Frank Readick

{{Short description|American radio and film actor}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Frank Readick

| image =

| caption = Frank Readick with American actress Agnes Moorehead in the 1943 film Journey into Fear

| birth_name = Frank Marvin Readick Jr.

| birth_date = {{birth date|1896|11|06}}

| birth_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1965|12|27|1896|11|06}}

| death_place = U.S.

| occupation = Actor

| children = Robert Readick

}}

Frank Marvin Readick Jr. (November 6, 1896 — December 27, 1965)[http://voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=3059 Frank Readick] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016163436/http://www.voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=3059 |date=2006-10-16 }} at voicechasers.com{{reliable source|date=October 2016|reason=for now, to be replaced a more authoritative}} was an American radio and film actor.{{Citation needed |date=August 2020}}

Born in Seattle, Washington, Readick was well known for his evil laughter that followed the introduction from The Shadow radio drama: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!". Readick replaced James La Curto to be the narrator in the Detective Story Hour (the precursor of The Shadow) in 1930, four months after the launch of the series when La Curto went for a Broadway role.The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio, Routledge, 2010, {{ISBN|1135176833}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IryLAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT2257 p. 257] Readick continued to portray the Shadow on The Blue Coal Radio Revue (1931-1932) and The Love Story Hour (1931-1932) before The Shadow was used as the title of a series.{{cite book |last1=Dunning |first1=John |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |pages=606–607 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwtRbXNca0oC&dq=%22Frank+Readick%22&pg=PA607 |access-date=February 12, 2022 |language=en}} This signature line remained intact in The Shadow even after Orson Welles succeeded Readick.[http://www.shadowsanctum.com/secretfiles/2/ "Stalking the Silverscreen Shadow!"], by Anthony Tollin{{cite book |last1=Mott |first1=Robert L. |title=The Audio Theater Guide: Vocal Acting, Writing, Sound Effects and Directing for a Listening Audience |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5699-4 |page=31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCu0fdtW13MC&pg=PA31 |accessdate=August 2, 2020 |language=en}}

He later played the doomed CBS reporter Carl Phillips in the 1938 radio production of The War of the Worlds. Readick modeled his performance on WLS reporter Herbert Morrison's coverage of the Hindenburg disaster the previous year.{{cite book |last1=Jarrow |first1=Gail |title=Spooked!: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America |date=2018 |publisher=Boyds Mills Press |isbn=978-1-68437-143-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6tJeDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Frank+Readick%22&pg=PT65 |accessdate=August 2, 2020 |language=en}}

Readick later appeared alongside his War of the Worlds co-star and Mercury Theatre director Orson Welles in Citizen Kane (1941) and Journey into Fear (1943).

On old-time radio, Readick was a member of the casts of The FBI in Peace and War{{r|rp|page1=116}} and The Campbell Playhouse.{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows|date=1999|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|isbn=978-0-7864-4513-4|page=60}} He had the title roles in The Adventures of Smilin' Jack{{r|rp|page1=307}} and Meet Mr. Meek,{{r|rp|page1=224}} and portrayed Knobby Walsh on Joe Palooka.{{r|rp|page1=177}} He was also known for House of Mystery (1931) and A Burglar to the Rescue (1931).

He died in 1965 in the USA.{{Citation needed |date=February 2022}}