Arthur Sofield Franz was born in Perth Amboy, NJ, to Dorothy and Gustave Franz, German immigrants. He was a reliable character actor in many '40s and '50s "B" pictures, often cast as a friendly small-town businessman or professional , in which he turned in an outstanding performance as a mentally unstable ex-soldier in San Francisco who, after being rejected by a woman he was interested in, snaps and terrorizes the city by taking out his old army rifle and stalking and picking off women.
During World War II, Franz served as a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He was shot down over Romania and incarcerated in a POW camp, from which he escaped.
Franzs interest in acting developed when he was a high school student.
Lived in New Zealand for many years but wished to return to California during the last stages of emphysema, from which he died in Oxnard, CA, in 2006.
Had three children: Gina, Melissa and Michael.
