Posted by Dan Greenfield on Apr 5, 2026
FRANK GORSHIN: Before the RIDDLER — and After
A BIRTHDAY SALUTE… By PETER BOSCH It is good and proper that Frank Gorshin wore a large question mark on his costume as the Riddler in the epic first episode of the 1966 Batman TV series. Many people – especially us kids – had no idea who he was before that night. It’s even likely some of us thought he was a new actor — without realizing that Gorshin was already accomplished, with a decade’s experience on TV, in the movies, and in Las Vegas (opening for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Red Skelton, and Judy Garland!). But who was Frank Gorshin before the Riddler (and after)? Since it’s the late entertainer’s birthday today — he was born April 5, 1933 — this is a good chance to look back and find out. He was born Frank John Gorshin Jr. in Pittsburgh, the son of a railroad worker and a seamstress. That’s all good but let’s jump ahead to a bunch of kids coming out of a movie house, trying to imitate the star of the picture, the great James Cagney. Frank did it a little harder than the others. He would later become an usher at the same theater, watching films over and over during their runs. A boring job for some… but for Frank, it meant having the chance to study in detail the mannerisms and voices of the actors onscreen. He got to be so good at mimicry that he won a local talent contest when he was 17 years old. The prize was a week’s spot performing in a New York nightclub. Just another small leap forward, this time to 1953 when Gorshin enlisted in the Army. He was assigned to the Special Services division, which handled entertainment for troops stationed abroad, and became part of the USO shows in Europe. While overseas, he met Maurice Bergman, who worked for Universal Pictures. It was through Bergman, after Gorshin left the service in 1955, that he got the introduction to a talent agent. The following year, Gorshin would appear in four movies, as well as having a small walk-on part as a page in an episode of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series. Jump to the 3:14 mark to see Gorshin as a studio page. June 10, 1956. Just three days after the Hitchcock episode aired,...
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