, are missing.

References

  1. ↑ "Franklin Pangborn | Hollywood Walk of Fame". www.walkoffame.com. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  2. ↑ "Franklin Pangborn". latimes.com. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  3. ↑ Franklin Pangborn's last performance, on The Red Skelton Show, April 22, 1958
  4. ↑ Mann, William J. (October 11, 2001). Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910–1969. Viking. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-670-03017-0.
  5. ↑ "Obituary – Franklin Pangborn". Los Angeles Times. July 23, 1958. p. C12.
Media offices
Preceded by
Gene Rayburn		 The Tonight Show announcer
1957		 Succeeded by
Hugh Downs
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