Steve Franken dies at 80

Steve Franken, a veteran character actor's long career includes playing the pampered young millionaire Chatsworth Osborne Jr. on the popular sitcom "The many loves of Dobie Gillis" in early 1960, has died.

Franken has died of cancer Friday at a treatment and rehabilitation center in Canoga Park, said his wife, Jean.

In a career spanning over 50 years that began in New York, Franken appeared in dozens of television shows and films, including "The Party", "The Americanization of Emily," "The Missouri Breaks" and Comedy Jerry Lewis "What is the deal?" and "Almost like work."

But for fans of television a lot, Franken may be best remembered as Chatsworth Osborne Jr. in "The Many Loves Dobie Gillis."

The series, which aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963, starring Dwayne Hickman as the son of food crazy girl, the beatnik friend, Maynard G. Krebs was played by Bob Denver.

Franken joined the series in 1960, replacing the young actor who played Milton Armitage, rich kid from the original series: Warren Beatty.

"Warren Beatty has four or five series and movies I want to go," Hickman told The Times on Thursday. "When he did not return and 'Dobie Gillis." But as he was gone, we have Steve, and he was wonderful. '

As the Chatsworth snob ", wore clothes that were expensive clothes and a cane pole fishing and all that," said Hickman. "He was a great character. Was the only person to tell me 'Dobie state." Chatsworth Osborne Jr. -. And what a great name, of course, everything was great and so was Steve Rich played well "..

When Hickman appeared in an exhibition of autographs Franken few years ago, said: "Steve told me that people kept coming toward him on the street and asking for an autograph Chatsworth vocation."

But Hickman said Franken has done many things in his career and was a "serious actor."

Jean Franken said that her husband was very proud of his performance in the film director Blake Edwards' The Party, "the 1968 comedy starring Peter Sellers, in which Franken played a drunk who never says a waiter word.

"He and Peter Sellers has worked most of these improvisations for it," he said. "Blake let go."

Franken was a versatile actor who studied at the Actors Studio in New York and later did a great job of theater in Los Angeles, largely dramatic.

Born in Queens, New York, 27 May 1932, Franken is a graduate of Cornell University and launched his career as an actor against the wishes of their parents.

"They wanted to go to medical school, but went directly to New York," said his wife. "He was obsessed with the idea of ??becoming an actor."

As chemotherapy was given eight months to live, he said, was to audition for film and television roles to play until a month before his death.

In addition to Jean, his wife of 25 years, Frank is survived by her daughter, Anna, two daughters from a previous marriage that ended in divorce, Emily and Abigail Franken glass, and two grandchildren.