Stephen Robert Franken (May 27, 1932 – August 24, 2012)Slotnik, Daniel E. (August 31, 2012). "Long Career Followed 'Dobie Gillis' Role". The Atlanta Constitution. p. B7. Retrieved November 20, 2023. was an American actor who worked in film and television for over fifty years.

Early life and career

Franken was born in Queens, New York. He earned his B.A. from Cornell University, and returned to New York to pursue acting rather than realize his parents' dreams for a medical career.

Franken's first screen role was in 1958 as Willie in the episode "The Time of Your Life" on the anthology series Playhouse 90.

Producer Rod Amateau saw him in a Los Angeles stage production of Say, Darling and cast him as playboy dilettante Chatsworth Osborne Jr. on the sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, starring Dwayne Hickman. Franken appeared as a recurring guest in numerous episodes from 1960 to 1963. He attributed the character's look of pained condescension to an ulcer he had suffered since the age of 14 when his mother had died.

Another early role was as Bully in the 1961 episode "The Pit" of the series The Rebel, starring Nick Adams. He played the lead guest-starring role in the 1961 episode "The Case of Willie Betterley" in Lock Up. In 1962, he was cast as Dunc Tomilson in "The Yacht-Club Gang" on Checkmate. He appeared as Jerry Allen in two episodes of Mr. Novak. In 1964, he appeared in The Time Travelers. In 1965, he appeared in "Birth of a Salesman" on McHale's Navy, and in "Tim and Tim Again" on My Favorite Martian.

He appeared in 1964 on Petticoat Junction as the son of the villain, Homer Bedloe in "Bedloe and Son". He played another rich wastrel on the short-lived sitcom Tom, Dick and Mary. Franken appeared in the famous 1963 Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Deadly Verdict" (in which Mason actually loses a case, at least initially) as Christopher Barton.

Immediately after Dobie Gillis was cancelled, Franken was cast as Lieutenant Samwell "Sanpan" Panosian in the Gary Lockwood series The Lieutenant episode "To Take Up Serpents", the first television series created by Gene Roddenberry.Profile of Lieutenant, The at the Archive of American Television; retrieved August 18, 2012. He played other military roles, such as a decorated U.S. flier turned arms-dealer and traitor in "The Gun Runner Raid" episode of The Rat Patrol and as a P.O.W. lieutenant in Follow Me, Boys!. From 1966 to 1971, he appeared in various roles in at least six episodes of Bewitched.

Franken appeared as the drunken waiter Levinson in the 1968 Blake Edwards film The Party, alongside Peter Sellers. One journalist, writing on the fortieth anniversary of the film, stated:

In 1970, he starred with Jerry Lewis in the comedy film Which Way to the Front?

From 1970 to 1973, he appeared five times on Love, American Style. He appeared as Officer Albert Porter in three episodes of Adam-12 from 1971 to 1972 as well as Ralph Salisbury in the 1971 episode "The Ferret."Episode credits In 1972, he appeared as Jonas Lasser on the season three episode "The Courtship of Mary's Father's Daughter" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

He appeared on Barney Miller in 1975 (episode: "The Arsonist") and again in 1981 (episode: "Resignation"). In 1979, he starred as Tom Voorhies alongside Michael Constantine in Disney's The North Avenue Irregulars. He appeared with Peter Sellers in 1980's The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu.

He acted and directed in various episodes of Insight. He appeared in small roles in such contemporary television series as Murphy Brown, The King of Queens and Seinfeld. From 2002 to 2003, he provided voices for Law & Order computer games. He voiced Professor Eugene Atwater in the animated series Road Rovers.

He voice-acted as Rundle in the 1993 Batman: The Animated Series episode "The Mechanic" and was Mr. Beal in Detention episodes "Little Miss Popular" and "Comedy of Terrors" (both 1999). The following year, he voiced the role of Mr. Janus in the episode "Grounded" of Static Shock and provided voices in Smurfs (1981), The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda (1990), and Spawn (1997).

Death Franken died on August 24, 2012, at a nursing and rehabilitation center in Canoga Park, California, of complications from cancer, at the age of 80. He had three daughters, two from his first marriage to Julia Carter, and one from his second marriage to Jean Garrett. He was the second cousin of actor and politician Al Franken.Gitlin, Martin (2014). The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 303. .

Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes1958 Stage Struck Dressing Room Well-Wisher uncredited Cop Hater Boy in Lineup1964 The Americanization of Emily Young Sailor The Time Travelers Danny McKee 1966 Wild Wild Winter John Follow Me, Boys! P.O.W. Lieutenant1968 Panic in the City Hal Johnson The Party Levinson1969 Angel in My Pocket Zimmerman Number One Robin 1970 Which Way to the Front? Peter Bland 1972 Every Man Needs One Bob Rasmussen Television film1973 Voyage of the Yes Doctor Television film The Stranger Henry Maitland Television film Westworld Technician 1974 Houston, We've Got a Problem Shimon Levin Television film1975 The Last Survivors Don West Television film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud Dr. Charles Crennis Sky Heist Traffic Controller Television film Murder on Flight 502 Donald Goldman Television film I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now? Harold Booker Esquire1976 Kiss Me, Kill Me Murry Tesko Television film The Missouri Breaks The Lonesome Kid 1977 It Happened at Lakewood Manor Lionel White Television film1978 Avalanche Henry McDade Zuma Beach Rick Television film Terror Out of the Sky Paul Gladstone Television film 1979 The North Avenue Irregulars Tom Voories1980 Hardly Working Steve Torres There Goes the Bride Church Organist The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu Pete Williams The Ghosts of Buxley Hall Virgil Quinby Television film 1982 Not Just Another Affair Dr. Morton Schiller Television film1983 Curse of the Pink Panther Harvey Hamilcard III High School U.S.A. Dr. Fritz Hauptmann Television film 1984 The Sheriff and the Astronaut FBI Agent Henley Television film1985 The Fourth Wise Man Pharisee #1 Television film There Were Times, Dear Harry Television film 1987 Can't Buy Me Love Moda Clerk1988 Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis Chatsworth Osborne, Jr. Television film Freeway Lawyer 1989 Transylvania Twist Hans Hupp 1991 Never Forget Dan Greenspan Television film 1993 Breakfast of Aliens Fred 1994 Munchie Strikes Back Professor Graves 1998 The Pandora Project Sam Davis1999 Restraining Order Jerry The Omega Code Jeffries2000 Nurse Betty Administrator Agent Red General Socka2001 The Trumpet of the Swan Bud Voice A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. Stuart Elliott 2005 The Works Gordon 2007 The Metrosexual Professor 2009 Angels & Demons Cardinal Colbert 2010 Watch Out for Slick Emory

Television