Franklin Pangborn, Character Actor Extraordinaire.. Image: Pinterest
Dear Franklin Pangborn:
We miss you.
You were a popular character actor Back In The Day, specializing in fussy middle-management types and assorted authority figures.
You had a singular dedication to your portrayals, and that always gave audiences their Money’s Worth. You stole nearly every scene you were in – and A-List actors let you do it.
You could be silly, but rarely campy. Your characters had dignity and sometimes outright snobbery, which made it satisfying when your character received his inevitable Come-Uppance.
You were a dramatic actor, too, notably on the stage, but fans loved your film comedy.
You could portray many emotions – sometimes all at once – but we (yours truly) love your comic disdain. In fact, we borrow your withering Side-Eye more than you know.
The Side-Eye
But we digress.
When we see your name in the credits, dear Franklin, we cannot wait until you appear on screen. We know that whatever the situation, your reaction will be Worth It. You’re so expressive, we don’t need dialogue to feel your pain.
From the Our Gang short, Wild Poses (1933)
You were born in New Jersey in 1889. Before you served overseas in WWI, and while you were still a teenager, you worked at an insurance company. Here you met the first of three actresses who were influential in your acting career.
The first was stage veteran Mildred Holland who offered you a job as an extra during your two-week vacation. It paid $12 a week; you stayed four years.
Then you joined Jessie Bonstelle‘s stock company on Broadway and formed a friendship with Russian-American stage actress Alla Nazimova. Bonstelle is regarded as a pioneering female stage director, and Nazimova went to Hollywood to write and produce films.
The movies: Your film career began in the mid 1920s, but it accelerated in the early 1930s when you caught the attention of comedy producers/directors Mack Sennett and Hal Roach.
You worked with some of Hollywood’s best, including Bette Davis, Gary Cooper, and Shirley Temple. You became a favourite of filmmakers W.C. Fields and Preston Sturges.
You had your share of uncredited roles, but So What; audiences always recognized you. In fact, you became famous with an uncredited role in My Man Godfrey (1936), where you simultaneously flirted with and verified William Powell’s homeless status, while dismissing him as a person:
Some say you always played the same character. Even if it were true, we marvel at your ability to make that character seem fresh in each film.
We also marvel at the affection movie folk have for you. For example, IMDb calls you a “great comedic actor” and says “that droopy pudding-face of his was bound for comedy.”¹
Rotten Tomatoes describes you this way: “With his prissy voice and floor-walker demeanor, Pangborn was the perfect desk clerk, hotel manager, dressmaker, society secretary, or all-around busybody in well over 100 films.”²
You died in 1958, after surgery to remove a malignant tumour, and Hollywood would never see your equal. There were – and are – many superb character actors, but no one like you. You left a Franklin Pangborn-shaped hole in the industry.
“To pass away after surgery seems such a disordered way to go for one such as Franklin Pangborn whose on-screen characters struggled for order above all else,” says IMDb. “There is no order in the frailty of life by definition, but Pangborn’s legacy, rich in comedic gems, has and surely will continue to endure.”³
We hope that is true, dear Franklin. We don’t want Hollywood to forget the Master of Comic Disdain.
Showing disdain to W.C. Fields in The Bank Dick (1940). Image: Travalanche
This post is part of the WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon, hosted by Paula’s Cinema Club, Once Upon A Screen, and Outspoken & Freckled.
Sources
¹IMDb. (Retrieved November 9, 2019.) Franklin Pangborn Biography.
²Rotten Tomatoes. (Retrieved November 9, 2019.) Franklin Pangborn.
³IMDb: Franklin Pangborn Biography.
Silver Screenings 
WHAT A FACE!! Pangborn’s was rubber. As you say, we love seeing him in any movie in any role. Thank you for this touching letter to a memorable actor.
Aurora
Once Upon a Screen
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Thanks for cohosting the blogathon. It’s one of my faves. 🙂
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Fascinating life and had he lived today he probably would have survived the tumor. Thank you I enjoyed reading about him.
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That’s a really good point. He likely would have survived if he lived today.
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What a fun choice for the blogathon! I love when Franklin Pangborn appears on screen. Those moments are pure gold. He really is one of a kind, and you captured that here so well in your delightful remembrance of him.
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Thanks! He’s one of my faves. His performances are a master class in comedy, no?
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Absolutely! The way he gets hilariously flustered cannot be beat!
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Indeed, there was only one Franklin Pangborn and only one beautifully unique tribute to his own unique soul. Well done!
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Thanks! Before I started working in this post, I didn’t think I could admire Franklin P. more than I did, but I was wrong. I don’t want folks to forget his work.
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Folks outside the classic film community, that is.
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“Withering side eye” indeed!
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Haha! Isn’t he great?
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Yes!
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Very nice tribute which encouraged me to look up Franklin Pangborn work. I vaguely recognize his face, possibly from when I saw the W.C. Fields comedy The Bank Dick (1940)
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W.C. Fields really liked Pangborn & expanded his role in The Bank Dick. (I’m ashamed to admit I have yet to see it…)
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Oh, what a lovely tribute. And you nailed the thing about the unforgettable character actor – we are always so glad to see them when they appear. Good stuff!
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Thanks! With actors like Franklin Pangborn, you know a scene is in good hands. He was worth every cent the Studios paid him
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Good ol’ Franklin! Where would the movies be without him? I shudder to think! However, I do have a question:
I knew that he and Alla Nazimova were good friends but, even after all the research I’ve done, I didn’t know that he managed her touring company. Where did you learn this?
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I found it on Trav S.D.’s site: https://travsd.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/stars-of-slapstick-61-franklin-pangborn/
I agree: Movies wouldn’t be half as much fun without Franklin P.
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Ahhhh that scene in My Man Godfrey is hysterical! Franklin Pangborn was the ultimate, what a great choice 👍👍👍
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He was the ultimate, like you said. I cannot imagine that scene in My Man Godfrey with anyone else.
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The first time I saw Franklin Pangborn was in a Bing Crosby short film called BLUE OF THE NIGHT (1933). He always seemed to play a similar character, but he was also always a welcome addition to any movie he was in!
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Agreed! I think a movie is always made a little better with Franklin P.’s presence.
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What a wonderful tribute. According to IMDB, Franklin made 28 appearances in 1937!! That alone is amazing.
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You’re right – 38 in one year is a very busy year.
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When it comes to character actors, he was as unique a character as they come — one of my favs.
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One of my faves too! There is no one – then or now – who does what Franklin Pangborn could do.
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He truly made every movie brighter, didn’t he?
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He truly did. That’s a perfect description.
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Thank you…and thanks for this great piece!
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Yes I recognise him from the Preston Sturges films. Nice tribute!
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Thanks! I adore Franklin Pangborn – but who doesn’t?
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Indeed!
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