Biography
Frank Jenks (1902–1962) was an American actor and vaudevillian. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he played in bands as a teenager before attending the University of Southern California and performing in vaudeville as a song-and-dance man and musician for about ten years from the early 1920s.
He began his film career in the 1930s, appearing in supporting comic roles in numerous movies, often as reporters, cabbies or henchmen. His most prominent film part was as the newsman Wilson in His Girl Friday (1940). He also appeared in Swing Time (1936), Christmas in Connecticut (1945), Woman on the Run (1950) and Friendly Persuasion (1956).
Jenks transitioned successfully to television in the 1950s, with a recurring role as Uthas P. Garvey in the series Colonel Humphrey Flack (1953–54). He made guest appearances in shows including Adventures of Superman (1952), Perry Mason (1957) and The Amazing Colossal Man (1957).
