Frank McHugh

American actor (1898-1981)

For the English cricketer, see Francis McHugh.

Frank McHugh

From trailer for Four Daughters (1938)

Born|

Francis Curry McHugh

(1898-05-23)May 23, 1898

Homestead, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Died| September 11, 1981(1981-09-11) (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)

The Roaring Twenties (1939) with McHugh, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart Red Skelton, Carol Sydes and McHugh on The Red Skelton Show, 1959

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

## Early years

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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|

Year  | Film  | Role  | Director  | Notes

|
|
|
|

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

[edit]

1. ^ U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.
2. ^ 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.
3. ^ a b c d Dennis, Ken (Winter 2017–18). "Frank McHugh: Master of Mirth". Films of the Golden Age (91): 42–50.
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ Ed A. McHugh at the Internet Broadway Database
6. ^ "June DeLong". The Unsung Joe. July 16, 2010.
7. ^ a b c "Warner and F.N. Players". Variety. June 25, 1930. p. 30. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ Cox, Jim (July 17, 2009). The A to Z of American Radio Soap Operas. Scarecrow Press. p. 103\. ISBN 978-0-8108-6349-1.
10. ^ 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.
11. ^ 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."
12. ^ McCabe, John (1997). Cagney. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 128\. ISBN 0-679-44607-9.
13. ^ "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."
14. ^ "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.

## External links

[edit]

* Biography portal
* Pennsylvania portal
* New York City portal
* Los Angeles portal
* California portal
* Connecticut portal
* Theatre portal
* Film portal
* Television portal

* Media related to Frank McHugh at Wikimedia Commons
* Frank McHugh at the Internet Broadway Database
* Frank McHugh at IMDb
* New York Public Library blog on Frank McHugh
* Frank McHugh at the TCM Movie Database
* Frank McHugh at Find a Grave
* Frank McHugh and Family papers, 1894-1969, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
* Literature on Frank McHugh

Authority control databases

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* ISNI
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National|

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Other|

* IdRef
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*[m.]: married