Derek Francis (7 November 1923 – 27 March 1984) was an English comedy and character actor.

Biography

Francis was a regular in the Carry On film players, appearing in six of the films in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in '' The Tomb of Ligeia'' (1964), the last film in

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

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series. He also took roles in several

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adaptations of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

novels. His last role was in the 1984 version of ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

''. Other roles included parts in television series of the period such as ''

Rising Damp ''Rising Damp'' is a British sitcom, written by Eric Chappell and produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, which was originally broadcast from 2 September 1974 until 9 May 1978. Chappell adapted the story from his 1973 stage play ''The Banana ...

'', '' Bless Me, Father'', '' Thriller'', '' The Professionals'', '' The Sweeney'', ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

'', '' The New Avengers'', ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

'', '' Jason King'', '' Up Pompeii!'', '' Wild, Wild Women'', ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', and ''

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''. He also appeared as the Emperor

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, a comic turn in the early ''

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'' story entitled '' The Romans'' opposite

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...

. Possibly his most prominent role was as Father Bernard, the Master of Novices in '' Oh Brother!''. Among his stage roles was the title character in ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' (), also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concer ...

'' for the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

in 1957. Francis died of a heart attack in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

, London, at the age of 60.

Selected filmography

* '' The Criminal'' (1960) as The Priest * '' No Love for Johnnie'' (1961) as Frank * '' Two Living, One Dead'' (1961) as Broms * '' Never Back Losers'' (1961) as R.R. Harris * '' The Inspector'' (1962) – Detective Inspector * '' Captain Clegg'' (1962) as Squire Anthony Cobtree * '' Backfire! (1962 film)'' as Arthur Tilsley * '' Master Spy'' (1963) as Police Inspector (uncredited) * '' Bitter Harvest'' (1963) as Mr. Jones * '' The Hi-Jackers'' (1963) as Jack Carter * '' Farewell Performance'' (1963) as Superintendent Raven * '' Smokescreen'' (1964) as Dexter's Doctor (uncredited) * '' This Is My Street'' (1964) as Fingus * ''

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'' (1964) as Superintendent Brett * '' Ring of Spies'' (1964) as Chief Supt. Croft * '' Master Spy'' (1964) as Police Inspector (uncredited) * '' The Comedy Man'' (1964) as Merryweather * '' The Tomb of Ligeia'' (1964) as Lord Trevanion * ''

'' (1965) as Emperor

* ''

The Little Ones ''The Little Ones'' is a 1965 British family comedy film directed and written by Jim O'Connolly and starring Carl Gonzales, Kim Smith, Dudley Foster and Derek Newark. Plot Two poor boys from London, Ted, an abused child and Jackie, the son ...

'' (1965) as Paddy * '' Rasputin, the Mad Monk'' (1966) as Innkeeper * '' Press for Time'' (1966) as Ernest Corcoran (alderman) * '' The Forsyte Saga'' (1967) as Elderson * '' Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon'' (1967) as Puddleby * '' Carry On Doctor'' (1967) as Sir Edmund Burke * '' What's Good for the Goose'' (1969) as Harrington * '' Carry On Camping'' (1969) as a Farmer * '' Crossplot'' (1969) as Sir Charles Moberley * '' Carry On Loving'' (1970) as The Bishop * '' Scrooge'' (1970) as Charity Gentleman * '' Man of Violence'' (1971) as Sam Bryant * '' Say Hello to Yesterday'' (1971) as Park Keeper * '' The Statue'' (1971) as Sanders * '' Carry On Henry'' (1971) as The Farmer * '' Carry On Matron'' (1972) as Arthur * '' Carry On Abroad'' (1972) as Brother Martin * '' To the Devil a Daughter'' (1976) as Bishop * ''

Dickens of London ''Dickens of London'' is a 1976 television miniseries from ITV Yorkshire, Yorkshire Television based on the life of English novelist Charles Dickens. Both Dickens and his father John Dickens, John were played by British actor Roy Dotrice. The s ...

'' (1976) as Stage Manager * ''

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a Nonsense verse, nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' ...

'' (1977) as Bishop * '' The Wicked Lady'' (1983) as Lord Kingsclere * ''

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

'' (1984) as Bishop Lec * ''

'' (1984) as Pemberton (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Derek 1923 births 1984 deaths English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Brighton 20th-century English male actors