Actor: Frankie Thomas

foto attore
Birthday: 1921-04-09
Born in: New York, New York, USA
Biography: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Frank Marion Thomas Jr. (April 9, 1921 – May 11, 2006), credited as Frankie Thomas, was an American actor, author and bridge-strategy expert who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early television. He was best known for his starring role in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. He was only 11 when he accompanied his mother to a casting office, where he stood in the background while his mother asked about possible openings in new Broadway shows. The agent replied, "I have nothing that suits you, Mona, but I can use the boy." Thomas wound up in a small part in Carry Nation (1932), where Jimmy Stewart was cast as a constable. Thomas appeared in six other Broadway plays between 1932 and 1936, including Little Ol' Boy with Burgess Meredith, Thunder on the Left, Wednesday's Child, The First Legion, Remember the Day, in which he appeared with his father, and Seen But Not Heard. In Wednesday's Child he played the role of Bobby Phillips, the longest stage part ever written for a child performer. Thomas also developed a lifelong fascination with the character of Sherlock Holmes during this period, when he saw William Gillette perform the part during his farewell tour. Thomas's last "A" film was Boys' Town (1938) with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. Thomas was Freddy Fuller, Boys' Town's mayor, and was not asked to appear in the sequel, Men of Boys' Town (1941). He then appeared in a string of "B" films such as Little Tough Guys in Society and Nancy Drew... Detective (both 1938), Nancy Drew... Reporter, Code of the Streets, Nancy Drew… Trouble Shooter, The Angels Wash Their Faces, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, On Dress Parade and Invisible Stripes (all 1939). In 1941 Thomas had small parts in Flying Cadets and One Foot in Heaven. His last film roles were small roles in Always in My Heart and The Major and the Minor (1942), where he played a military school cadet who flirted with Ginger Rogers' character. After World War II, Thomas moved into television. In the fall of 1950 he became the idol of millions of children when he played the starring role in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, beginning on CBS and transferring to ABC in January 1951. Thomas had beaten out Jack Lemmon for the part.

Known for

Boys Town

Devout but iron-willed Father Flanagan leads a community called Boys Town, a different sort of juvenile detention facility where, instead of being treated as underage criminals, the boys are shepherded into making themselves better people. But hard-nosed petty thief and pool shark Whitey Marsh, the impulsive and violent younger brother of an imprisoned murderer, might be too much for the good father's tough-love system.
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The Major and the Minor

Susan Applegate, tired of New York after one year and twenty-five jobs, decides to return to her home town in Iowa. Discovering she hasn't enough money for the train fare, Susan disguises herself as a twelve-year-old and travels for half the price. Caught out by the conductors, she hides in the compartment of Major Philip Kirby, a military school instructor who takes the "child" under his wing.
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The Major and the Minor

1942

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Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Nancy helps two aging spinsters fulfill the byzantine provisions of their father's will, but the murder of their chauffeur complicates matters.
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Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

1939

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Invisible Stripes

A gangster is unable to go straight after returning home from prison.
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Invisible Stripes

1939

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Nancy Drew... Reporter

While participating in a contest at a local newspaper in which school children are asked to submit a news story, local attorney Carson Drew's daughter Nancy intercepts a real story assignment. She "covers" the inquest of the death of a woman who was poisoned. Nancy doesn't think the young woman accused of the crime is guilty and corrals her neighbor Ted into searching for a vital piece of evidence and stumbles onto the identity of the real killer.
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Nancy Drew... Reporter

1939

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On Dress Parade

The final feature in the "Dead End Kids" film series finds a youth trying to adjust to life at a military school.
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On Dress Parade

1939

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Nancy Drew… Detective

After a wealthy dowager who has made a substantial donation to her alma mater suddenly disappears, Nancy Drew sets out to solve the mystery.
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Nancy Drew… Detective

1938

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Little Tough Guys in Society

A society matron invites the gang to her estate as playmates for her spoiled brat son.
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Little Tough Guys in Society

1938

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Code of the Streets

Frankie Thomas plays Bob Lewis, leader of a gang consisting of Sailor, Murph, Monk, Trouble and Yap. The son of disgraced police officer Lt. Lewis, Bob vows to clear his dad's name, and also to prove that accused murderer Tommy Shay is innocent.
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Code of the Streets

1939

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Always in My Heart

A man is pardoned from prison and returns to Santa Rita, CA to be with his family, but discovers his children have been told he's dead and his wife is in love with another man.
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Always in My Heart

1942

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Angels Wash Their Faces

A young man just released from a reformatory moves to a new neighborhood with his sister, intending to start a new life. However, he gets mixed up with the local mob boss and corrupt politicians and soon finds himself being framed for an arson and murder he didn't commit.
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Angels Wash Their Faces

1939

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