|
Frank Gorshin was born on April 5, 1933, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father was a railroad worker and his mom, a seamstress. While in high school, Frank Gorshin worked as an usher at the Sheridan Square Theatre and began doing impressions of some of his screen idols: Al Jolson, James Cagney, Cary Grant and Edward G. Robinson. At 17, he won a local talent contest; the prize was a 1-week engagement at Jackie Heller's Carousel night club, where Alan King was headlining. It was Frank Gorshin's first paid job as an entertainer and launched his show biz career. Then, Frank attended the Carnegie-Mellon Tech School of Drama and did plays and performed in night clubs in Pittsburgh.
At 19, Frank Gorshin entered the US Army; this was 1953, during the Korean War. For the next two years, Frank served in Special Services as an entertainer. In the Army, Frank Gorshin met Maurice Bergman, who would introduce Frank to a Hollywood agent when his hitch with Uncle Sam was up. Frank Gorshin quickly landed a role in The Proud and Profane (1956) and other roles in TV dramas followed. In 1957, while visiting his folks in Pittsburgh, his agent phoned him to rush back to Hollywood for a screen test for Run Silent Run Deep (1958). For some odd reason, instead of catching a plane, Frank Gorshin decided to drive his car to L.A. Frank drove 39 consecutive hours, fell asleep at the wheel, crashed, suffered a fractured skull, and woke up in the hospital four days later; to add insult to injury, an L.A. newspaper reported he was killed, and the plum movie role of Officer Ruby went to Don Rickles.
Frank Gorshin appeared in a number of those lovable B-movies for AIP: Hot Rod Girl (1956) and Dragstrip Girl (1957), and everybody's favorite, Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957). Frank finally got a substantial role in the A-movie, Bells Are Ringing (1960) with Dean Martin; Frank did a thinly-disguised Marlon Brando impression. Frank Gorshin was also appearing in Hollywood night clubs such as the Purple Onion; later, he did Las Vegas engagements, opening for Bobby Darin at The Flamingo. On TV, Frank appeared on "The Steve Allen Show" (1956) and had a dozen guest shots on "The Ed Sullivan Show". In 1966, Frank gave his breakout performance, doing his signature role of The Riddler on the "Batman" (1966/II) television series, for which he received an Emmy award nomination; he also played the Riddler in the movie Batman (1966/I). "I could feel the impact overnight", Frank recalled later; because of his nationwide recognition, he was given headliner status in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, The Sahara, and the Aladdin. And Frank got more praise for his thought-provoking performance as Commissioner Bele in the 1969 "Star Trek" (1966) episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", for which Frank Gorshin received an Emmy award nomination.
In 1970, Frank Gorshin made his Broadway debut, as the star of "Jimmy" for which he got rave reviews. He also starred in many touring company productions such as "Promises, Promises"; "Peter Pan"; "Prisoner of Second Street" and "Guys and Dolls". In the 1980s, Frank served as Honorary Chairman, Entertainment Division, for the American Heart Association. Perhaps recalling his early AIP films, Frank Gorshin has worked recently with the legendary Roger Corman, appearing as Clockwise in the "Black Scorpion" (2001) TV Series and in Roger Corman's "The Phantom Eye" (1999) (mini). Frank has appeared in over 70 movies and made over 40 guest appearances in TV series.
| |
