Frank McRae (born June 3, 1942) is an American film and television actor, and a former professional football player.
McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major in drama and history. He was a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears in the 1967 NFL season.
Among his acting roles are the history teacher, Mr. Teasdale, in Red Dawn, bank robber Reed Youngblood in Dillinger, meat-packing factory supervisor in Rocky II (1979), Hazel in Cannery Row, Spanky in The Wizard, James Bond's friend Sharkey in Licence to Kill (1989), inmate Eclipse in Lock Up, a shouting police captain in 48 Hrs. (a role he later parodied in Last Action Hero and Loaded Weapon 1), the train coachman in Tracks (1976), and former professional boxing champion Harry Noble in *batteries not included.
He made an effective pairing with John Candy as two bumbling subordinates; first as two tank soldiers (under an equally bumbling Sgt. Frank Tree played by Dan Aykroyd) in the cult classic 1941, and later as "Walley World" Security Guards in National Lampoon's Vacation. He played Jim, the Mechanic, in the movie Used Cars. His most recent role was Cookie in the Hallmark Channel original films Love's Long Journey and Love's Abiding Joy.
Famous quotes containing the words frank and/or mcrae:
“I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. But, and that is the great question, will I ever be able to write anything great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, for I can recapture everything when I write, my thoughts, my ideals and my fantasies.”
—Anne Frank (1929–1945)
“Blues is to jazz what yeast is to bread—without it, it’s flat.”
—Carmen McRae (b. 1922)