Frank_I._Frayne

Frank I. Frayne

Frank I. Frayne

American actor and sharpshooter (1839–1891)

Frank Ivers Frayne (March 19, 1839 – March 16, 1891) was a popular American actor and sharpshooter most notable for accidentally killing his fiancée on stage in a botched stunt.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Frayne was known for doing shooting stunts during his stage performances, including most famously shooting an apple off the head of another actor reminiscent of William Tell, and also while standing backward and using a mirror to aim, in a piece called Si Slocum. Tragically he killed his fiancée Annie Von Behren doing this stunt at a show in Cincinnatii in 1882 when his firearm malfunctioned. He was arrested and tried for manslaughter, but exonerated at trial.[1][2]

Frayne died at his apartment in Chicago on March 16, 1891, of heart failure.[3]

References

  1. [1]
    (13 November 2023). Frank Frayne's Fatal Shot Echoed Through the Decades In Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati Magazine
  2. [2]
    The Great Kentucky Rifle Team, Champions of the World (print), National Museum of American History, Retrieved 8 January 2024
  3. [3]
    (21 March 1891). Frank I. Frayne, Martinsburg Independent
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