Biography
Frail-looking character actor Frank Darien began working in films around 1910, playing parts in a smattering of D. W. Griffith and
Mack Sennett shorts. Darien was busiest during the early-talkie era, essaying peripheral roles in such productions as
Cimarron (1931),
The Miracle Man (1932) and
Mystery of the Wax Museum (1932). He was most often cast as coroners, doctors, household servants, doormen and justices of the peace. Frank Darien's most memorable role was Uncle John in
The Grapes of Wrath (1940), directed by another D. W. Griffith alumnus,
John Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide