Frank Marvin Readick Jr. (November 6, 1896 — December 27, 1965) was an American radio and film actor. Born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, Readick was well known for his

evil laughter Evil laughter or maniacal laughter is manic laughter by a villain in fiction. The expression dates to at least 1860. "Wicked laugh" can be found even earlier, dating back to at least 1784. Another variant, the "sardonic laugh," shows up in 171 ...

that followed the introduction from ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!". Readick replaced James La Curto to be the narrator in the '' Detective Story Hour'' (the precursor of ''The Shadow'') in 1930, four months after the launch of the series when La Curto went for a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

role. Readick continued to portray the Shadow on ''The Blue Coal Radio Revue'' (1931-1932) and ''The Love Story Hour'' (1931-1932) before ''The Shadow'' was used as the title of a series. This signature line remained intact in ''The Shadow'' even after

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

succeeded Readick. He later played the doomed CBS reporter Carl Phillips in the 1938 radio production of ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

''. Readick modeled his performance on WLS reporter

Herbert Morrison Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the UK Cabinet as member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minis ...

's coverage of the

Hindenburg disaster The ''Hindenburg'' disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The German passenger airship LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' caught fire and was destroyed during its attemp ...

the previous year. Readick later appeared alongside his ''War of the World''s co-star and ''Mercury Theatre'' director

in ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

'' (1941) and '' Journey into Fear'' (1943). On old-time radio, Readick was a member of the casts of ''

The FBI in Peace and War ''The FBI in Peace and War'' was a radio crime drama inspired by Frederick Lewis Collins' book of the same name. The idea for the show came from Louis Pelletier who wrote many of the scripts. Among the show's other writers were Jack Finke, Ed Ada ...

'' and '' The Campbell Playhouse''. He had the title roles in ''

The Adventures of Smilin' Jack ''The Adventures of Smilin' Jack'' is an aviation comic strip that first appeared October 1, 1933, in the ''Chicago Tribune'' and ended April 1, 1973. After a run of 40 years, it was the longest-running aviation comic strip. The strip was created ...

'' and ''Meet Mr. Meek'', and portrayed Knobby Walsh on ''

Joe Palooka ''Joe Palooka'' was an American comic strip about a heavyweight boxing champion, created by cartoonist Ham Fisher. The strip debuted on April 19, 1930 and was carried at its peak by 900 newspapers. It was cancelled in 1984. The strip was adapt ...

''. He was also known for ''House of Mystery'' (1931) and ''A Burglar to the Rescue'' (1931). He died in 1965 in the USA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Readick, Frank Jr. 1896 births 1965 deaths American male voice actors American male film actors Male actors from Seattle 20th-century American male actors