Franklin Pangborn
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Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 - July 20, 1958) was an American 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 has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street.
In the early 1930s Pangborn worked in short subjects for Mack Sennett, Hal Roach, Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Pathe, almost always in support of the leading players. Pangborn typically played a fussy type of character (officious desk clerks, self-important musicians, fastidious headwaiters, etc.) and 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 ibefore the Hays Office fully controlled filmmaking, and was notable for several risqué references (by 1933 standards). In this scene, Fields has just arrived by autogyro at the titular hotel in the fictitious Chinese city called "Wu Hu", but he does not know for sure where he is. Pangborn plays the desk manager:
- Fields: Where am I?!
- Pangborn: Wu Hu!
- Fields (giving him a sharp look and removing a flower from his lapel): Don't let the posy fool you!
Pangborn was an effective foil for many major comedians, including Fields, Harold Lloyd, Olsen & Johnson,The Ritz Brothers and played a befuddled child photographer opposite George "Spanky" McFarland in the Our Gang Series. He appeared regularly in comedies and musicals of the 1940s. When movie roles became scarce, he worked in television, including a Red Skelton show (in which he played a murderous bandit!) and a This Is Your Life tribute to his old boss, Mack Sennett. For a time Pangborn was the announcer on Jack Paar's Tonight Show.
