Dwight Frye: Character Actor

Dwight Iliff Frye (born Fry; February 22, 1899 – November 7, 1943) was an American character actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his portrayals of neurotic, murderous villains in several classic Universal horror films, such as Renfield in Dracula (1931) and Fritz in Frankenstein (1931). 

Biography

Early life and career

Frye was born in Salina, Kansas and studied for a career in music and first appeared as a concert pianist.  In the 1920s, he made his name as a stage actor, often in comedies. In 1924, he played the Son in a production of Luigi Pirandellos’s Six Characters in Search of an Author. 

While he had a few minor comedic roles in silent pictures, with the coming of sound Frye soon became known for playing villains. Nicknamed "The Man with the Thousand-Watt Stare" and "The Man of a Thousand Deaths", he specialized in the portrayal of mentally unbalanced characters, including his signature role, the madman Renfield in Tod Browne's 1931 version of Dracula.

Later that same year, he played the hunchbacked assistant Fritz in Frankenstein. Also in 1931, Frye portrayed Wilmer Cook (the "gunsel") in the first film version of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. He had a featured role in the horror film The Vampire Bat (1933) in which he played Herman, a half-wit suspected of being a killer. He had memorable roles in The Invisible Man (1933) as a reporter, and in The Crime of Dr. Crespi (1935).

In Bride of Frankenstein (1935), he played Karl. The part was originally much more substantive; many of Frye's additional scenes were part of a subplot but were cut to shorten the running time and appease the censors. One of the deleted scenes was that of Karl killing a Burgomaster, portrayed by E. E. Clive. Nothing remains of these scenes except still photographs included in a Universal Studios DVD release of the film. He played similar characters in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) and Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943); another appearance in Son of Frankenstein (1939) was deleted prior to release. Also in the 1930s, he appeared in two films starring James Cagney:  The Doorway to Hell (1930), as a hit man, and Something to Sing About (1937), as a fussy hairdresser.

During the early 1940s, Frye alternated between film roles and appearing on stage in a variety of productions ranging from comedies to musicals, as well as appearing in a stage version of Dracula.  During World War II, he made a contribution to the war effort by working nights as a tool designer for Lockheed Aircraft.

Death

On November 7, 1943, Frye died of a heart attack while travelling by bus in Hollywood, a few days before he was scheduled to begin filming the biopic Wilson. He is interred in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale. 

Musical tribute

American rock band Alice Cooper wrote and recorded a tribute track to Dwight Frye entitled "The Ballad of Dwight Fry" (purposefully dropping the last "e") that was included on their 1971 LP Love It To Death.

On stage, this song would be portrayed with Cooper in a straitjacket trying to escape, and finally breaking free at the end of the song to strangle the nurse with the ties.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1926	Exit Smiling	Balcony Heckler	Uncredited
1927	Upstream	Theatre Audience Spectator	Uncredited
1928	The Night Bird	Party Guest	Uncredited
1930	The Doorway to Hell	Gangster
	Man to Man	Vint Glade
1931	Dracula	R. M. Renfield
	The Maltese Falcon	Wilmer Cook
	The Black Camel	Jessup, the butler	Uncredited
	Frankenstein	Fritz
1932	Attorney for the Defense	James Wallace
	By Whose Hand?	Chick
	The Western Code	Dick Loomis
	A Strange Adventure	Robert Wayne
1933	The Vampire Bat	Herman Gleib
	The Circus Queen Murder	Flandrin
	The Invisible Man	Reporter	Uncredited
1935	Bride of Frankenstein	Karl
	Atlantic Adventure	Spike Jonas
	The Crime of Dr. Crespi	Dr. Thomas
	The Great Impersonation	Roger Unthank	Uncredited
1936	Tough Guy	Mack	Uncredited
	Florida Special	Jenkins
	Alibi for Murder	McBride
	Beware of Ladies	Swanson
	Great Guy	Minor Role	Uncredited
1937	Sea Devils	SS Paradise Radio Operator	Uncredited
	The Man Who Found Himself	Hysterical Patient
	The Road Back	Small Man at Rally	Uncredited
	Renfrew of the Royal Mounted	Desk Clerk	Uncredited
	Something to Sing About	Mr. Easton
	Danger Patrol	Man on Telephone	Uncredited
	The Shadow	Vindecco
1938	Who Killed Gail Preston?	Mr. Owen
	Invisible Enemy	Alex
	Sinners in Paradise	Marshall	Uncredited
	Fast Company	Sidney Z. Wheeler
	The Night Hawk	John Colley
	Adventure in Sahara	Gravet - 'The Jackal'	Uncredited
1939	Son of Frankenstein	Villager	Unconfirmed
	The Man in the Iron Mask	Fouquet's Valet	Uncredited
	Mickey the Kid	Henchman Bruno	Uncredited
	Conspiracy	Lt. Keller	Uncredited
1940	I Take This Woman	Gus	(scenes deleted)
	Drums of Fu Manchu	Prof. Anderson	Serial, [Ch.5]
	Gangs of Chicago	Pinky
	Phantom Raiders	Eddie Anders
	Sky Bandits	Speavy
	The Son of Monte Cristo	Pavlov's Secretary	Uncredited
1941	The People vs. Dr. Kildare	Jury Foreman	Uncredited
	Mystery Ship	Rader
	Flying Blind	Leo Qualen
	The Blonde from Singapore	Barber	Uncredited
	The Devil Pays Off	Radio Operator	Uncredited
1942	Sleepytime Gal	Second Mug	Uncredited
	The Ghost of Frankenstein	Villager	Uncredited
	Danger in the Pacific	Desk Clerk	Uncredited
1943	Dead Men Walk	Zolarr
	Submarine Alert	Haldine - Fifth Columnist	Uncredited
	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	Rudi
	Hangmen Also Die!	Hostage	Uncredited
	Dangerous Blondes	Hoodlum	Uncredited, (final film role)