Fredd Wayne
Fredd Wayne was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades on Broadway, radio, television, movies, and recorded works. He appeared on television as a guest star, and portrayed Benjamin Franklin, originally in his one-man show Benjamin Franklin, Citizen, on television, recordings, and live appearances.
Early life
Fredd Wayne was born in Akron, Ohio to working class parents Celia and salesman Charles Theodore Wiener. Two days after graduating from John R. Buchtel High School he took a bus to Hollywood in hopes of working for cousin Lester Cowan who had produced My Little Chickadee and several Marx Brothers films. He recalls sitting in the lobby of Columbia Studios for three days before Cowan dismissed him with: “I got nuthin’ for you, kid.” After Wayne's money and graduation watch were stolen, a neighbor who worked at Warner Brothers drove him to the studio where he was hired as a mail boy for $18 a week. This first Hollywood job, and the rush of delivering film to movie sets, trading “hellos” with Bette Davis, and watching John Garfield and Errol Flynn perform, ended when the U.S. Army called him in and asked his pre-draft occupation. Without hesitation, he answered: “I was under contract to Warner Brothers Studio.”World War II
Wayne was made a Special Service non-com for the 253rd Infantry Regiment of the 63rd Infantry Division. For eighteen months, in addition to traditional military training, he ran movie projectors, wrote, produced, and performed in soldier shows in Mississippi, attended courses at Fort McPherson, Georgia, and Washington & Lee University in Virginia ; Wayne also acted as booking agent of a hugely successful GI orchestra led by Ralph Cerasuolo, a sophisticated jazz violinist formerly known in New York City as “Leonardo of the Stork Club”. Despite a 14-year age difference they became close friends.Elements of the 63rd Infantry Division, including Wayne and the band, landed in Marseilles, France, on December 8, 1944, and were rushed north to support Americans locked in the Battle of the Bulge. Wayne was assigned to GRO to retrieve fallen soldiers. On April 2, 1945, he discovered Cerasuolo’s body, killed by a single sniper shot to the forehead.
''G.I. Carmen''
Shortly after VE-Day, Wayne was directed to put together an entertainment for the men. In response to his notices 45 combat veterans of his 253rd Infantry Regiment turned in rifles for grease paint to create G.I. Carmen – destined to become, with the exception of This Is The Army, the most successful G.I. show of World War II. With half the cast as women in ill-fitting costumes and scraggly wigs, the show was to run for only three nights in Tauberbishofsheim, Germany but its raucous, bawdy humor, robust singing, and dancing made it a roaring success that the Army recognized at once. In addition to writing, producing, and co-directing duties Wayne had to play the title role when no other G.I. would touch it. The cast included several pre-war professionals, including Hal Edwards, who had danced in 20th Century Fox musicals, and Ray Richardson, a tenor with the Chicago Lyric Opera. Most of Ralph’s band, now led by Marty Faloon, were onstage as well, among them guitarist Charlie Byrd. After raiding Stadttheater Heidelberg for colorful costumes, proper wigs, and scenery, the army sent the troupe on an extended eight-month tour throughout Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, and Austria including stops at leading theatres in Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Rome, and Vienna. The show closed in Nuremberg on January 24, 1946. GI Carmen’s cast was kept together throughout 142 performances before audiences totaling well over 250,000 G.I. and allied troops and countless civilians, including Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in Paris and Marlene Dietrich in Berlin.Professional career
Back in the states Fredd Wayne settled in New York with a job at J. C. Penney offices by day and acting classes at the American Theatre Wing after hours. . Roles there included Polonius in Hamlet at age 23. As an usher at Broadway’s Alvin Theatre Wayne watched Ingrid Bergman star in Joan of Lorraine, and fetched tea for José Ferrer during the latter’s celebrated run in Cyrano de Bergerac. Following the Cyrano run Ferrer cast Wayne in his production of the Czech play The Insect Comedy whose performers included Ray Walston, Werner Klemperer, and Don Murray. Fredd Wayne’s big Broadway break came when he went to audition for Shakespeare’s As You Like It starring Katharine Hepburn but was mistakenly pulled in to read for the Johnny Mercer – Bobby Dolan musical Texas, L’il Darlin’. His G.I. Carmen musical skills helped land a leading role. Critical success led to more Broadway credits such as Not For Children by Elmer Rice and following Ray Walston as Luther Billis opposite Mary Martin in the original London production of South Pacific. Wayne’s success in London – including a concurrent extended engagement at The Berkeley Cabaret – was followed by a role opposite Gene Kelly in MGM’s Crest of the Wave, filmed in England and the Channel Islands. It also led to American productions of South Pacific playing Billis opposite Gisele MacKenzie in Dallas, Vikki Carr in Kansas City, and Jane Powell in St. Paul, Minnesota. Returning to New York Wayne co-starred opposite Ralph Bellamy in Oh Men!, Oh Women! and became embroiled in the Golden Age of Television, when dramas and comedies were not videotaped or filmed but miscues were part of the tension and grandeur of performing live before millions of people. Wayne appeared in such shows as Playhouse 90, Studio One, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, The Defenders, Kraft Theatre, Danger, We, the People, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Victor Borge Show, and The Nurses. He also made six guest appearances on Perry Mason, all shot in Hollywood, including the role of murder victim Jack Hardisty in the 1958 episode, "The Case of the Buried Clock".Benjamin Franklin, Citizen
Out of these creative years Fredd Wayne developed the role for which he’s probably best known. The idea came to him while flying to New York from Los Angeles in 1964; he went straight to the New York Public Library from JFK to begin research and was directed to the Editor of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. After six weeks of study and appearances as Franklin on 'Tonight' and 'Today' shows he began breaking in his one-man show Benjamin Franklin, Citizen in upstate New York and Ohio. By the time he reached Los Angeles the production was running smoothly and Wayne was hired to play Franklin in a two-part Bewitched on ABC-TV.Wayne’s Benjamin Franklin, Citizen also had a long run in Hollywood’s Ivar Theatre which led to a well received U.S. State Department tour of Europe and subsequent college tours throughout America during the Bicentennial era and beyond. His work as Franklin on Bob Hope's America is 200 Years Old...And There's Still Hope! recorded on May 4, 1976, led to appearances in multiple roles on four subsequent Bob Hope Television Specials including an appearance as Brandon Tartikoff opposite Brandon Tartikoff. Fredd Wayne has also appeared frequently as Franklin at IBM, GE, and other industrial conventions. His recording of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was selected as one of the top audiotapes of 1997.Writings
As a writer Fredd Wayne’s articles have appeared in The New York Times, Playboy, The Los Angeles Times, Performing Arts, Westways, The Arizona Republic, and numerous other publications. Wayne has titled his upcoming fictionalized memoir “Blinky's Great Adventure”.Death
Wayne died at an assisted-living facility in Santa Monica on August 27, 2018, aged 93. He is survived by his wife, Maryanne, and his sister, Fran.Selected stage credits
| Year | Production | Role | Notes |
| 1945 | G.I. Carmen | Carmen | 142 performances in Germany, Belgium, France, Italy and Austria, June 9, 1945 - January 24, 1946, produced by the U.S. Army |
| 1947 | Hamlet | Polonius | American Theatre Wing |
| 1948 | The Insect Comedy | José Ferrer, director | |
| 1949 | Texas, Li'l Darlin' | Brewster Ames II | 293 performances, Nov 25, 1949 - Sep 9, 1950 |
| 1951 | Not for Children | Hugh McHugh | by Elmer Rice |
| 1952 | South Pacific | Luther Billis | original London production, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane |
| 1952 | Have Tuxedo, Will Travel | himself | a one-man show at The Berkeley Cabaret |
| 1954 | Oh Men!, Oh Women! | with Ralph Bellamy | |
| 1964 | Benjamin Franklin, Citizen | Benjamin Franklin | in theatres throughout the United States and Europe |
| 1969 | Go Fly a Kite | conceiver / actor | Tambellini's Gate Theatre |
| 1984 | A Taste for the Forbidden | Drama-Logue Award for performance, L.A.A.T. Half-Stage |
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role | Notes |
| 1954 | Crest of the Wave | Seaman N. Sam 'Shorty' Kaminsky | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios, with Gene Kelly |
| 1956 | The Man Is Armed | Egan | Republic Pictures |
| 1956 | The Girl He Left Behind | Sgt. Sheridan | Warner Bros., with Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood |
| 1958 | Torpedo Run | Orville 'Goldy' Goldstein | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| 1961 | Twenty Plus Two | Harris Toomey | Allied Artists Pictures |
| 1962 | The Spiral Road | Van Bloor | Universal International Pictures, with Rock Hudson and Gena Rowlands |
| 1964 | Seven Days in May | Henry Whitney | Uncredited, with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster |
| 1964 | Sex and the Single Girl | Frank | Uncredited, with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood |
| 1966 | Chamber of Horrors | Charlie Benton | Uncredited, with Patrick O'Neal, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Suzy Parker |
| 1974 | Hangup | Felder | Warner Bros. |
| 1981 | American Pop | voiced 7 roles | Uncredited, Bakshi Productions, animated motion picture |
| 1987 | Dutch Treat | the Judge | |
| 1989 | A More Perfect Union: America Becomes a Nation | Benjamin Franklin | |
| 1999 | Man on the Moon | Bland Doctor |
Television appearances
| Year | Program | Role | Notes |
| 1949 | We the People | ||
| 1949 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Season 1, Episode 28: What Makes Sammy Run?, with José Ferrer | |
| 1949 | Kraft Theatre | performed in productions in 3 separate seasons: 1949, 1954 & 1955 | |
| 1950 | Musical Comedy Time | Sir Evelyn Oakley | Season 1, Episode 1: Anything Goes |
| 1951 | The Victor Borge Show | ||
| 1951 | Pulitzer Prize Playhouse | Detour, with Dorothy Gish | |
| 1951 | Pulitzer Prize Playhouse | Corb | The Thousand Yard Look, with Richard Kiley |
| 1951 | Pulitzer Prize Playhouse | The Wisdom Tooth, with Howard Freeman | |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse | Season 1, Episode 4: Still Life, with Margaret Sullavan | |
| 1952 | Lux Video Theatre | Bert Oliver | Season 2, Episode 23: For Goodness Sake |
| 1952 | Celanese Theatre | Season 1, Episode 13: Saturday's Children, with Mickey Rooney | |
| 1953 | The Ford Television Theatre | Season 1, Episode 39: The People Versus Johnston | |
| 1953 | Studio One | The Agent | Season 6, Episode 11: Confessions of a Nervous Man |
| 1954 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Season 4, Episode 6: Evening Star | |
| 1954 | Kraft Theatre | March Hare | Season 7, Episode 36: Alice in Wonderland, with Art Carney |
| 1954 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Season 6, Episode 2: A Dream of Summer, with Jackie Cooper | |
| 1954 | Omnibus | Master Adam Fumie | Season 3, Episode 2: The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife, with Alistair Cooke |
| 1954 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Season 5, Episode 16: Ring Twice for Christmas | |
| 1955 | Kraft Theatre | Season 8, Episode 29: Now, Where Was I?, with Robert Webber | |
| 1955 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Season 6, Episode 1: The Strange War of Sergeant Krezner, with Richard Kiley | |
| 1956 | Matinee Theatre | Season 1, Episode 52: The Century Plant, with Constance Ford | |
| 1956 | Front Row Center | Bill Tyler | Season 2, Episode 6: The Teacher and Hector Hodge |
| 1956 | Front Row Center | Dr. Humphries | Season 2, Episode 4: The Ainsley Case |
| 1956 | Lux Video Theatre | George | Season 6, Episode 23: Here Comes the Groom |
| 1956 | Star Stage | Season 1, Episode 32: Being Nice to Emily | |
| 1956 | Medic | Sydney Phillips | Season 2, Episode 26: The Good Samaritan |
| 1956 | Lux Video Theatre | Pat | Season 6, Episode 41: A Marriage Day |
| 1956 | Matinee Theatre | Season 2, Episode 20: The Alumni Reunion | |
| 1956 | Wire Service | O'Brien | Season 1, Episode 3: Hideout |
| 1956 | The Joseph Cotten Show aka On Trial | Asst. District Attorney | Season 1, Episode 4: Twice in Peril |
| 1956 | Gunsmoke | Sam Kertcher | Season 2, Episode 5: Young Man with a Gun |
| 1956 | G.E. True Theater | Hugh | Season 5, Episode 9: The Charlatan |
| 1956 | Schlitz Playhouse | Pollack | Season 6, Episode 11: Washington Incident |
| 1956 | The Millionaire | Harry Denison | Season 3, Episode 15: The Mildred Kester Story |
| 1956 | The Danny Thomas Show aka Make Room for Daddy | Rod Fowler | Season 4, Episode 14: Liz's Boyfriend |
| 1957 | Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal | Episode: Brenthurst Story | |
| 1957 | Lux Video Theatre | Inspector | Season 7, Episode 20: The Undesirable |
| 1957 | G.E. True Theater | Clyde | Season 5, Episode 21: The Town with a Past, with James Stewart |
| 1957 | Schlitz Playhouse | Cyrano de Bergerac | Season 6, Episode 36: The Sword |
| 1957 | Code 3 | Sgt. Bill Hollis | Season 1, Episode 12: Oil Well Incident |
| 1957 | Code 3 | Sgt. Bill Hollis | Season 1, Episode 14: Suspect Number One |
| 1957 | Code 3 | Sgt. Bill Hollis | Season 1, Episode 17: The Trap |
| 1957 | Code 3 | Lt. Bill Hollis | Season 1, Episode 28: The Man with Many Faces |
| 1957 | Telephone Time | Hicks | Season 3, Episode 7: Under Seventeen |
| 1957 | Alcoa Theatre | Lt. Brackett | Season 1, Episode 4: On Edge |
| 1957 | Maverick | Carl Jimson | Season 1, Episode 7: Relic of Fort Tejon |
| 1958 | Richard Diamond, Private Detective | Tom Tanner | Season 2, Episode 4: Double Jeopardy |
| 1958 | Perry Mason | Ernie Tanner | Season 1, Episode 19: The Case of the Haunted Husband |
| 1958 | Maverick | Kingsley | Season 1, Episode 18: Diamond in the Rough |
| 1958 | M Squad | Eddie Rocco | Season 1, Episode 20: Dolly's Bar |
| 1958 | Perry Mason | Jack Hardisty | Season 2, Episode 6: The Case of the Buried Clock |
| 1959 | The Grand Jury | Jordan | Season 1, Episode 31: Baby for Sale |
| 1959 | Deadline | Gilgo | Episode: Massacre |
| 1959 | State Trooper | Frank Nagel | Season 3, Episode 20: While Jerome Burned |
| 1959 | 21 Beacon Street | Season 1, Episode 6: The Execution | |
| 1959 | Tightrope | Danny | Season 1, Episode 1: Getaway Day |
| 1959 | Bourbon Street Beat | Lt. Fontaine | Season 1, Episode 1: The Taste of Ashes |
| 1959 | Whirlybirds | Season 3, Episode 31: Man, You Kill Me | |
| 1959 | The Untouchables | Joe Carroll | Season 1, Episode 4: The George 'Bugs' Moran Story |
| 1959 | Sugarfoot | 'Bull' Borgland | Season 3, Episode 5: The Canary Kid, Inc. |
| 1960 | The Loretta Young Show | Ed Crawley | Season 7, Episode 14: The Grenade |
| 1960 | Goodyear Theatre | Season 3, Episode 8: Omaha Beach - Plus 15 | |
| 1960 | The Alaskans | Burton | Season 1, Episode 14: The Trial of Reno McKee |
| 1960 | ' | Lt. Barnes | Season 2, Episode 23: Vanishing Point |
| 1960 | Perry Mason | William Gowrie | Season 3, Episode 18: The Case of the Singing Skirt |
| 1960 | The Man from Blackhawk | Garrison | Season 1, Episode 33: Trial by Combat |
| 1960 | Hawaiian Eye | Edward Demming | Season 1, Episode 29: Typhoon |
| 1960 | Markham | Commissioner Fred Clayton | Season 1, Episode 48: The Silken Cord |
| 1960 | The Untouchables | ||
| 1960 | Surfside 6 | Allan Abbott | Season 1, Episode 1: Country Gentleman |
| 1960 | The Ann Sothern Show | Chuck Dunphy | Season 3, Episode 4: The Pinch-Hitter |
| 1960 | 77 Sunset Strip | Mike Ransome | Season 3, Episode 7: The Laurel Canyon Caper |
| 1961 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Ben | Season 4, Episode 17: A Quiet Night in Town: Part 1 |
| 1961 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Ben | Season 4, Episode 18: A Quiet Night in Town: Part 2 |
| 1961 | The Twilight Zone | Barney | Season 2, Episode 17: Twenty Two |
| 1961 | Perry Mason | Roger Phillips | Season 4, Episode 17: The Case of the Wintry Wife |
| 1961 | Bachelor Father | Bart Anderson | Season 4, Episode 32: Hilda Rides Again |
| 1961 | Miami Undercover | Joe Danzig | Season 1, Episode 29: Room 9 |
| 1961 | The Real McCoys | Mr. Perry | Season 4, Episode 37: How to Win Friends |
| 1961 | The Twilight Zone | Paul Malloy | Season 3, Episode 2: The Arrival |
| 1961 | Dr. Kildare | Salesman | Season 1, Episode 4: Winter Harvest |
| 1961 | Hawaiian Eye | Tony Ward | Season 3, Episode 11: Two for the Money |
| 1962 | Bachelor Father | Don Lambert | Season 5, Episode 18: How Howard Won His C |
| 1962 | Alcoa Premiere | Ted Morley | Season 1, Episode 14: Mr. Easy, with Fred Astaire |
| 1962 | Cain’s Hundred | Marty | Season 1, Episode 27: A Creature Lurks in Ambush |
| 1962 | Perry Mason | ||
| 1962 | The Doctors and the Nurses | Dr. Mason | Season 1, Episode 8: A Strange and Distant Place |
| 1962 | The Defenders | District Attorney | Season 2, Episode 15: Death Takes the Stand |
| 1963 | Rawhide | Calhoun | Season 5, Episode 22: Incident of the Pale Rider |
| 1963 | Perry Mason | ||
| 1963 | The Bill Dana Show | Cliff | Season 1, Episode 9: The Poker Game |
| 1964 | Grindl | Season 1, Episode 16: Grindl, Private Eye | |
| 1964 | Perry Mason | ||
| 1964 | An Hour with Robert Goulet | himself | TV special |
| 1965 | Hogan's Heroes | Sgt. Kristman | Season 1, Episode 16: Anchors Aweigh, Men of Stalag 13 |
| 1966 | My Three Sons | Dr. Killebrew | Season 6, Episode 30: The Wrong Robbie |
| 1966 | Hawk | Detective | Season 1, Episode 1: Do Not Mutilate or Spindle |
| 1966 | Bewitched | Benjamin Franklin | Season 3, Episode 13: My Friend Ben |
| 1966 | Bewitched | Benjamin Franklin | Season 3, Episode 14: Samantha for the Defense |
| 1967 | The Monroes | Winton | Season 1, Episode 18: To Break a Colt |
| 1969 | Daniel Boone | Benjamin Franklin | Season 6, Episode 5: The Printing Press |
| 1969 | Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color | Jim Durden | Season 16, Episode 8: Secrets of the Pirates' Inn: Part 1 |
| 1969 | Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color | Jim Durden | Season 16, Episode 9: Secrets of the Pirates' Inn: Part 2 |
| 1970 | The Return of the Smothers Brothers | himself | TV special |
| 1970 | Bracken's World | Ned Singer | Season 2, Episode 7: Hey, Gringo... Hey, Ponco |
| 1970 | Nanny and the Professor | Mr. Jackwith | Season 2, Episode 10: The Visitor |
| 1971 | The Young Lawyers | Kimber | Season 1, Episode 24: I've Got a Problem |
| 1971 | Room 222 | Season 2, Episode 26: A Sort of Loving | |
| 1971 | Ironside | Arthur Green | Season 5, Episode 14: Class of '57 |
| 1972 | Cade's County | Mark Walters | Season 1, Episode 21: Jessie |
| 1973 | Banacek | Stein | Season 1, Episode 8: The Two Million Clams of Cap'n Jack |
| 1973 | A Picture of Us | George Washington | TV movie won Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming |
| 1973 | Nightside | TV movie with John Cassavetes and Alexis Smith | |
| 1974 | The Phantom of Hollywood | Clyde | TV movie with Jack Cassidy and Jackie Coogan |
| 1975 | ' | TV movie with Richard Basehart and Harrison Ford | |
| 1976 | Law and Order | Sgt. Haran | TV movie with Darren McGavin and Keir Dullea |
| 1978 | The Rockford Files | Curtis Meyer | Season 4, Episode 15: The Gang at Don's Drive-In |
| 1978 | Rhoda | ||
| 1978 | The New Adventures of Wonder Woman | J.J. MacConnell | Season 3, Episode 7: Time Bomb |
| 1980 | The Dream Merchants | Mr. Humber | TV movie with Mark Harmon, Vincent Gardenia and Morgan Fairchild |
| 1980 | Trapper John, M.D. | Pathologist | Season 2, Episode 4: Call Me Irresponsible |
| 1981 | Bob Hope's 30th Anniversary Special | ||
| 1981 | Strike Force | Season 1, Episode 6: Night Nurse | |
| 1982 | The Day the Bubble Burst | TV movie with Richard Crenna | |
| 1982 | Quincy M.E. | Michael Gurelnik | Season 7, Episode 15: Clear the Air |
| 1982 | Lou Grant | Charles Bolsa | Season 5, Episode 18: Law |
| 1982 | Bob Hope Special | ||
| 1982 | One Day at a Time | Ralph | Season 8, Episode 4: Catcher in the Mud |
| 1982 | Voyagers! | Ben Franklin | Season 1, Episode 3: Bully and Billy |
| 1985 | Bob Hope Special | Hal Linden, Donna Mills, Morgan Fairchild and George Burns | |
| 1985 | It’s a Living | State Department Man | Season 3, Episode 7: From Russia with Love |
| 1985 | Bob Hope Special | as NBC President Brandon Tartikoff | with Lynda Carter, Danny Thomas, Brandon Tartikoff and Milton Berle |
| 1986 | Simon & Simon | Benjamin Franklin | Season 5, Episode 24: The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree |
| 1986 | St. Elsewhere | Pat McGroyn | Season 5, Episode 7: Up and Down |
| 1987 | Cagney & Lacey | ||
| 1988 | Matlock | Warren Coates | Season 2, Episode 13: The Reunion |
| 1988 | Cagney & Lacey | Factory Manager | Season 7, Episode 12: Shadow of a Doubt |
| 1989 | Small Wonder | Mr. Willis | Season 4, Episode 21: The Tattletale |
| 1992 | Cheers | Dr. Bramwell | Season 10, Episode 20: Smotherly Love |
| 1992 | The Trials of Rosie O’Neill | Season 2, Episode 13: Heartbreak Hotel | |
| 1994 | Gerald Fradin | TV movie | |
| 1998 | Encore! Encore! | Leland | Season 1, Episode 6: The Dairy with Nathan Lane, Joan Plowright and Glenne Headly |