Charles Reser Frank (born April 17, 1947) is an American actor noted for playing Bret Maverick's cousin Ben Maverick in the 1978 TV movie '' The New Maverick'' with James Garner and Jack Kelly, and in the short-lived 1979 television series '' Young Maverick''. Both featured Frank's real-life wife Susan Blanchard as Ben Maverick's girlfriend.

Career

From 1970 to 1974 (and again in 1988 and 1995), Frank played Dr. Jeff Martin on the ABC soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

''. In 2006, it was announced that the character would be taken over by John James, formerly of ABC's '' Dynasty'' series. He also appeared in two episodes of '' M*A*S*H'' and once on the CBS family drama, '' Three for the Road''. In 1977, Frank costarred with Deborah Winters and

Claude Akins Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor with a long career on stage, screen, and television. He was best known as Sheriff Lobo on the 1979–1981 television series ''B.J. and the Bear'', and l ...

in the television horror film, '' Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo'', directed by Stuart Hagmann. The same year, he played the murder victim in the ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

'' episode entitled, "Try And Catch Me". Also in 1977, Frank played Todd Seymour in the '' Hawaii Five-O'' episode "Practical Jokes Can Kill You". In the second season of '' Barney Miller'' he appeared in the episode "Massage Parlor". In 1979, he appeared as Lester Hackett in four episodes in the CBS

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

'' The Chisholms''; when the production resumed in 1980, he was replaced in the role by Reid Smith. In 1982, Frank portrayed independently wealthy

Stanley Beck Stanley Beck (born June 5, 1936) is an American film producer and actor of the stage, television, and film. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayal of Stanly in the 1969 film '' John and Mary'' and Artie Silver in the 1974 film '' Len ...

on the short lived series '' Filthy Rich'', a comedic send-up of '' Dallas'' and '' Dynasty''. He costarred with Dennis Weaver in CBS's short-lived (1983–84) ''

Emerald Point N.A.S. ''Emerald Point N.A.S'' is an American primetime soap opera created by ''Dynasty''s Richard and Esther Shapiro which premiered on CBS on Monday, September 26, 1983. The series revolved around the lives of personnel stationed on a naval air stati ...

''. Frank played Jack Warren, who was married to Susan Dey's character, Celia Mallory, who in the series divorces him to marry another lieutenant, Simon Adams, played by Richard Dean Anderson, who later played the namesake character on ABC's '' MacGyver''. Between 1977 and 1985, he made four appearances on '' The Love Boat''. His first appearance as Jim Wright made him the first love interest for Julie on the series. His film credits include '' The One and Only'' (1978), '' The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2'' (1978) and ''

Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry ''Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry'' is a 1986 American made-for-television romantic comedy film directed by George Schaefer and starring Katharine Hepburn and Harold Gould which premiered on CBS on Easter Sunday, March 30, 1986. It tells the story ...

'' (1986). In 1983 Frank played astronaut Scott Carpenter in the movie version of Tom Wolfe's novel '' The Right Stuff''. He also appeared as the husband of his real-life wife Susan Blanchard in the 1987 film ''

Russkies ''Russkies'' is a 1987 American comedy-drama film starring Whip Hubley and Leaf Phoenix, directed by Rick Rosenthal with cinematography by Reed Smoot. Plot A few nights before Independence Day, three 12-year old military brats (Danny, Adam, ...

''. In 2004, Frank narrated '' C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America'', a mockumentary based in an alternate timeline in which the Confederacy won the American Civil War.

Personal life

On the set of ''

'' Frank met his wife Susan Blanchard, who played his character's wife, Mary Kennicott Martin. They married in 1977 and have one child.

References

*King, Susan (2003). "Looking back at a film with 'The Right Stuff'; Director Philip Kaufman and some of his stars revisit the making of the 1983 space-race saga." '' Los Angeles Times''. June 7. *Smith, Cecil (1979). "Husband-Wife Co-Stars: New Maverick Faces Long Odds." ''Los Angeles Times''. November 26. *Wakefield, Dan (1976). ''All Her Children''. New York: Doubleday.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Charles 1947 births Living people American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors People from Olympia, Washington Male actors from Seattle Male actors from Los Angeles Middlebury College alumni