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Nicholas Benton "Ben" Alexander III was an American motion picture actor, who started out as a child actor in 1916. He is best remembered for his role as Officer Frank Smith in the Dragnet franchise.
Birth Name
Nicholas Benton Alexander III
Born
Friday, 26 May 1911
Died
Saturday, 05 July 1969
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Pioneers of Television | Sgt. Frank Smith from Dragnet | 2008 |
| Fahrenheit 9/11 | Self | 2004 |
| Los Angeles Plays Itself | Officer Frank Smith in Dragnet | 2003 |
| The Felony Squad | Desk Sgt. Dan Briggs | 1966 |
| Batman | Detective Beside Trash Can | 1966 |
| Hollywood My Home Town | Himself / Self | 1965 |
| About Faces | Self - Host | 1959 |
| Man in the Shadow | Ab Begley | 1957 |
| The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial | Mr. Blink | 1955 |
| Dragnet | Officer Frank Smith | 1954 |
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Pioneers of Television | Sgt. Frank Smith from Dragnet | 2008 |
| Fahrenheit 9/11 | Self | 2004 |
| Los Angeles Plays Itself | Officer Frank Smith in Dragnet | 2003 |
| The Felony Squad | Desk Sgt. Dan Briggs | 1966 |
| Batman | Detective Beside Trash Can | 1966 |
| Hollywood My Home Town | Himself / Self | 1965 |
| About Faces | Self - Host | 1959 |
| Man in the Shadow | Ab Begley | 1957 |
| The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial | Mr. Blink | 1955 |
| Dragnet | Officer Frank Smith | 1954 |
| Place the Face | Self - Guest | 1953 |
| This Is Your Life | Self | 1952 |
| Dragnet | Officer Frank Smith / Off. Frank Smith / Sgt. Frank Smith / Officer Frank Smith #2 | 1951 |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | Self - Actor | 1950 |
| Criminals Within | Sergeant Paul / Sgt. Paul | 1941 |
| The Leather Pushers | Dan Brown, Announcer | 1940 |
| American Portrait | David | 1940 |
| Buried Alive | Riley | 1939 |
| Convict's Code | Jeff Palmer | 1939 |
| Mr. Doodle Kicks Off | Larry Weldon | 1938 |
| The Spy Ring | Capt. Don Mayhew | 1938 |
| The Life of the Party | Orchestra Leader | 1937 |
| Western Gold | Bart | 1937 |
| The Outer Gate | Bob Terry | 1937 |
| The Legion of Missing Men | Don Carter | 1937 |
| Shall We Dance | Evans - a Bandleader | 1937 |
| Red Lights Ahead | George Wallace | 1936 |
| Hearts in Bondage | Eggleston | 1936 |
| The Fire-Trap | Bob Fender | 1935 |
| Splendor | Western Union Messenger | 1935 |
| Annapolis Farewell | Adams | 1935 |
| Reckless Roads | Wade Adams | 1935 |
| Born to Gamble | Paul Mathews | 1935 |
| Grand Old Girl | Tom Miller | 1935 |
| Flirtation | Dudley | 1934 |
| The Life of Vergie Winters | Barry Preston | 1934 |
| Most Precious Thing in Life | Gideon 'Gubby' Gerhart | 1934 |
| Once to Every Woman | Joe Wilson | 1934 |
| Hollywood on Parade No. B-5 | Self | 1933 |
| Stage Mother | Francis Nolan | 1933 |
| This Day and Age | Morry Dover | 1933 |
| What Price Innocence? | Tommy Harrow | 1933 |
| Mister Mugg | 1933 | |
| The Vanishing Frontier | Lucien Winfield | 1932 |
| Tom Brown of Culver | Cpl. John Clarke | 1932 |
| The Strange Love of Molly Louvain | Jimmy's College Friend | 1932 |
| The Wet Parade | Evelyn's Friend | 1932 |
| High Pressure | Geoffrey Weston | 1932 |
| Suicide Fleet | Kid | 1931 |
| Are These Our Children | Nicholas 'Nick' Crosby | 1931 |
| It's a Wise Child | Bill Stanton | 1931 |
| Many a Slip | Ted Coster | 1931 |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | Kemmerich / Franz Kemmerich | 1930 |
| The Divine Lady | 1928 | |
| Scotty of the Scouts | Scotty Smith | 1927 |
| Two to One | George Minafer as a Child | 1927 |
| The Highbinders | Roy Marshall | 1926 |
| The Shining Adventure | Benny | 1925 |
| Pampered Youth | George Minafer, as a child | 1925 |
| Flaming Love | Benny Keene | 1925 |
| A Self-Made Failure | Sonny | 1924 |
| The Heart Line | The Child | 1921 |
| The Notorious Mrs. Sands | Child | 1920 |
| The Family Honor | Little Ben Tucker | 1920 |
| Through Eyes of Men | Little Billy | 1920 |
| The Better Wife | Little Dick | 1919 |
| The White Heather | Donald Cameron | 1919 |
| Tangled Threads | 'Sonny Boy' Wayne | 1919 |
| The Hushed Hour | Gondy | 1919 |
| Josselyn's Wife | Tommy Josselyn | 1919 |
| The Turn in the Road | Bob | 1919 |
| Little Orphant Annie | Orphan | 1918 |
| The Heart of Rachael | Jim | 1918 |
| The Lady of the Dugout | 1918 | |
| Hearts of the World | The Boy's Littlest Brother | 1918 |
| The One Woman | Boy | 1918 |
| A Wife on Trial | Child | 1917 |
| What Money Can't Buy | Child | 1917 |
| The Little American | Bobby Moore | 1917 |
| Big Tremaine | Child | 1916 |
| Each Pearl a Tear | 1916 | |
| Macbeth | (unconfirmed) | 1916 |
Director Filmography
| Title | Year |
|---|
| The D.A.'s Man | 1959 |
| Year | Type | Category | Won |
|---|
| 1955 | Emmy | Best Supporting Actor in a Regular Series | Nominated |
| 1954 | Emmy | Best Series Supporting Actor | Nominated |
