Birthday
1905/12/08
Day of death
1985/08/02 (79 years old)
Gender
Male
Place of Birth
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Also know as
Francis Charles Ruf, Frank Ruf, Charles Francis Ruf
Frank Faylen (born Francis Charles Ruf) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. He is best remembered for his movie performances as the cynical male nurse in The Lost Weekend (1945) and Ernie the taxi driver in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), as well as for his portrayal of long-suffering grocer Herbert T. Gillis on the 1950s television sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
(1940) The Grapes of Wrath
as Tim
(1946) It's a Wonderful Life
as Ernie
(1965) When the Boys Meet the Girls
as Phin Gray
(1951) Detective Story
as Det. Gallagher
(1941) The Reluctant Dragon
as Orchestra Leader (uncredited)
(1945) You Came Along
as Bellboy (uncredited)
(1957) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
as Sheriff Cotton Wilson
(1947) Road to Rio
as Trigger
(1942) The Palm Beach Story
as Taxi Driver (uncredited)
(1952) The Sniper
as Anderson
(1941) Come Live with Me
as Waiter
(1954) Riot in Cell Block 11
as Commissioner Haskell
(1945) The Lost Weekend
as 'Bim' Nolan
(1956) Terror at Midnight
as Fred Hill
(1950) Convicted
as Convict Ponti
(1948) Blood on the Moon
as Jake Pindalest
(1953) 99 River Street
as Stan Hogan
(1956) 7th Cavalry
as Sgt. Kruger
(1952) The Lusty Men
as Al Dawson
(1968) Funny Girl
as Keeney
(1946) The Blue Dahlia
as Man Recommending Motel
(1950) The Nevadan
as Jeff
(1939) It's a Wonderful World
as Peters - Stagehand (uncredited)
(1939) Nick Carter, Master Detective
as Pete Foley - 1st pilot
(1939) The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
as Adjutant (uncredited)
(1937) They Won't Forget
as Reporter
(1944) The Canterville Ghost
as Lieutenant John Kane
(1956) Away All Boats
as Chief Phillip P. 'Pappy' Moran
(1937) Kid Galahad
as Barney
(1951) Fourteen Hours
as Walter, room service waiter
(1946) Blue Skies
as Mack
(1952) Hangman's Knot
as Cass Browne
(1946) To Each His Own
as Babe
(1948) Race Street
as Phil Dickson
(1942) Whispering Ghosts
as Curly
(1939) Thunder Afloat
as Recruiting Officer (uncredited)
(1942) Maisie Gets Her Man
as Stage Manager (Uncredited)
(1955) The McConnell Story
as Sfc. Sykes
(1950) Copper Canyon
as Mullins
(1951) My Favorite Spy
as Newton
(1960) North to Alaska
as Arnie (uncredited)
(1942) Star Spangled Rhythm
as Soldier (uncredited)
(1944) Address Unknown
as Jimmie Blake
(1947) California
as Whitey
(1937) San Quentin
as Convict Envying Hoffman (uncredited)
(1947) Variety Girl
as Frank Faylen
(1943) The Mystery of the 13th Guest
as Speed Dugan
(1947) The Perils of Pauline
as Mr. Joe Gurt
(1940) Curtain Call
as Spike Malone
(1943) Taxi, Mister
as Henchman Silk
(1945) The Affairs of Susan
as Brooklyn Boy (Uncredited)
(1955) The Looters
as Stan Leppich
(1957) Dino
as Frank Mandel
(1942) The Pride of the Yankees
as Yankee Third Base Coach (uncredited)
(1965) Fluffy
as Catfish
(1954) The Lone Gun
as Fairweather
(1951) Passage West
as Curly
(1936) Road Gang
as Radio Dispatcher
(1944) Standing Room Only
as Cabbie
(1939) No Place to Go
as Pete Shaffer
(1936) King of Hockey
as Swede
(1947) Easy Come, Easy Go
as Boss
(1956) Three Brave Men
as Enos Warren
(1956) Everything But the Truth
as 'Mac' McMillan
(1944) And the Angels Sing
as Holman
(1947) Welcome Stranger
as Bill Walters
(1942) Across the Pacific
as Sidewalk Toy Vendor (uncredited)
(1939) Reno
as J. Hezmer Briggs
(1965) The Monkey's Uncle
as Mr. Dearborne
(1946) Two Years Before the Mast
as Hansen
(1940) Married and in Love
as Jim Carter, Man in Bar
(1941) Let's Go Collegiate
as Speed Dorman
(1941) H.M. Pulham, Esq.
as Marine Sergeant (uncredited)
(1942) Somewhere I'll Find You
as Soldier Driving Jeep
(1940) Blame It on Love
as Studio Electrician
(1940) Alice in Movieland
as Master of Ceremonies (uncredited)
(1939) Waterfront
as Skids Riley
(1977) Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis?
as Herbert T. Gillis
(1943) Silver Skates
as Eddie
(1939) Women in the Wind
as Chuck - the Mechanic (uncredited)
(1940) The Fighting 69th
as Engineer Sergeant (uncredited)
(1937) Wine, Women and Horses
as Horse Buyer
(1948) Whispering Smith
as Whitey Du Sang
(1938) The Invisible Menace
as Private of the Guard
(1948) Hazard
as Oscar
(1937) Ever Since Eve
as Bandit Leader at Monteray Tavern (uncredited)
(1945) Masquerade in Mexico
as Brooklyn (uncredited)
(1946) Cross My Heart
as Fingerprint Expert
(1937) The Case of the Stuttering Bishop
as Charlie Downs
(1937) Dance Charlie Dance
as Ted Parks
(1939) Idiot's Delight
as Ed
(1939) The Flying Irishman
as New York Mechanic
(1943) Prairie Chickens
as Clem
(1939) Lucky Night
as Play Palace Announcer (uncredited)
(1939) Five Came Back
as Photographer (uncredited)
(1939) Gone with the Wind
as Soldier Aiding Dr. Meade (uncredited)
(1941) Steel Against the Sky
as Egg Man in Diner (uncredited)
(1950) Francis
as Sergeant Chillingbacker
(1941) Thieves Fall Out
as Pick
(1946) Our Hearts Were Growing Up
as Federal Agent
(1937) The Cherokee Strip
as Joe Brady
(1937) Midnight Court
as Reporter
(1942) Wake Island
as ---
(1943) Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Sailor (uncredited)
(1936) Night Waitress
as Policeman at Torre's
(1937) Smart Blonde
as Ambulance Driver (uncredited)
(1943) Dixie Dugan
as Soldier (uncredited)
(1943) The Unknown Guest
as Truck Driver (uncredited)
(1943) The Gang's All Here
as Marine Sergeant (uncredited)
(1936) The Sky Parade
as Pilot (uncredited)
(1947) Suddenly It's Spring
as Harold Michaels
(1940) Brother Orchid
as Parkway Biltmore Desk Clerk (uncredited)
(1940) Edison, the Man
as Galbreath
(1936) All American Chump
as Reporter (uncredited)
(1938) No Time to Marry
as Waxler
(1940) Just a Cute Kid
as Benny
(1941) Father Steps Out
as Tall Hobo 'King', aka The King of Siam
(1943) Good Morning, Judge
as Ben Pollard
(1941) Tanks a Million
as Pvt. Skivic
(1943) Get Going
as Hank
(1942) Fall In
as Capt. Gillis
(1943) Yanks Ahoy
as Quartermaster Jenkins
(1941) Top Sergeant Mulligan
as Pat Dolan
(1942) A-Haunting We Will Go
as Train Detective (uncredited)
(1954) Red Garters
as Billy Buckett
(1944) Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
as Taxi Driver #2 (uncredited)
(1941) Sergeant York
as But! Boy (uncredited)
(1940) City for Conquest
as Band Conductor and Emcee (uncredited)
(1940) Saturday's Children
as Cab Driver (uncredited)
(1940) No Time for Comedy
as Cab Driver
(1937) Back in Circulation
as James Maxwell - a Reporter (uncredited)
(1940) East of the River
as Tour Guide (uncredited)
(1940) Castle on the Hudson
as Guard Who is Slugged (uncredited)
(1940) They Drive by Night
as Driver in Cafe (uncredited)
(1940) Pop Always Pays
as Minerva Auto Loan Cashier
(1939) You Can't Get Away with Murder
as Boat Tour Guide (uncredited)
(1943) Young Ideas
as Reporter (uncredited)
(1935) Double Exposure
as Press Photographer (uncredited)
(1940) La Conga Nights
as Jeepers Peepers
(1950) The Eagle and the Hawk
as Red' Hyatt - Danzeeger's Foreman
(1942) Tough as They Come
as Collector
(1947) The Trouble with Women
as Geeger
(1943) Corvette K-225
as Shipyard Painter
(1936) Border Flight
as Jimmie
(1941) Model Wife
as Master of Ceremonies
(1942) About Face
as Bartender Jerry
(1942) Mokey
as Police Desk Sergeant
(1942) Yankee Doodle Dandy
as Sergeant on Parade (uncredited)
(1943) Slightly Dangerous
as Gateman (uncredited)
(1937) The Go-Getter
as Country club man #2 (uncredited)
(1939) Crime Rave
as ---
(1946) The Well Groomed Bride
as Cabbie
(1937) Marked Woman
as Cabbie #2 (uncredited)
(1945) Bombalera
as Houlihan
(1945) Bring on the Girls
as Sailor
(1943) A Guy Named Joe
as Major (uncredited)
(1943) Mission to Moscow
as Reporter (uncredited)
(1939) Slapsie Maxie's
as Tiger Dorsey
(1941) Blossoms in the Dust
as Man with Man Carrying Dead Child
(1943) Nazty Nuisance
as Seaman Benson
(1943) The Falcon Strikes Back
as Cecil, a Hobo (uncredited)
(1988) James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
as Self (archive footage)
(1936) Bullets or Ballots
as Gatley - Pinball Racketeer (uncredited)
(1936) China Clipper
as Weatherman (uncredited)
(1939) Twelve Crowded Hours
as Henchman (uncredited)
(1945) Incendiary Blonde
as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
(1939) Invisible Stripes
as Steve - Henchman on Bank Job (uncredited)
(1944) See Here, Private Hargrove
as M.P. (uncredited)
(1942) Joe Smith, American
as Man in Waiting Room with Matches (uncredited)
(1941) Footsteps in the Dark
as Gus a Taxi Driver (uncredited)
(1937) Headin' East
as Joe
(1950) The Colgate Comedy Hour
as Self
(1963) The Great Adventure
as O'Brien
(1966) That Girl
as ---
(1962) The Beverly Hillbillies
as ---
(1963) Petticoat Junction
as Ralph
(1953) General Electric Theater
as Farber
(1958) Man with a Camera
as ---
(1965) My Mother the Car
as ---
(1958) Wanted: Dead or Alive
as Sheriff Earl Tipton
(1951) Racket Squad
as ---
(1956) Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Doc Alvarez
(1956) Telephone Time
as ---
(1959) The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
as Herbert T. Gillis
(1957) Maverick
as Red Harrison
(1950) The Bob Hope Show
as Self
(1976) Quincy, M.E.
as Janus