PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Frank McHugh
Frank McHugh
	From trailer for Four Daughters (1938)
Born	Francis Curry McHugh; May 23, 1898; Homestead, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	September 11, 1981 (aged 83); Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor of stage, radio, film, and television
Years active	1925–1969
Spouse	Dorothy Spencer McHugh (m. 1933)
Children	3
Relatives	Matt McHugh (older brother); Kitty McHugh (sister);

Francis Curry McHugh (May 23, 1898 – September 11, 1981)^[1] was an American stage, radio, film and television actor.

Early years

Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, McHugh came from a theatrical family.^[2] His parents, Edward A. "Cutie" McHugh and Katherine Curry "Katie" McHugh, ran the McHugh stock theater company in Braddock, Pennsylvania.^[3] As a young child he performed on stage. His brother Matt and sister Kitty performed in an act with him by the time he was 10 years old, but the family quit the stage around 1930.^[4] Another brother, Ed, became a stage manager and agent in New York.^[5]^[6]

Career

Leaving the family stage company at age 17, McHugh went to Pittsburgh as leading man and stage manager at the Empire Theater there. He spent nine years in stock companies and road troupes before appearing on Broadway.^[7]

McHugh debuted on Broadway in The Fall Guy, written by George Abbott and James Gleason in 1925.^[7] He also appeared in Show Girl (1929), a musical.^[8] In that same year, he made his first film, If Men Played Cards as Women Do, a short produced by Paramount.^[3] First National Pictures hired him as a contract player in January 1930.^[7]

From 1954 to 1956, he starred in the radio program Hotel For Pets.^[9]

From 1964 to 1965, he played Willie Walters, a live-in handyman in the 27-episode ABC sitcom The Bing Crosby Show, which reunited him once again onscreen with Bing Crosby. The show also co-starred Beverly Garland. McHugh's last feature film role was as a comical "sea captain" in the 1967 Elvis Presley caper film Easy Come, Easy Go. McHugh's last television appearance was as handyman Charlie Wingate in "The Fix-It Man", an episode of CBS's Lancer Western series.^[3]

On radio, McHugh had the role of Fairchild Finnegan in Phone Again, Finnegan (1946–1947).^[10] He also co-starred in Hotel for Pets (1954–1956).^[10]^: 365

McHugh belonged to a group of friends, known in Hollywood as the "Irish Mafia", that included his close friends James Cagney, Pat O’Brien and Spencer Tracy, as well as fellow actors Allen Jenkins, Ralph Bellamy, Frank Morgan,^[11] and Lynne Overman.^[12]

World War II

During World War II, McHugh joined the Hollywood Victory Caravan, a group that included 21 stars traveling around the country on a special train, performing in several cities over the course of three weeks in 1942 to raise money for the Army and Navy Relief Society. He followed that with a USO tour of England, appearing in the American Variety Show with Al Jolson, Merle Oberon, Patricia Morison and Allen Jenkins.^[13]

McHugh returned to Europe with a USO show created by him, “McHugh’s Revue,” which toured France, Holland, Belgium and Germany in November and December of 1944. McHugh, four beautiful girls (actresses Mary Brian, June Clyde, Charlotte Greer and Nina Nova) and piano-player Eddie Eisman toured the front line, entertaining and meeting the troops. The McHugh Papers at the New York Public Library include many accounts of the tour. For his work with the USO, McHugh received a citation “for exceptionally meritorious service while working as a member of an entertainment unit” from the U.S. Army, signed by Major General Raymond S. McLain. In a 1945 letter to McHugh and his troupe, McLain wrote:

“I want to make of record what I was glad to say to each of you when you left and what many of the command said to you then and what they have said to me since — “That your show was like an oasis in this desert of hardship and suffering”. It reminded us what a vital factor a bit of entertainment is in this business where boredom is almost as difficult to bear as the hardships of the campaign. Your show was sparkling, and left a refreshing atmosphere in the spirit of many battle weary soldiers.”^[2]

Personal life and death

McHugh was married to Dorothy McHugh (née Spencer) from 1933 until his death.^[4] They had three children.^[3]

On September 11, 1981, McHugh died in Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut at age 83.^[14]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Director
1929	If Men Played Cards as Women Do	3rd Card Player
1930	The Dawn Patrol	Flaherty	Howard Hawks
1930	Top Speed	Tad Jordan	Mervyn LeRoy
1930	Bright Lights	A. Hamilton Fish, a reporter	Michael Curtiz
1930	College Lovers	Speed Haskins	John G. Adolfi
1930	The Widow from Chicago	Slug O'Donnell	Edward F. Cline
1930	Going Wild	'Ricky' Freeman	William A. Seiter
1930	Kiss Me Again	Francois	William A. Seiter
1931	Millie	John Holmes	John Francis Dillon
1931	The Front Page	McCue	Lewis Milestone
1931	Up for Murder	Collins	Monta Bell
1931	Men of the Sky		Alfred E. Green
1931	That's News to Me
1931	Traveling Husbands	Pinkie	Charles Kerr (assistant)
1931	The Hot Spot	Peter Burke
1931	The Great Junction Hotel	Peeping Tom
1931	Bad Company	Doc - Henchman	Tay Garnett
1931	The Big Scoop
1931	Corsair	'Chub' Hopping	Roland West
1931	The Wide Open Spaces	Matt - a Gambler
1932	Union Depot	The Drunk	Alfred E. Green
1932	High Pressure	Mike Donahey	Mervyn LeRoy
1932	Extra! Extra!
1932	The Crowd Roars	Spud Connors	Howard Hawks
1932	The Strange Love of Molly Louvain	Skeets - a Reporter	Michael Curtiz
1932	The Dark Horse	Joe	Alfred E. Green
1932	Blessed Event	Reilly	Roy Del Ruth
1932	Life Begins	Ringer Banks	James Flood
1932	One Way Passage	Skippy	Tay Garnett
1933	Parachute Jumper	Toodles Cooper	Alfred E. Green
1933	Mystery of the Wax Museum	Jim	Michael Curtiz
1933	Grand Slam	Philip 'Speed' McCann	Alfred E. Green
1933	The Telegraph Trail	Corporal Tippy	Tenny Wright
1933	Private Jones	'Greasy' - the Cook	Russell Mack
1933	Elmer, the Great	Healy High-Hips	Mervyn LeRoy
1933	Lilly Turner	David 'Dave' Dixon	William A. Wellman
1933	Ex-Lady	Hugo Van Hugh	Robert Florey
1933	Hold Me Tight	Billy	David Butler
1933	Tomorrow at Seven	Clancy	Ray Enright
1933	Professional Sweetheart	Speed Dennis	William A. Seiter
1933	Footlight Parade	Francis	Busby Berkeley (musical numbers)
1933	Havana Widows	Duffy	Ray Enright
1933	Son of a Sailor	'Gaga'	Lloyd Bacon
1933	The House on 56th Street	Chester Hunt	Robert Florey
1933	Convention City	Will Goodwin	Archie Mayo
1934	Not Tonight, Josephine	Napoleon
1934	Fashions of 1934	Snap	William Dieterle
1934	Heat Lightning	Frank - the chauffeur	Mervyn LeRoy
1934	Merry Wives of Reno	Al	H. Bruce Humberstone
1934	Let's Be Ritzy	Bill Damroy Robert	Edward Ludwig
1934	Smarty	George Lancaster	Robert Florey
1934	Return of the Terror	Joe Hastings	Howard Bretherton
1934	Here Comes the Navy	Droopy	Lloyd Bacon
1934	Happiness Ahead	Tom	Mervyn LeRoy
1934	6 Day Bike Rider	Clinton Hemmings	Lloyd Bacon
1935	Maybe It's Love	Willie Sands	William C. McGann
1935	Devil Dogs of the Air	Crash Kelly	Lloyd Bacon
1935	Gold Diggers of 1935	Humbolt Prentiss	Busby Berkeley
1935	The Irish in Us	Mike O'Hara	Lloyd Bacon
1935	Page Miss Glory	Ed Olson	Mervyn LeRoy
1935	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Quince - the Carpenter
1935	Stars Over Broadway	Offkey Cramer	William Keighley
1936	Freshman Love	Coach Hammond	William McGann
1936	Moonlight Murder	William	Edwin L. Marin
1936	Snowed Under	Orlando Rowe	Ray Enright
1936	Bullets or Ballots	Herman McCloskey	William Keighley
1936	Stage Struck	Sid	Busby Berkeley
1936	Three Men on a Horse	Erwin Trowbridge	Mervyn LeRoy (uncredited)
1937	Ever Since Eve	'Mabel' DeCraven	Lloyd Bacon
1937	Marry the Girl	David 'Party' Partridge	William C. McGann
1937	Mr. Dodd Takes the Air	'Sniffer' Sears	Alfred E. Green
1937	Submarine D-1	'Lucky'	Lloyd Bacon
1938	Swing Your Lady	Popeye	Ray Enright
1938	He Couldn't Say No	Lambert T. Hunkins	Lewis Seiler
1938	Little Miss Thoroughbred	Tod Harrington	John Farrow
1938	Four Daughters	Ben Crowley	Michael Curtiz
1938	Boy Meets Girl	Rossetti	Lloyd Bacon
1938	Valley of the Giants	'Fingers' McCarthy	William Keighley
1939	Wings of the Navy	Scat Allen	Lloyd Bacon
1939	Dodge City	Joe Clemens	Michael Curtiz
1939	Daughters Courageous	George	Michael Curtiz
1939	Indianapolis Speedway	'Spud' Connors	Lloyd Bacon
1939	Dust Be My Destiny	Caruthers	Lewis Seiler
1939	On Your Toes	Paddy Reilly
1939	The Roaring Twenties	Danny Green	Raoul Walsh
1939	Four Wives	Ben Crowley	Michael Curtiz
1940	The Fighting 69th	'Crepe Hanger' Burke	William Keighley
1940	Alex in Wonderland	Narrator (voice, uncredited)
1940	Virginia City	Mr. Upjohn	Michael Curtiz
1940	'Til We Meet Again	Rockingham T. Rockingham	William K. Howard
1940	I Love You Again	'Doc' Ryan	W.S. Van Dyke
1940	City for Conquest	'Mutt'	Jean Negulesco (uncredited)
1941	Four Mothers	Ben Crowley	William Keighley
1941	Back Street	Ed Porter	Robert Stevenson
1941	Manpower	Omaha	Raoul Walsh
1942	All Through the Night	Barney	Vincent Sherman
1942	Her Cardboard Lover	Chappie Champagne	George Cukor
1944	Going My Way	Father Timothy O'Dowd	Leo McCarey
1944	Marine Raiders	Sgt. Louis Leary	Robert Wise (additional scenes)
1944	Bowery to Broadway	Joe Kirby	Charles Lamont
1945	A Medal for Benny	Edgar Lovekin	Irving Pichel
1945	State Fair	McGee	Walter Lang
1946	The Hoodlum Saint	Three Finger	Norman Taurog
1946	The Runaround	Wally Quayle	Charles Lamont
1946	Little Miss Big	Charlie Bryan	Erle C. Kenton
1947	Easy Come Easy Go	Carey	John Farrow
1947	Carnegie Hall	John Donovan	Edgar G. Ulmer
1948	The Velvet Touch	Ernie Boyle	Jack Gage
1949	Mighty Joe Young	Windy	Ernest B. Schoedsack
1949	Miss Grant Takes Richmond	Mr. Kilcoyne	Lloyd Bacon
1950	Paid in Full	Ben - Bartender	William Dieterle
1950	The Tougher They Come	Gig Rafferty
1952	The Pace That Thrills	Rocket Anderson	Leon Barsha
1952	My Son John	Father O'Dowd	Leo McCarey
1953	It Happens Every Thursday	Fred Hawley	Joseph Pevney
1953	A Lion Is in the Streets	Frank Rector	Raoul Walsh
1954	There's No Business Like Show Business	Eddie Dugan	Walter Lang
1958	The Last Hurrah	Festus Garvey	John Ford
1959	Say One for Me	Jim Dugan	Frank Tashlin
1959	Career	Charlie Gallagher	Joseph Anthony
1961	The Spiral Staircase	Constable Williams
1963	Inside Danny Baker	Mr. Johansen
1964	A Tiger Walks	Bill Watkins	Norman Tokar
1967	Easy Come, Easy Go	Captain Jack	John Rich

Short subjects as himself:

An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee (1930)
Hollywood Newsreel (1934) (uncredited)
A Dream Comes True (1935)
Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 3 (1935)
Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 1 (1936)
A Day at Santa Anita (1937)
Sunday Night at the Trocadero (1937)
Breakdowns of 1938 (1938)

Notes

^ U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.
^ ^a ^b "Frank McHugh: A Beloved Character Actor Who Played an Important Role in World War II". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Dennis, Ken (Winter 2017–18). "Frank McHugh: Master of Mirth". Films of the Golden Age (91): 42–50.
^ ^a ^b Nollen, Scott A. (2014). Glenda Farrell: Hollywood's Hardboiled Dame. Midnight Marquee & BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-9361-6847-7. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
^ Ed A. McHugh at the Internet Broadway Database
^ "June DeLong". The Unsung Joe. July 16, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Warner and F.N. Players". Variety. June 25, 1930. p. 30. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
^ Hischak, Thomas S. (2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical. Oxford University Press. p. 482. ISBN 978-0-1953-3533-0. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
^ Cox, Jim (July 17, 2009). The A to Z of American Radio Soap Operas. Scarecrow Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-8108-6349-1.
^ ^a ^b Terrace, Vincent (September 2, 2015). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
^ Amory, Cleveland (August 26, 1942). "The Lifetime of James Cagney: The Gentle Force of a Strong Man". Boston Globe. ProQuest 1736051491. Even sitting with his closest friends at the regular weekly luncheon of the so-called 'Irish Mafia'—with actors Pat O'Brien, Spencer Tracy, Ralph Bellamy, Frank McHugh, Frank Morgan and others, probably the greatest group of storytellers in Hollywood history—he was not wholly there.
^ McCabe, John (1997). Cagney. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 128. ISBN 0-679-44607-9.
^ "Jolson, Merle Oberon, Et Al., 1st Show to Reach AEF". Variety. August 26, 1942. p. 1. ProQuest 1285805381. Al Jolson, Merle Oberon, Patricia Morison, Frank McHugh and Allen Jenkins made theatrical history, and marked another contribution to the war effort, by entertaining American troops 'somewhere in Ireland' Sunday Night. It was the same day as their arrival abroad by bomber plane.
^ "Frank McHugh, longtime character actor, is dead". Chicago Tribune. New York Times News Service. September 14, 1981. p. Section 3–27. Retrieved December 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.