Frank Fay (American actor)
Encyclopedia
Frank Fay was an American film and stage actor, emcee, comedian, best known as an actor for having played "Elwood P. Dowd" in the play Harvey
by the American playwright Mary Coyle Chase
on Broadway
. James Stewart
played the role in the film version.
to Irish Catholic
parents. He took the professional name of Frank Fay after concluding that his birth name was not suitable for the stage. He enjoyed considerable success as a variety artist starting around 1918, telling jokes and stories in a carefully planned "off the cuff" manner that was very original for the time. Jack Benny
stated that he modeled his early stage character on Fay. During the 1920s Fay was vaudeville's highest-paid headliner, earning $17,500 a week.
When talkies arrived, Warner Brothers studio was eager to put him under contract along with a host of other famous stage personalities. Fay was cast as master of ceremonies in Warners Brothers most expensive production of 1929, the all-star color all-talking revue The Show of Shows
(1929). Based on the success of that film, Fay was quickly signed up for an all-Technicolor
musical comedy entitled Under A Texas Moon (1930) in which he also displayed his singing abilities. The movie was a box office success and produced a song hit of the theme song which was also titled "Under a Texas Moon".
Fay sang the theme song several times throughout the picture. Another expensive picture, Bright Lights (1930), an extravagant all-Technicolor musical, quickly followed. Frank Fay also starred in The Matrimonial Bed
(1930), a Pre-Code comedy in which he sang the theme song twice. Frank Fay quickly found himself associated with musical films and this led to a decline in his popularity when the public became sick of musicals late in 1930.
In his next film, God's Gift to Women
(1931), which was originally planned as a musical, was cut partially before release in order to remove the musical sequences. In this film, Frank Fay failed to get the rave reviews he had previously enjoyed. He attempted to produce his own picture in 1932 and struck a deal with Warner Bros. to have them release his film. This film was titled A Fool's Advice (1932) and proved to be only moderately successful.
Frank Fay married Barbara Stanwyck
when she was relatively unknown. Fay helped Stanwyck jump-start her career in films and she was given a contract by Warner Brothers late in 1930. They married in 1928 (1928–1935) and adopted a son, Dion, on December 5, 1932. The marriage reportedly soured when Fay's career was eclipsed by Stanwyck's success. Some film historians have claimed that the Fay-Stanwyck marriage was the basis for A Star is Born
, but this has not been confirmed. Their only film appearance together was a brief skit in the short film The Stolen Jools
(1931).
Fay's Broadway talent and early success in talkies with his Pre-Code
humor did not bode well with the rising conservative movement ushered by the Great Depression. Fay played in a series of films casting him as a debonair lover, irresistible to women, that frequently threw in suggestive Pre-Code
jokes (e.g. homosexuality, sex). He was successful as a revue and night club comedian and Master of Ceremonies and appeared frequently on radio shows. (He was cast in a bit part as master of ceremonies in the night club sequence of Nothing Sacred
.)
As late as the 1950s one of his most enduring routines was taking a popular song and analysing the "senseless" lyrics, for example "Tea for Two":—
. He was teamed with comedian Billy Gilbert
for a series of wartime comedies, but walked out after the opener,
Spotlight Scandals. Fay was replaced by another comedian more congenial to Gilbert, Shemp Howard.
After the end of WWII he had third billing in a movie called Love Nest
.
Harvey (play)
Harvey is a 1944 play by American playwright Mary Chase. Produced by Brock Pemberton and directed by Antoinette Perry, the play premiered on 1 November 1944 at the 48th Street Theatre on Broadway where it was staged for 1,775 performances before closing on January 15, 1949. The original production...
by the American playwright Mary Coyle Chase
Mary Coyle Chase
Mary Coyle Chase was an American journalist, playwright and screenwriter, known primarily for writing the Broadway play Harvey, later adapted for film starring James Stewart...
on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
played the role in the film version.
Early life and career
Born as Francis Anthony Donner in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
to Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
parents. He took the professional name of Frank Fay after concluding that his birth name was not suitable for the stage. He enjoyed considerable success as a variety artist starting around 1918, telling jokes and stories in a carefully planned "off the cuff" manner that was very original for the time. Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
stated that he modeled his early stage character on Fay. During the 1920s Fay was vaudeville's highest-paid headliner, earning $17,500 a week.
When talkies arrived, Warner Brothers studio was eager to put him under contract along with a host of other famous stage personalities. Fay was cast as master of ceremonies in Warners Brothers most expensive production of 1929, the all-star color all-talking revue The Show of Shows
The Show of Shows (film)
The Show of Shows is a lavish all talking Vitaphone musical revue film which cost $850,000 to make. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros. fifth color movie, the first four were The Desert Song , On With the Show , Gold Diggers of Broadway and Paris . This movie featured most of the contemporary...
(1929). Based on the success of that film, Fay was quickly signed up for an all-Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
musical comedy entitled Under A Texas Moon (1930) in which he also displayed his singing abilities. The movie was a box office success and produced a song hit of the theme song which was also titled "Under a Texas Moon".
Fay sang the theme song several times throughout the picture. Another expensive picture, Bright Lights (1930), an extravagant all-Technicolor musical, quickly followed. Frank Fay also starred in The Matrimonial Bed
The Matrimonial Bed
The Matrimonial Bed is a 1930 American Pre-Code comedy film produced and released by Warner Bros.. It was based on the French play by André Mouézy-Éon and Yves Mirande...
(1930), a Pre-Code comedy in which he sang the theme song twice. Frank Fay quickly found himself associated with musical films and this led to a decline in his popularity when the public became sick of musicals late in 1930.
In his next film, God's Gift to Women
God's Gift to Women
God's Gift to Women is a Pre-Code musical romantic comedy film released by Warner Brothers, and starring Frank Fay and Laura LaPlante....
(1931), which was originally planned as a musical, was cut partially before release in order to remove the musical sequences. In this film, Frank Fay failed to get the rave reviews he had previously enjoyed. He attempted to produce his own picture in 1932 and struck a deal with Warner Bros. to have them release his film. This film was titled A Fool's Advice (1932) and proved to be only moderately successful.
Frank Fay married Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
when she was relatively unknown. Fay helped Stanwyck jump-start her career in films and she was given a contract by Warner Brothers late in 1930. They married in 1928 (1928–1935) and adopted a son, Dion, on December 5, 1932. The marriage reportedly soured when Fay's career was eclipsed by Stanwyck's success. Some film historians have claimed that the Fay-Stanwyck marriage was the basis for A Star is Born
A Star Is Born (1937 film)
A Star Is Born is a 1937 Technicolor romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, with a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell. It stars Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March as an aging movie star who...
, but this has not been confirmed. Their only film appearance together was a brief skit in the short film The Stolen Jools
The Stolen Jools
The Stolen Jools is a short comedy film produced by the Masquers Club of Hollywood, featuring many cameo appearances by the film stars of the day...
(1931).
Fay's Broadway talent and early success in talkies with his Pre-Code
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
humor did not bode well with the rising conservative movement ushered by the Great Depression. Fay played in a series of films casting him as a debonair lover, irresistible to women, that frequently threw in suggestive Pre-Code
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
jokes (e.g. homosexuality, sex). He was successful as a revue and night club comedian and Master of Ceremonies and appeared frequently on radio shows. (He was cast in a bit part as master of ceremonies in the night club sequence of Nothing Sacred
Nothing Sacred (film)
Nothing Sacred is a 1937 Technicolor screwball comedy film made by Selznick International Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by William A. Wellman and produced by David O. Selznick, from a screenplay credited to Ben Hecht, based on a story by James H. Street...
.)
As late as the 1950s one of his most enduring routines was taking a popular song and analysing the "senseless" lyrics, for example "Tea for Two":—
- ""Picture you, upon my knee." (This guy just owns one chair?)
- "Just tea for two and two for tea, me for you, and you for me, alone"
- So, here's the situation: the guy just has one chair, but enough tea for two, so he has two for tea. If anyone else shows up, he shoots 'em!
- "Nobody near us, to see us or hear us." Who'd want to listen to a couple of people drinking tea?
- "We won't have it known dear that we own a telephone."
- So, this guy's too cheap to get another chair, he has a telephone, but won't tell anyone about it!
- "Dawn will break, and you'll awake, and start to bake a sugar cake."
- Oh, this poor woman's life, I can see it now. Dawn breaks, and she's got to start baking, can't even run a brush through her hair, down in the dark, feeling around for the flour...
- "For me to take for all the guys to see."
- I can see that! "Hey, guys, I've got something the wife gave me!"
- Is it a new tie? Is it a set of tires?
- Nahhh- it's a sugar cake! Three layers, with a coconut cream filling!
- "Oh, that's just ducky!," they all say, and they crown him with it.
Later years
Fay made a brief screen comeback in 1943 for the low-budget Monogram PicturesMonogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
. He was teamed with comedian Billy Gilbert
Billy Gilbert
Billy Gilbert was an American comedian and actor known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows starting in 1929. He is not to be confused with silent film actor Billy Gilbert Billy Gilbert (September 12, 1894 – September 23,...
for a series of wartime comedies, but walked out after the opener,
Spotlight Scandals. Fay was replaced by another comedian more congenial to Gilbert, Shemp Howard.
After the end of WWII he had third billing in a movie called Love Nest
Love Nest
Love Nest is a 1951 comedy-drama film, directed by Joseph Newman, and starring June Haver, William Lundigan, Frank Fay, Marilyn Monroe, and Jack Paar.The post-World War II comedy features an early supporting role for Monroe...
.