Francis Finlay, CBE (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English actor. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Iago in Othello (1965).[1] His first leading television role came in 1971 in Casanova.[1] This led to appearances[2] on The Morecambe and Wise Show.[3] He also appeared in the drama Bouquet of Barbed Wire.[4]
Frank Finlay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Francis Finlay 6 August 1926 Farnworth, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 30 January 2016 (aged 89) Weybridge, Surrey, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1958–2009 |
| Spouse |
Doreen Shepherd
(m. 1954; died 2005) |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | Official website |
Early life
editFinlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Josiah Finlay,[5] and Margaret Finlay. He was educated at St Gregory the Great School, but left at 14 to train as a butcher at Toppings,[6] gaining a City and Guilds Diploma in the trade.
Stage career
editFinlay made his first stage appearances at the local Farnworth Little Theatre, in plays that included Peter Blackmore's Miranda in 1951.[1][6] The current Little Theatre president, also in the cast of that Miranda production, remembers him as a perfectionist in his craft. He also played in repertory, initially in Scotland, before winning a scholarship to RADA in London.[6][1]
There followed several parts in productions at the Royal Court Theatre, such as the Arnold Wesker trilogy. He became particularly associated with the National Theatre, especially during the years when Laurence Olivier was director. Playing Iago opposite Olivier's title character in John Dexter's 1965 production of Othello,[7] and the film adaptation of that production (also 1965),[1][6] Finlay's performance left theatre critics unmoved, but he later received high praise for the film version and gained an Academy Award nomination.[8] The critic John Simon wrote that the close-ups in the film allowed Finlay to give a more subtle and effective performance than he had done on stage.
At the Chichester Festival Theatre, Finlay played roles ranging from the First Gravedigger in Hamlet to Josef Frank in Weapons of Happiness. He also appeared in The Party, Plunder, Saint Joan, Hobson's Choice, Amadeus (as Salieri),[9] Much Ado About Nothing (as Dogberry), The Dutch Courtesan, The Crucible, Mother Courage, and Juno and the Paycock.
Finlay made appearances on Broadway, in Epitaph for George Dillon (1958–1959), and in the National Theatre and Broadway productions of Filumena opposite Joan Plowright in 1980.[10] Between November 1988 and April 1989, Finlay toured Australia, performing in Jeffrey Archer's Beyond Reasonable Doubt at theatres in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.[11]
Screen
editThis section relies largely or entirely on a single source. (January 2016) |
One of his earliest television roles was in the family space adventure serial Target Luna (1960), as journalist Conway Henderson. Finlay's first major television success was as Jean Valjean in the BBC's 1967 ten-part adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. He played the title role of Dennis Potter's BBC 2 series Casanova (1971).[1] Following this, he portrayed Adolf Hitler in The Death of Adolf Hitler (1973) for London Weekend Television.[9]
Finlay portrayed Richard Roundtree's nemesis, Amafi, in the film Shaft in Africa (1973), before playing Porthos for director Richard Lester in The Three Musketeers (also 1973),[1] The Four Musketeers (1975) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989).[1] He appeared in several additional films, including The Wild Geese (1978)[1] and The Key by Tinto Brass.
Finlay starred as the father in the once-controversial Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1976), and its sequel Another Bouquet (1977), and he was reunited with his Bouquet of Barbed Wire co-star, Susan Penhaligon, when he played Professor Van Helsing in the BBC's Count Dracula (also 1977), with Louis Jourdan. He appeared in two Sherlock Holmes films as Lestrade, solving the Jack the Ripper murders (A Study in Terror, 1965, and Murder by Decree, 1979). He also played a role as the primary antagonist in an adaptation of "The Golden Pince-Nez" of the Granada Television series of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett, in which his son Daniel played a minor role as well. Finlay appeared on American television in A Christmas Carol (1984) playing Marley's Ghost opposite George C. Scott's Ebenezer Scrooge. He also guest-starred as a farcical witch-smeller in an episode of The Black Adder ("Witchsmeller Pursuivant", 1983), opposite Rowan Atkinson.[1]
In 1994 he played Howard Franklin in fourth-series Heartbeat episode "Lost and Found".
Finlay played Sancho Panza opposite Rex Harrison's Don Quixote in the 1973 British made-for-television film The Adventures of Don Quixote,[12] for which he won a BAFTA award.[13] He won another BAFTA award that year for his performance as Voltaire in the BBC TV production of Candide.[9]
Finlay played the role of Justice Peter Mahon in the award-winning New Zealand television serial Erebus: The Aftermath (1988). In the Roman Polanski film The Pianist (2002),[1][6] he took on the part of Adrien Brody's father. He starred alongside Pete Postlethwaite and Geraldine James in the BBC drama series The Sins in 2000, playing the funeral director "Uncle" Irwin Green. He appeared in the TV series Life Begins (2004–2006)[1] and as Jane Tennison's father in the last two stories of Prime Suspect (2006 and 2007). In 2007, he guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio adventure 100. Finlay appeared in November 2008 in the eleventh episode of the BBC drama series Merlin, as "Anhora, Keeper of the Unicorns".[1]
Personal life and honours
editFinlay met his future wife Doreen Shepherd when both belonged to Farnworth Little Theatre. They had three children, Stephen, Cathy, and Daniel,[6] lived in Shepperton, Middlesex. She died in 2005 aged 79.[6] As a Roman Catholic,[14] Finlay became a member of the British Catholic Stage Guild (now the Catholic Association of Performing Arts).
Finlay was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year's Honours of 1984[1][15] and an honorary doctor of the University of Bolton in 2009.[6]
Death
editFinlay died on 30 January 2016 at his home in Weybridge, Surrey, England, aged 89, from heart failure.[1][16][17][18][9]
Filmography
editFilm
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Play For Today | Andrew Firth | Episode: "The Lie" (written by Ingmar Bergman) | [19] |
| 1971 | Casanova | Casanova | Main role | [1] |
| 1973 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Adolf Hitler | Episode: "The Death of Adolf Hitler" | [9] |
| 1976 | Bouquet of Barbed Wire | Peter Manson | TV mini-series | [4][9][17] |
| 1977 | Count Dracula | Abraham Van Helsing | TV movie | [9] |
| 1983 | The Black Adder | The Witchsmeller Pursuivant | Episode: "Witchsmeller Pursuivant" | [1][9] |
| 1984 | Sakharov | Kravtsov | TV movie | |
| A Christmas Carol | Jacob Marley's Ghost | [9] | ||
| 1987 | Casanova | Razetta | [17] | |
| 1988 | Erebus: The Aftermath | Justice Peter Mahon | TV Mini-Series | |
| 1998–1999 | How Do You Want Me? | Astley Yardley | 10 episodes | |
| 2000 | The Sins | 'Uncle' Irwin Green | BBC drama series | |
| 2003 | Eroica | Joseph Haydn | TV movie | |
| The Lost Prince | H.H. Asquith | |||
| 2004 | Life Begins | Eric | ITV Series | |
| 2008 | Merlin | Anhora | Episode: "The Labyrinth of Gedref" | [1] |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x BBC News, "Actor Frank Finlay dies aged 89", 31 January 2016. Accessed 1 February 2016.
- ^ "Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show 1978". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
- ^ Gary Morecambe, Eric Morecambe: Life's Not Hollywood It's Cricklewood. BBC Books, 2004, p. 210.
- ^ a b Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "Frank Finlay profile". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Family pays tribute to 'loving grandfather' and 'damn fine actor' Frank Finlay". The Bolton News.
- ^ Fox, Margalit (6 February 2016). "Frank Finlay, 89, Is Dead; Was Iago to Olivier's Othello". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ "Awards listing". Awardsdatabase.oscars.org. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Obituary: Frank Finlay". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ The Broadway League. "Frank Finlay profile". IBDB.com. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ "Beyond Reasonable Doubt". FrankFinlay.Net. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ Josephdreams. "Frank Finlay website". Frank Finlay. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ "BAFTA Television Awards". Bafta.org. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ Deborah Ross (24 February 1998). "Interview: Frank Finlay: Getting to over the barbed wire". The Independent. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ "No. 49583". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1983. p. 8.
- ^ Josephdreams. "Frank Finlay". frankfinlay.net.
- ^ a b c d e "Frank Finlay dead: British Oscar-nominated actor who played opposite Olivier dies aged 89". The Independent. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ "Actor Frank Finlay dies aged 89". BBC News. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ The Lie, 29 October 1970 – via IMDb
External links
edit- Official website
- Frank Finlay at IMDb
- Frank Finlay at the Internet Broadway Database
- Obituary at the Bolton News [1 February 2016] Retrieved 7 February 2016.