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Don Francks

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Don Francks
Born(1932-02-28)February 28, 1932[1]
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada[1]
DiedApril 3, 2016(2016-04-03) (aged 84)[1]
Toronto, Ontario, Canada[1]
Other namesIron Buffalo
Occupation(s)Actor, musician, singer
Years active1954–2016
Spouses
Nancy Sue Johnson
​
​
(m. 1962; div. 1967)​
Lili Clark
​
(m. 1968)​
Children5, including Cree Summer and Rainbow Sun Francks

Don Harvey Francks (February 28, 1932 – April 3, 2016),[1] also known by his stage name Iron Buffalo, was a Canadian actor, musician and singer.

Early life

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Don Harvey Francks was born on February 28, 1932, and was adopted shortly after his birth.[1] His mother worked at a music store and his father was an electrician. As a child, he performed on Vancouver radio doing imitations of singers. After dropping out of high school at age 15, he worked in several jobs.

Career

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Acting

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Francks' acting career began with CBC Television as a regular on Burns Chuckwagon from the Stampede Corral (1955–55)[2] and Riding High (1955),[3] then in the drama The Fast Ones (1959). In 1957 he had a part in the US series The Adventures of Tugboat Annie (actually filmed in Toronto, Ontario), then back to Canada in 1958 for Cannonball and Long Shot (1959). In 1959–60 he starred in the CBC-TV series R.C.M.P., playing Constable Bill Mitchell.[4] In 1968 he co-starred with Fred Astaire and Petula Clark in the film version of Finian's Rainbow.[1]

On February 16, 1964, he appeared on Broadway in the title role of the musical Kelly, as a daredevil planning to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.[2] The show was the first on Broadway in a generation to close on opening night.[1] During the 1960s, he had roles on the US television programs Mission: Impossible, Jericho, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, and Mannix. His most famous film part was in Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Finian's Rainbow. He acted on Broadway in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and Kelly.

This Land (1970–86) was a CBC-TV documentary series on Canadian nature, wildlife, natural resources, and life in remote communities. Francks was the narrator.[5] He portrayed writer Grey Owl, returning fifty years after his death to be disturbed by the ecological deterioration (Episode "Land of Shadows", first aired 2 August 1983).[6]

From 1997 to 2001, he played "Walter" in La Femme Nikita (TV series).[7] Early television credits include: Mission: Impossible, Wild Wild West, and several other episodic television appearances. In the 2015 six-part series Gangland Undercover on the History Channel,[8] he played "Lizard". His film work includes The Big Town, My Bloody Valentine and Johnny Mnemonic.[9]

Music

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Francks composed songs and played trombone, drums, and flute. He performed in jazz clubs such as George's Spaghetti House in Toronto and the Village Vanguard in New York City, where he recorded the album Jackie Gleason Says No One in This World Is Like Don Francks[10] (Kapp, 1963). In New York City he recorded Lost...and Alone (Kapp, 1965).[11]

In August 1962 his avant-garde jazz group Three debuted unrehearsed at the Purple Onion coffeehouse in Toronto, Canada. Francks, Lenny Breau on guitar, and Eon Henstridge on double bass were joined on stage by tap dancer Joey Hollingsworth. The evening was recorded live by Breau's manager, George B. Sukornyk, but wasn't released until 2004 under the name At the Purple Onion (Art of Life, 2004). The band performed regularly in Toronto and New York City and appeared in the National Film Board documentary Toronto Jazz, which included rehearsals and performances by Three and two other groups. .[12] Francks and Breau briefly reprised Three in early 1968 in Toronto with bassist Dave Young in place of Eon Henstridge, who had died the year before.[13] In 1999, Francks appeared in the documentary The Genius of Lenny Breau.

In 1963, Franks released No One in This World Is Like Don Francks, his first solo album, recorded at the Village Vanguard in New York City. The title of the album derived from a remark made by Jackie Gleason when the trio performed on the April 23, 1963 The Jackie Gleason Show playing "Bye Bye Blackbird". Two years later, he recorded his second album, Lost... and Alone, with orchestral arrangements by Patrick Williams. He recorded his final album, 21st Century Francks, in 2002 at the Top o' the Senator in Toronto. The album was released in 2014.

Voice actor

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Francks played Archie Goodwin with Mavor Moore as Nero Wolfe for a 1982 series on Canadian radio. He provided the voice of "Skunk" in Gene Simmons' animated television show, My Dad the Rock Star.[9]

According to differing sources, either Francks[14] or Gabriel Dell[15] was the uncredited actor providing the voice of Boba Fett, a Mandalorian bounty hunter, in the Star Wars Holiday Special. Francks, credited, voiced the role of Boba Fett in an episode of Star Wars: Droids. He voiced several characters in Inspector Gadget, along with his daughter, Cree Summer, who voiced Penny during the first season of the show. He provided the voice for Mok Swagger in the 1983 Canadian animated film Rock and Rule, and the voice of Sabretooth on X-Men. He also voiced both Thomas "House" Conklin & Sergeant Carl Proctor on the 1988 Police Academy animated series.[9]

Personal life

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An avid motorcycle rider, Don Francks also had a collection of twelve antique cars, mostly Model-T Ford racing cars dated 1912 to 1927.[11][16] He supported Greenpeace[1] and the Tibetan independence movement. After quitting alcohol at the age of 21, Francks smoked marijuana, performing a song called "Smoking Reefers."[2] As a spokesman for Other Voices (Canadian TV series) in the mid-1960s, he investigated a boy's murder at Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.[9]

Later in life, Francks had a son, Bentley Clay Francks-Slaughter, who died in a house fire late in 2008.[17][18]

Francks died in Toronto on April 3, 2016, of lung cancer.[19]

Selected filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1968 Finian's Rainbow Woody Mahoney
1981 Heavy Metal Grimaldi / Co-Pilot / Barbarian (voice) Segments: "Grimaldi", "B-17", "Taarna"
1981 My Bloody Valentine Chief Jake Newby
1983 Rock & Rule Mok (voice)
1987 The Big Town Carl Hooker
1994 Paint Cans Maitland Burns
1995 Johnny Mnemonic Hooky
1996 Bogus Dr. Surprise
2005 Lie with Me Joshua [20]
2007 I'm Not There Hobo Joe
2015 He Never Died The Man with the Goatee One of his final roles, portraying Death himself
2016 Murray The Second Time Around [21]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1959-1960 R.C.M.P. Constable Bill Mitchell recurring role
1966-1967 Jericho Captain Franklin Shepphard recurring role
1968 Mission Impossible Nicholas Groat Episode: “A Game of Chess”
1978 Star Wars Holiday Special Boba Fett (voice) Television film
Uncredited
1983 Inspector Gadget Big M.A.D Agent / M.A.D Agent / Dr. Claw (voice) 5 episodes
1985-1986 Star Wars: Ewoks Umwak / Dulok Shaman (voice)
1985 Star Wars: Droids Jann Tosh / Kybo Ren / Boba Fett (voice) 13 episodes
1988-1989 Police Academy Proctor / Thomas "House" Conklin (voice) 64 episodes
1991 Swamp Thing Anton Arcane (voice) 5 episodes
1991-1995 Road to Avonlea Abe Pike 4 episodes
1992-1996 X-Men Sabretooth / Graydon Creed Sr. / Puck / Shaman / Phalanx (voice) 17 episodes
1996 Goosebumps Swamp Hermit Episode: "The Werewolf of Fever Swamp" Parts 1 & 2
1997-2001 La Femme Nikita Walter 96 episodes
1998 Donkey Kong Country (voice)
1998 Silver Surfer Kalok (voice) Episode: "The Origin of the Silver Surfer: Part 1"
1998 Sam & Max: Freelance Police Santa Claus (voice) Episode: "Christmas Bloody Christmas"
2010-2011 The Adventures of Chuck and Friends Deep (voice) 2 episodes

Videogames

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Year Title Role Notes
1996 X-Men vs. Street Fighter Sabretooth
2000 Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes Uncredited
X-Men: Mutant Academy
2001 X-Men: Mutant Academy 2

Awards

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  • ACTRA Award for Best Dramatic Performance, Drying Up the Streets and The Phoenix Team, 1980 and 1981[10]

Discography

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Year Title Catalogue Notes
1963 Jackie Gleason says... "No one in this world is like Don Francks" Kapp
1965 Lost... and Alone Kapp reached #4 in Canada.[22]
1988 Mesa: The Four Directions Books for Ears
1991 Bob's Favorite Street Songs ("Put Down the Duckie" only) A&M
1999 Jazzsong unissued
2000 The Insanity of One Man Books for Ears
2004 At the Purple Onion Art of Life
2014 21st Century Francks Iron Buffalo Productions

Bibliography

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  • Heyn, Christopher. "A Conversation with Don Francks". Inside Section One: Creating and Producing TV's La Femme Nikita. Introduction by Peta Wilson. Los Angeles: Persistence of Vision Press, 2006. p. 100–105; ISBN 0-9787625-0-9.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gardner, David. "Don Francks". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Historica Canada. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Mackay, Susan (16 May 2018). "Singer, actor Don Francks was a fountain of endless creativity". The Globe and Mail. Canada. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Les Wiseman - TV Topics - Bluesman's cartoon goes to series" by Liz Pogue, Times Colonist (6 Oct, 1996) Retrieved from ProQuest 345624682
  4. ^ "RCMP Constable Bill Mitchell". Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  5. ^ "For Don Francks, humanity comes first" by Jim Bearden, The Globe and Mail (2 July, 1980) Retrieved from ProQuest 386906575
  6. ^ "This Land". CBC Radio. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  7. ^ "It's a guilty pleasure!; Pouting blond bombshell Nikita gets a new life over at ONtv" by Bonnie Malleck, The Record (20 Jan, 2000) [Final Edition] Retrieved from ProQuest 275684012
  8. ^ "History Canada sets launch date for Gangland Undercover" by Etan Vlessing at playbackonline.ca
  9. ^ a b c d Wilkerson, Cynthia. "Interview with Gene Glazer". Cyn by the Sea. Archived from the original on 9 March 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  10. ^ a b Bearden, Jim; Linda Jean Butler (August 1980). "Don Francks Full Circle". Cinema Canada. p. 30. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Bennest, Jack. "[Untitled Don Francks biography]". Museum of Radio in British Columbia. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Toronto Jazz". National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  13. ^ Forbes-Roberts, Ron (2006). One Long Tune: The Life and Music of Lenny Breau. University of North Texas. p. 124. ISBN 9781574412307.
  14. ^ Britt, Ryan (November 17, 2016). "38 Years Ago Today, Boba Fett Was Spotted for the First Time". Inverse. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  15. ^ "Cartoon Characters, Cast and Crew for The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)". The Big Cartoon DataBase. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  16. ^ "Actor or grease monkey? Don Francks loves both His collection of Model T runabouts spans 14 years" by Peter Bailey, Toronto Star (15 March, 1997) [Final Edition] Retrieved from ProQuest 437645636
  17. ^ Loriggio, Paola (23 December 2009). "Oakville boy, 5, dies in fire". The Toronto Star. Canada. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  18. ^ "Bentley Clay Francks-Slaughter". The Toronto Star. 12 January 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019.
  19. ^ Vlessing, Etan (4 April 2016). "Actor, Jazz Musician Don Francks Dies at 84". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  20. ^ "Stone finds beauty on Lie with Me" by Marise Strauss at playbackonline.ca
  21. ^ "Deals: CBC Radio-Canada, First Run Features, Cineflix Rights, JG Brothers" by Lauren Malyk at playbackonline.ca
  22. ^ "RPM GMP Albums - June 28, 1965" (PDF).
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