Fran Kranz

Kranz in 2013, photo by PrPhotos

Birth Name: Francis Elliott Kranz

Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States

Date of Birth: July 13, 1981

Ethnicity:
*father – German, Irish
*mother – English, Northern Irish/Irish, Scottish

Fran Kranz is an American actor, comedian, and film director. His roles include the films The Village (2004), Bickford Shmeckler’s Cool Ideas, The Night of the White Pants, Wieners, Shades of Ray, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, The Cabin in the Woods, Much Ado About Nothing (2012), Lust for Love, Before I Disappear, Murder of a Cat, The Living (2014), Bloodsucking Bastards, The Truth About Lies, Mojave, Rebirth (2016), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Dark Tower (2017), You Might Be the Killer, and Jungleland, and the shows Dollhouse and Julia (2022). He directed and wrote the film Mass (2021).

His father is of one quarter German and three quarters Irish ancestry. His mother is of English, Northern Irish/Irish, and Scottish descent.

Fran has two children with his former wife, actress Spencer Margaret Richmond. Spencer is the daughter of actress Jaclyn Smith and filmmaker Anthony B. Richmond.

Fran’s paternal grandfather was Frank George Kranz (the son of Henry George Kranz and Ida Elizabeth Hart). Frank was born in Iowa. Henry was a German immigrant, the son of Adam Kranz and Anne Elizabeth Ickler. Ida was born in Illinois, to Irish parents, John Patrick Hart, from County Sligo, and Mary Moran.

Fran’s paternal grandmother was Eileen E. Savage (the daughter of Thomas F. Savage and Lydia T. Smith). Eileen was born in Colorado. Thomas was born in New York; according to several records, Thomas was born to an Irish-born father and a New York-born mother, while one record lists both of Thomas’s parents as having been born in Ireland. Lydia was born in Kansas, to Irish parents, John T. Smith and Bridgitte Reagan.

Fran’s maternal grandfather was Richard Thomas Barton (the son of George Sydney Barton and Marjorie Dow Moses). Richard was born in California. George was born in California, to English parents, Thomas William Barton and Martha Anna Parr. Marjorie was born in Wisconsin, the daughter of Frederick Lorenzo Moses and Ella Belle Nye, and had English and Scottish ancestry.

Fran’s maternal grandmother was Patricia P. Caddell (the daughter of John Graham Caddell and Florence Anita Pearl). Fran’s grandmother Patricia was born in California. John was born in Colorado, the son of Edward Caddell and Elizabeth Graham, emigrants from either Northern Ireland, or Ireland and Scotland, respectively. Florence was born in California, to a father from Minnesota, Fred Leavitt/Lewis Pearl, and a mother from Aylwin, Québec, Canada, Fannie West.

Sources: Fran’s paternal grandfather, Frank George Kranz, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Fran’s paternal grandmother, Eileen E. Savage (“Aileen Savage”), on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Fran’s maternal grandfather, Richard Thomas Barton, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Fran’s maternal great-grandmother, Marjorie Dow Moses, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Fran’s maternal grandmother, Patricia P. Caddell, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Fran’s maternal great-grandfather, John Graham Caddell, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Fran’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Fred Leavitt/Lewis Pearl, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Genealogy of Fran’s maternal great-great-grandmother, Fannie (West) Pearl Franberg – https://www.findagrave.com