Fredd Wayne

Busy American character actor, renowned for his numerous portrayals of Benjamin Franklin on both stage and screen. Born Fredd Wiener in Akron, Ohio, Fredd worked briefly as a delivery boy at Warner Brothers before being called up for military service during World War II. Being appointed as a 'special service' NCO, he was put in charge of providing entertainment for troops as writer, producer and actor of army productions. After demobilisation, he supported himself by working a daytime job at J. C. Penney's department store in New York while also taking nightly drama classes at the American Theatre Wing (along with fellow alumni Lee Marvin, Martin Balsam and James Whitmore). Fredd's career developed slowly at first. In 1947, he lost out to another Wayne (David, who ended up winning a Tony Award) for the role of Og the leprechaun in "Finian's Rainbow". Undeterred, Fredd eventually landed his breakthrough role on Broadway two years later as Brewster Ames II in the musical comedy "Texas, L