According to the Associated Press, Frank Gorshin, the impressionist with 100 faces best known for his Emmy-nominated role as The Riddler on the old Batman TV series, has died. He was 72. - Source: The Associated Press May 18, 2005

DID YOU KNOW: Frank Gorshin is the only member of the cast of "Batman" (1966/II) to receive an Emmy nomination which was for his signature role of The Riddler on the television series.

This mini-biography compiled from: kdhaisch@aol.com at IMDB and Associated Press:

Frank Gorshin was born on April 5, 1934, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father was a railroad worker and his mom, a seamstress. While in high school, Frank worked as an usher at the Sheridan Square Theatre and began doing impressions of some of his screen idols: Al Jolson, James Cagney, Cary Grant and Edward G. Robinson. At 17 he won a local talent contest; the prize was a 1-week engagement at Jackie Heller’s Carousel night club, where Alan King was headlining. It was Frank’s first paid job as an entertainer and launched his show biz career. Then Frank attended the Carnegie-Mellon Tech School of Drama and did plays and performed in night clubs in Pittsburgh.

At 19, he entered the US Army; this was 1953, during the Korean War. For the next two years, Frank served in Special Services as an entertainer. In the Army, Frank met Maurice Bergman, who would introduce Frank to a Hollywood agent when his hitch with Uncle Sam was up. Frank quickly landed a role in The Proud and Profane (1956) and other roles in TV dramas followed.

In 1957, while visiting his folks in Pittsburgh, his agent phoned him to rush back to Hollywood for a screen test for Run Silent Run Deep (1958). For some odd reason, instead of catching a plane, Frank decided to drive his car to L.A. Frank drove 39 consecutive hours, fell asleep at the wheel, crashed, suffered a fractured skull, and woke up in the hospital four days later; to add insult to injury, an L.A. newspaper reported he was killed, and the plum movie role of Officer Ruby went to Don Rickles. Frank appeared in a number of those lovable B-movies for AIP: Hot Rod Girl (1956) and Dragstrip Girl (1957), and everybody’s favorite, Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957).

Frank finally got a substantial role in the A-movie, Bells Are Ringing (1960) with Dean Martin; Frank did a thinly-disguised Marlon Brando impression. Frank was also appearing in Hollywood night clubs such as the Purple Onion; later, he did Las Vegas engagements, opening for Bobby Darin at The Flamingo. On TV, Frank appeared on "The Steve Allen Show" (1956) and had a dozen guest shots on "The Ed Sullivan Show." In 1966, Frank gave his breakout performance, doing his signature role of The Riddler on the "Batman" (1966/II) television series, for which he received an Emmy award nomination; he also played the Riddler in the movie Batman (1966/I). "I could feel the impact overnight,"

Frank recalled later; because of his nationwide recognition, he was given headliner status in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, The Sahara, and the Aladdin. And Frank got more praise for his thought-provoking performance as Commissioner Bele in the 1969 "Star Trek" (1966) episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," for which he received an Emmy award nomination.

Gorshin earned another Emmy nominations one for a guest shot on "Star Trek."

In 2002, Gorshin portrayed George Burns on Broadway in the one-man show "Say Goodnight Gracie." He used only a little makeup and no prosthetics.

"I don’t know how to explain it. It just comes," he said. "I wish I could say, 'This is step A, B and C.' But I can’t do that. I do it, you know. The ironic thing is I’ve done impressions all my life - I never did George Burns."

Gorshin’s final performance will be broadcast on Thursday’s CBS-TV series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."