---
title: "Frank Fay: Stand-Up Comedian, TV Roles | D.O.C."
description: "Frank Fay: 1 album and 5 screen credits. An American vaudeville comedian and master of ceremonies from San Francisco. With sources, on D.O.C."
url: https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-frank-fay.html
updated: 2026-11-11
---

Stand-up comedian · 1891–1961

# Frank Fay

## Who Frank Fay is

Frank Fay was an American vaudeville comedian and master of ceremonies from San Francisco. He worked as a variety artist from around 1918 and was a vaudeville headliner during the 1920s. When talking pictures came he signed with Warner Bros., which cast him as master of ceremonies of The Show of Shows (1929), and he starred in Under a Texas Moon, Bright Lights and The Matrimonial Bed. His best-known role was Elwood P. Dowd in Mary Coyle Chase's play Harvey on Broadway, and in 1957 he released the comedy LP Be Frank with Fay on Bally. He was born to Irish Catholic parents.

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## At a glance

**Born**

1891

**Died**

1961

**Albums**

Be Frank with Fay

**On screen**

The Show of Shows, Under a Texas Moon, Bright Lights and 2 more

## Specials, shows and podcasts

### Albums

- **Be Frank with Fay** LP, Bally BAL 12015, 1957

### On screen

- **The Show of Shows** film, master of ceremonies, Warner Bros., 1929
- **Under a Texas Moon** film
- **Bright Lights** film
- **The Matrimonial Bed** film
- **Harvey** Broadway, as Elwood P. Dowd

## Career timeline

1. **1891** Born
2. **1929** The Show of Shows (film, master of ceremonies, Warner Bros., 1929) On screen
3. **1957** Be Frank with Fay (LP, Bally BAL 12015, 1957) Album
4. **1961** Died

## Questions and answers

### What TV shows and films is Frank Fay in?

The Show of Shows (film, master of ceremonies, Warner Bros., 1929), Under a Texas Moon (film), Bright Lights (film), The Matrimonial Bed (film) and Harvey (Broadway, as Elwood P. Dowd).

### How old were they?

They were born in 1891 and died in 1961.

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## The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with a button to vote them into My D.O.C. Legends.

[Their SUCDb record →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-frank-fay.html)

### Sources

- [Hollywood Walk of Fame — Frank Fay star page ↗](https://walkoffame.com/frank-fay/) Born Francis Anthony Donner in San Francisco to Irish Catholic parents; a variety artist from around 1918; a vaudeville headliner during the 1920s; master of…
- [Internet Archive — Be Frank With Fay, LP (Bally BAL 12015, 1957), Unlocked Recordings ↗](https://archive.org/details/lp_be-frank-with-fay_frank-fay) Frank Fay; Bally BAL 12015; 1957; filed under Stage & Screen, Comedy, Monolog (as of 10 November 2026)
- [Wikipedia (American actor) ↗](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Fay_(American_actor%29) died 25 September 1961

Updated 11 November 2026 · the record checked 10 November 2026