Frank Bank (April 12, 1942 – April 13, 2013) was an American
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, particularly known for his role as
Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford on the 1957–1963
situation comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
Leave It to Beaver''.
Bank was cast in fifty episodes of ''Leave It to Beaver'' between January 24, 1958, until the series finale on May 30, 1963. Thereafter, he was cast as Clarence Rutherford in 101 episodes of the series sequel, ''
The New Leave It to Beaver'', which aired on
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
from 1985 to 1989.
Beginning in 1973, Bank became a
bond
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...
broker
A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...
in his native
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. His autobiography, ''Call Me Lumpy: My Leave It To Beaver Days and Other Wild Hollywood Life,'' was published in 1997.
Bank died of cancer on April 13, 2013, in Rancho Mirage, California, one day after his 71st birthday. He was survived by his third wife, Rebecca, four daughters, and five grandchildren.
He is interred at
Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California. Many Jews from the entertainment industry are buried here. The cemetery is known for Al Jolson's elaborate tomb (design ...
in
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
.
Television roles
* ''
Ford Television Theatre
''General Motors Theatre'' (also known as ''CBC Theatre, Encounter, Ford Television Theatre,'' and ''General Motors Presents'') was a Canadian television anthology drama series of television plays, which ran on CBC Television under various titl ...
'' as Clarence Miggs in "Life, Liberty and Orrin Dooley" (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
, 1952)
*''Father Knows Best'' as unnamed high school student (uncredited) in "The Persistent Guest" (March, 1956)
*''
Leave It to Beaver'' as Clarence Rutherford (
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
,
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, 1958–1963)
*''
Cimarron City
Cimarron City is a town in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 150 at the 2010 census, a 39.4 percent gain over the figure of 110 in 2000. '' as Henry Purdy (uncredited) in "The Bitter Lesson" (NBC, 1959)
*''
Bachelor Father'' (1962) as Jim Estabrook in "The Twain Shall Meet" (ABC, 1962)
*''
87th Precinct
The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories by American author Ed McBain (a writing pseudonym of Evan Hunter). McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several o ...
'' as Punk (uncredited) in "Idol in the Dust" (NBC, 1962)
*''Life with Archie'' as Archie (unsold pilot, 1962)
*''The ''
Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour
''The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour'' is an American television panel game show that combined two panel games of the 1960s and 1970s – ''Match Game'' and ''Hollywood Squares'' – into an hour-long format.
The series ran from October 31, ...
'' as himself (December 1983)
*''
Still the Beaver'' (CBS-TV film), subsequently known as ''
The New Leave It to Beaver'' (1983–1989) – Clarence Rutherford
[
]
Films
* ''Cargo to Capetown'' (uncredited, 1950)
* ''The Story of Will Rogers
''The Story of Will Rogers'' (titled onscreen as ''The Story of Will Rogers as told by His Wife'')is a 1952 American Comedy Western film biography of humorist and movie star Will Rogers, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Will Rogers Jr. as ...
'' as a young Will Rogers
William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...
(1952)
* '' Leave It to Beaver'' (cameo, 1997)[
]
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank, Frank
1942 births
2013 deaths
Male actors from Los Angeles
Deaths from cancer in California
American memoirists
American male television actors
Jewish American male actors
20th-century American male actors
Writers from Los Angeles
People from Rancho Mirage, California
American male film actors
Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
21st-century American Jews