Nicholas Benton “Ben” Alexander III (June 27, 1911 – July 5, 1969) was an American motion picture actor, who started out as a child actor in 1916. He is best remembered for his role as Officer Frank Smith in the Dragnet franchise.
Life and career
Ben Alexander was born in Goldfield, Nevada, and raised in California. Alexander made his screen debut at age of five in Every Pearl a Tear. He went on to portray Lillian Gish’s young brother in D. W. Griffith’s Hearts of the World.[citation needed]
After a number of silent films, he retired from screen work, but came back for the World War I classic, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), in which Alexander received good notices as an adult actor as “Kemmerick”, the tragic amputation victim. He played lead and second lead roles in many low-budget films throughout the 1930s.[citation needed]
He found a new career as a successful radio announcer in the late 1940s, including a stint on the Martin and Lewis program. Alexander also acted on radio, playing Philip West in the 1939–40 soap opera Brenthouse on the Blue Network.
In 1952, Jack Webb, actor-producer-director of Dragnet, needed a replacement for Barton Yarborough, who had played Detective Romero opposite Webb’s Sgt. Joe Friday. Webb selected Alexander, but had to wait until he was available. A few actors filled in as Friday’s partners until Alexander appeared in the newly created role of Officer Frank Smith, first in the radio series, then reprised the role in film and on television. The popular series ran until 1959. When Webb revived it in 1966, he wanted Alexander to rejoin him, but Alexander had just signed to play the role of Sgt. Dan Briggs on the weekly ABC series Felony Squad.
In 1969, Alexander was found dead of heart attack in his Los Angeles home when his wife and children returned from a camping trip. He was cremated.
For his contribution to the entertainment industry, Ben Alexander was awarded three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television, radio, and movies.
Other
Alexander owned and operated the Ben Alexander Ford car dealership in the Highland Park neighborhood of northeast Los Angeles, from around 1953 until his death in 1969, and a San Francisco branch was formed in 1959.
In the mid-1950s, Ben Alexander’s Dream House Motel was located at 1815 North Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Alexander ran a talent show for young people out of Oakland. The Ben Alexander Talent Show was broadcast on Oakland’s KTVU TV, a local station in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 1960, he was a semi-regular panelist on Ernie Kovacs’ offbeat game show, Take a Good Look, as well as hosting his own daytime audience-participation show, About Faces, both airing on ABC.
Filmography
Each Pearl a Tear (1916)
The Little American (1917) – Bobby Moore
What Money Can’t Buy (1918) – Child
Hearts of the World (1918) – The Boy’s Littlest Brother
The Lady of the Dugout (1918) – The Lady’s Son
The Heart of Rachael (1918) – Jim
The One Woman (1918) – Boy
Little Orphant Annie (1918) – Orphan
The Turn in the Road (1919) – Bob
The White Heather (1919) – Donald Cameron
Josselyn’s Wife (1919) – Tommy Josselyn
The Hushed Hour (1919) – Gondy
The Mayor of Filbert (1919) – Carroll
Tangled Threads (1919) – ‘Sonny Boy’ Wayne
The Better Wife (1919) – Little Dick
The Triflers (1920) – Rupert Holbrook
The Family Honor (1920) – Little Ben Tucker
The Notorious Mrs. Sands (1920) – Child
Through Eyes of Men (1920) – Little Billy
Blue Streak McCoy (1920)
The Heart Line (1921) – The Child
In the Name of the Law (1922) – Harry O’Hara – age 9, prologue
Penrod and Sam (1923) – Penrod Schofield
The Yankee Spirit (1923, Short)
Jealous Husbands (1923) – Bobbie (later called Spud)
Boy of Mine (1923) – Bill Latimer
Barnum Junior (1924, Short)
Junior Partner (1924, Short)
A Self-Made Failure (1924) – Sonny
Dirty Hand (1924, Short)
Flaming Love (1925) – Benny Keene
Pampered Youth (1925) – George Minafer, as a child
Wildcat Willie (1925, Short)
The Shining Adventure (1925) – Benny
The Highbinders (1926) – Roy Marshall
Scotty of the Scouts (1926) – Scotty Smith
Fighting for Fame (1927) – Danny Ryan
Two to One (1927)
The Divine Lady (1929) – Young Lieutenant (uncredited)
The Lunkhead (1929, Short) – Ben – Billy’s Chum
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) – Franz Kemmerich
Many a Slip (1931) – Ted Coster
It’s a Wise Child (1931) – Bill Stanton
Are These Our Children? (1931) – Nicholas ‘Nick’ Crosby
Suicide Fleet (1931) – Kid
A Wise Child (1931)
Mystery Ship (1931)
High Pressure (1932) – Geoffrey Weston
The Wet Parade (1932) – Evelyn’s Friend (uncredited)
Tom Brown of Culver (1932) – Cpl. John Clarke
The Vanishing Frontier (1932) – Lucien Winfield
Alias the Professor (1933, Short)
Mister Mugg (1933, Short)
Roadhouse Queen (1933, Short) – Junior Knox
Daddy Knows Best (1933, Short) – Billy Todd
What Price Innocence? (1933) – Tommy Harrow
This Day and Age (1933) – Morry Dover
Stage Mother (1933) – Francis Nolan
Once to Every Woman (1934) – Joe
The Most Precious Thing in Life (1934) – Gideon ‘Gubby’ Gerhart
The Life of Vergie Winters (1934) – Barry Preston
Flirtation (1934) – Dudley
Grand Old Girl (1935) – Tom Miller
Born to Gamble (1935) – Paul Mathews
Reckless Roads (1935) – Wade Adams
Annapolis Farewell (1935) – Adams
Splendor (1935) – Western Union Messenger (uncredited)
The Fire Trap (1935) – Bob Fender
Hearts in Bondage (1936) – Eggleston
Red Lights Ahead (1936) – George Wallace
Shall We Dance (1937) – Evans – a Bandleader (uncredited)
The Legion of Missing Men (1937) – Don Carter
The Outer Gate (1937) – Bob Terry
Western Gold (1937) – Bart
The Life of the Party (1937) – Orchestra Leader (uncredited)
The Spy Ring (1938) – Capt. Don Mayhew
Russian Dressing (1938, Short) – Band Leader Bill Farraday
Mr. Doodle Kicks Off (1938) – Larry Weldon
Convict’s Code (1939) – Jeff Palmer
Buried Alive (1939) – Riley
The Leather Pushers (1940) – Dan Brown, Announcer
Criminals Within (1941) – Sgt. Paul, the Traitor
Dragnet (1954) – Officer Frank Smith
Man in the Shadow (1957) – Ab Begley
Television
The Joseph Cotten Show, also known as On Trial (1 episode, 1957)
The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (January 24, 1957)
Dragnet (regular, 1952–1959) – Officer Frank Smith
Take A Good Look (Semi-regular 1959–1960) – Himself / Panelist
About Faces (1960–1961) – Himself – Host
Batman (1 episode, 1966) – Detective Beside Trash Can
Felony Squad (Unknown episodes, 1966–1969) – Desk Sgt. Dan Briggs
Judd, for the Defense (1 episode, 1969)
Writer
Dragnet (Co-writer, 6 episodes)
External Links
Actor Ben Alexander (actor) – Wikipedia
