- Frank Finlay
Infobox actor
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birthname = Francis Finlay
birthdate = Birth date and age|1926|8|6|df=y
birthplace =Farnworth ,Greater Manchester ,England
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation =actor
website = http://www.frankfinlay.net/
academyawards =
spouse = Doreen Shepherd (deceased)Francis "Frank" Finlay, CBE (born
6 August 1926 ) is a British stage, film and televisionactor .Biography
Personal life
Finlay was born in
Farnworth ,England , the son of Margaret and Josiah Finlay [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/69/Frank-Finlay.html Frank Finlay Biography (1926-) ] ] , a butcher. A devout Catholic,Fact|date=December 2007 he belongs to theBritish Catholic Stage Guild . He was educated atSt. Gregory the Great School and then trained as a butcher himself, gaining aCity and Guilds Diploma in the trade. He met his future wife, Doreen Shepherd, when they were both members of the Farnworth Little Theatre. They lived inWeybridge, Surrey and were married until her death in 2005. [Bolton Evening News, 2nd Jun 2005]tage career
Finlay began his stage career in rep before graduating from
RADA . There followed several appearances at theRoyal Court Theatre , notably in theArnold Wesker trilogy. He is particularly associated with the National Theatre, especially during the Olivier years and its predecessor, theChichester Festival Theatre , where he played a wide variety of roles ranging from the First Gravedigger in "Hamlet " to "Saint Joan","Hobson's Choice ", "Much Ado About Nothing ","The Dutch Courtesan ", "The Crucible ", "Mother Courage", "Juno and the Paycock " and culminating in his controversialIago toLaurence Olivier 's title character in the 1965 film adaptation of "Othello".Finlay's original stage performance of
Iago as an NCO left critics unmoved, but later received high praise when the play was filmed and earned him anAcademy Award nomination. He was also seen on Broadway in "Epitaph for George Dillon " (1958-59), and, also, in the National Theatre and Broadway productions of "Filumena " (opposite Olivier's wife,Joan Plowright ) in 1980.Television and film
His first major success on television was in the title role of "Casanova" in
Dennis Potter 'sBBC2 series of the same name. Following which in 1972, he won perhaps the greatest praise of his career for his portrayal ofAdolf Hitler in "The Death Of Adolf Hitler".He portrayed
Richard Roundtree 's nemesis Amafi in the third Shaft film "Shaft in Africa " (1973) before playing Porthos for directorRichard Lester in "The Three Musketeers" (1973), "The Four Musketeers" (1975) and "The Return of the Musketeers " (1989). He has also appeared several other films, including "The Wild Geese " (1978).He went on to star as the father in the controversial "
Bouquet of Barbed Wire " and he was reunited with his "Bouquet of Barbed Wire" co-star,Susan Penhaligon , when he played Van Helsing in the BBC "Count Dracula" withLouis Jourdan (1977).He appeared in two
Sherlock Holmes films asInspector Lestrade , solving theJack the Ripper murders ("A Study in Terror " and "Murder by Decree "). In 1984, Finlay appeared on American television in "A Christmas Carol". He playedMarley's Ghost oppositeGeorge C. Scott 'sEbenezer Scrooge .Finlay also played a rather slim
Sancho Panza , oppositeRex Harrison 'sDon Quixote , in the 1973 Britishmade-for-television film "The Adventures of Don Quixote", for which he won aBAFTA award. He won another BAFTA award that year for his performance asVoltaire in a non-musicalBBC TV production of "Candide ".He also guest-starred as "The Witchsmeller Pursuivant" in an episode of the popular 1983
British sitcom "The Black Adder".In 1988 Finlay played the role of Justice Peter Mahon in the award-winning
New Zealand televisionminiseries "".In 2002 Finlay portrayed
Adrien Brody 's character's father in theRoman Polanski film "The Pianist" (2002). His most recent appearances have been in the TV series "Life Begins " 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".Filmography
References
External links
*imdb name | id=0277975 | name=Frank Finlay
* [http://frankfinlay.net/index.html Official website]
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