Frank Reicher
Encyclopedia
Frank Reicher was a German-born American stage and film actor, director and producer.
, Germany
, the son of actor Emanuel Reicher
and Hedwig Kindermann, a popular German prima donna
who was a daughter of the famous baritone
August Kindermann
. Reicher's parents divorced in 1881 and his mother died two years later while at Trieste
. His sister, Hedwiga Reicher
, would also become a Hollywood actor. Frank Reicher immigrated to the States in 1899 and became a naturalized American citizen some twelve years later.
production of Becky Sharp, a comedy by Langdon Mitchell based on William Makepeace Thackeray’s
Vanity Fair. His early career was spent in legitimate theater on and off Broadway. He was head of the Brooklyn Stock Company when Jacob P. Adler performed The Merchant of Venice
in Yiddish while the rest of the cast remained in English. Reicher was for a number of years affiliated with the Little Theatre on West Forty-Fourth Street as an actor and manager and would remain active on Broadway as actor, director or producer well into the 1920s. On stage, Reicher starred in such plays as the first Broadway production of Georg Kaiser
's From Morning to Midnight (as the cashier), and the original production of Percy MacKaye
's The Scarecrow
(in the title role).
Frank Reicher is probably more familiar to modern audiences as a supporting character actor in films. He began his cinema career with an uncredited role in the 1915 film The Case for Becky and would go on work in over two-hundred motion pictures. He is probably best remembered for playing Captain Englehorn in the movies King Kong
and The Son of Kong
and for such films as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
(1947) and Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
(1950). His last Hollywood role was in the very first theatrical Superman
movie, Superman and the Mole Men
, in 1951.
. He was survived by his sister and a brother.
Director:
Early life
Frank Reicher was born in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the son of actor Emanuel Reicher
Emanuel Reicher
Emanuel Reicher was a German actor. He was father to actor Frank Reicher and actress Hedwiga Reicher.After his successful acting debut in Munich in 1873 he obtained a contract with the Residenz Theater in Berlin, where he became known as one of the best German Shakespearean actors. He then took...
and Hedwig Kindermann, a popular German prima donna
Prima donna
Originally used in opera or Commedia dell'arte companies, "prima donna" is Italian for "first lady." The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. The prima donna was normally, but not necessarily, a soprano...
who was a daughter of the famous baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
August Kindermann
August Kindermann
August Kindermann was a German bass-baritone singer and regisseur, particularly noted for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner. He began his career singing in the chorus of the Berlin State Opera in 1836 and made his solo debut there in 1837 in a small role in Spontini's Agnes von...
. Reicher's parents divorced in 1881 and his mother died two years later while at Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
. His sister, Hedwiga Reicher
Hedwiga Reicher
Hedwiga Reicher was a German actress, sister to actor Frank Reicher, and daughter to actor Emanuel Reicher. -Selected filmography:*The Leopard Lady as Fran Holweg.*True Heaven as Madame Grenot....
, would also become a Hollywood actor. Frank Reicher immigrated to the States in 1899 and became a naturalized American citizen some twelve years later.
Career
Reicher made his Broadway debut the year he came to America playing Lord Tarquin in Harrison Fiske'sHarrison Grey Fiske
Harrison Grey Fiske was an American journalist, playwright and Broadway producer who fought against the "Theatrical Syndicate" that formed around the turn of the twentieth century.-Early Life:...
production of Becky Sharp, a comedy by Langdon Mitchell based on William Makepeace Thackeray’s
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
Vanity Fair. His early career was spent in legitimate theater on and off Broadway. He was head of the Brooklyn Stock Company when Jacob P. Adler performed The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
in Yiddish while the rest of the cast remained in English. Reicher was for a number of years affiliated with the Little Theatre on West Forty-Fourth Street as an actor and manager and would remain active on Broadway as actor, director or producer well into the 1920s. On stage, Reicher starred in such plays as the first Broadway production of Georg Kaiser
Georg Kaiser
Friedrich Carl Georg Kaiser, called Georg Kaiser, was a German dramatist.-Biography:Kaiser was born at Magdeburg....
's From Morning to Midnight (as the cashier), and the original production of Percy MacKaye
Percy MacKaye
Percy MacKaye was an American dramatist and poet.-Biography:MacKaye was born in New York City, New York. After graduating from Harvard in 1897, he traveled in Europe for three years, residing in Rome, Switzerland and London, studying at the University of Leipzig in 1899–1900...
's The Scarecrow
The Scarecrow (play)
The Scarecrow is a play written by Percy MacKaye in 1908, and first presented on Broadway in 1911. It is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Feathertop", but greatly expands upon the tale...
(in the title role).
Frank Reicher is probably more familiar to modern audiences as a supporting character actor in films. He began his cinema career with an uncredited role in the 1915 film The Case for Becky and would go on work in over two-hundred motion pictures. He is probably best remembered for playing Captain Englehorn in the movies King Kong
King Kong (1933 film)
King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
and The Son of Kong
The Son of Kong
The Son of Kong is a 1933 American adventure film/monster movie produced by RKO Pictures. Directed by Ernest Schoedsack and featuring special effects by Buzz Gibson and Willis O'Brien, the film starred Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack and Frank Reicher...
and for such films as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It...
(1947) and Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is a 1950 film noir starring James Cagney, directed by Gordon Douglas and based on the novel by Horace McCoy. The film was banned in Ohio as "a sordid, sadistic presentation of brutality and an extreme presentation of crime with explicit steps in commission."Supporting Cagney...
(1950). His last Hollywood role was in the very first theatrical Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
movie, Superman and the Mole Men
Superman and the Mole Men
Superman and the Mole Men is a 1951 superhero film starring George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. It is the first theatrical feature film based on the DC Comics character Superman, although two live-action Superman films had already been shown in cinemas, they appeared in a...
, in 1951.
Marriage
Frank Reicher married his wife Ella sometime around 1899 most likely in Germany prior to his coming to America. Ella, who was a native of Oldenburg, joined him there the following year. The couple remained together until her death in 1948.Death
Frank Reicher passed away at the age of 89 at a hospital in Inglewood, CaliforniaInglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
. He was survived by his sister and a brother.
Selected filmography
- The Case of BeckyThe Case of BeckyThe Case of Becky is a 1921 silent film drama based on a successful 1912 David Belasco and Edward J. Locke written play, The Case of Becky. Belasco also produced the play. The play starred Belasco's muse, Frances Starr. This film was produced by Realart Pictures and released through Paramount...
(19151915 in filmThe year 1915 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 8 : D.W Griffith's The Birth of a Nation premieres at Clune's Auditorium Los Angeles and breaks box office and film length records, running at a total length of 3 hrs 10 minutes.* June 18 : The Motion Picture Directors...
) (film debut) - Four SonsFour SonsFour Sons is a silent drama film directed and produced by John Ford and written for the screen by Philip Klein from a story by I. A. R. Wylie. It is one of only a handful of survivors out of the more than fifty silent films that Ford directed between 1917 and 1928. It starred Margaret Mann, James...
as a schoolmaster (19281928 in film-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 28 - Lights of New York is released by Warner Brothers. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film...
) - Napoleon's BarberNapoleon's BarberNapoleon's Barber is a 1928 short drama film directed by John Ford, and filmed in the Fox Movietone sound-on-film system.The film, Ford's first talkie, is now considered to be a lost film.-Cast:* Otto Matieson - Napoleon...
as Napoleon's Barber (1928) - Mata Hari (19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) - King KongKing Kong (1933 film)King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
as Captain Englehorn (19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - The Son of KongThe Son of KongThe Son of Kong is a 1933 American adventure film/monster movie produced by RKO Pictures. Directed by Ernest Schoedsack and featuring special effects by Buzz Gibson and Willis O'Brien, the film starred Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack and Frank Reicher...
as Captain Englehorn (1933) - Before Dawn as Joe Valerie (1933)
- Hi, Nellie! as Nate Nathan (19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - Men in WhiteMen in White (1934 film)Men in White is a Pre-Code film starring Clark Gable and Myrna Loy, and directed by Ryszard Bolesławski. Because of the suggested illicit romance and the suggested abortion in the movie, it was frequently cut...
(1934 – scenes deleted) - Charlie Chan in EgyptCharlie Chan in EgyptCharlie Chan in Egypt is the eighth 20th Century Fox Charlie Chan film starring Warner Oland in the title role. It was released in 1935. -Plot:Charlie Chan is hired when an archaeologist disappears during the excavation of ancient art treasures in Egypt...
(19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
) - The Story of Louis PasteurThe Story of Louis PasteurThe Story of Louis Pasteur is a 1936 American biographical film. It starred Paul Muni as the renowned scientist. It was written by Toni Pollastre and Sheridan Gibney, and Edward Chodorov , and directed by William Dieterle....
(1935) - Kind LadyKind Lady (1935 film)Kind Lady is a 1935 drama film starring Aline MacMahon and Basil Rathbone. It is based on the play of the same name by Edward Chodorov and a short story called "The Silver Mask" by Hugh Walpole....
(1935) - The Invisible Ray (19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) - Second Wife as Headmaster (1936)
- CamilleCamille (1936 film)Camille is an American romantic drama film directed by George Cukor and produced by Irving Thalberg and Bernard H. Hyman, from a screenplay by James Hilton, Zoe Akins and Frances Marion. The picture is based on the 1852 novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils...
(1936) - Fit for a KingFit for a King- Cast :*Joe E. Brown as Virgil Ambrose Jeremiah Christopher 'Scoop' Jones*Helen Mack as Jane Hamilton / Princess Helen*Paul Kelly as Briggs*Harry Davenport as Archduke Julio*Halliwell Hobbes as Count Strunsky*John Qualen as Otto*Donald Briggs as Prince Michael...
(19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - Stage DoorStage DoorStage Door is a RKO film, adapted from the play by the same name, that tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding house at 158 West 58th Street in New York City. The film stars Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick, Constance Collier,...
(19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - Night KeyNight KeyNight Key is a science fiction crime film starring Boris Karloff. It was released by Universal Pictures in 1937.-Plot:The inventor of a burglar alarm attempts to get back at the man who stole the profits to his invention before he goes blind...
(1937) - Three ComradesThree Comrades (film)Three Comrades 1938 is a drama film directed by Frank Borzage and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz for MGM. The screenplay is by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Edward E. Paramore Jr., and was adapted from the novel Three Comrades by Erich Maria Remarque...
(19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) - Devil's IslandDevil's Island (1939 film)Devil's Island is a 1939 prison film directed by William Clemens and starring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Boris Karloff - Dr. Charles Gaudet* Nedda Harrigan - Madame Helene Lucien* James Stephenson - Colonel Armand Lucien* Adia Kuznetzoff - Pierre Leroux...
(19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - Mystery of the White Room as Dr. Amos Thornton (1939)
- Shining VictoryShining VictoryShining Victory is a 1941 film based on the play, Jupiter Laughs, by A. J. Cronin. It stars James Stephenson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, and Barbara O'Neil, and it was the first film directed by Irving Rapper. Bette Davis makes a brief cameo appearance as a nurse in the film.-Plot...
as Dr. Esterhazy (19411941 in filmThe year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
) - UndergroundUnderground (1941 film)Underground is a 1941 film about the German Resistance opposing the Nazis in World War II. Jeffrey Lynn and Philip Dorn play two brothers initially on opposite sides.-Cast:*Jeffrey Lynn as Kurt Franken*Philip Dorn as Eric Franken...
(1941) - Nazi AgentNazi AgentNazi Agent is a 1942 spy film directed by Jules Dassin. It stars Conrad Veidt playing identical twins, one loyal to the United States , the other a dedicated German Nazi....
as Fritz (19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
) - The Mummy's TombThe Mummy's TombThe Mummy's Tomb is the 1942 sequel to The Mummy's Hand .Lon Chaney, Jr. disliked the role of Kharis the mummy. Make-up artist Jack Pierce spent up to eight hours to wrap Lon Chaney. A rubber mask was used for long shots...
as Dr. Norman (1942) - Bomber's Moon as Dr. Hartman (19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - Watch on the RhineWatch on the RhineWatch on the Rhine is a 1943 American drama film directed by Herman Shumlin. The screenplay by Dashiell Hammett is based on the 1941 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman.-Plot:...
(1943) - Background to DangerBackground to DangerBackground to Danger is a 1943 film starring George Raft and featuring Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre. Based on the novel of the same title by Eric Ambler and set in Turkey , the screenplay was credited to W.R. Burnett, although William Faulkner also contributed, and the movie...
(1943) - The Mummy's GhostThe Mummy's GhostThe Mummy's Ghost is the 1944 Universal Pictures sequel to The Mummy's Tomb. Lon Chaney, Jr. again takes on the role of Kharis the mummy.-Plot:...
as Dr. Norman (19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
) - House of FrankensteinHouse of Frankenstein (1944 film)House of Frankenstein is an American monster horror film produced in 1944 by Universal Studios as a sequel to Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man the previous year. This monster rally approach would continue in the following film, House of Dracula, as well as the 1948 comedy Abbott and Costello Meet...
as Ullman (1944) - Address UnknownAddress Unknown (1944 film)Address Unknown is a drama film directed by William Cameron Menzies based on Kathrine Taylor's novel Address Unknown . The film tells the story of two families caught up in the rise of Nazism in Germany prior to the start of World War II....
(1944) - The Blue Jade (19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) - My Pal TriggerMy Pal TriggerMy Pal Trigger is a 1946 American western musical film directed by Frank McDonald. The screenplay by Jack Townley and John K. Butler was based upon a story by Paul Gangelin. The film stars Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, George “Gabby” Hayes, Jack Holt, and Trigger in a story about the origin of Rogers's...
(19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
) - Monsieur VerdouxMonsieur VerdouxMonsieur Verdoux is a 1947 black comedy film directed by and starring Charles Chaplin. The supporting cast includes Martha Raye, William Frawley, and Marilyn Nash.-Plot:...
(19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - The Secret Life of Walter MittyThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It...
(1947) - Carson City Raiders (19481948 in filmThe year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
) - Kiss Tomorrow GoodbyeKiss Tomorrow GoodbyeKiss Tomorrow Goodbye is a 1950 film noir starring James Cagney, directed by Gordon Douglas and based on the novel by Horace McCoy. The film was banned in Ohio as "a sordid, sadistic presentation of brutality and an extreme presentation of crime with explicit steps in commission."Supporting Cagney...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - Superman and the Mole MenSuperman and the Mole MenSuperman and the Mole Men is a 1951 superhero film starring George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. It is the first theatrical feature film based on the DC Comics character Superman, although two live-action Superman films had already been shown in cinemas, they appeared in a...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) (last film)
Director:
- Lost and WonLost and WonLost and Won is a 1917 drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and Frank Reicher.-Cast:* Marie Doro - Cinders* Elliott Dexter - Walter Crane* Carl Stockdale - Kirkland Gaige* Mayme Kelso - Cleo Duvene* Robert Gray - Bill Holt* Clarence Geldart...
(19171917 in filmThe year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
)