Clement George

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

von und zu Franckenstein (28 May 1944 – 9 May 2019) was an English actor. He was best known for portraying President D'Astier in '' The American President'' (1995), the English Investor in '' Lionheart'' (1990), the Opening Man in ''

Death Becomes Her ''Death Becomes Her'' is a 1992 American satirical black comedy fantasy film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis. Written by David Koepp and Martin Donovan, it stars Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn as rivals who fight for the affections of t ...

'' (1992), Pascal Ferney in ''

The Evening Star ''The Evening Star'' is a 1996 American comedy-drama film. It is a sequel to the Academy Award-winning 1983 film ''Terms of Endearment'' starring Shirley MacLaine, who reprises the role of Aurora Greenway, for which she won an Oscar in the origin ...

'' (1996), Frances Triebverbrecher in '' Take Me Home Tonight'' (2011), Sen. Sestimus Amydias in ''

Hail, Caesar! ''Hail, Caesar!'' is a 2016 period mystery musical black comedy film written, produced, edited and directed by the brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. An American-British-Japanese co-production, the film stars Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Eh ...

'' (2016), and Boss Cass in the '' Ty the Tasmanian Tiger'' video game series (2002–2005).

Biography

Born in Sunninghill, then in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

, on 28 May 1944, Franckenstein was the only child of Editha and

Georg von und zu Franckenstein Georg Albert Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein (18 March 1878 – 14 October 1953), known as Sir George Franckenstein, was an Austrian diplomat and a member of the Franckenstein family. Opposed to the Nazis, he became a British citizen when h ...

; his father was an Austrian '' Reichsfreiherr'' and diplomat who stayed in England after the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the Nazi Germany, German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Ger ...

'' and received a British knighthood and British nationality. Franckenstein's parents died in an aircraft crash in Germany on 14 October 1953, and from the age of nine he was brought up by his parents' British friends. He was educated at Sunningdale School and

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

."Clement von Franckenstein", obituary in the ''Dominion Post'' (New Zealand) of 1 June 2019 page C5 from the ''Telegraph Group'' (UK) He became an actor, initially going to castings as Clement St George as he thought "his real name might scare people". He moved to California in 1972 and joined the gentleman-playboy expat Brits like

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other role ...

. Playing with

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous ...

and

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

, he was a long-standing member of the Beverly Hills Cricket Club. He never married, and was devoted to his beloved cat Tallulah. Franckenstein appeared in some eighty films; sometimes as the debonair escort for the leading lady or just wearing a leather thong. He was in ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victo ...

'', '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' and '' The American President'', but was often low down the cast list or uncredited. He appeared as a corpse in ''

Murder She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The seri ...

''. He said that California changed between the 1970s and the 1990s, as he told the ''Daily Telegraph'' in 1994: "In the 1970s, life was easy, everyone was laid-back, everyone had a good time ... Now it has become oppressive, charmless. You can't smoke in restaurants, everyone is carrying around boxes of condoms, and at parties now there's this thing called the "no host bar" - you have to pay for your own bloody drinks. I mean it's just not on". Mr von Franckenstein told stories from his life for the '' Joe Frank'' radio show, 'Clement at Christmas', from his childhood though his early days in Hollywood, the first half of the show. Von Franckenstein died from hypoxia at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, on 9 May 2019 at the age of 74. He had been in an induced coma for ten days.

Selected filmography

*'' The Slams'' (1973) - Minor Role (uncredited) *''

'' (1974) - Villager Screaming at the Monster From the Bars (uncredited) *'' Lepke'' (1975) - Bugsy Siegel *''Marilyn and the Senator'' (1975) *''

Fantasm ''Fantasm'' is a 1976 Australian softcore pornographic film, directed by Richard Franklin under a pseudonym. It was followed by a sequel, ''Fantasm Comes Again'', the following year, directed by a pseudonymous Colin Eggleston. Plot German psy ...

'' (1976) - High Priest (segment "Blood Orgy") *'' Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell'' (1977) - Reggie *'' The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington'' (1977) - Doctor *''The Gypsy Warriors'' (1978) - British M.P. *'' Time After Time'' (1979) - Bobby *''Cataclysm'' (1980) - (voice) *''

Six Weeks ''Six Weeks'' is a 1982 American drama film directed by Tony Bill and based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Fred Mustard Stewart. It stars Dudley Moore, Mary Tyler Moore, and Katherine Healy. Plot Charlotte Dreyfus, a wealthy cosmetic tyc ...

'' (1982) - TV Interviewer *'' Olivia'' (1983) - Lawyer *'' The Man Who Wasn't There'' (1983) - Grey Crusher *'' Monaco Forever'' (1984) - B.B.C. Broadcaster *'' KGB: The Secret War'' (1985) - Yuri Glebov *''Mission Kill'' (1986) - Ian Kennedy *'' The Boost'' (1988) - Maitre D' - Mortons *''The Lords of Magick'' (1989) - Edgar *''Underground'' (1989) - (uncredited) *'' Transylvania Twist'' (1989) - Hans Hoff *'' The Haunting of Morella'' (1990) - Judge Brock *'' The Invisible Maniac'' (1990) - Dr. McWaters *'' Lionheart'' (1990) - English Investor *''Brush with Death'' (1990) - Truman *''

Shining Through ''Shining Through'' is a 1992 American World War II drama film which was released to United States cinemas on January 31, 1992, written and directed by David Seltzer and starring Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith, with Liam Neeson, Joely Ric ...

'' (1992) - BBC Interviewer *''Body Parts'' (1992) - Jacoby *'' Live Wire'' (1992) - Dr. Bernard *''

'' (1992) - Opening Man *''Over the Line'' (1992) - Dean Hemsley *'' American Ninja V'' (1993) - Glock *'' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993) - Royal Announcer *'' Fatal Instinct'' (1993) - (uncredited) *'' T-Force'' (1994) - UN Ambassador Chris Olsen *'' The American President'' (1995) - President D'Astier *''Dark Secrets'' (1996) - Clement *''

'' (1996) - Pascal Ferney *'' The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery'' (1996) - Herr Von Aigner *''Jamaica Beat'' (1997) - Commissioner Byron Highsmith *''The Landlady'' (1998) - Laurence Gerard *''Intimate Lives: The Women of Manet'' (1998) - Antoine *'' The Debtors'' (1999) *'' Ty the Tasmanian Tiger'' (2002) - Boss Cass *'' Just Married'' (2003) - Car Rental Clerk *''

The Bard's Tale ''The Bard's Tale'' is a fantasy role-playing video game franchise created by Michael Cranford and developed by Brian Fargo's Interplay Productions (1985–1992) and inXile Entertainment (2004–present). The initial title of the series was ''T ...

'' (2004) *'' Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue'' (2004) - Boss Cass *'' Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan'' (2005) - Boss Cass *''Vidrio roto'' (2007) *''

The Kreutzer Sonata ''The Kreutzer Sonata'' (russian: Крейцерова соната, ) is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, named after Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata. The novella was published in 1889, and was promptly censored by the Russian authorities. The work is an ...

'' (2008) - Party Guest *''Tony 5'' (2008) - Rufus *''The Least Among You'' (2009) - Stansfield Tremaine *'' Command Performance'' (2009) - Ambassador Jim Bradley *''

The Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

'' (2011) - Alain First Solicitation *'' Take Me Home Tonight'' (2011) - Frances Triebverbrecher *''Hopelessly in June'' (2011) - Sebastian Teal *''

The Five-Year Engagement ''The Five-Year Engagement'' is a 2012 romantic comedy film written, directed, and produced by Nicholas Stoller. Produced with Judd Apatow and Rodney Rothman, it is co-written by Jason Segel, who also stars in the film with Emily Blunt as a coup ...

'' (2012) - Grandpa Baba *'' Wallenda (2012 film)'' (2012) - Louis Weitzmann *''Micky's Summer Resort'' (2014) - Congressman Brian Moley *'' Unfinished Business'' (2015) - Armand (uncredited) *''

'' (2016) - Sen. Sestimus Amydias *''Somebody's Mother'' (2016) - Monty *''The Matadors'' (2017) - Lord Rothchild *''Angels on Tap'' (2018) - Harry *''Red Handed'' (2019) - Tillman

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franckenstein, Clement George von 1944 births 2019 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors British expatriates in the United States 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors English people of Austrian descent Barons of Austria People educated at Eton College Male actors from Buckinghamshire Male actors from Berkshire People educated at Sunningdale School