Georgetown University graduate Frank Fenton established himself as an actor on the New York and London stage. Fenton's Broadway credits include Susan and God and Philadelphia Story; he also toured extensively with Katherine Cornell. He launched his film career as a screenwriter at Fox Studios in 1935, spending two decades contributing to the scripts of such major productions as Out of the Past (1947) and The Wings of Eagles (1957). His first screen-acting assignment was as seedy burlesque tenor (and erstwhile murder suspect) Russell Rogers in Lady of Burlesque (1943). Fenton's movie roles ranged from a secondary villain for Laurel and Hardy (1944's The Big Noise) to a take-charge military officer for director Billy Wilder (1947's A Foreign Affair). Frank Fenton enjoyed a rare starring role in PRC's Isle of Forgotten Sins (1943), in which he and John Carradine were somewhat incongruously cast as virile deep-sea divers.
by Hal Erickson
biography
