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Frank Lovejoy

American actor (1912–1962)

Frank Lovejoy
Lovejoy in 1960
Born	(1912-03-28)March 28, 1912 Bronx, New York, U.S.
Died	October 2, 1962(1962-10-02) (aged 50) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1937–1962
Spouses	Frances Williams ​ ​ (m. 1939; div. 1940)​ Joan Banks ​ (m. 1940)​
Children	2
Website	https://franklovejoy.com

Frank Andrew Lovejoy Jr. (March 28, 1912 – October 2, 1962) was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He is perhaps best remembered for appearing in the film noir The Hitch-Hiker and for starring in the radio drama Night Beat.

Early life[edit]

He was born in the Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Andrew Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine. His mother, Nora, was born in Massachusetts, to Irish immigrant parents.^[1]

Radio[edit]

A successful radio actor, Lovejoy played Broadway Harry on the Gay Nineties Revue^[2] and was heard on the 1930s crime drama series Gang Busters. Lovejoy was a narrator (during the first season) for the show This Is Your FBI.

In radio soap operas, Lovejoy played Dr. Christopher Ellerbe in Valiant Lady,^[3] Sam Foster in This Day Is Ours,^[4] and he had the roles of Brad Forbes on Brave Tomorrow and Larry Halliday in Bright Horizon.^[5] He also played the title character on the syndicated The Blue Beetle in 1940, several episodes of The Whistler, and starred in the later newspaper drama series Night Beat in the early 1950s and in episodes of Suspense in the late 1950s. He also starred as John Malone in The Amazing Mr. Malone. He appeared as boxer Rory Malone in the March 20, 1949 episode of Pat Novak for Hire entitled "Rory Malone".^{[citation needed]}

Films[edit]

Lovejoy mostly played supporting roles in films of the 1940s and 1950s. Appearing in movies such as Goodbye, My Fancy (1951) with Joan Crawford, and The Hitch-Hiker (1953) directed by Ida Lupino, Lovejoy was effective playing the movie's everyman in extraordinary situations. He was in several war movies, notably Stanley Kramer's Home of the Brave (1949), Breakthrough (1950), Joseph H. Lewis's Retreat, Hell! (1952) which portrayed the United States Marine Corps' withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir (Changjin Reservoir) during the Korean War and as a Marine sergeant again in Beachhead (1954), and Strategic Air Command (1955) with James Stewart.

In 1950, he had the lead role in Try and Get Me (aka Sound of Fury) as a struggling, out-of-work man who fell to crime to support his family; in a film noir combining crime and murder with social injustice, an irresponsible newspaper and equally criminal public mob reactions.^[6] In 1951, he had the title role in I Was a Communist for the FBI with co-stars Ron Hagerthy, Paul Picerni, and Philip Carey.

Television[edit]

Lovejoy starred in two short-run TV series, Man Against Crime and Meet McGraw.

Lovejoy's final television performances include the episode "County General" (March 18, 1962) on the ABC series Bus Stop with Marilyn Maxwell in the role of Grace Sherwood. That same season, he appeared on the ABC crime drama Target: The Corruptors! about the efforts of a New York City reporter to expose organized crime.

Personal life[edit]

In 1940, Lovejoy married actress Joan Banks, with whom he had daughter Judith and son Stephen. On October 2, 1962, Lovejoy died of a heart attack in his sleep at the Warwick Hotel in New York City.^[7] He and Banks at the time had been performing together in a New Jersey production of Gore Vidal's play The Best Man.^[8]

Filmography[edit]

References[edit]

^ Kirby, Walter (February 10, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. The Decatur Daily Review. p. 38. Retrieved June 2, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

^ Kirby, Walter (March 16, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. The Decatur Daily Review. p. 44. Retrieved May 23, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

^ Kirby, Walter (April 27, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. The Decatur Daily Review. p. 48. Retrieved May 9, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

^ "Suspense 1957 – Single Episodes" (MP3). Retrieved March 4, 2018 – via archive.org.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Lovejoy.

• Official website
• Frank LovejoyatIMDb
• Frank LovejoyatAllMovie
• Frank Lovejoy at the Internet Broadway Database
• Frank LovejoyatFind a Grave

Film

Radio

Television