English actor (1927–2014)
Francis Matthews
Born (1927-09-02 ) 2 September 1927Died 14 June 2014(2014-06-14) (aged 86) Education
St Michael's Jesuit College, Leeds Occupation Actor Years active 1951–2012 Spouse
(
m. 1963; died 2001)
Children 3 Relatives
Paul Shelley (brother) Maura Matthews (sister)
Francis Matthews (2 September 1927 – 14 June 2014) was an English actor, best known for playing
Paul Temple in the
BBC television series
of the same name and for voicing
Captain Scarlet in
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons .
[1]
Early life
Matthews was born in
York on 2 September 1927, to Henry and Kathleen Matthews.
[2]
[3] His father was a
shop steward at the
Rowntree's chocolate factory near York.
[2]
[3] His parents took him often to the theatre, where he gained a love of acting.
[2]
[3] He attended
St George's RC Primary School ,
[4] then
St Michael's Jesuit College in
Leeds .
[2]
He found work as a stagehand at the
Theatre Royal in Leeds, and made his theatrical debut in 1945 in the play
The Corn Is Green
[3] before performing his national service in the
Royal Navy .
[2] After leaving the military he returned to the stage, appearing in a 1954 touring production of the play No Escape , which starred
Flora Robson . He made his
West End debut in 1956.
[3]
Career
In the 1950s and 1960s, Matthews's film roles for
Hammer Studios included the Baron's assistant in
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) and the heroes of
Dracula: Prince of Darkness and
Rasputin the Mad Monk (both 1966).
[5] On television, from 1969 to 1971, he played
Francis Durbridge 's amateur private detective Paul Temple in the
BBC
series of the same name .
[6]
Matthews starred opposite
Morecambe and Wise in the films
The Intelligence Men (1965) and
That Riviera Touch (1966), which led to a close friendship with
Eric Morecambe .
[2] He also appeared throughout the 1960s and 1970s in a variety of television comedy roles, including
Eric & Ernie's Christmas Show, 1977 .
[5] He appeared alongside
George Cole in Charles Woods' sitcom
Don't Forget To Write! (1977) as a successful writer.
[3]
In 1967, Matthews provided the character voice of
Captain Scarlet , in imitation of
Cary Grant , for
Gerry and
Sylvia Anderson 's
Supermarionation television series
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons .
[7] (He divided his time, during the recording sessions, between his work there and his stage appearances in
Noël Coward 's play
Private Lives .)
[8] Also in 1967 he appeared in
The Avengers episode entitled "Mission ... Highly Improbable".
[9]
Publicity shot of Matthews
In the late 1970s, he served as narrator and host for
Follow Me! , a BBC educational programme that offered a "
crash course " in the English language to foreign viewers.
[10]
In 1986, Matthews and his wife, Angela Browne, appeared together in the
BBC adaptation of the
Josephine Tey novel
Brat Farrar .
[6] In 2000, they starred in two
Ray Cooney plays on the cruise ship
MS Marco Polo , while she was sailing to the
Antarctic :
Run For Your Wife and
Funny Money .
Personal life
Matthews was married to actress
Angela Browne from 1963 until her death in 2001; the couple had three sons.
[11] Two, Damien Matthews and Paul Rattigan, are actors; the other, Dominic, is an artist and musician. Matthews' younger brother,
Paul Shelley , is also an actor; they had a sister, Maura.
[3]
[2]
Death
Matthews died at the age of 86 on 14 June 2014, following a short illness. He was survived by his three sons, seven grandchildren, and his two siblings.
[12]
[13]
Filmography
At Your Service, Ltd. (1951) - Roger Buckett
BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1954–1957, TV Series) - Ken Wilson, Ensign Trefusis
Truant in Park Lane (1955) - Robert
St. Ives (1957, TV Series) - Ronald Glichrist
My Friend Charles (1956) - Ken Palmer
Bhowani Junction (1956) - Ranjit Kasel
The Talking Cat (1956) - Lancelot
ITV Television Playhouse (1956, TV Series) - Richard Hinton, Paul
Esmé Divided (1957) - Esmé Vignoles
The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1957) - Derek Robinson
Small Hotel (1957) - Alan Pryor
O.S.S. (1957, TV Series) - Peter Fox
The Mark of the Hawk (1957) - Overholt
The Killing Stones (1958) - Desai
The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series) (1957–1958, TV Series) - Roland, Ali ben Azra
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) - Doctor Hans Kleve
A Woman Possessed (1958) - John
I Only Arsked! (1958) - Mahmoud
Corridors of Blood (1958) - Jonathan Bolton
The Vise (1958–1959, TV Series) - Miles, Rex Varney, Jayo
Theatre Night (1959, TV Series) - Guy Stevens
Interpol Calling (1960) - Fawley
Man from Interpol (1960) - Richard Martin, Maharajah Of Den
Biggles (1960, TV Series)
Sentenced for Life (1960) - Jim Richards
The Cheaters (1961, TV Series) - Jack
The Hellfire Club (1961) - Sir Hugh Manning
The Treasure of Monte Cristo (1961) - Louis Auclair
The Pursuers (1961) - David
Triton (1961, TV series) - Lieutenant Lamb
The Lamp in Assassin Mews (1962) - Jack
Nine Hours to Rama (1963) - Rampure
Hancock (1963, TV series) - Elmo Dent
A Stitch in Time (1963) - Benson
A Little Big Business (1964–1965, TV Series) - Simon Lieberman
The Beauty Jungle (1964) - Taylor
Murder Ahoy (1964) - Lieutenant Compton
The Intelligence Men (1965) - Thomas
Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) - Charles Kent
Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966) - Ivan
That Riviera Touch (1966) - Hotel manager
Just Like a Woman (1967) - Lewis McKenzie
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967–1968, TV Series) -
Captain Scarlet (voice)
Crossplot (1969) - Ruddock
Paul Temple (1969–1971, TV Series) - Paul Temple
Taste of Excitement (1970) - Mr. Breese
Five Women for the Killer (1974) - Giorgio Pisani
Brat Farrar (1986) - Alec Loding
Bunch of Five (1992) - Mr. Strathclyde
Taggart (1993) - Dr. Gerald Napier
The Detectives (1995, TV Series) - Duke of Connemara
Jonathan Creek (1998, TV Series) - Jerry Bellinitus
Do Not Disturb (1999) - Manager
Heartbeat (2002–2003, TV Series) - Dr. James Alway
The Royal (2003) - Dr. James Alway
Cary Comes Home (2004) - Cary Grant
All About George (2005) - Ted
Beautiful People (2009, TV Series) - Mr. Bunions
Run For Your Wife (2012) - (final film role)
Radio
Cast, In Order of Disappearance –
Charles Paris (BBC Radio 2, June 1984)
So Much Blood – Charles Paris (BBC Radio 2, August 1985)
References
^ "
Francis Matthews: Still on the case
Archived 26 May 2013 at the
Wayback Machine ", Mature Times , 17 July 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2013
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Obituary: Francis Matthews, actor" . www.scotsman.com .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g Gaughan, Gavin (15 June 2014).
"Francis Matthews obituary" . The Guardian . Retrieved 2 September 2018 .
^ Chrystal, Paul (15 November 2014).
Secret York . Amberley Publishing Limited.
ISBN
9781445640846 – via Google Books.
^
a
b
"Francis Matthews" . BFI . Archived from
the original on 9 April 2018.
^
a
b Wilkie, Agnes (1986) "
Smoothie and the Brat ",
Evening Times , 15 February 1986, p. 11. Retrieved 19 November 2013
^
"Captain Scarlet Actor Francis Matthews Dies" . Sky News .
^
"Outside Edge: Mysterons beware" . The Independent . 30 September 1993.
^
http://www.theavengers.tv/forever/peel2-24.htm
^ James, Clive (6 April 2017).
Flying Visits: Postcards From The Observer 1976-83 . Pan Macmillan.
ISBN
9781509832385 – via Google Books.
^
"Angela Browne obituary" .
The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 4 November 2017 .
^ Alexandra Topping.
"Francis Matthews, actor who voiced Captain Scarlet, dies aged 86" . The Guardian . Retrieved 9 May 2017 .
^
"Francis Matthews" . Yorkshire Post . Retrieved 5 November 2017 .
External links