My Four Reasons Why Dwight Frye Should Have a Walk of Fame Star
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a popular landmark that gives visitors a glimpse of Hollywood history. It consists of nearly 3,000 stars recognizing celebrities from movies, television and multiple other forms of entertainment with some, like Gene Autry and Stan Lee, having multiple stars.
Yet, there is one celebrity that was a Hollywood staple that still doesn't have star 83 years after his death, something that frankly has never sat right with me.
His name was Dwight Frye and here are my arguments for why someone should correct that.
He had an acting career that lasted 25 years and could have gone longer. Born in 1899, he started with silent film shorts in 1918, was in his first silent feature film in 1926 and was one of a select group of actors who was able to make the transition to "talkies." He was in more than 50 films and could have added to that total if it weren't for his untimely death from a heart attack at the age of 44.
He set movie standards. Frye's portrayal of Henry Frankenstein's assistant, Fritz, in Frankenstein has been the mold for evil assistants in most movies since. His Renfield character in Dracula raised the bar for the portrayal of insane characters and, in my opinion at least, very few have reached it.
While he is best known for horror, he acted in multiple genres as a true character actor. He was, for example, a reporter in The Invisible Man, one of the main antagonists in The Maltese Falcon, and a makeup artist in the musical comedy, Something to Sing About. Had it not been for his beforementioned death, he would have been cast as Secretary of War Newton D. Baker in a biopic about President Woodrow Wilson.
He inspired a rock ballad. "Ballad of Dwight Fry" was released by Alice Cooper in 1971 and despite intentionally dropping the "e" from his last name was inspired by the actor, paying tribute to his maniac roles. The song is said to have inspired bands like Kiss and singer Marilyn Manson, and it was used in the 2012 Tim Burton/Johnny Depp film Dark Shadows.
Alice Cooper, incidentally, has had a Walk of Fame Star on the 7000 block of Hollywood Boulevard since 2003.
It's time to correct the injustice.
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