Dwight Frye

Dwight Frye (1899-1943) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in the classic Universal Horror films Dracula, Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein -- in which he codified both The Igor and The Renfield.

Frye had an extensive and varied stage career (including a part in the first American production of Six Characters in Search of An Author), but his hot eyes and earnest delivery were a bit overpowering on film; Hollywood cast him mostly as pathetic nutcases. His untimely death by heart attack came just after he had signed on for a prominent "straight" role, as Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State in a biopic about the former President.

Inspired an Alice Cooper song: "The Ballad of Dwight Fry [sic]."