"[a] Naish received two Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in the films Sahara (1943) and A Medal for Benny (1945), the latter of which also earned him a Golden Globe.

He often played villains, from gangsters in numerous Paramount pictures to mad scientists, such as Dr. Daka in Columbia's Batman serial.

In this screen adaptation of the comic book, Naish was originally cast as The Joker, but was recast as a Japanese supervillain suitable to the patriotic wartime plotline.

[7] In 1955, Naish originated the role of Alfieri in the one-act, verse version of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge on Broadway, also starring Van Heflin and Eileen Heckart.

In 1971, the 75-year-old actor was coaxed out of retirement by producer and horror-film enthusiast Samuel M. Sherman to star in a new big-screen thriller, Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971).

Naish played a descendant of the original Dr. Frankenstein, who takes to murdering young women for experimentation in hopes of reviving his ancestor's creation.

[1] Naish retired to San Diego and died of emphysema on January 24, 1973, at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California, three days after his 77th birthday.