- Known For
- Acting
- Born
- February 22, 1899
- Place of Birth
- Salina, Kansas, USA
- Died
- November 7, 1943
Dwight Frye
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Dwight Iliff Frye (February 22, 1899 – November 7, 1943) was an American stage and screen actor, noted for his appearances in the classic horror films Dracula, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. Frye was born in Salina, Kansas. Nicknamed "The Man with the Thousand-Watt Stare," and "The Man of a Thousand Deaths," he specialized in the portrayal of mentally unbalanced characters, including his signature role, the madman Renfield in Tod Browning's 1931 version of Dracula. Later that same year he also played the hunchbacked assistant in the film Frankenstein. (This character, named Fritz, is often mistakenly referred to as Ygor, a character originated by Béla Lugosi in the later film Son of Frankenstein.) Frye had a prominent role in the 1933 horror film The Vampire Bat, starring Lionel Atwill, Melvyn Douglas, and Fay Wray, in which he played He…
Filmography
movieLegacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies
2025 · Self - (archive footage)
movieThe Many Faces of Dracula
2000 · Renfield (archive footage)
movieUniversal Horror
1998 · (archive footage)
movieDracula in the Movies
1992 · (archive footage)
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
movieFrankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
1991 · Fritz / Karl (archive footage)
movieDangerous Blondes
1943 · Hoodlum (uncredited)
movieSubmarine Alert
1943 · Haldine (uncredited)
movieDead Men Walk
1943 · Zolarr
movieHangmen Also Die!
1943 · Hostage
movieFrankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
1943 · Rudi a Vasarian
movieThe Ghost of Frankenstein
1942 · Villager at Meeting / Grave Robber (flashback) (uncredited)
movieDon't Talk
1942 · Ziggy (uncredited)
movieDevil Pays Off
1941 · Radio Operator
movieThe Blonde from Singapore
1941
movieMystery Ship
1941 · Rader
movieFlying Blind
1941 · Leo Qualen
movieThe Son of Monte Cristo
1940 · Pavlov's Secretary (Uncredited)
movieSky Bandits
1940 · Speavy
moviePhantom Raiders
1940 · Eddie Anders
movieGangs of Chicago
1940 · Pinky
movieDrums of Fu Manchu
1940 · Prof. Anderson
movieThe Man in the Iron Mask
1939 · Fouquet's Valet
movieAdventure in Sahara
1938 · Gravet, 'the Jackal'
movieThe Night Hawk
1938 · John Colley
movieThink It Over
1938 · Arsonist
movieFast Company
1938 · Sidney Z. Wheeler
movieSinners in Paradise
1938 · Marshall (uncredited)
movieInvisible Enemy
1938 · Alex
movieWho Killed Gail Preston?
1938 · Mr. Owen
movieThe Shadow
1937 · Vindecco
movieSomething to Sing About
1937 · Easton
movieThe Man Who Found Himself
1937 · Hysterical patient
movieSea Devils
1937 · SS Paradise Radio Operator (uncredited)
movieBeware Of Ladies
1936 · Swanson
movieAlibi for Murder
1936 · McBride
movieFlorida Special
1936 · Jenkins
movieThe Great Impersonation
1935 · Roger Unthank (uncredited)
movieThe Crime of Doctor Crespi
1935 · Dr. Thomas
movieAtlantic Adventure
1935 · Spike Jonas
movieBride of Frankenstein
1935 · Karl
movieThe Invisible Man
1933 · Reporter (uncredited)
movieThe Circus Queen Murder
1933 · Flandrin
movieThe Vampire Bat
1933 · Herman Gleib
movieA Strange Adventure
1932 · Robert Wayne
movieThe Western Code
1932 · Dick Loomis
movieBy Whose Hand?
1932 · Chick Lewis
movieAttorney for the Defense
1932 · James Wallace
movieFrankenstein
1931 · Fritz
movieThe Black Camel
1931 · Jessop the Butler (uncredited)
movieThe Maltese Falcon
1931 · Wilmer Cook
movieDrácula
1931 · Renfield (archive footage) (uncredited)
movieDracula
1931 · Renfield
movieMan to Man
1930 · Vint Glade
movieThe Doorway to Hell
1930 · Monk, Gangster
movieThe Night Bird
1928 · Wedding Guest (uncredited)
movieUpstream
1927 · Theatre Audience Spectator
movieExit Smiling
1926 · Balcony Heckler (uncredited)