Frederick Combs
Class of 1954
 

The Virginian-Pilot, (Norfolk, VA) - September 23, 1992

FREDERICK COMBS, ACTOR AND FORMER PORTSMOUTH RESIDENT

Frederick Combs, 57, an actor and a former Portsmouth resident, died Sept. 19, 1992, in a hospital.

Mr. Combs was a 1954 graduate of Cradock High School in Portsmouth. He worked as an apprentice at Barter Theater in Abingdon, Va., for two summers during high school, then attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, for one year.

He acted in ''Boys in the Band,'' a controversial play that dealt with homosexuality. The play sold out for months in New York in 1968 and also went to London in 1969. He played Donald, the bookish friend and reluctant guest of the young man hosting a birthday party.

Beginning in the mid-1950s, he acted in several national television programs, including ''Sunken Treasure,'' ''The Defenders,'' ''Wild, Wild West'' and ''Judd for the Defense.''

He also performed in American Shakespeare festivals in Stratford, England, and in the San Diego and the New York Shakespeare festivals.

He made his Broadway debut in 1961 in ''A Taste of Honey'' and also appeared in ''The Lady of the Camellias.''

His body was cremated and a memorial service is planned for the fall. He requested that his ashes be scattered on the ocean.