Donald Harvey Francks, also known as "Iron Buffalo", was a multi-talented Canadian actor, vocalist, and jazz musician born on February 28, 1932, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
As a child, Francks was adept at athletics, including soccer, lacrosse, and rugby, and began performing in vaudeville and summer stock shows before relocating to Toronto.
By the age of 11, Francks was already on stage, and he went on to land early jobs singing on the radio and later in television in 1954.
Throughout his career, Francks was a writer and penned several documentaries and public affairs specials in both Toronto and Montreal, in addition to his work as a jazz vocalist, DJ, trombonist, and member of the barbershop quartet "Model-T Four".
In the mid-1960s, Francks focused on small screen acting, appearing in numerous guest-star turns on TV episodes of The Wild Wild West, Mannix, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Mission: Impossible.
Francks also appeared on- and off-Broadway, including a stint in the musical "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever".
He contributed one notable co-starring turn in a big-budgeted musical film, Finian's Rainbow, opposite Petula Clark, and their enchanting duet on "That Old Devil Moon" remains one of the film's highlights.
Afterwards, Francks moved his family to the Red Pheasant Indian Reserve, near North Battleford, Saskatchewan, where he was named "Iron Buffalo" and became an honorary Cree.
Since 1974, Francks has been living in Toronto with his wife, Lili Francks (Red Eagle),and their children, Cree Summer and Rainbow Sun Francks.
In later years, Francks gained attention for his roles in the TV series La Femme Nikita and the film I'm Not There, and continued to perform in Canada in both films and series TV until his passing at age 84 on April 3, 2016, in Toronto, Ontario.
