Profile of Frank Gorshin on Famous Like Me

Frank Gorshin (April 5, 1933 – May 17, 2005) was an American actor and comedian from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was best known as an impressionist, with many notable guest appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and with Steve Allen. His most famous role was The Riddler in the Batman live action television series.

Life

Frank John Gorshin, Jr. was a son of Roman Catholic parents, Frank and Frances Gorshin, , a railway worker and a seamstress in Pittsburgh, where Frank, Jr. was born. Aged 15, he took a part-time job as a cinema usher at the Sheridan Square Theatre. He memorised the mannerisms of the screen stars that he saw and created an impressionist act. He was still at high school when he obtained his first paid employment: a one-week engagement at Jackie Heller's New York night club Carousel, which he secured as the prize in a Pittsburgh talent contest in 1951. His parents had insisted that he take the engagement even though his 15 year old brother had been hit by a car and killed just two nights before.

After graduation from high school, Gorshin attended the Carnegie Tech School of Drama (now known as Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh. When not studying he worked in local plays and night clubs.

In 1953, Gorshin was drafted into the United States Army and posted to Korea. He served for a year and a half as an entertainer attached to Special Services. His service number was 52314745. Nearly all of Gorshin's official military records were destroyed in the 1973 National Archives Fire. While in the Army, Gorshin met Maurice Bergman, who later introduced him to the Hollywood agent Paul Kohner. When he left the Army he returned to public performance and in 1956 he became a prolific film actor. He also appeared as an actor and a guest on television shows including twelve guest spots on the Ed Sullivan Show. He was a popular act at nightclubs—notably those of Las Vegas, where he was the first impressionist to headline the main showrooms. He was also the first impresionist to headline the Empire Room of New York's Waldorf=Astoria Hotel.

Gorshin's slender athletic build, his wide mouth, and his pale eyes under strong brows were ideal characteristics for screen henchmen. In 1957 he fell asleep at the wheel of his car after driving from Pittsburgh for 39 hours without sleep. He was on his way to a Hollywood screen test for the part of Officer Ruby in Run Silent Run Deep. He sustained a fractured skull and a four-day coma; a Los Angeles newspaper incorrectly reported that he had been killed.

In 1961 he married Christina Randazzo , whom he eventually divorced, and with whom he had a son, Mitchell. He married his second wife, Haji on July 4, 2004. .

In 1966 he took on the role of the Riddler, for which he received an Emmy nomination. In 1968 he filmed his other Emmy-nominated role: in an episode of Star Trek. He continued to make films, and perform his nightclub act, with occassional breaks in the early 1970s to appear in Broadway shows.

A lifelong smoker, he suffered from lung cancer, emphysema and pneumonia towards the end of his life. Despite his illness he continued to work until near the very end. He died on May 17, 2005 at age 72, in a hospital at Burbank, California . Christina Randazzo Gorshin, his first wife, was also at his bedside.

Work

He was nominated for an Emmy (Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy) for his most famous role: as The Riddler in the Batman live action television series, in which he was clad in a bowler hat and iridescent green body suit decorated with question marks, and frequently uttered his now-famous high deranged cackle, inspired by Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) in 1947's Kiss of Death. He also had a memorable role in the Star Trek episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" as the half-whiteface, half-blackface Bele, for which he was again Emmy-nominated. Prior to that, he was a dramatic actor, often playing "tough guys" like those played by one of his favorite target of impressions, James Cagney, whom he was said to resemble.

He appeared on Broadway, in Jimmy (1970) and Guys and Dolls (1971). In 2002, he portrayed comedian George Burns on Broadway in the one-man show Say Goodnight Gracie.

His final performance was in an episode of the CBS-TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation which aired two days after his death from cancer, emphysema, and pneumonia, and was dedicated to his memory. While he was known for his impressions, his role on CSI was, ironically, as himself. Coincidentally, Gorshin passed away on the same day that the TV movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt was released on DVD in North America. Gorshin appeared as himself (parodying his role as the Riddler) in this popular 2003 special that reunited the original stars of the Batman series. Gorshin also voiced villain Hugo Strange in an episode of The Batman, which is slated to air in the series' second season on the WB.

Filmography

• The Proud and Profane (1956)
• Hot Rod Girl (1956)
• Between Heaven and Hell (1956)
• Runaway Daughters (1956)
• The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
• Dragstrip Girl (1957)
• The Delicate Delinquent (1957)
• Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)
• Portland Expose (1957)
• Tank Battalion (1958)
• Night of the Quarter Moon (1959)
• Warlock (1959)
• Bells Are Ringing (1960)
• Studs Lonigan (1960)
• Where the Boys Are (1960)
• The Great Imposter (1961)
• Ring of Fire (1961)
• The George Raft Story (1961)
• Sail a Crooked Ship (1961)
• That Darn Cat! (1965)
• Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966)
• Batman (1966)
• Skidoo (1968)
• Record City (1977)
• Underground Aces (1981)
• The Uppercrust (1981)
• Hot Resort (1985)
• Uphill All the Way (1986)
• Hollywood Vice Squad (1986)
• The Gnomes' Great Adventure (1987) (voice)
• Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers (1989)
• Midnight (1989)
• Sweet Justice (1992)
• The Hollywood Beach Murders (1992)
• Body Trouble (1992)
• Amore! (1993)
• The Meteor Man (1993)
• Hail Caesar (1994)
• The Big Story (1994) (short subject) (voice)
• Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie (1995) (Cameo)
• Twelve Monkeys (1995)
• From Hare to Eternity (1996) (short subject) (voice)
• Superior Duck (1996) (short subject) (voice)
• Threshold (1997)
• Bloodmoon (1997)
• Better Than Ever (1997)
• After the Game (1997)
• Pullet Surprise (1997) (short subject) (voice)
• Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997)
• Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight (1997) (documentary)
• The Rules (For Men) (1999)
• The Art of Murder (1999)
• All Shook Up (1999)
• Man of the Century (1999)
• Final Rinse (1999)
• Game Day (1999)
• Castlerock (2000)
• Luck of the Draw (2000)
• The Curio Trunk (2000) (short subject)
• High Times Potluck (2002)
• Manna from Heaven (film) (2002)
• Mail Order Bride (2003)
• Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003)
• The Creature of the Sunny Side Up Trailer Park (2004)
• Angels with Angles (2005) (currently filming)
• Firedog (2005) (voice) (currently filming)

Stage appearances

• What Makes Sammy Run? playing Sammy Glick at Valley Music Theatre (Los Angeles) (1966)
• Jimmy playing James J. Walker at Winter Garden Theatre (Broadway) (1969)
• Prisoner of Second Avenue playing Mel Edison at Parker Playhouse (Florida) (1973)
• Whodunnit standing in as Andreas Capodistriou at Biltmore Theatre (Broadway) (1982)
• On the Twentieth Century playing Oscar Jaffe on a tour of the United States (1986)
• Guys and Dolls as a performer in Las Vegas (1995)
• The Sunshine Boys as Willie Clark on a tour of the United States (2001)
• Say Goodnight Gracie as George Burns at Helen Hayes Theatre (Broadway) (2002)

Quotes

• "I don't think of myself as being funny. But life takes strange turns." [People Magazine, January 1996]

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