Frank Daniels
| Frank Daniels | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Frank Albert Daniels August 15, 1856 Dayton, Ohio United States |
| Died |
January 12, 1935 (aged 78) West Palm Beach, Florida United States |
| Alma mater | New England Conservatory of Music |
| Occupation | Film actor |
| Years active | 1915-1921 |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth S. |
Frank Albert Daniels (August 15, 1856 - January 12, 1935) was a comedian, an actor on stage and in early black-and-white films, and a singer.[1][2]
Frank Daniels was born on August 15, 1856 in Dayton, Ohio to Balinda and Henry Daniels. He grew up in Boston, where he attended business school before studying singing at the New England Conservatory of Music.[3] His first appearance was made when he was twenty years of age, at the old Gaiety Theatre in Boston, as the Judge in Trial by Jury. He made his professional stage debut as the Sheriff in The Chimes of Normandy in 1879, then served a second apprenticeship with several light opera companies, including the McCaull Comic Opera Company. Daniels first won major recognition in New York as Old Sport, the boxing fan drugstore clerk, in A Rag Baby (1884).
Other successes included the transformed father Packingham Giltedge in Little Puck (1888) (which was based on F. Anstey's novel Vice Versa) the loyal lighthouse man Shrimps in Princess Bonnie (1895), and the title role in Victor Herbert's The Wizard of the Nile (1895). His success in the latter musical was so pronounced that Herbert immediately wrote two more vehicles especially for him: The Idol's Eye (1897) and The Ameer (1899). Miss Simplicity (1902), The Office Boy (1903), and Sergeant Bruce (1905) all depended on his antics for their popularity. Among his later credits were the tailor‐made vehicle The Tattooed Man (1907) by Herbert, The Belle of Brittany (1909), and a touring company of The Pink Lady (1911). He retired after performing in Joe Weber and Lew Fields's last double bill, Roly Poly and Without the Law (1912).
He was a major star for the pioneering Vitagraph Company, for whom he developed popular characters such as Captain Jiggs, Kernel Nutt, and Mr. Jack. He appeared in three films with Harold Lloyd in 1919; Count the Votes, Pay Your Dues and His Only Father. His last film was Among Those Present, in 1921.
He died on January 12, 1935, in West Palm Beach, at the age of 78. He was survived by three children.
References
- ↑ Frank Daniels, early biography, PeriodPaper.com
- ↑ Frank Daniels; North American Theatre Online
- ↑ Eaton, Walter Prichard (1910). The American Stage of Today. New York, NY: P.F. Collier & Son.
External links
- Frank Daniels at the Internet Movie Database
- Frank Daniels at the IBDb.com database
- Frank Daniels portrait gallery NY Public Library, Billy Rose Collection
- The Famous Frank Daniels