Frank Permain Vosper (15 December 1899 – 6 March 1937) was an English actor who appeared in both stage and film roles and a dramatist, playwright and screenwriter.
Stage
Vosper made his stage debut in 1919 and was best known for playing urbane villains.
His extensive stage experience included appearing in his own play ''
Love from a Stranger'' (1936), adapted from the short story "
Philomel Cottage" by
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
.
His screenplays included co-writing the comedy ''
No Funny Business'' (1933) with
Victor Hanbury. He also co-wrote the adaptation of G.B. Stern's novel ''Debonair'' with the novelist which opened at the Lyric 23 April 1930.
He also wrote ''People Like Us'', based on the case of
Edith Thompson and
Frederick Bywaters. Banned by the
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
after a performance at the
Strand Theatre featuring
Atholl Fleming, it remained unperformed until 1948, when it premiered at
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c. 1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the arch ...
in London, with
Miles Malleson
William Miles Malleson (25 May 1888 – 15 March 1969) was an English actor and dramatist, particularly remembered for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career, he also appeared in cameo roles ...
, George Rose,
Robert Flemyng and Kathleen Michael.
Death
Vosper drowned on 6 March 1937, when he fell from the ocean liner ''
SS Paris''. His body was found several weeks later on 22 March washed up on the shores near Beachy Head. The death was eventually ruled as
accidental after considerable media speculation.
Several newspapers reported that earlier in the evening Vosper had been attending a farewell party for Miss Muriel Oxford, "Miss Great Britain" of 1936, in her cabin, and that he had threatened suicide if she refused to marry him. Miss Oxford reported that her last conversation with Vosper was "quite normal" and that he never threatened suicide.
According to the ''
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
'' Fiction Library edition of ''
Murder on the Second Floor
''Murder on the Second Floor'' is a 1932 British thriller film directed by William C. McGann and starring Pat Paterson, John Longden and Sydney Fairbrother. The screenplay concerns a novelist who imagines the murders of his fellow boarding ...
'', Vosper fell from the French ocean liner ''
SS Normandie
SS ''Normandie'' was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the French Line ''Compagnie Générale Transatlantique'' (CGT). She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat, transatlantic crossing, ...
'', while contemporary newspaper accounts and the evidence produced at the inquest stated it was the liner ''SS Paris''.
Filmography
Actor
Screenwriter
Plays
* ''
The Combined Maze'' (1927)
* ''
Murder on the Second Floor
''Murder on the Second Floor'' is a 1932 British thriller film directed by William C. McGann and starring Pat Paterson, John Longden and Sydney Fairbrother. The screenplay concerns a novelist who imagines the murders of his fellow boarding ...
'' (1929) - later adapted by Vosper into a novel of the same name.
* ''
Debonair'' (1930)
* ''
Love from a Stranger'' (1936)
References
External links
*
*
Portrait of the actor Frank Vosper by Thomas Staedeliat www.cyranos.ch Short biography and photograph of Vosper.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vosper, Frank
1899 births
1937 deaths
Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom
Accidental deaths from falls
20th-century English male actors
English male stage actors
English male film actors
English male dramatists and playwrights
20th-century English dramatists and playwrights
20th-century English male writers
Actors from the London Borough of Camden
Male actors from London