Frank Thornton

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Frank Thornton (born January 15, 1921 in London , † March 16, 2013 there ) was a British actor .

Life

Family and education

Frank Thornton was born as Frank Thornton Ball to William Ernest Ball and his wife Rosina Mary (Thornton) Ball in the London borough of Dulwich . His father was a bank clerk and also worked as an organist at St Stephen's Church in Dulwich; Thornton himself learned to play the organ at times. Thornton attended Alleyn's School. At the urging of his father, Thornton learned a solid profession and worked as an employee at an insurance company .

Beginnings of the theater career

He attended the London School of Dramatic Art in South Kensington , where he first took evening classes; after two years he enrolled there as a full-time student. In 1940 he completed his acting training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art . He made his professional stage actor debut in Ireland in 1940 at Confraternity Hall in Thurles , County Tipperary . He played the role of Brian Curtis in Terence Rattigan's play French Without Tears . He then toured Ireland with various theater productions, where he performed in small towns.

In 1941 he became a member of the Shakesperean Company under the direction of Donald Wolfit . With this theater company he made his London debut at the Strand Theater in 1941; he played Fenton and Bardolph in Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor . In the same year 1941 he went on a tour of England with Wolfit's theater company; he played the role of Dewhurst in the play The Scarlet Seal by Emma Orczy . In the 1941/1942 season he appeared at the Strand Theater in London as Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream and as Laertes in Hamlet . In 1942, Wolfits Shakesperean Company made his debut at St James's Theater in London, as Mosca in the comedy Volpone . He was then engaged in 1942 by Sir John Gielgud for two minor roles (Angus; a Scottish lord) for the revival of Macbeth at the Piccadilly Theater. He also took on the role of Corporal Jones in a West End production of the play Flare Path by Terence Rattigan (Apollo Theater, 1942).

military service

In November 1942 he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF), where he trained as a navigator in Canada . In January 1945 he returned to Great Britain and completed his operational training. In the summer of 1945 he joined the RAF's entertainment unit. In 1947 he retired from the army with the rank of first lieutenant in the air force .

Theater career after the war

In 1947 he resumed his theater career at the Southsea Repertory Theater. He played Franzel in Ivor Novellos musical The Dancing Years (1947-1948) and the role of the hapless Gregory Throstle in Vernon Sylvaines farce One Wild Oat . After a few theater roles in the 1950s, including short-lived West End musicals, Thornton appeared at the 1960 Dublin Theater Festival; he played the caliph in the play Hassan by James Elroy Flecker . 1960 followed the role of Ludovico Nota in Luigi Pirandello's play The Naked Dress at the Oxford Playhouse Theater.

In the mid-1960s, he appeared as Edward in Charles Woods play Meals on Wheels (1965; Royal Court Theater London), as Crown Attorney in the crime play Alibi for a Judge (Savoy Theater London; 1966) by Henry Cecil Leon (1902-1976) and in the roles of Minnit and Procurio in the musical The Young Visitors (Piccadilly Theater; 1968). In 1970 he was at the Strand Theater, London, where he guest-starred Councilor Parker in the Yorkshire comedy When We Are Married directed by John Boynton Priestley . In 1971/1972 he played the role of the donkey "I-Aah" in a stage version of Pooh at the Phoenix Theater in London . In 1974 and 1975 he appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company , as Junker Andreas Bleichenwang in Was ihr wollt and, alongside Nicol Williamson (title role), as King Duncan in Macbeth (first 1974 in Stratford-upon-Avon ; then 1975 at the Aldwych Theater, London).

Later theater career

His stage roles in the later years of his career included: Sir Justin Holbrook (with Donald Sinden as partner) in the comedy Shut Your Eyes and Think of England by John Roy Chapman (Apollo Theater; 1977), Ernest in Bedroom Farce (Theater Royal, Windsor; 1979), George in Jumpers by Tom Stoppard (Thorndike Theater, Leatherhead; 1979), Dr. Sloper in The Heiress (Yvonne Arnaud Theater, Guildford; 1981), Malvolio in Was ihr wollt (Watermill Theater, Newbury; 1981), Sir Joseph Porter in HMS Pinafore (Queen Elizabeth Hall, London; 1982), Johann von Gaunt in Richard II (Ludlow Festival, Ludlow; 1987), Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance (Theater Royal, Plymouth; 1987) and Captain Hook in Peter Pan (Connaught Theater, Worthing; 1988). In 1989 he appeared at the Strand Theater in London as Count Schabelski in Ivanov and as Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing .

A great stage success for Thornton was the role of Sir John Tremayne in the musical Me and My Girl . Thornton played this role first in 1984 at the Haymarket Theater in Leicester , then later at the Adelphi Theater in London (1985-1986). For this role he received an Olivier Award nomination . In the 1990s he was in the musical Spread a Little Happiness (1992) and at the Barbican Theater as part of the Barbican's Lost Musicals Series in the musicals Music in the Air (1993), Strike Up the Band by George Gershwin (1994) and Take See Me Along (1995).

Movie and TV

Thornton's film career began in the early 1950s. His first role in which he was mentioned in the credits was the role of Inspector Finch in the crime film Radio Cab Murder (1954). He made regular appearances in motion pictures in the 1960s and 1970s. He mostly played supporting roles in film comedies, among others in The Big Knüller (1962; as a wedding photographer), The totally crazy office party (1963; as a manager), The big bottle (1965; as a drunk doctor), It's crazy - Alarm im Gruselschloß ( 1966; as Mr. Jones), the old Romans had a great time (1966; as a Roman senator), house friends are also people (1968; as factory manager), After (1969), Some Will, Some Won't (1970; as hotel manager ), Down with the chastity belt (1971; as master of ceremonies), and please no sex, we are British (1973; as business owner). In 1970 he played the one-armed porter of the Diogenes Club in the British comedy The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes .

In 2001 he had a small role as Mr. Burkett in the feature film Gosford Park .

Thornton worked primarily for television since the 1950s, specializing in roles in comedy series and sitcoms . He was a regular on the British sitcoms It's a Square World (1960-1962), Hancock (1961), The Goodies (1971-1977), Sykes (1972) and Love Thy Neighbor (1972). He was in a total of five episodes of the sitcom Steptoe and Son , in the first season of the series from 1962 to 1965. In 1973, he starred in the film Steptoe and Son Ride Again and in the Christmas special of the series. He was thus next to the stars of the series, Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett , the actor with the most recurring appearances in the series.

Thornton had his best-known television role from 1972 to 1985 in the BBC comedy series Are You Being Served? . In it he embodied Captain Peacock, the haughty department head and war veteran. He also took on this role from 1992 to 1993 in the sitcom Grace & Favor , the sequel to the series. Thornton also played the role of Captain Peacock on stage. He appeared in this role in a theatrical version in the summer of 1976 at the Winter Gardens Theater in Blackpool during the "Blackpool Summer Season".

After Trevor Bannister's death in April 2011, Thornton was one of the last two surviving actors of the series' original cast.

In 1997 he took on the role of Herbert "Truly" Truelove in the British sitcom Last of the Summer Wine . He replaced Brian Wilde , who suggested him for the role. Thornton played the role until 2010.

He also had appearances in the television series The Four Righteous (1959-1960), With Umbrella, Charm and Melon (1961; 1976), Coronation Street (1966), Crown Court (1974), Emmerdale (2000; 2002 as Bert Dingle), Casualty (2001) and Doctors (2003).

Thornton also acted in some television films . In 1974 he played Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in the British mini-series Fall of Eagles . In 1980 he starred in the role of suitor Gremio alongside John Cleese (Petruchio) in the BBC Shakespeare production of The Taming of the Shrew .

Private

In June 1945 Thornton married actress Beryl Jane Margaret Evans in West Wickham , London. The marriage had a daughter, Jane. His private interests included music , photography and wildlife conservation .

Thornton died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Barnes , London, early in the morning on March 16, 2013, aged 92 .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1954: Radio Cab Murder
  • 1955: Stock Car
  • 1956: Cloak Without Dagger
  • 1959–1960: The Four Just Men (TV series)
  • 1960: The Tell-Tale Heart
  • 1960–1962: It's a Square World (TV series)
  • 1961: John Drake (Danger Man) (TV series)
  • 1961: Hancock (sitcom)
  • 1961; 1976: With umbrella, charm and bowler hat (TV series)
  • 1962: The Dock Brief
  • 1962–1973: Steptoe and Son (sitcom)
  • 1963: The Crazy Office Party (The Wild Affair)
  • 1964: The Tomb of Ligeia
  • 1965: The Big Bottle (The Early Bird)
  • 1966: Coronation Street (TV series)
  • 1966: It's crazy - alarm in the horror castle (carry on screaming!)
  • 1966: Funny Thing Happened on the ancient Romans (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum)
  • 1968: House friends are people too (The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom)
  • 1969: Afterwards (The Bed Sitting Room)
  • 1970: Some Will, Some Won't
  • 1970: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes)
  • 1971: Up the Chastity Belt
  • 1971–1977: The Goodies (sitcom)
  • 1972: Love Thy Neighbor (sitcom)
  • 1972: Sykes (sitcom)
  • 1972–1985: Are You Being Served? (TV series)
  • 1973: No Sex Please: We're British
  • 1974: Crown Court (TV series)
  • 1974: Fall of Eagles (mini-series)
  • 1980: The Taming of the Shrew (screen adaptation)
  • 1992–1993: Grace & Favor (TV series)
  • 1997-2010: Last of the Summer Wine
  • 2000; 2002: Emmerdale (TV series)
  • 2001: Gosford Park (Gosford Park)
  • 2001: Casualty (TV series)
  • 2003: Doctors (TV series)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Are You Being Served? Actor Frank Thornton dies aged 92 , BBC News March 18, 2013
  2. ↑ Frank Thornton Biography (1921-) Short biography and list of roles
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Frank Thornton obituary in: The Daily Telegraph of March 18, 2013
  4. ↑ a b Richard Webber: I'm Free! - The Complete Are You Being Served? . Orion Books, 1999, ISBN 978-0-7528-1866-5 .
  5. ↑ a b c Frank Thornton obituary in: The Guardian, March 18, 2013
  6. ↑ Trevor Bannister, Are You Being Served's Mr Lucas, dies aged 76 . In: The Guardian , Guardian.co.uk, April 15, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2012. 
  7. ↑ Are You Being Served? star Trevor Bannister dies at 76 , BBC. April 15, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2012. 
  8. ↑ Biography for Frank Thornton . IMDb. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
personal data
SURNAME Thornton, Frank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thornton Ball, Frank (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH London , England, UK
DATE OF DEATH March 16, 2013
Place of death London , England, UK