Frankie Thomas

Frankie Thomas

Born: April 9, 1921
Died: May 11, 2006
in New York, New York, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frank Marion Thomas Jr. (April 9, 1921 – May 11, 2006), credited as Frankie Thomas, was an American actor, author and bridge-strategy expert who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early television. He was best known for his starring role in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.

He was only 11 when he accompanied his mother to a casting office, where he stood in the background while his mother asked about possible openings in new Broadway shows. The agent replied, "I have nothing that suits you, Mona, but I can use the boy." Thomas wound up in a small part in Carry Nation (1932), where Jimmy Stewart was cast as a constable. Thomas appeared in six other Broadway plays between 1932 and 1936, including Little Ol' Boy with Burgess Meredith, Thunder on the Left, Wednesday's Child, The First Legion, Remember the Day, in which he appeared with his father, and Seen But Not Heard.

In Wednesday's Child he played the role of Bobby Phillips, the longest stage part ever written for a child performer. Thomas also developed a lifelong fascination with the character of Sherlock Holmes during this period, when he saw William Gillette perform the part during his farewell tour.

Thomas's last "A" film was Boys' Town (1938) with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. Thomas was Freddy Fuller, Boys' Town's mayor, and was not asked to appear in the sequel, Men of Boys' Town (1941). He then appeared in a string of "B" films such as Little Tough Guys in Society and Nancy Drew... Detective (both 1938), Nancy Drew... Reporter, Code of the Streets, Nancy Drew… Trouble Shooter, The Angels Wash Their Faces, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, On Dress Parade and Invisible Stripes (all 1939).

In 1941 Thomas had small parts in Flying Cadets and One Foot in Heaven. His last film roles were small roles in Always in My Heart and The Major and the Minor (1942), where he played a military school cadet who flirted with Ginger Rogers' character. After World War II, Thomas moved into television. In the fall of 1950 he became the idol of millions of children when he played the starring role in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, beginning on CBS and transferring to ABC in January 1951. Thomas had beaten out Jack Lemmon for the part.

Movies for Frankie Thomas...

Title: First Love
Released: July 5, 1954
Type: TV
First Love is an American soap opera which ran on NBC Daytime from July 5, 1954 to December 30, 1955. The series aired at 4:15 p.m. EST, between Golden Windows and Concerning Miss Marlowe. Although the show had a strong fan following, at the time NBC had little use for developing any of their daytime shows and canceled First Love after a year and a half. Many cast members such as Patricia Barry, Val Dufour and Rosemary Prinz went on to become long-running daytime stars. Created by Adrian Samish and written by Manya Starr, the series centered around jet engineer Zach James and his difficult marriage to Laurie James. Due to being neglected as a child, Zach was obsessed with building a name for himself. Laurie tried to understand him but was unable to help him deal with his problems, as he went on trial for the murder of an aviatrix he may have been having an affair with. The show became known chiefly for a major blooper early in its run. A Friday cliffhanger involved Zach seeing his friend Chris crash his plane. Zach ran to tell Chris' wife Amy, "Chris cracked up the plane." In his rush, Dufour blurted out, "Chris crapped", then abruptly added, "...on the plane." Patricia Barry began to giggle. When the camera cut to a "bereaved" Prinz, she was shaking with laughter. Supposedly NBC nearly fired all three actors, but changed their minds after fans wrote in praising them for the scene. In 2003 Prinz denied such a scene ever made it to the air.
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Title: A Woman to Remember
Released: February 21, 1949
Type: TV
A Woman to Remember is a soap opera which ran on the DuMont Television Network from February 21, 1949 to July 15, 1949. The show initially ran in daytime, but starting May 2, aired Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 7:45 pm ET. John Haggart served as creator and writer, and Bob Steele was producer and director. The show followed Captain Video and His Video Rangers and had no sponsor.
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Title: Suspense
Character: Art
Released: January 6, 1949
Type: TV
Suspense is an American television anthology series that ran on CBS Television from 1949 to 1954. It was adapted from the radio program of the same name which ran from 1942 to 1962. Like many early television programs, the show was broadcast live from New York City. It was sponsored by the Auto-Lite corporation, and each episode was introduced by host Rex Marshall, who promoted Auto-Lite spark plugs, car batteries, headlights, and other car parts. Some of the early scripts were adapted from Suspense radio scripts, while others were original for television. Like the radio program, many scripts were adaptations of literary classics by well-known authors. Classic authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Charles Dickens all had stories adapted for the series, while contemporary authors such as Roald Dahl and Gore Vidal also contributed. Many notable actors appeared on the program, including Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Franchot Tone, Robert Emhardt, Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, and many more. The program was a live television series, but most episodes were recorded on kinescope. However, only about 90 of the 260 episodes survive today.
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The Major and the Minor
Title: The Major and the Minor
Character: Cadet Osborne
Released: September 16, 1942
Type: Movie
Susan Applegate, tired of New York after one year and twenty-five jobs, decides to return to her home town in Iowa. Discovering she hasn't enough money for the train fare, Susan disguises herself as a twelve-year-old and travels for half the price. Caught out by the conductors, she hides in the compartment of Major Philip Kirby, a military school instructor who takes the "child" under his wing.
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Always in My Heart
Title: Always in My Heart
Character: Martin Scott
Released: March 14, 1942
Type: Movie
A man is pardoned from prison and returns to Santa Rita, CA to be with his family, but discovers his children have been told he's dead and his wife is in love with another man.
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One Foot in Heaven
Title: One Foot in Heaven
Character: Hartzell Spence
Released: November 1, 1941
Type: Movie
Episodic look at the life of a minister and his family as they move from one parish to another.
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Flying Cadets
Title: Flying Cadets
Character: Newton R. Adams / Ames
Released: October 24, 1941
Type: Movie
Story of test pilots at a school that trains new flyers.
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Invisible Stripes
Title: Invisible Stripes
Character: Tommy
Released: December 30, 1939
Type: Movie
A gangster is unable to go straight after returning home from prison.
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On Dress Parade
Title: On Dress Parade
Character: Cadet Lt. Murphy
Released: November 18, 1939
Type: Movie
The final feature in the "Dead End Kids" film series finds a youth trying to adjust to life at a military school.
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Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
Title: Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
Character: Ted Nickerson
Released: September 9, 1939
Type: Movie
Nancy helps two aging spinsters fulfill the byzantine provisions of their father's will, but the murder of their chauffeur complicates matters.
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Angels Wash Their Faces
Title: Angels Wash Their Faces
Character: Gabe Ryan
Released: August 26, 1939
Type: Movie
A young man just released from a reformatory moves to a new neighborhood with his sister, intending to start a new life. However, he gets mixed up with the local mob boss and corrupt politicians and soon finds himself being framed for an arson and murder he didn't commit.
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Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
Title: Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
Character: Ted Nickerson
Released: June 17, 1939
Type: Movie
When a close friend of the Drew family is accused of murder in a rural community, Nancy, aided by boyfriend Ted, helps her lawyer father expose the real killers.
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Code of the Streets
Title: Code of the Streets
Character: Bob Lewis
Released: April 13, 1939
Type: Movie
Frankie Thomas plays Bob Lewis, leader of a gang consisting of Sailor, Murph, Monk, Trouble and Yap. The son of disgraced police officer Lt. Lewis, Bob vows to clear his dad's name, and also to prove that accused murderer Tommy Shay is innocent.
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Nancy Drew... Reporter
Title: Nancy Drew... Reporter
Character: Ted Nickerson
Released: February 18, 1939
Type: Movie
While participating in a contest at a local newspaper in which school children are asked to submit a news story, local attorney Carson Drew's daughter Nancy intercepts a real story assignment. She "covers" the inquest of the death of a woman who was poisoned. Nancy doesn't think the young woman accused of the crime is guilty and corrals her neighbor Ted into searching for a vital piece of evidence and stumbles onto the identity of the real killer.
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Nancy Drew… Detective
Title: Nancy Drew… Detective
Character: Theodore 'Ted' Nickerson
Released: November 19, 1938
Type: Movie
After a wealthy dowager who has made a substantial donation to her alma mater suddenly disappears, Nancy Drew sets out to solve the mystery.
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Little Tough Guys in Society
Title: Little Tough Guys in Society
Character: Danny
Released: November 1, 1938
Type: Movie
A society matron invites the gang to her estate as playmates for her spoiled brat son.
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Boys Town
Title: Boys Town
Character: Freddie Fuller
Released: September 8, 1938
Type: Movie
Devout but iron-willed Father Flanagan leads a community called Boys Town, a different sort of juvenile detention facility where, instead of being treated as underage criminals, the boys are shepherded into making themselves better people. But hard-nosed petty thief and pool shark Whitey Marsh, the impulsive and violent younger brother of an imprisoned murderer, might be too much for the good father's tough-love system.
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Tim Tyler's Luck
Title: Tim Tyler's Luck
Character: Tim Tyler
Released: December 27, 1937
Type: Movie
A 12-episode serial in which Tim Tyler goes to Africa in search of his father in gorilla country. He meets up with Laura, who is after Spider Webb who has framed her brother. Webb causes the death of Tim's father, but is eventually tracked down.
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A Dog of Flanders
Title: A Dog of Flanders
Character: Nello Daas
Released: March 22, 1935
Type: Movie
Adaptation of Ouida's sentimental classic about a poor Flemish boy (Frankie Thomas) whose ambition is to become a painter.
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Wednesday's Child
Title: Wednesday's Child
Character: Bobby Phillips
Released: October 26, 1934
Type: Movie
A 10-year-old's happy life is shattered when his parents are divorced.