Fronzie Gunn

born: 27 April 1894 Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America

died: 16 December 1976 Los Angeles, California, United States of America (age 82)

Blonde American actress. Her parents were Catherine (née Plant, 1874-1948) and James Peter Gunn (1873-1952), who married the July before Fronzie was born; Catherine filed for divorce in July 1914. Fronzie had one sister, Helen S. (Gunn) Chostner (1904-1995). Fronzie's birth records and the 1900 U.S. Census give her birth name as Edith, but as early as 1905, she began going by Fronzie and LaFronzie. Around 1906-07, the Gunn family moved from Utah to California. Beginning in 1916, Fronzie spent six months working as an extra at Universal City when she was cast in the leading lady role for the two-reel IMP/Universal drama "The Forbidden Game" (released Feb. 1917) with Edward Hearn. Fronzie married Texas-born accountant Julius Christopher Wright (1892-1980) on 10 December 1917 in Los Angeles. They had a daughter, Patricia Susanne Wright (later known as Suzanne Merry, 1930-2024). Fronzie and Julius remained together until Fronzie's passing, six days after their 59th wedding anniversary. Both are buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. The birth year of 1894 is confirmed by her birth records. The 1900 U.S. Census gives her birth year as 1895, while the Social Security Death Index gives it as 1896. Her death certificate (per the California Death Index) and her headstone give her birth year as 1910 -- a whopping 16 years shaved off of her real age. Her first name has also been spelled "Fronzi," "Franzie," and "Franzi."

Real name: Edith K. Gunn

Films listed on this page: complete Hal Roach filmography.

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1926 The Nickel-Hopper [?] 1927 A One-Mama Man Party guest (?) Acknowledgements: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XXX4-89R (birth record) Edith K Gunn, "Utah, U.S., Salt Lake County Birth Records, 1890-1908" (Ancestry.com) Edith K Gunn, "Salt Lake County, Utah, U.S., Births, 1890-1911" (Ancestry.com) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMR2-FSJ (1900 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVLM-C2G (1910 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8DC-95H (1917 marriage) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:H98J-BH3Z (1917 marriage) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH7W-M4Z (1920 Census #1) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH7W-WPY (1920 Census #2) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCV7-7Y6 (1930 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9CY-WM7 (1940 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XGK-7WM4 (1950 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPC2-K8V (CA Death Index) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VMMN-Y6N (Social Security Death Index) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/114695795 (Find a Grave) https://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew14moti_3/page/2030/mode/1up?q=%22fronzie+gunn%22 (Motion Picture News, 30 Sep 1916) https://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew14moti_4/page/3807/mode/1up?q=%22fronzie+gunn%22 (Motion Picture News, 16 Dec 1916) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/380556471/ (Los Angeles Times, 26 May 1918) https://archive.org/details/photoplay2829movi/page/n41/mode/1up?q=%22fronzi+gunn%22 (Photoplay, Jul 1925) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/380648321/ (Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct 1927) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/383481010/ (Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec 1976) https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?keyword=%22fronzie+gunn%22&sort=paper-date-asc (Newspapers.com, search) https://www.ancestry.com/search/?name=Fronzie_Gunn&birth=1895&birth_x=1-0-0&name_x=s_s&searchMode=advanced (Ancestry.com, search) https://sites.rootsmagic.com/RoyKatschke/individual.php?p=4397 (RootsMagic) https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/memories/G3GF-HNW (daughter's family tree, FamilySearch.org) Robert Demoss (cast listings for The Nickel-Hopper and A One-Mama Man) Jesse Brisson (bio notes and research; additional help) This page was last updated on: 10 April 2026