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Frank Converse, a rugged, firm-jawed, sandy-haired actor known for his roles in 1960s and 70s primetime television, might have faded into obscurity after his famous series ended. However, this classically trained stage actor persevered and built a respected career as a versatile character actor spanning over four decades.
Born on May 2, 1938, in St. Louis, Missouri, Converse attended Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts before earning a BFA in drama from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh in 1962. Throughout the 1960s, he honed his Shakespearean craft with performances in productions like King Lear, Caesar and Cleopatra, Hamlet, The Comedy of Errors, Richard III, Henry V, and Much Ado About Nothing. He made his Broadway debut in 1966 with First One Asleep, Whistle, though it closed the same day. By then, he was setting his sights on film, but it was television drama that first brought him recognition.
1967 proved pivotal for Converse. He appeared in the films Hour of the Gun as Virgil Earp and the Southern drama Hurry Sundown, but gained notable attention as the lead in the TV series Coronet Blue. Filmed in 1965 but aired in the summer of 1967, Converse portrayed Michael Alden, a man left for dead in New York Harbor after being attacked and suffering from amnesia. The only clue to his identity was the mysterious phrase "Coronet Blue." Although the show was canceled abruptly without resolution, it made Converse a familiar name.
Following Coronet Blue, Converse starred in the police drama N.Y.P.D. (1967–1969), set in New York City, where he worked alongside Jack Warden and Robert Hooks as plainclothes detectives. Later, he co-starred with Claude Akins in the trucker-themed action-adventure series Movin' On (1974). In all three series, Converse exuded a quiet, reserved, and somewhat enigmatic presence that added to his "mystery man" appeal. During this period, he also starred or co-starred in several TV movies including Dr. Cook's Garden (1971) with Bing Crosby and Blythe Danner, A Tattered Web (1971), The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd (1974), Killer on Board (1977), Cruise Into Terror (1978), and notably Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force (1978). He made guest appearances on popular 70s shows like The Mod Squad, Medical Center, Police Story, Rhoda, The Love Boat, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and The Bionic Woman. Despite his busy television career, he remained committed to theater, appearing in the original cast of John Guare’s dark comedy The House of Blue Leaves (1971) and taking on challenging roles in The Seagull (1973) and Hobson’s Choice (1977).
By the end of the 1970s, having achieved semi-leading man status from his television work, Converse could have faded from the spotlight. Instead, he continued to impress on stage. In the 1980s, he returned to Broadway starring opposite Blythe Danner in The Philadelphia Story (1980) and later as Mitch to Danner’s Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1988). Other Broadway credits included Brothers (1983) and Design for Living (1984), where he replaced Frank Langella. His stage work extended nationwide with performances in The Crucible, Death of a Salesman, A Man for All Seasons, Misalliance, The Shadow Box, Two for the Seesaw, and the musical South Pacific.
On television and film, Converse appeared as a dependable character actor in daytime soaps such as One Life to Live during the 1980s and As the World Turns and All My Children in the 1990s. He returned briefly to series television with The Family Tree (1983) and Dolphin Cove (1989), both short-lived. More recently, he appeared on stage as Doc Gibbs in Our Town alongside Paul Newman, a production that was later televised, and guest-starred on Law & Order. Since 1982, he has been married to Tony-nominated stage actress Maureen Anderman. Together, they have two children, in addition to Converse’s two children from a previous marriage.
