Sound Clips

Frank on the phone

From The Jack Benny Program:


Frank as a ticket agent – 1/7/45


Frank as a baggage handler – 3/4/45


Frank as a radio pitchman – 10/6/46


Frank as a waiter and a judge – 10/27/46


Frank as a warden – 1/19/47


Frank as a student – 1/26/47


Frank as Mary’s husband in a fantasy sequence – 2/2/47


Frank as a soda jerk – 2/9/47


Frank as a photographer – 2/23/47


Frank as a talent agent – 3/9/47


Frank as a real estate agent – 4/20/47


Frank as a dentist – 4/6/52


Frank as a waiter – 1/23/55

13 Comments

  1. I am 45… I always wondered who was the incredible voice of comedy. Now I know. I used to go to LA all the time for work. I paid respects to many who influenced me. I wish I could have done so with Frank. He infuenced me, then my one son….his family will miss him but the art world should not miss him but mimic or learn from him. Godspeeed Frank

    • Thank you Mike. That is a beautiful tribute. I am Frank’s daughter. And, yesssss, I still miss him. But it is so great to continually see that people still remember him & his talent. Dad would be very proud, but probably couldn’t believe it. I’m the lucky one though. I remember him as my loving father as well as all the other things he did for the Unions of AFRA/AFTRA for his fellow actors.

      • Bonnie, Your dad was one in a million. His efforts with AFRA/AFTRA were nothing less that amazing.

        Just a couple nights ago, the Jack Bennie show where Jack became paranoid the he was being stalked by your dad made me laugh so hard, my eyes flowed with tears and my belly hurt.

        I hadn’t heard that “EEYeeesss!” in decades … and now, with the many new “Retro TV” stations opening up on-air, I believe another whole generation of folks will be tickled by his oddly musical voicing!

  2. Thank you Bonnie for this website. I always enjoyed your father, and ussed to emulate him with a running joke at work, where I would say EE-Yesss! whenever I walked into the garage. The echo effect was great. Thanks for the memories.

  3. We love his voice and know someone whose voice reminds us of him. Do you know any scene in his roles where he may have said “Reeeeealllly”? or “Nooooooooooo”? We are thinking it was one of the “I Love Lucy” shows when he was a Police Officer listening to a typical crazy Lucy explanation…

    Andy

  4. Bonnie,
    Your dad was one of my favorite character actors from the B&W era. His voice stuff was some of the most memorable and funny! I loved it when he would say “Reeeeally”or “Yeeeessss” or my favorite “You don’t saaay”. I constantly say these phrases to younger people and they look at me like I’m crazy..Ha His part on “I Love Lucy” was some of the best. Your childhood must have been fun with a funny and popular dad! I will keep a bit of his memory alive with doing a rendition occasionally.

  5. Bonnie…

    I found this page through a link from a MeTV article about your mother’s designing of your house in Studio City.

    Frank was one of my favorite character actors, and if I’m not mistaken – wasn’t the commercial he did for a McDonald’s contest in the 1970s his last [or near to the last] performance?

    Like so many others, I always loved his catchphrases – and I often had wonder how he’d stumbled into them…

    Of course, Jack Benny’s writers gave him some good lines as well… I think one from the TV show went like this:

    Jack: Excuse me…
    Frank: Eeyeeessssssssssssssss?
    Jack: Are you the ticket agent?
    Frank: No! I’m Little Miss Muffet looking for her tuffet!

    Between Frank’s “Ooh, DO I!”, Sheldon Leonard’s “Hey Bud! C’mere…” and Mel Blanc’s “Si, Sy, Sue, Sew” there enough catch-phases in just that one program to last a lifetime!

    I know it ‘s been about five years since anything was posted here. Should you happen to find this message, feel free to respond to the email provided…

  6. I too have just figured out who this voice from my youth was. After many years of trying to find his name I stumbled upon a search inquiry that actually worked. (Character actor I Love Lucy), and there he was. My memory told me he said a very distinctive Well….., but come to find out it was Yes……. Either way his voice and the character he played was and still is enjoyable.

  7. Always enjoyed Mr Nelson’s work. Never done any research until today. Good to put a name with a face.
    His appearance with JBenny always made me laugh, and still does. Any person who make a person happy in my book is a Gem. Mr . Nelson was skilled with timing and delivery. Most likely learned from his radio work. Thank you frank Nelson.

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