Frank Lovejoy

Frank Lovejoy
Lovejoy in Try and Get Me! (1950)
Born	March 28, 1912 The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Died	October 2, 1962 (aged 50) New York City, New York, U.S.
Years active	1948 – 1962
Spouse(s)	Frances Williams (? - ?; divorced) Joan Banks (1940 - October 2 1962; his death) 2 children

Frank Lovejoy (March 28, 1912 – October 2, 1962) was an American actor on radio and in films and television.

Radio

A successful radio actor, Lovejoy was heard on the 1930s crime drama series Gang Busters. He played the title character on the syndicated The Blue Beetle during the 1940s, and starred in the later crime drama series Nightbeat in the early 1950s.

Films

In films of the 1940s and 1950s, Lovejoy mostly played supporting roles. Appearing in movies such as Goodbye, My Fancy with Joan Crawford, Lovejoy was effective playing the movie's everyman (because of his somewhat bland looks and unassuming personality) in extraordinary situations. He was in several war movies, notably Joseph H. Lewis' Retreat, Hell! (1952) which portrayed the United States Marine Corps' withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir (aka the Changjin Reservoir) during the Korean War. 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

Lovejoy starred in two short-run TV series, Man Against Crime and Meet McGraw. Episodes of these two series have never been released commercially on DVD or VHS and never aired on reruns. Meet McGraw episodes were screened at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention.

Lovejoy was first married to Frances Williams (1901-59) but divorced in the late 1930s. In 1940, Lovejoy married actress Joan Banks (1918-1998), with whom he had two children (a boy and a girl).

Among Lovejoy's last performances was with Donald May in the episode "County General" (March 18, 1962) on the ABC series Bus Stop with Marilyn Maxwell in the role of Grace Sherwood, owner of a diner in Sunrise, Colorado. 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.

Frank Lovejoy died of a heart attack while appearing in a New Jersey production of The Best Man with his wife Joan Banks.

Filmography

External links

• Frank Lovejoy at the Internet Movie Database
• Frank Lovejoy at the Notable Names Database