AncientFaces Your browser does not support JavaScript!
Please enable JavaScript to view the entire contents of this page.

Frank McHugh 1898 - 1981

Frank Curray McHugh was born on May 23, 1898 at Pittsburgh, PA in Homestead, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania United States, and died at age 83 years old on September 11, 1981 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, CT. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Frank McHugh.

Frank Curray McHugh

May 23, 1898

Pittsburgh, PA in Homestead, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 15120, United States

September 11, 1981

Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States

Male

Looking for another Frank Mchugh?

Frank McHugh Frank McHugh (1898 - 1981)

ADVERTISEMENT BY ANCESTRY.COM

This page exists for YOU
and everyone who remembers Frank.

Share what you know,
even ask what you wish you knew.

Invite others to do the same,
but don't worry if you can't...

Someone, somewhere will find this page,
and we'll notify you when they do.

Frank Curray McHugh's History: 1898 - 1981

Uncover new discoveries and connections today by sharing about people & moments from yesterday.

- Discover how AncientFaces works.

Introduction

Frank McHugh - Famous character actor in many movies. American film actor Francis Curray McHugh, was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. Born: May 23, 1898, Homestead, PA Died: September 11, 1981, Greenwich, CT Spouse: Dorothy Spencer (m. 1933–1981) Siblings: Kitty McHugh, Matt McHugh, Nora McHugh, James McHugh, Edward McHugh TV shows: The Bing Crosby Show, F Troop.
05/23

1898

Birthday

May 23, 1898

Birthdate

Pittsburgh, PA in Homestead, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 15120, United States

Birthplace

ADVERTISEMENT BY
Military Service

World War II 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. 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 commands 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.”
Professional Career

Career Leaving the family stage company at age 17, McHugh went to Pittsburgh as a leading man and stage manager at the Empire Theater there. He spent nine years in stock companies and road troupes before appearing on Broadway. McHugh debuted on Broadway in The Fall Guy, written by George Abbott and James Gleason in 1925.[6] He also appeared in Show Girl (1929), a musical. In that same year, he made his first film, If Men Played Cards as Women Do, a short produced by Paramount. First National Pictures hired him as a contract player in January 1930. McHugh played everything from leading man to sidekick. He often provided comic relief, particularly as genial—or obnoxious— inebriates. A wheezy, drawn-out mocking laugh, accompanied by a waving, admonitory finger, was his trademark. He appeared in more than 150 films and television productions and worked with almost every star at Warner Bros. A close friend of James Cagney, he appeared in more Cagney movies than any other actor—eleven films between 1932 and 1953. Their friendship lasted until McHugh's death. Cast as Father Timothy O'Dowd in the 1944 Bing Crosby film, Going My Way, McHugh later played William Jennings Depew in the 1962 episode "Keep an Eye on Santa Claus" in the ABC television series, Going My Way, starring Gene Kelly, and loosely based on the earlier film. From 1954 to 1956, he starred in the radio program Hotel For Pets. By the 1950s, his film career had begun to decline, as evinced by his smaller role in the 1959 film Career. 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, which starred Andrew Duggan. On radio, McHugh had the role of Fairchild Finnegan in Phone Again, Finnegan (1946-1947). He also co-starred in Hotel for Pets (1954-1956). 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, Lynne Overman, and Frank Morgan.
09/11

1981

Death

September 11, 1981

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut United States
Death location

ADVERTISEMENT BY
Obituary

Frank McHugh died on September 11, 1981, in Greenwich, Connecticut at 83 years old. He was born on May 23, 1898 in Pittsburgh, PA, Homestead, Pennsylvania. Filmography If Men Played Cards as Women Do (1929, Short) as 3rd Card Player The Dawn Patrol (1930) as Flaherty Top Speed (1930) as Tad Jordan Bright Lights (1930) as A. Hamilton Fish, a reporter College Lovers (1930) as Speed Haskins The Widow from Chicago (1930) as Slug O'Donnell Going Wild (1930) as 'Ricky' Freeman Kiss Me Again (1930) as Francois Millie (1931) as John Holmes The Front Page (1931) as McCue Up for Murder (1931) as Collins Men of the Sky (1931) That's News to Me (1931, Short) Traveling Husbands (1931) as Pinkie The Hot Spot (1931, Short) as Peter Burke The Great Junction Hotel (1931, Short) as Peeping Tom Bad Company (1931) as Doc - Henchman The Big Scoop (1931, Short) Corsair (1931) as 'Chub' Hopping The Wide Open Spaces (1931, Short) as Matt - a Gambler Union Depot (1932) as The Drunk High Pressure (1932) as Mike Donahey Extra! Extra! (1932, Short) The Crowd Roars (1932) as Spud Connors The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932) as Skeets - a Reporter The Dark Horse (1932) as Joe Blessed Event (1932) as Reilly Life Begins (1932) as Ringer Banks One Way Passage (1932) as Skippy Parachute Jumper (1933) as Toodles Cooper Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) as Jim Grand Slam (1933) as Philip 'Speed' McCann The Telegraph Trail (1933) as Corporal Tippy Private Jones (1933) as 'Greasy' - the Cook Elmer, the Great (1933) as Healy High-Hips Lilly Turner (1933) as David 'Dave' Dixon Ex-Lady (1933) as Hugo Van Hugh Hold Me Tight (1933) as Billy Tomorrow at Seven (1933) as Clancy Professional Sweetheart (1933) as Speed Dennis Footlight Parade (1933) as Francis Havana Widows (1933) as Duffy Son of a Sailor (1933) as 'Gaga' The House on 56th Street (1933) as Chester Hunt Convention City (1933) as Will Goodwin Not Tonight, Josephine (1934, Short) as Napoleon Fashions of 1934 (1934) as Snap Heat Lightning (1934) as Frank - the chauffeur Merry Wives of Reno (1934) as Al Let's Be Ritzy (1934) as Bill Damroy Robert Smarty (1934) as George Lancaster Return of the Terror (1934) as Joe Hastings Here Comes the Navy (1934) as Droopy Happiness Ahead (1934) as Tom 6 Day Bike Rider (1934) as Clinton Hemmings Maybe It's Love (1935) as Willie Sands Devil Dogs of the Air (1935) as Crash Kelly Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935) as Humbolt Prentiss The Irish in Us (1935) as Mike O'Hara Page Miss Glory (1935) as Ed Olson A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) as Quince - the Carpenter Stars Over Broadway (1935) as Offkey Cramer Freshman Love (1936) as Coach Hammond Moonlight Murder (1936) as William Snowed Under (1936) as Orlando Rowe Bullets or Ballots (1936) as Herman McCloskey Stage Struck (1936) as Sid Three Men on a Horse (1936) as Erwin Trowbridge Ever Since Eve (1937) as 'Mabel' DeCraven Marry the Girl (1937) as David 'Party' Partridge Mr. Dodd Takes the Air (1937) as 'Sniffer' Sears Submarine D-1 (1937) as 'Lucky' Swing Your Lady (1938) as Popeye He Couldn't Say No (1938) as Lambert T. Hunkins Little Miss Thoroughbred (1938) as Tod Harrington Four Daughters (1938) as Ben Crowley Boy Meets Girl (1938) as Rossetti Valley of the Giants (1938) as 'Fingers' McCarthy Wings of the Navy (1939) as Scat Allen Dodge City (1939) as Joe Clemens Daughters Courageous (1939) as George Indianapolis Speedway (1939) as 'Spud' Connors Dust Be My Destiny (1939) as Caruthers On Your Toes (1939) as Paddy Reilly The Roaring Twenties (1939) as Danny Green Four Wives (1939) as Ben Crowley The Fighting 69th (1940) as 'Crepe Hanger' Burke Alex in Wonderland (1940, Short) as Narrator (voice, uncredited) Virginia City (1940) as Mr. Upjohn 'Til We Meet Again (1940) as Rockingham T. Rockingham I Love You Again (1940) as 'Doc' Ryan City for Conquest (1940) as 'Mutt' Four Mothers (1941) as Ben Crowley Back Street (1941) as Ed Porter Manpower (1941) as Omaha All Through the Night (1942) as Barney Her Cardboard Lover (1942) as Chappie Champagne Going My Way (1944) as Father Timothy O'Dowd Marine Raiders (1944) as Sgt. Louis Leary Bowery to Broadway (1944) as Joe Kirby A Medal for Benny (1945) as Edgar Lovekin State Fair (1945) as McGee The Hoodlum Saint (1946) as Three Finger The Runaround (1946) as Wally Quayle Little Miss Big (1946) as Charlie Bryan Easy Come Easy Go (1947) as Carey Carnegie Hall (1947) as John Donovan The Velvet Touch (1948) as Ernie Boyle Mighty Joe Young (1949) as Windy Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949) as Mr. Kilcoyne Paid in Full (1950) as Ben - Bartender The Tougher They Come (1950) as Gig Rafferty The Pace That Thrills (1952) as Rocket Anderson My Son John (1952) as Father O'Dowd It Happens Every Thursday (1953) as Fred Hawley A Lion Is in the Streets (1953) as Frank Rector There's No Business Like Show Business (1954) as Eddie Dugan The Last Hurrah (1958) as Festus Garvey Say One for Me (1959) as Jim Dugan Career (1959) as Charlie Gallagher The Spiral Staircase (1961, TV Movie) as Constable Williams Inside Danny Baker (1963, TV Movie) as Mr. Johansen A Tiger Walks (1964) as Bill Watkins Easy Come, Easy Go (1967) as Captain Jack 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)

ADVERTISEMENT BY
Looking for more information?
share

Memories

below