I was watching Trading Places tonight and thought I recognized a face.
IMO it's Frank McRae, but I'm looking for another opinion, if there is one.

It's not far fetched, because:
A. Frank McRae was in 48 Hrs., which also stars Eddie Murphy (et al).

B. Both movies were released within less than a year of each other.

C. Casting Eddie Murphy, John Landis (the director of Trading Places) remembers having watched Murphy in 48 Hrs. and so the choice fell on him (when he couldn't get Richard Pryor, who was the first choice).

There is no previous mention anywhere about Frank McRae's cameo in Trading Places, not even on aveleyman, so this is on my own.

Please forgive the huge screen caps (from BD and DVD) and if you have to side scroll:

Trading Places (The man on the left):


48 Hrs.:

I think it's more than "close", really.
Look at his hair and his height. It's a match. A man can't look much more like Frank than that, IMO. Also it's not so easy to see the shape of his face since it's from that angle and not a close-up.

This is about half a year later than 48 Hrs., so he could've put on some weight during that time.
However Last Action Hero was filmed a decade later.

My theory is that he wanted a cameo in Trading Places (but no credits for it) going with Murphy from their last movie.
Bottom line is, I am not sure it really is Frank McRae, but it'd be logical if it was, for the reasons I listed, and that I've never seen anyone look more like him in a movie... It's not like I think it's Yaphet Kotto anyway. 

I gotta agree with DoubleDown and Lewis...It does not look like him.

I agree you can't see the swelling on his forehead, but he is filmed from a distance too, so you can't tell if it's there.
Was Frank McRae really that well-known in 1983? I wouldn't call him that well-known in general.

At the very least they do look very much the same, right?
I don't think I'm on thin ice here, anyway.
There is however a slight point to that someone should've recognized him earlier if it was him. And since I can't find any information about this after a google search...

#1 - Frank McRae was drafted by Chicago in 1966.
#2 - Ford E-Series Vans from 75-91 were about 79.5 inches tall.

the guy in the photo is 2 short, to round and McRae was in the films - 1941, Vacation, Cannery Row, Red Dawn, Used Cars - so he wasn't an A-list but was known.

Quoting ateo357:

Quote:
#1 - Frank McRae was drafted by Chicago in 1966.
#2 - Ford E-Series Vans from 75-91 were about 79.5 inches tall.

Not only that, but it would make the 2 other dudes in the photo at least 6'3"-6'6", and they certainly don't look like they are built to be that size.
I see the resemblance, but agree with others it is more than likely not Frank. You could make it Frank on imdb if you wanted though.