Frank Shannon

infobox actor


caption=Frank Shannon and Buster Crabbe in "Flash Gordon"
birthdate=birth date|1874|7|27
birthplace=Ireland
deathdate=death date and age|1959|2|1|1874|7|27
deathplace=Hollywood, California
occupation=Film actor

Frank Connolly Shannon (July 27 1874 - February 1 1959) was an Irish-born actor and writer.

A stage actor and silent film pioneer, Shannon made his screen debut in 1913's "The Artist's Joke". He later appeared in dozens of films through the mid-1920s, including "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1913) and "Monsieur Beaucaire" (1924). Shannon then returned to the stage until beckoned back to Hollywood in 1931 and played a few substantial supporting parts, including Captain McTavish in Warner Bros.' "Torchy Blaine" series from 1937 to 1939, but he is most fondly remembered as the brilliant scientist Dr. Alexis Zarkov in the three "Flash Gordon" serials starring Buster Crabbe between 1936 and 1940. After that, he collaborated as a writer for the TV-Series "Tales of the Texas Rangers" between 1955 and 1958.

Shannon died in Hollywood, California, at the age of 84.

elected filmography

*"The Prisoner of Zenda" (1913)
*"Perjury" (1921)
*"Monsieur Beaucaire", as Badger (1924)
*"Rasputin and the Empress", as Professor Propotkin (1932)
*"'G' Men", as Police Chief (1935)
*"Flash Gordon", as Dr. Zarkov (1936)
*"Road Gang", as Chaplain (1936)
*"The Texas Rangers", as Captain Stafford (1936)
*"The Adventurous Blonde", as Cap. McTavish (1937)
*"Blondes at Work", as Cap. McTavish (1938)
*"Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars", as Dr. Zarkov (1938)
*"Torchy Gets Her Man", as Cap. McTavish (1938)
*"Torchy Blane in Chinatown", as Cap. McTavish (1939)
*"Torchy Runs for Mayor", as Cap. McTavish (1939)
*"Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite", as Cap. McTavish (1939)
*"Union Pacific", as Old Man (1939)
*"Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe", as Dr. Zarkov (1940)
*"The Phantom", as Professor Davidson (1943)
*"The Desert Hawk" (1944)

External links

*imdb name|id=0788284|name=Frank Shannon
*amg name|2:64812
*findagrave|9982509
* [http://flashgordon.ws/zarkov.htm Flash Gordon Web Site]