Biography

English-born David Frankham forged a respectable career as an expatriate in Hollywood. He had served with the British Army in India and Malaya during the Second World War. Following his demobilization, he returned to Britain. In 1948, he began working for the BBC as an announcer, news reader, and, subsequently, writer and producer. A one-time guest on his radio program, the famed vocalist Rosemary Clooney, encouraged him to pursue acting as a profession. Given that he had always admired Golden Age stars like Gary Cooper and Laird Cregar, Frankham eagerly took this advice and relocated to Los Angeles in 1955.

Chance encounters with supportive movie icons like Elizabeth Taylor and Alec Guinness played an important role in kick-starting his career. It enabled Frankham to quickly establish himself as a character actor in episodic television, often typecast as British officers. He made several appearances in different roles in Alfred Hitchcock présente (1955), Thriller (1960), Au-delà du réel (1963), Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964) and Sur la piste du crime (1965). Star Trek (1966) fans might remember him as Dr. Laurence Marvick, one of the original designers of the Enterprise, in the episode "Is There No Truth In Beauty". In his autobiography, Frankham said "I was a jobbing actor for more than thirty years and never really stopped working."

On the big screen, he was featured on three occasions opposite Vincent Price: third-billed, as the villainous Ronald Holmes in Le Retour de la mouche (1959), one of the captives in Le Maître du monde (1961) and as the helpless physician to Ernest Valdemar in chapter three of L'empire de la terreur (1962).

He was also occasionally utilised (often without credit) as a voice actor. Frankham did, however, receive credit for providing the voice for the tabby cat Sergeant Tibbs in Disney's Les 101 Dalmatiens (1961).

Frankham eventually moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 2012, he published his autobiography, 'Which One was David?'. He retired from acting six years later.

- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis