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.
Don Francks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 28, 1932[1] |
| Died | April 3, 2016 (aged 84)[1] |
| Other names | Iron Buffalo |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, musician, singer |
| Years active | 1954–2016 |
| Spouses | Nancy Sue Johnson
(m. 1962; div. 1967)Lili Clark (m. 1968) |
| Children | 5, including Cree Summer and Rainbow Sun Francks |
Early life
editDon 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
editActing
editFrancks' 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
editFrancks 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
editFrancks 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
editAn 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
editFilm
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit- ACTRA Award for Best Dramatic Performance, Drying Up the Streets and The Phoenix Team, 1980 and 1981[10]
Discography
edit| 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
edit- 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
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Les Wiseman - TV Topics - Bluesman's cartoon goes to series" by Liz Pogue, Times Colonist (6 Oct, 1996) Retrieved from ProQuest 345624682
- ^ "RCMP Constable Bill Mitchell". Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "For Don Francks, humanity comes first" by Jim Bearden, The Globe and Mail (2 July, 1980) Retrieved from ProQuest 386906575
- ^ "This Land". CBC Radio. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "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
- ^ "History Canada sets launch date for Gangland Undercover" by Etan Vlessing at playbackonline.ca
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Bearden, Jim; Linda Jean Butler (August 1980). "Don Francks Full Circle". Cinema Canada. p. 30. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Toronto Jazz". National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ Forbes-Roberts, Ron (2006). One Long Tune: The Life and Music of Lenny Breau. University of North Texas. p. 124. ISBN 9781574412307.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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
- ^ Loriggio, Paola (23 December 2009). "Oakville boy, 5, dies in fire". The Toronto Star. Canada. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- ^ "Bentley Clay Francks-Slaughter". The Toronto Star. 12 January 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Stone finds beauty on Lie with Me" by Marise Strauss at playbackonline.ca
- ^ "Deals: CBC Radio-Canada, First Run Features, Cineflix Rights, JG Brothers" by Lauren Malyk at playbackonline.ca
- ^ "RPM GMP Albums - June 28, 1965" (PDF).
