Frank Marth R.I.P.

Frank Marth, a veteran television character actor who appeared on shows from The Honeymooners to The A-Team, died on 12 January 2014 at the age of 91.

Frank Marth was born on 29 July 1922 in New York City. He made his television debut in 1949 in an episode of the TV series Mama. It was in 1951 that he first worked with comedian Jackie Gleason, the two of them appearing on the TV programme Cavalcade of Stars. Mr. Marth would go onto play various roles in both "The Honeymooners" segments of The Jackie Gleason Show and the sitcom based on them, The Honeymooners. In the Fifties Mr. Marth also appeared on such shows as The Philco-Goodyear Playhouse, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Man Against Crime, Suspense, Inner Sanctum, Dragnet, The Alcoa Hour, Studio One, The Phil Silvers Show, and Decoy. He appeared in the film Fright (1956).

In the Sixties Mr. Marth appeared in the films Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), Madame X (1966), Madigan (1968), Pendulum (1969), The Lost Man (1969),  and Marooned (1969). He regularly appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show. He appeared on such shows as Naked City, Car 54, Where Are You?, The Nurses, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Patty Duke Show, Arrest and Trial, The Great Adventure, The Defenders, My Favourite Martian, Mr. Novak, Slattery's People, Perry Mason, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Combat!, The Fugitive, Daktari, The Green Hornet, Garrison's Gorillas, The Wild Wild West, Run for Your Life, The Big Valley, The Virginian, Hogan's Heroes, Hawaii Five-O, Here's Lucy, Bonanza, and Mission: Impossible.

In the Seventies Mr. Marth appeared on such shows as Marcus Welby, M.D., Owen Marshall--Counsellor at Law, The F.B.I., Mod Squad, Mannix, Ironside, Hawkins, Shaft, The Rookies, Gunsmoke, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, M*A*S*H, Cannon, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, Lou Grant, and The Incredible Hulk.He appeared in the film Telefon.

In the Eighties Frank Marth appeared on several episodes of the soap opera The Young and the Restless. He also a regular on The Dirty Dozen: The Series. He appeared on such shows as Trapper John, M.D., Vega$, Dallas, Simon & Simon, The Fall Guy, Airwolf,  and The A-Team. He last appeared on screen in the film Loving Deadly.

Frank Marth spent most of his career playing police officers and detectives. From The Honeymooners to The F. B.I. to Cannon, Mr. Marth played a variety of cops. Even on Westerns such as The Big Valley he was often cast as a sheriff or marshal. There can be no argument that he was not good at playing officers of law. That having been said, he was actually a very versatile actor who could play nearly any role handed him. He played several military officers over the years, in everything from The Wild Wild West to M*A*S*H. He also played a medical doctor on more than one occasion. And while Frank Marth played wide array of cops, he often played roles that were on the other side of the law. Indeed, in The Honeymooners episode "Trapped" he played a bank robber. Frank Marth was one of television's great character actors. And while he played many authority figures, he was capable of playing much more.