Frank Gorshin

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Frank Gorshin (April 5, 1933 – May 17, 2005) was an American actor and comedian from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

He was best known as an impressionist, with many notable guest appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and on The Tonight Show with host Steve Allen. His most famous role was The Riddler in the Batman live action television series.

Contents [hide] 1 Life 2 Work 2.1 Filmography 2.2 Stage appearances 3 Quotes 4 External links

[edit] Life

Frank John Gorshin, Jr. was a son of Roman Catholic parents, Frank and Frances Gorshin, a railway worker and a seamstress in Pittsburgh, where Frank, Jr. was born. Aged 15, he took a part-time job as a cinema usher at the Sheridan Square Theatre. He memorized the mannerisms of the screen stars that he saw and created an impressionist act. He was still in high school when he obtained his first paid employment: a one-week engagement at Jackie Heller's New York night club Carousel, which he secured as the prize in a Pittsburgh talent contest in 1951. His parents had insisted that he take the engagement even though his 15 year old brother had been hit by a car and killed just two nights before.

After graduation from Peabody High School, Gorshin attended the Carnegie Tech School of Drama (now known as Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh. When not studying he worked in local plays and night clubs.

In 1953, Gorshin was drafted into the United States Army and posted to Korea. He served for a year and a half as an entertainer attached to Special Services. His service number was 52314745. Nearly all of Gorshin's official military records were destroyed in the 1973 National Archives Fire. While in the Army, Gorshin met Maurice Bergman, who later introduced him to the Hollywood agent Paul Kohner. When he left the Army he returned to public performance and in 1956 he became a prolific film actor. He also appeared as an actor and a guest on television shows, including twelve guest spots on the Ed Sullivan Show (his first being the same night The Beatles and Davy Jones debuted, early in 1964). He was a popular act at nightclubs—notably those of Las Vegas, where he was the first impressionist to headline the main showrooms. He was also the first impressionist to headline the Empire Room of New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Gorshin's slender athletic build, his wide mouth, and his pale eyes under strong brows were ideal characteristics for screen henchmen. In 1957 he fell asleep at the wheel of his car after driving from Pittsburgh for 39 hours without sleep. He was on his way to a Hollywood screen test for the part of Officer Ruby in Run Silent Run Deep. He sustained a fractured skull and spent four days in a coma; a Los Angeles newspaper incorrectly reported that he had been killed.

Despite being a widely-noted homosexual, in 1961 he married Christina Randazzo , whom he eventually divorced, and with whom he had a son, Mitchell. He married his second wife, Haji on July 4, 2004.

In 1966 he took on the role of the Riddler, for which he received an Emmy nomination.
In 1968 he filmed his other Emmy-nominated role: in an episode of Star Trek. He continued to make films, and perform his nightclub act, with occasional breaks in the early 1970s to appear in Broadway shows.

One of his last major television roles was as a guest star on the Nickelodeon anthology series Are You Afraid of the Dark?, where he played the evil sorcerer Brother Septimus in The Tale of the Carved Stone, which aired in 1993.

A lifelong smoker, he suffered from lung cancer, emphysema and pneumonia towards the end of his life. Despite his illness he continued to work until near the very end. He died on May 17, 2005 in a hospital at Burbank, California . Christina Randazzo Gorshin, his first wife, was also at his bedside. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

[edit] Work

He was nominated for an Emmy (Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy) for his most famous role: as The Riddler in the Batman live action television series, in which he was clad in a bowler hat and iridescent green body suit decorated with question marks, and frequently uttered his now-famous high deranged cackle, inspired by Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) in 1947's Kiss of Death. He also had a memorable role in the 1969 Star Trek episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" as the half-whiteface, half-blackface Bele, for which he was again Emmy-nominated. Prior to that, he was a dramatic actor, often playing "tough guys" like those played by one of his favorite target of impressions, James Cagney, whom he was said to resemble. He did take a comic turn, though, as the myopic bandleader Basil (paired with singer Connie Francis) in 1960's Where The Boys Are, and played a boss-behind-bars for laughs in Otto Preminger's 1968 comedy Skidoo.

Gorshin also played a villain in the television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

He made several appearances on CBS's Ed Sullivan Show during the 1960s, including the February 9, 1964 broadcast in which The Beatles made their American debut.

He appeared on Broadway, in Jimmy (1970) and Guys and Dolls (1971). In 2002, he portrayed comedian George Burns on Broadway in the one-man show Say Goodnight Gracie.

His final performance was in an episode of the CBS-TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation which aired two days after his death from cancer, emphysema, and pneumonia, and was dedicated to his memory. While he was known for his impressions, his role on CSI was, ironically, as himself. Coincidentally, Gorshin died on the same day that the TV movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt was released on DVD in North America. Gorshin appeared as himself (parodying his role as the Riddler) in this popular 2003 special that reunited the original stars of the Batman series. Gorshin also voiced villain Hugo Strange in an episode of The Batman, which aired in the series' second season on the WB. After Gorshin's death, Strange was voiced by Richard Green. Gorshin also voiced a character in the computer role playing game "Diablo II" in the second "act" of the game. Even though he had serious lung problems, his voice is unmistakable.

His Life & work was honored at the British Academy Television Awards in May 2006.

[edit] Filmography

• The Proud and Profane (1956)
• Hot Rod Girl (1956)
• Between Heaven and Hell (1956)
• Runaway Daughters (1956)
• The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
• Dragstrip Girl (1957)
• The Delicate Delinquent (1957)
• Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)
• Portland Expose (1957)
• Tank Battalion (1958)
• Night of the Quarter Moon (1959)
• Warlock (1959)
• Bells Are Ringing (1960)
• Studs Lonigan (1960)
• Where the Boys Are (1960)
• The Great Imposter (1961)
• Ring of Fire (1961)
• The George Raft Story (1961)
• Sail a Crooked Ship (1961)
• That Darn Cat! (1965)
• Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966)
• Batman (1966)
• Skidoo (1968)
• Record City (1977)
• Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1979))
• Underground Aces (1981)
• The Uppercrust (1981)
• Hot Resort (1985)
• Uphill All the Way (1986)
• Hollywood Vice Squad (1986)
• The Gnomes' Great Adventure (1987) (voice)
• Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers (1989)
• Midnight (1989)
• Sweet Justice (1992)
• The Hollywood Beach Murders (1992)
• Body Trouble (1992)
• Amore! (1993)
• The Meteor Man (1993)
• Hail Caesar (1994)
• The Big Story (1994) (short subject) (voice)
• Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie (1995) (Cameo)
• Twelve Monkeys (1995)
• From Hare to Eternity (1996) (short subject) (voice)
• Superior Duck (1996) (short subject) (voice)
• Threshold (1997)
• Bloodmoon (1997)
• Better Than Ever (1997)
• After the Game (1997)
• Pullet Surprise (1997) (short subject) (voice)
• Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997)
• Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight (1997) (documentary)
• The Rules (For Men) (1999)
• The Art of Murder (1999)
• All Shook Up (1999)
• Man of the Century (1999)
• Final Rinse (1999)
• Game Day (1999)
• Castlerock (2000)
• Luck of the Draw (2000)
• The Curio Trunk (2000) (short subject)
• High Times' Potluck (2002)
• Manna from Heaven (film) (2002)
• Mail Order Bride (2003)
• Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003)
• The Creature of the Sunny Side Up Trailer Park (2004)
• Angels with Angles (2005) (currently filming)
• Firedog (2005) (voice) (currently filming)
• Buckaro (2005) (judge) (completed)

[edit] Stage appearances

• What Makes Sammy Run? playing Sammy Glick at Valley Music Theatre (Los Angeles) (1966)
• Jimmy playing James J. Walker at Winter Garden Theatre (Broadway) (1969)
• Prisoner of Second Avenue playing Mel Edison at Parker Playhouse (Florida) (1973)
• Whodunnit standing in as Andreas Capodistriou at Biltmore Theatre (Broadway) (1982)
• On the Twentieth Century playing Oscar Jaffe on a tour of the United States (1986)
• Guys and Dolls as a performer in Las Vegas (1995)
• The Sunshine Boys as Willie Clark on a tour of the United States (2001)
• Say Goodnight, Gracie as George Burns at Helen Hayes Theatre (Broadway) (2002)

[edit] Quotes

• "I don't think of myself as being funny. But life takes strange turns." [People Magazine, January 1996]

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Frank Gorshin at the Internet Movie Database
• Frank Gorshin at the Notable Names Database
• Wilson, Jeff. 'The Riddler' Frank Gorshin Dies at 72' Associated Press
• Frank Gorshin's Gravesite
• The Riddler # 1 - Frank Gorshin
• Influential 'Batman' Riddler Frank Gorshin Dies At 72
• A review of Gorshin as George Burns, 2002, with photograph
• The Riddler loved living in the limelight
• Frank Gorshin article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
• Frank Gorshin at TV.com