Don Francks

A man who has many irons in the entertainment fire, hirsutely handsome Canadian actor, vocalist and jazz musician Don Francks (also known as "Iron Buffalo") was born Donald Harvey Francks on February 28, 1932, in Vancouver, British Columbia. One can, with confidence, add drummer, poet, motorcyclist, author and peace activist to his many lists of accomplishments. He grew up quite adept at athletics (soccer, lacrosse and rugby) and performed in vaudeville and in summer stock shows before relocating to Toronto. On stage from age 11, he landed an early job singing on the radio, then moved into television in 1954. While acting in both variety shows and dramas, he was also a writer and penned several documentaries and public affairs specials in both Toronto and Montreal. On the nightclub scene, Don was featured as a jazz vocalist, a DJ, a trombonist in a country western band and a member of a barbershop quartet called "Model-T Four".

In the mid-1960s, he focused on small screen acting and racked up a number of rugged, adventurous guest-star turns on TV episodes of The Wild Wild West (1965), Mannix (1967), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) and Mission: Impossible (1966). A promising lead that could have led to stardom in the NBC series, Jericho (1966), was cut short when the show was bowled over by its ABC competition -- Batman (1966) -- and quickly canceled. He also appeared on- and off-Broadway, which included a stint with the musical, "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever".

Don contributed one strapping co-starring turn in a big-budgeted musical film during his less-than-a-decade stay in Hollywood. As the robust "Woody Mahoney", he dallied with the likes of beguiling Petula Clark, who played his lady love in Finian's Rainbow (1968). Their enchanting and sensuous duet on "That Old Devil Moon" is only one of the film's highlights. The film was not successful, however, in launching Don's movie career.

Afterwards, he moved his family to the Red Pheasant Indian Reserve, near North Battleford, Saskatchewan, and is an honorary Cree and named "Iron Buffalo". Since 1974, he has been living in Toronto with his wife, Lili Francks (Red Eagle), a member of the Plains Cree First Nation and also a dancer. Their children are voice artist and actress Cree Summer, best-known for her regular role on the TV sitcom, A Different World (1987), and actor/songwriter Rainbow Sun Francks.

In later years, Don gained some attention after being cast as "Walter", an arms expert, on the hit TV series, La Femme Nikita (1997). More recently, he traveled to Montreal for a part in the film, I'm Not There (2007), filmmaker Todd Haynes' meditative take on the famous singer-songwriter, Bob Dylan.

Don continued to perform in Canada in both films (He Never Died (2015) and The Second Time Around (2016)) and as a recurring presence of series TV (Hemlock Grove (2013) and Gangland Undercover (2015)) until the end. He passed away at age 84 on April 3, 2016, in Toronto, Ontario.
-Gary Brumburgh

RIP: Don Harvey Francks, actor, jazz musician, environmental activist in Toronto on April 3, at age 84, of cancer. Born in Burnaby, BC, Francks was singing at age 6 and acting at 10. He worked briefly as a teen disc jockey in Vancouver before leaving school to join the merchant marine. During a long career as an actor for film and TV, he made appearances in American TV series like Jericho and The Man from U.N.C.L.E, and in the Hollywood film version of Finian's Rainbow (1968), in which he starred alongside Fred Astaire and Petula Clark.

Francks dropped out of showbiz to live on the Red Pheasant Reserve in Saskatchewan with his wife Lili Francks. He was adopted as a Cree, and named Iron Buffalo. He returned to the spotlight in the late ‘70s, narrating the CBC series This Land. He won 2 successive ACTRA Awards for performances in CBC's Drying Up the Streets (1980) and The Phoenix Team (1981).

His extensive filmography included such TV series as Nikita, Kung Fu, Road to Avonlea, Top Cops, The Diviners, Flamingo Estates and Side Effects.

Notable film credits include The Drylanders, Ivy League Killers, The Tomorrow Man, Old Fish Hawk, Labour of Love, I’m Not There, Good Times at the Rainbow Bar and Grill (which also featured his daughter Cree Summer), The Big Town, Johnny Mnemonic, and Paint Cans.

On the music side, Francks was a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, playing trombone, drums, and flute. He was most active musically in the ‘60s, playing such noted clubs as George's Spaghetti House in Toronto, and the Village Vanguard in New York City. He recorded the early ‘60s albums Jackie Gleason Says No One in This World Is Like Don Francks and Lost... and Alone in NYC. Lenny Breau played as part of The Don Francks Trio then.

In 2004, Art of Life Records released a four decades-old recording as Live at the Purple Onion. A National Film Board documentary called Toronto Jazz '62 includes rehearsals and performances of two other groups. In recent years he returned to performing in such Toronto clubs as Top O’ The Senator and Hugh’s Room, often with his friend, musician/radio host Jaymz Bee.

Bee helped fund Francks’ last recording, 21st Century Francks, as he explains to FYI. “I first met Don when he played Top O' The Senator in 2002. I went back every night with different friends and caught all four shows. A decade later I got together with my pal Ray Irwin and we financed (as a gift to him) a pressing of 1000 CD's of the Senator show, recorded by Danny Greenspoon, and put out 21st Century Francks, available on iTunes.

To Bee, “Calling Don Francks a Renaissance Man is stinting praise. A poet, actor, singer, jazz musician, writer, arranger...the guy could paint, dance...he collected and restored vintage cars, rode a chopper and usually performed bare footed. He made friends in nano seconds and never cared if you were a millionaire or a homeless person. His entire family are in showbiz and all extremely talented. The apple doesn't fall far from the blender.”

Another huge fan is Canadian songwriter and global copyright advocate Eddie Schwartz. He recalled to FYI that “I was maybe 12 or 13 years old when my parents took me to see The Fantasticks at the Toronto Central Library Theater. I loved every minute of it and I remember the music and Don Francks’ wonderful performance vividly. As a budding songwriter and artist Don inspired me and so many others, and imparted a courage to those of us dreaming of a life in music and the arts – and at a time when Canada could seem a very cold and remote place for those kinds of ambitions.”