Frank Morgan (1 June 1890-18 September 1949), born Francis Philip Wuppermann, was an American actor who was famous as a silent film and "talkie" actor with MGM from 1916 to 1951. Born in New York City to a Venezuelan-born and German-raised father and an English-American mother, he made his silent film debut in 1916. By the mid-1930s, he had so impressed MGM that he was signed for a lifetime contract, and he starred in The Wizard of Oz in 1939, playing the titular character. He was known to be an alcoholic, carrying a suitcase equipped with a mini-bar with him wherever he went. He was also a supporter of the Republican Party.