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Francis McDonald(1891-1968)

  • Actor
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Francis McDonald
Francis J. McDonald - not a name to bring ready recognition-but a look at the face reminds one of many old movie roles indeed. His career as an actor literally spanned from early silent films and the great silver screen era of sound film to follow on through the golden age of television. His screen credits, noticeable and small, amount to an amazing nearly 350 roles. Starting on stage, he was a slight but handsome leading man who entered films in 1913 and continued lead and featured romantic roles from contemporary to costume adventure into the 1920s. It was during this period that he married - and divorced - actress Mae Busch, most familiar for the many Laurel and Hardy comedies she did. MacDonald worked on Broadway briefly in only two plays (mid-1918). By the time he did his first totally sound film (late silent movies had intervals of background or short dialog sound), Burning Up (1930), MacDonald had 83 films under his belt. But into the 1930s, being older, his roles were turning toward shady characters of second order - and increasingly uncredited. With dark hair and mustache and beady eyes with a prominent nose, MacDonald fit well into many an ethnic or sneaky villain role and continued in demand. He got to know Cecil B. DeMille and had a regular featured character role in his long history of films beginning with The Plainsman (1936).

Still through the 1930s and 40s MacDonald averaged a steady five to ten films a year-dipping somewhat in the World War II years. Into the 1950s he was increasingly cast in one of his perennial staples, westerns, with roles already familiar to him: weaselly, tin horn gamblers, henchmen, but also dignified Indian chiefs. He was a natural to move into the incredibly popular western phenomenon that burst over the new medium of TV. He showed up in the spectrum of episodic oaters: from early Range Rider, Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok, and The Lone Ranger to later fare, such as, Have Gun-Will Travel, Wanted Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, the whole stable of Warner Bros. westerns at the end of the decade (Maverick, etc.), and The Virginian in the next. In the meanwhile there were some good character pieces in movies. Perhaps the most poignant being his last for DeMille's, The Ten Commandments (1956), where he had the small but showcase role as Simon, the old Jewish slave. Bedraggled and working in the clay pit - with Charlton Heston - he pleads for freedom for the Israelites - and gets a a trowel in the gut from a Egyptian guard for his trouble - dying heroically in Heston's arms - it is classic DeMille. And it was classic MacDonald - always ready to give a skillful and memorable performance.
BornAugust 22, 1891
DiedSeptember 18, 1968(77)
BornAugust 22, 1891
DiedSeptember 18, 1968(77)
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Photos76

William Haade, Richard Lane, Francis McDonald, and Stanley Ridges in Union Pacific (1939)
Henry Kolker and Francis McDonald in Union Pacific (1939)
Joel McCrea and Francis McDonald in Union Pacific (1939)
Francis McDonald in The Notorious Lady (1927)
Barbara Stanwyck, John Indrisano, Francis McDonald, Stephen McNally, and Philip Van Zandt in The Lady Gambles (1949)
Barbara Stanwyck and Francis McDonald in The Lady Gambles (1949)
Gary Cooper, Lane Chandler, Francis McDonald, and Barry Norton in The Legion of the Condemned (1928)
Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Vincent Price, George Sanders, George Bancroft, Gene Garrick, and Francis McDonald in Green Hell (1940)
Gary Cooper, Porter Hall, Francis McDonald, and Walter McGrail in The Plainsman (1936)
Francis McDonald in The Plainsman (1936)
Joseph Crehan, Roy Acuff, Allan Lane, Adele Mara, and Francis McDonald in Night Train to Memphis (1946)
Francis McDonald and Jack Mulhall in Mr. Dolan of New York (1917)

Known for

Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Anne Baxter, Yul Brynner, John Carradine, Yvonne De Carlo, John Derek, and Vincent Price in The Ten Commandments (1956)
The Ten Commandments
7.9
  • Simon
  • 1956
Frankie Darro, Lola Lane, Francis McDonald, and Jack Mulhall in Burn 'Em Up Barnes (1934)
Burn 'Em Up Barnes
6.5
  • Ray Ridpath - Henchman [Chs. 1-6]
  • 1934
John Gilbert in Monte Cristo (1922)
Monte Cristo
6.8
  • Benedetto
  • 1922
Dangerous Paradise (1930)
Dangerous Paradise
5.5
  • Ricardo
  • 1930

Credits

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Actor

  • Natalie Wood, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon in The Great Race (1965)
    The Great Race
    • (uncredited)
  • Perry Mason (1957)
    Perry Mason
  • James Drury, Doug McClure, and John McIntire in The Virginian (1962)
    The Virginian
  • Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Barbara Rush in Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
    Robin and the 7 Hoods
    • (uncredited)
  • Empire (1962)
    Empire
    • (as Francis J. McDonald)
  • Clint Walker in Cheyenne (1955)
    Cheyenne
  • Tales of Wells Fargo (1957)
    Tales of Wells Fargo
  • Robert Fuller and John Smith in Laramie (1959)
    Laramie
  • Robert Cummings and Murvyn Vye in The Bob Cummings Show (1961)
    The Bob Cummings Show
    • (as Francis J. McDonald)
  • Clu Gulager and Barry Sullivan in The Tall Man (1960)
    The Tall Man
    • (as Francis J. MacDonald, credit only)
  • Abel Fernandez, Nicholas Georgiade, Paul Picerni, and Robert Stack in The Untouchables (1959)
    The Untouchables
    • (as Francis J. MacDonald)
  • Henry Fonda in The Deputy (1959)
    The Deputy
  • The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955)
    The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
  • This Man Dawson (1959)
    This Man Dawson
  • Henry Fonda and Gene Barry in Bat Masterson (1958)
    Bat Masterson
    • (as Francis J. McDonald)

Personal details

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    • August 22, 1891
    • Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA
    • September 18, 1968
    • Hollywood, California, USA(complications from a heart attack)
    • January 13, 1930 - September 18, 1968 (his death)
  • Publicity listings
    • 6 Articles

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