Frank Converse
- Actor
- Soundtrack
A brawny, firm-jawed, sandy-haired player of 60s and 70s primetime TV,
Frank Converse seemed to be one of those handsome tough-guy action
figures that could go by the wayside after the demise of their famous
series. Instead, this stage-trained actor persevered as a
well-respected, all-purpose character actor in a career that has now
passed its fourth decade.
Born on May 2, 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri, Frank received his early
education at the Phillips Andover Academy in Andover, Massachusetts,
and earned his BFA degree in drama in 1962 at the Carnegie Institute of
Technology in Pittsburgh. In the 1960s he built up his Shakespearean
resume with roles in "King Lear", "Caesar and Cleopatra", "Hamlet",
"The Comedy of Errors", "Richard III", "Henry V" and "Much Ado About
Nothing" before making his 1966 Broadway debut in "First One Asleep,
Whistle", which closed that same day. By this time he had set his
sights on film but it was strong-armed TV drama that made him a name.
1967 was a banner year for Frank. Not only did he appear to good
advantage in the films
Hour of the Gun (1967) as Virgil
Earp, and the Southern-baked melodrama
Hurry Sundown (1967), he earned
surprise stardom in his first TV vehicle
Coronet Blue (1967). Probably
best remembered for this short-lived series (filmed in 1965, but
televised as a summer replacement series from May to September 1967),
Converse played the very mysterious Michael Alden, who was roughed up
and dumped unceremoniously into the New York harbor by would-be
assassins. Left for dead and having lost his memory, the only key to
his past are the code words "Coronet Blue". Although audiences never
found out just what those words meant (the show ended abruptly and
without a proper conclusion), they at least now knew the name Frank
Converse.
From there the actor ventured on (still in a New York City setting)
with the police drama
N.Y.P.D. (1967). He fared better
this time around alongside co-stars
Jack Warden and
Robert Hooks as three plainclothes
detectives tracking down the city's most virulent. This show lasted
until 1969. His third and last major series co-starred burly trucker
Claude Akins in the big-rig
action-adventure Movin' On (1974).
In all three series, Converse owned a quiet, reserved, somewhat
detached quality that invited "mystery man" appeal. During this stage
of his popularity he starred or co-starred in a number of mini-movies
including
Dr. Cook's Garden (1971)
with Bing Crosby and
Blythe Danner,
A Tattered Web (1971),
The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd (1974),
Killer on Board (1977),
Cruise Into Terror (1978)
and, most notably,
Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force (1978).
He also guested on such popular 70s shows as "The Mod Squad", "Medical
Center", "Police Story", "Rhoda" "The Love Boat", "Baa Baa Black Sheep"
and "The Bionic Woman". Despite his hectic TV schedule, he continued to
return to his theater roots appearing in the original cast of
John Guares bizarre black comedy "The House
of Blue Leaves" (1971) and earning challenging parts in "The Seagull"
in 1973 and "Hobson's Choice" in 1977.
Having achieved semi-hunk status as a result of his trio of series
work, Frank could have easily drifted away by decade's end. Instead he
continued to impressed on the stage. In the 1980s he made a strong
return to Broadway opposite Blythe Danner
in "The Philadelphia Story" (1980) and later appeared as Mitch opposite
Danner's Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1988). Other 80s
Broadway shows included "Brothers (1983) and "Design for Living"
(1984), the latter in which he replaced actor
Frank Langella. Other productions around
the country included that of "The Crucible", "Death of a Salesman", "A
Man for All Seasons", "Misalliance", "The Shadow Box", "Two for the
Seesaw" and even the musical "South Pacific".
On the TV/film front, Frank showed up in stalwart character form on a
number of daytime soaps during the 1980s ("One Life to Live") and the
1990s ("As the World Turns", "All My Children"). A return to series TV
with The Family Tree (1983)
and Dolphin Cove (1989) were
again very short-lived. More recently he showed up on stage as Doc Gibb
in "Our Town", which starred
Paul Newman and was later televised,
and has been a guest star on such shows as "Law & Order". He has been
married to his third wife, Tony-nominated stage actress
Maureen Anderman, since 1982. They have
two children along with his two children from a previous marriage.
Frank Converse seemed to be one of those handsome tough-guy action
figures that could go by the wayside after the demise of their famous
series. Instead, this stage-trained actor persevered as a
well-respected, all-purpose character actor in a career that has now
passed its fourth decade.
Born on May 2, 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri, Frank received his early
education at the Phillips Andover Academy in Andover, Massachusetts,
and earned his BFA degree in drama in 1962 at the Carnegie Institute of
Technology in Pittsburgh. In the 1960s he built up his Shakespearean
resume with roles in "King Lear", "Caesar and Cleopatra", "Hamlet",
"The Comedy of Errors", "Richard III", "Henry V" and "Much Ado About
Nothing" before making his 1966 Broadway debut in "First One Asleep,
Whistle", which closed that same day. By this time he had set his
sights on film but it was strong-armed TV drama that made him a name.
1967 was a banner year for Frank. Not only did he appear to good
advantage in the films
Hour of the Gun (1967) as Virgil
Earp, and the Southern-baked melodrama
Hurry Sundown (1967), he earned
surprise stardom in his first TV vehicle
Coronet Blue (1967). Probably
best remembered for this short-lived series (filmed in 1965, but
televised as a summer replacement series from May to September 1967),
Converse played the very mysterious Michael Alden, who was roughed up
and dumped unceremoniously into the New York harbor by would-be
assassins. Left for dead and having lost his memory, the only key to
his past are the code words "Coronet Blue". Although audiences never
found out just what those words meant (the show ended abruptly and
without a proper conclusion), they at least now knew the name Frank
Converse.
From there the actor ventured on (still in a New York City setting)
with the police drama
N.Y.P.D. (1967). He fared better
this time around alongside co-stars
Jack Warden and
Robert Hooks as three plainclothes
detectives tracking down the city's most virulent. This show lasted
until 1969. His third and last major series co-starred burly trucker
Claude Akins in the big-rig
action-adventure Movin' On (1974).
In all three series, Converse owned a quiet, reserved, somewhat
detached quality that invited "mystery man" appeal. During this stage
of his popularity he starred or co-starred in a number of mini-movies
including
Dr. Cook's Garden (1971)
with Bing Crosby and
Blythe Danner,
A Tattered Web (1971),
The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd (1974),
Killer on Board (1977),
Cruise Into Terror (1978)
and, most notably,
Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force (1978).
He also guested on such popular 70s shows as "The Mod Squad", "Medical
Center", "Police Story", "Rhoda" "The Love Boat", "Baa Baa Black Sheep"
and "The Bionic Woman". Despite his hectic TV schedule, he continued to
return to his theater roots appearing in the original cast of
John Guares bizarre black comedy "The House
of Blue Leaves" (1971) and earning challenging parts in "The Seagull"
in 1973 and "Hobson's Choice" in 1977.
Having achieved semi-hunk status as a result of his trio of series
work, Frank could have easily drifted away by decade's end. Instead he
continued to impressed on the stage. In the 1980s he made a strong
return to Broadway opposite Blythe Danner
in "The Philadelphia Story" (1980) and later appeared as Mitch opposite
Danner's Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1988). Other 80s
Broadway shows included "Brothers (1983) and "Design for Living"
(1984), the latter in which he replaced actor
Frank Langella. Other productions around
the country included that of "The Crucible", "Death of a Salesman", "A
Man for All Seasons", "Misalliance", "The Shadow Box", "Two for the
Seesaw" and even the musical "South Pacific".
On the TV/film front, Frank showed up in stalwart character form on a
number of daytime soaps during the 1980s ("One Life to Live") and the
1990s ("As the World Turns", "All My Children"). A return to series TV
with The Family Tree (1983)
and Dolphin Cove (1989) were
again very short-lived. More recently he showed up on stage as Doc Gibb
in "Our Town", which starred
Paul Newman and was later televised,
and has been a guest star on such shows as "Law & Order". He has been
married to his third wife, Tony-nominated stage actress
Maureen Anderman, since 1982. They have
two children along with his two children from a previous marriage.