Frank Jenks (November 4, 1902 â€" May 13, 1962) was an acid-voiced
American supporting actor of stage and films.Jenks was born in Des
Moines, Iowa, and his mother gave him a trombone when he was 9 years
old. By his late teens he was playing with Eddie Peabody and his band.
Later he became a studio musician in Hollywood, California.Jenks began
in vaudeville and went on to a long career in movies and television,
mostly in comedy. He was one of the more familiar faces and voices of
the Hollywood Studio era. For almost ten years beginning in the early
1920s, Jenks was a song and dance man in vaudeville.In 1933, when
sound films had become the norm, and Broadway actors were moving to
Hollywood in droves, Jenks's flat, sarcastic delivery landed him a
film career. Usually a supporting actor, Jenks did appear occasionally
as a film lead for low-budget films for PRC. Jenks appeared in not a
few classics. In the Cary Grant-Rosalind Russell classic His Girl
Friday (1940), Jenks had his most famous role, as the cynical newsman
"Wilson." When television began, Jenks made a successful transition.
American supporting actor of stage and films.Jenks was born in Des
Moines, Iowa, and his mother gave him a trombone when he was 9 years
old. By his late teens he was playing with Eddie Peabody and his band.
Later he became a studio musician in Hollywood, California.Jenks began
in vaudeville and went on to a long career in movies and television,
mostly in comedy. He was one of the more familiar faces and voices of
the Hollywood Studio era. For almost ten years beginning in the early
1920s, Jenks was a song and dance man in vaudeville.In 1933, when
sound films had become the norm, and Broadway actors were moving to
Hollywood in droves, Jenks's flat, sarcastic delivery landed him a
film career. Usually a supporting actor, Jenks did appear occasionally
as a film lead for low-budget films for PRC. Jenks appeared in not a
few classics. In the Cary Grant-Rosalind Russell classic His Girl
Friday (1940), Jenks had his most famous role, as the cynical newsman
"Wilson." When television began, Jenks made a successful transition.
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