Frank Swift Chase (1886 - 1958)

Artist.  He is remembered as a Post-Impressionist landscape painter and a founder of the Woodstock Artists Association in Woodstock, New York, and the Sarasota School of Art.  He grew up in modest comfort in Bauxite, Arkansas, where he attended public schools and while possessing mathematical skills, he did not attend college but worked as an […]

Frank Tashlin (1913 - 1972)

Frank Tashlin drifted from job to job after dropping out of high school in New Jersey at age 13. In 1930, he started working for Paul Terry as a cartoonist on the Aesop’s Film Fables cartoon series, then worked briefly for Amadee J. Van Beuren, but he was just as much a drifter in his […]

Frank Tenney Johnson (1874 - 1939)

Artist.  A painter of the American west, he popularized a style of portraying cowboys which became known as “The Johnson Moonlight Technique”. Shunning traditional tools of artists he used knives, fingers and brushes to design his paintings. Eventually his paintings became more popular than his illustrations so he concentrated in this medium. He died in […]

Frank Tenney Johnson (1874 - 1939)

Frank Tenney Johnson was born in Pottawattamie County, Iowa on his family’s farm along the old Overland Trail, near Big Grove, Iowa (now known as Oakland, Iowa). Johnson’s mother died in December 1886, and the family moved to Wisconsin. He attended Oconomowoc High School in Oconomowoc. In 1893, he enrolled in the Milwaukee School of […]

Frank Thornton (1921 - 2013)

Frank Thornton Ball was born in Dulwich, London, the son of Rosina Mary (née Thornton) and William Ernest Ball. His father was organist at St Stephen’s Church, Dulwich, and his son learned to play for a short while. Music proved too difficult for him, however, and he wanted to act from an early age. His […]

Frank Thring (1926 - 1994)

Thring was born in Melbourne, the son of Frank Thring Snr. (known as F. W. Thring) and Olive (née Kreitmeyer), and was educated at the Melbourne Grammar School. His father was the head of the theatrical firm J. C. Williamson’s in the 1920s, and subsequently Efftee Studios in the 1930s, in Melbourne, Australia. He has […]

Frank Tuttle (1892 - 1963)

Frank Wright Tuttle (6 August 1892 – 6 January 1963) was a Hollywood film director and writer who directed films from 1922 (The Cradle Buster) to 1959 (Island of Lost Women). Frank Tuttle wrote “The Kentuckians” (1921) and directed “Roman Scandals” (1933), and “Charlie McCarthy, Detective” (1939). He was educated at Yale University, where he edited […]

Frank Vincent (1937 - 2017)

Skilled at the drums, piano and trumpet, Frank Vincent originally aspired to a career in music, but turned to acting in 1976, when he co-starred in the low-budget gangster movie The Death Collector along with Joe Pesci, where they were spotted by Robert De Niro. De Niro told Martin Scorsese about both Vincent and Pesci; […]

Frank Vincent Brach (1890 - 1970)

Businessman. Along with his father, Emil, and brother, Edwin, he founded the E.J. Brach Candy Company in Chicago, Illinois. (bio by: George King)  Family links:  Parents:  Emil Julius Brach (1859 – 1947)  Catherine Cunningham Brach (1854 – 1924)  Spouse:  Helen Marie Vorhees Brach (1911 – 1984)*  Children:  Joyce Frances Brach-Lago Wartman (1924 – 2003)* *Calculated […]

Frank W. Feuerbacher (1850 - 1928)

Native St. Louisan Feuerbacher decided to enter the brewing & malting industry after high school graduation. He served his apprenticeship in Cincinnati & Milwaukee. He returned to St. Louis in 1880 & founded a malt house under the firm name of Frank W. Feuerbacher & Co., which did an extensive business throughout the country. He […]

Frank Wess (1922 - 2013)

Frank Wess was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of a principal father and a schoolteacher mother. He began with classical music training and played in Oklahoma in high school. He later switched to jazz on moving to Washington, D. C. and by nineteen was working with big bands. His career was interrupted by World War […]

Frank Weston Benson (1862 - 1951)

Last of the Great American Impressionist painters and one of the most honored and successful artists of his time. He is famed for works that capture dazzling plays of light in both indoors and outdoors settings. He was born to a wealthy merchant family in Salem. His brother, John Prentiss Benson, was a well known […]

Frank Wild (1873 - 1939)

Frank Wild was born in Skelton-in-Cleveland, North Riding of Yorkshire, the eldest of eight sons[2] and three daughters born to schoolteacher Benjamin Wild and his seamstress wife Mary (née Cook). The family came from Skelton close to Marton, birthplace of Captain James Cook, to whom the family claimed ancestry through Mrs Wild. Her father was […]

Frank Winfield Woolworth (1852 - 1919)

Businessman. He is best known for founding the F.W. Woolworth Company that operated a chain of discount stores across the United States that specialized in marketing merchandise at the cost of five and ten cents. He was one of the first to practice buying merchandise directly from the manufacturers and establishing fixed prices on items […]

Frank Worsley (1872 - 1943)

Frank Arthur Worsley DSO OBE RD (22 February 1872 – 1 February 1943) was a New Zealand sailor and explorer who served on Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1916, as captain of the Endurance. He also served in the Royal Navy Reserve during the First World War. Born in Akaroa, New Zealand, on 22 February […]

Frank X. “Francis” Endres (1911 - 1995)

Animator. He is remembered for bringing his drawing talents to many early classic cartoon films and shorts. Endres began his career as an animator during the 1920s when he entered a drawing contest with a picture of a character named Ko Ko the Clown. He won the contest and was offered a job in 1930, […]

Frankie Bailey (1859 - 1953)

Actress. A screen, stage and burlesque figure, she appeared in the films “The Crown Of Lies” (1926), “Thank You” (1925), “Flower Of Light” (1925), and “The Famous Mrs. Fair” (1923). She was known as “The Girl With The Million Dollar Legs”.

Frankie Burke (1915 - 1983)

Actor. He is best known for his uncanny resemblence to James Cagney. He portrayed the younger version of Mr. Cagney’s character in the 1938 Warner Brothers production of “Angels With Dirty Faces.” He went on to appear in 16 other films, finishing a three year contract with Warner brother’s Studio’s before retiring from Hollywood after […]

Frankie Darro (1917 - 1976)

Frankie Darro was born on December 22, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois as Frank Johnson, Jr. His parents, Frank Johnson, Sr. and his wife Ada were known as The Flying Johnsons, a flying circus act with the Sells Floto Circus; it was a profession that his father attempted to train him in, and he cured Frankie’s […]

Frankie Scott (1920 - 2004)

Singer and Actress. She appeared in the films “Trail of the Hawk,” “Mountain Capers,” “Hillbilly Harmony,” and “Southern Hayride,” among several others. She performed along side of her husband Tommy Scott on his TV variety series “Ramblin’ Tommy Scott” in which she danced, sang and did comedy. (bio by: Laurie)  Family links:  Spouse:  Tommy Lee […]

Franklin Augustus “Frank” Seiberling (1859 - 1955)

Businessman. He founded Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in 1898 and The Seiberling Rubber Co. later on. Also known for his beautiful Akron estate “Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens”, which was built from 1912 to 1916 and is open to the public today.  Family links:  Parents:  John Frederick Seiberling (1834 – 1903)  Catherine Lucinda Miller […]

Franklin Carmichael (1890 - 1945)

Artist.  He was one of the original members (and youngest) of the Group of Seven, a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933 that also included Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley.  His artistic talent was so evident at an early age that […]

Franklin Cover (1928 - 2006)

Cover was born on November 20, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio to Britta Schreck and Franklin Held Cover. He graduated from Denison University in 1951. His career started on the stage acting in Henry IV, Part 1 and Hamlet. He also appeared in Forty Carats with Julie Harris. He made his television debut on Naked City […]

Franklin D Roosevelt (1882 - 1945)

Franklin D Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), commonly known by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States. A Democrat, he was elected four times and served from March 1933 to his death in April 1945. He […]

Franklin Edward Cover (1928 - 2006)

Actor.  Best known for his role as ‘Tom Willis’, who was in an interracial marriage with a black woman, played by Roxie Roker, in the television series “The Jeffersons.”  Franklin Cover started his career on the stage, before he made his move to film and television.  In 1975 he got the role in “The Jeffersons,” […]

Franklin Parsons “Frank” Perdue (1920 - 2005)

Businessman. He transformed a backyard egg business into one of the nation’s largest poultry processors using the folksy commercial slogan, “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.” His TV commercial persona helped boost sales from $56 million in 1970 to more than $1.2 billion by 1991 when he turned the reins over […]

Franklin Pierce (1804 - 1869)

Franklin Pierce Pierce’s drinking worsened his health in his last years, and he grew increasingly spiritual. He had a brief relationship with an unknown woman in mid-1865. During this time, he used his influence to improve the treatment of Davis, now a prisoner at Fortress Monroe in Virginia. He also offered financial help to Hawthorne’s […]

Franklyn Farnum (1878 - 1961)

Actor. He began his career on vaudeville stage and in silent movies, often appearing in Westerns. In sound movies, he played minor roles, often uncredited. Among others: “The Clock” (1917), “The Ghost Rider” (1935), “Stagecoach” (1939), “Monsieur Verdoux” (1947), “Johnny Belinda” (1948), “Sunset Blvd.” (1950), “Guys and Dolls” (1955), “The Ten Commandments”(1956) and “Witness for […]

Franklyn Seales (1952 - 1990)

Franklyn Vincent Ellison Seales was born on July 15, 1952 in Calliaqua to Francis Seales, a merchant seaman and government employee, and Olive Seales (nee Allen), a homemaker. He was the fifth eldest of eight siblings and second eldest son. Seales was of English, Scottish, African, Portuguese and Native Caribbean descent. He grew up among […]

Frans Hals (1970 - 1666)

Artist. Considered the most important Dutch portraitist of the seventeenth-century, his work influenced Edouard Manet and Vincent van Gogh. His surviving body of work includes about 300 paintings, mostly portraits and group portraits. (bio by: MC)