He was a character actor in such movies as “My Man Godfrey.” In his early years, worked in short subjects for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach. Later he worked for Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Pathe, always in support of the leading players. His entire career consisted of playing secondary but memorable roles as a fussy, very polite, elegant and prissy person, often officious, fastidious, and somewhat nervous, prone to becoming flustered but essentially upbeat, and with an immediately recognizable high-speed patter-type speech pattern. He often appeared as a foil for major film comedians like W. C. Fields, Harold Lloyd, and the Ritz Brothers and played in over 200 films, including “Father Knows Best,” “A Star Is Born,” “My Man Godfrey,” “The Bank Dick” and “Never Give A Sucker An Even Break” with W.C. Fields, and “now Voyager,” which starred Bette Davis. He died on July 20, 1958 after undergoing cancer surgery. For his contributions to motion pictures, Franklin Pangborn has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street.