Frank Delfino
- February 19, 1997
- 86 years
- bone marrow cancer
About Frank Delfino
Frank Delfino, 86, American actor, bone marrow cancer.
Explore other notable deaths in 1997 or deaths in February 1997.
The Deaths Archive presents
How well do you know Frank Delfino?
Explore their life. Test your knowledge. Beat the challenge.
10 questions · One legacy · How much do you really know?
Challenge your friends
Play together in real-time.
Advertisement
Full Biography
|Frank J. Delfino (February 13, 1911 – February 19, 1997) was an American actor. Delfino had dwarfism, and most of his roles were related to his small stature. He remains best known for portraying the character of the Hamburglar in the McDonald's advertising campaign television commercial's over a 20-year period.
Early life and career
Delfino was born in Brooklyn, New York. Standing 4 feet, 5 inches tall, he became a professional violinist and performed in "Midget Village" at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Delfino began his professional acting career appearing as "Johnnie" selling cigarettes for Philip Morris. He subsequently appeared in advertisements for Curtis Candy, Little Caesars, Sprite, and Snickers. He first appeared in commercials for McDonald's, beginning in 1971 and continuing for more than 20 years, portraying The Hamburglar.
In 1949, Delfino moved to Los Angeles to perform in his own local cartoon show, Jupiter Mars from Out of the Stars. He made his feature film debut in 1956 with an uncredited role in The Court Jester. He later had minor parts in films such as Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) and Planet of the Apes (1968). He also had more significant roles in productions including At the End of the Rainbow (aka: The Princess and the Magic Frog), The Odd Couple, Little Cigars, White House Madness, The Feather and Father Gang and Never Con a Killer.
Delfino and his wife, Sadie, also worked as stand-ins for well-known Hollywood child actors, including Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen, who portrayed Bobby and Cindy Brady on The Brady Bunch. In addition to serving as stand-ins, the Delfinos appeared as "Kaplutian" extraterrestrials in one of the episodes of the final season of The Brady Bunch, entitled "Out of This World". One of Frank Delfino's last on-screen roles came in 1988, when he played a minor character in the TV series Circus.
Death
Delfino died of bone marrow cancer at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, California, on February 19, 1997, just six days after his 86th birthday.
Filmography
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Interactive
Test Your Knowledge – Trivia Challenge
How well do you know this person's life and legacy?
No account needed to play. Sign in to keep your score on the leaderboard.
Books & Media
Find books, audiobooks and films about Frank Delfino on Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Delfino
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- Sep 26, 2026
People who died on February 19
Spotted an error?
Help us keep the archive accurate. Report a correction with a source.
Report an error for Frank Delfino →Advertisement










