Derek Francis
Birthday: Born in 1923-11-07 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK
Deathday: 1984-03-27
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Derek Francis (born 7 November 1923 in Brighton - died 27 March 1984 in Wimbledon, London) was an English comedy and character actor. Description above from the Wikipedia article Derek Francis, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
TV Credits
Thriller
Character: Shelby Grafton
Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits....
Softly, Softly
Character:
Softly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern, supposedly in the Bristol area of England....
Z-Cars
Character:
Z-Cars or Z Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978....
The Professionals
Character: Len Hatch
The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contenti...
The Sweeney
Character: Raymond Meadows
Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter....
Jason King
Character:
Jason King - a suavely sophisticated former secret agent turned novelist - travels the world searching for material to fill his books, encountering an endless parade of glamorous women, exotic locales, menacing villains and daring intrigue! Before Austin Powers swung into action, Jason King set the standard for the hip crime-fighting international playboy! ...
The Scales of Justice
Character: Henry Dobbs
Not strictly TV productions, "The Scales of Justice" were cinema second features produced for Anglo Amalgamated running around 30 minutes and followed the "Scotland Yard" series of shorts also introduced by Edgar Lustgarten. Production was sporadic (presumably filling gaps in the Edgar Wallace schedule), the first three released Nov-Dec 1962, a second batch of three released Sept/Oct 1963, two more in Feb 1965, one in Dec 1965 and a final batch (in colour) Sept 1966 to March 1967. The usual Mert...
The Sentimental Agent
Character:
The Sentimental Agent is a television drama series spin-off from Man of the World. It was produced in the United Kingdom in 1963 by Associated Television and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It stars Carlos Thompson as Argentinian Carlos Varela, a successful import-export agent based in London. The series ran for 13 one-hour monochrome episodes. Some of the episodes were edited into a 1962 feature film Our Man in the Caribbean....
Catweazle
Character: Inspector Pugh
A medieval wizard (though not a very good one) Catweazle is transported to the modern age... A British television series, created and written by Richard Carpenter which was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for London Weekend Television under the LWI banner, and screened in the UK on ITV in 1970. A second season in 1971 was directed by David Reid and David Lane. Both series had thirteen episodes each, with Geoffrey Bayldon playing the leading role. The series was broadcast in Ireland, ...
The New Avengers
Character: The Bishop
The New Avengers is a British secret agent fantasy adventure television series broadcast during 1976 and 1977. It is a sequel to the 1960s series The Avengers and was developed by Albert Fennell and Brian Clemens. A joint United Kingdom-France-Canada production, the show picks up the adventures of John Steed and his team of Avengers fighting evil plots and world domination. Whereas in the original series Steed had almost always been partnered with a woman, in the new series he had two partners:...
Shirley's World
Character:
Shirley's World is a television series aired first by American Broadcasting Company during the U.S. 1971-72 television season. The sitcom was co-produced by the British ITC Entertainment and American producer Sheldon Leonard; it starred Shirley MacLaine as a photojournalist and John Gregson as her editor. Immediately after the ABC broadcasts ended, the seventeen-episode series was aired in its entirety on ITV in the United Kingdom....
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
Character: Dixon
Adaptations of mystery stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's contemporary rivals in the genre....
No Hiding Place
Character:
No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series Murder Bag and Crime Sheet, all starring Raymond Francis as Detective Superintendent, later Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart....
Fall of Eagles
Character: Edward VII of England
"Fall of Eagles" is a 13-part British television drama aired by the BBC in 1974. The series portrays historical events from 1848 to 1918, dealing with the collapse of the ruling dynasties of Austria-Hungary (the Habsburgs), Germany (the Hohenzollerns) and Russia (the Romanovs)....
Man in a Suitcase
Character:
Accused of treason, a former U.S. intelligence officer based in London tries to clear his name, taking on freelance jobs around Europe as he searches for answers....
Whoops Baghdad
Character:
Whoops Baghdad is a BBC television comedy programme first broadcast from 25 January to 1 March 1973. It stars Frankie Howerd, and was similar to his earlier programme Up Pompeii!, with the setting moved from Ancient Rome to mediaeval Baghdad. However, it was less successful than its predecessor, only running for six episodes and is little remembered, although all episodes apparently survive. The original proposed title, Up Baghdad, was rejected because it was felt that it might have been seen ...
Oh, Brother!
Character:
Oh, Brother! is a British situation comedy show on BBC television starring Derek Nimmo, which was broadcast between 1968 and 1970....
Detective
Character:
A BBC anthology series featuring adaptations of detective stories over 45 episodes in three seasons that ran from 1964 to 1969. As with many BBC programmes made before the early 1970s, many of its episodes no longer exist. Of the eighteen episodes from the first season only twelve are currently known to exist; likewise six of the sixteen editions from the second run are considered lost, and just one of the final ten survives in the archives....
Thirty-Minute Theatre
Character:
Thirty-Minute Theatre is an anthology drama series of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, which was used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short running length, and which therefore attracted many writers who later became well known. Thirty-Minute Theatre followed on from a similarly named ITV series, beginning on BBC2 in 1965 with an adaptation of the black comedy Parsons Pleasure. In 1967 BBC2 launched the UK's first colour service,...
Paul Temple
Character:
Paul Temple is a British-German television series . It features Francis Matthews as Paul Temple, the fictional detective created by Francis Durbridge, who solves crimes with the assistance of his wife Steve. Paul Temple used overseas locations in France, Malta, Germany and elsewhere. T...
Nicholas Nickleby
Character: Wackford Squeers
Nigel Havers stars as the young Nicholas Nickleby in the BBC’s triumphant adaptation of one of Charles Dickens’ most celebrated novels. Upon the death of his father Nicholas, along with his mother and sister, finds himself destitute and at the mercy of his stern Uncle Ralph. Ralph cruelly dispatches his niece to a dressmaking establishment, while Nicholas is sent to a vile and oppressive boarding school for unwanted and unloved children run by the sadistic Wackford Squeers. Darkly satirical, ang...
Justice
Character: Charles Breedon
Justice is a British drama television series which originally aired on ITV in 39 hour-long episodes between 8 August 1971 and 16 October 1974. Margaret Lockwood stars as Harriet Peterson a female barrister in the North of England. It was made by Yorkshire Television and was based loosely on Justice Is a Woman, an episode of ITV Playhouse broadcast in 1969 in which Lockwood had previously also played a barrister. The theme music was Crown Imperial by William Walton....
Thriller
Character: Sam
Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits....
Justice
Character: Judge
Justice is a British drama television series which originally aired on ITV in 39 hour-long episodes between 8 August 1971 and 16 October 1974. Margaret Lockwood stars as Harriet Peterson a female barrister in the North of England. It was made by Yorkshire Television and was based loosely on Justice Is a Woman, an episode of ITV Playhouse broadcast in 1969 in which Lockwood had previously also played a barrister. The theme music was Crown Imperial by William Walton....
The Main Chance
Character: Sir James Darren
The Main Chance was a British television series which first aired on ITV between 1969,1970,1972 and 1975. A drama, it depicts the sudden transformation in the life of solicitor David Main who relocates from London to Leeds....
Beryl Reid
Character:
Beryl Reid performs her favourite comedy sketches and scenes, featuring some of her own famous characters, with special guests....
Great Expectations
Character: Mr Jaggers
Violence and Victorian gentility meet in this powerful adaptations of one of Dickens's greatest creations, his most piercing examination of upward mobility....
Armchair Theatre
Character: John Goggin
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968....
Rising Damp
Character: Mr. French
Set in a seedy bedsit, the cowardly landlord Rigsby has his conceits debunked by his long suffering tenants....
Crown Court
Character: His Honour Judge Daniel Hastings
Crown Court is an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984....
Armchair Theatre
Character: Percy Grey
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968....
Sherlock Holmes
Character: Mycroft Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company BBC between 1965 and 1968. This was the second screen adaption of Sherlock Holmes for BBC Television....
Sykes
Character: Mr. Belvadere
Classic sitcom starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques as brother and sister twins who have to tackle the trials and tribulations of suburban life....
The Professionals
Character: John Howard
The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contenti...
The Agatha Christie Hour
Character: Uncle George
This ten episode program was based on ten short stories written by Agatha Christie but with wide-ranging themes. Some were romances, some had supernatural themes and a couple were adventures. The common link was that all came from the talented pen of Agatha Christie, all were entertaining and each drama was carefully crafted and well cast with many of Britain's best known actors of the time represented....
Up Pompeii!
Character: Senator Lecherous
Up Pompeii! is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the Carry On films, and the second series by Rothwell and Sid Colin. Two later specials were transmitted in 1975 and 1991....
Movie Credits
Carry On Doctor
Character: Sir Edmund Burke
Francis Bigger, a notorious charlatan who tours the country lecturing on the subject of mind over matter, slips off the platform in the middle of his performance and ends up in hospital under the care of Dr Tinkle. The hospital is about to enter a period of total chaos....
The Criminal
Character: Priest
When a robbery at a racetrack goes wrong ex-con Johnny Bannion is caught and sent back to prison. He won't tell the rest of the gang where he has stashed the loot leading to violent consequences....
Carry On Matron
Character: Arthur
A gang of thieves plan to make their fortune by stealing a shipment of contraceptive pills from Finisham maternity hospital. They assume disguises and infiltrate the hospital, but everything doesn't go according to plan. The hypochondriac consultant Sir Bernard Cutting, Matron and the doctors and nurses at Finisham have a habit of getting in the way....
To the Devil a Daughter
Character: Bishop
An American occult novelist battles to save the soul of a young girl from a group of Satanists, led by an excommunicated priest, who plan on using her as the representative of the Devil on Earth....
Rasputin: The Mad Monk
Character: Innkeeper
Rasputin, a crazed and debauched monk wreaks havoc at the local inn one night, chopping off the hand of one of the drinkers. As the bitter locals plan their revenge, the evil Rasputin works his power over the beautiful women who serve at the Tsar's palace. Even the Tsarina herself is seduced by his evil ways and, as his influence begins to dominate government policy, there is only one course of action left... to destroy him before he destroys them all....
Scrooge
Character: 1st Gentleman of Charity
A musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic ghost tale starring Albert Finney....
The Tomb of Ligeia
Character: Lord Trevanion
Verden Fell is shattered after the death of his lovely wife. But, after an unexpected encounter with Lady Rowena Trevanion, Fell soon finds himself married again. Nevertheless, his late wife's spirit seems to hang over the dilapidated abbey that Fell shares with his new bride. Lady Rowena senses that something is amiss and, when she investigates, makes a horrifying discovery -- learning that Fell's dead wife is closer than she ever imagined possible....
Pity About the Abbey
Character: Lord Barnett
Satirical play in which businessmen want to destroy Westminster Abbey to make way for a bypass....
The Connoisseur
Character: G.C. Stoupe
George Stoupe, successful housemaster at the public school, has an eye to the main chance against his retirement. He chooses the boys for his house if their parents are rich and likely to help him in his profitable art-dealing sideline. Trouble threatens when the head boy of the house tries to expose some of the mal-practices amomg the boys....
Man of Violence
Character: Sam Bryant
Moon (Michael Latimer) is a mercenary who joins forces with two crooked cops in an attempt to steal 90 million dollars in gold from an Arab country decimated by political chaos. Sex, violence and mayhem accompany the group of double-crossing heavies who covet the purloined loot. A bevy of females willingly submit to seduction, and a sadistic homosexual murderer trails Moon and his malevolent gang for the gold in this compelling crime drama....
Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
Character: Puddleby
Phineas T. Barnum and friends finance the first flight to the moon but find the task a little above them. They attempt to blast their rocket into orbit from a massive gun barrel built into the side of a Welsh mountain, but money troubles, spies and saboteurs ensure that the plan is doomed before it starts......
Backfire!
Character: Arthur Tilsley
Arson is the way out for a failing cosmetics company....
The Snag
Character: John Goggin
When developer John Goggin plans to build a civic center, only Emma Mannering's corset shop stands in the way, and she refuses to sell, so he sends his unscrupulous assistant Ed Crayshaw to "fix" things, but instead, he's double-crossed....
Captain Clegg
Character: Squire Anthony Cobtree
A captain and his sailors investigate the rampaging "Marsh Phantoms" terrorizing a coastal town, but their search is hindered by a local reverend and a horrifying curse....
Carry On Abroad
Character: Brother Martin
A group of holidaymakers head for the Spanish resort of Elsbels for a 4-day visit. When they get there, they find the Hotel still hasn't been finished being built, and the weather is awful. And there is something strange about the staff—they all look very similar. To top it all off, the weather seems to be having an adverse affect on the Hotel's foundations....
Carry On Camping
Character: Farmer
Sid and Bernie keep having their amorous intentions snubbed by their girlfriends Joan and Anthea, so when they decide to take them on a holiday to Paradise Camp, they think they're off to a nudist colony—but they couldn't be more wrong, and meet up with the weirdest bunch of campers you can imagine....
Crossplot
Character: Sir Charles Moberley
A successful London ad-exec hires a beautiful Hungarian girl to pose for some modeling shots, little realising that she has overheard an assassination plot and is now being hunted by some dangerous killers....
Say Hello to Yesterday
Character: Park Keeper
Approaching middle-age and stuck in an unfulfilled marriage, a suburban British housewife allows herself a sexual fling with a brash young hunk she meets on a commuter train....
The Hi-Jackers
Character: Jack Carter
A self-employed lorry driver is determined to find the criminals responsible for hijacking him....
Press for Time
Character: Ernest Corcoran
Norman is quite happy selling newspapers outside Westminster station but his Grandfather (the Prime Minister) wants to get him "a more responsible job". A few favours are called in and Norman becomes the newest reporter at the seaside town of Tinmouth. After causing chaos at a local council meeting and causing the demolition of a new house he tries to organise a beauty pageant. A slapstick tale of corruption in high and low places...
Pope John Paul II
Character: Bishop Lec
Bio-drama tracing the life and career of Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyla from his days as a young activist in Poland to his rise and installation in 1978 as Pope of the Catholic world....
Jabberwocky
Character: Bishop
After the death of his father, young Dennis Cooper goes to town where he has to pass several adventures. The town and the whole kingdom is threatened by a terrible monster called 'Jabberwocky'. Will Dennis make his fortune? Is anyone brave enough to defeat the monster?...
Ring of Spies
Character: Chief Supt. Croft
The film is based on the actual events of the Portland Spy Ring trial in the U.K. A disgruntled Navy Clerk is transferred to a secret research establishment and is subsequently black-mailed/paid by Czech intelligence to procure secrets for them. He seduces the secretary who controls the most secret documents, and they enjoy the fruits of their treachery until the British authorities begin to close in on them....
The Wicked Lady
Character: Lord Kingsclere
Caroline is to be wed to Sir Ralph and invites her sister Barbara to be her bridesmaid. Barbara seduces Ralph, however, and she becomes the new Lady, but despite her new wealthy situation, she gets bored and turns to highway robbery for thrills. While on the road she meets a famous highwayman, and they continue as a team, but some people begin suspecting her identity, and she risks death if she continues her nefarious activities....
Carry On Henry
Character: Farmer
Henry VIII has just married Marie of Normandy, and is eager to consummate their marriage. Unfortunately for Henry, she is always eating garlic, and refuses to stop. Deciding to get rid of her in his usual manner, Henry has to find some way of doing it without provoking war with Marie's cousin, the King of France. Perhaps if she had an affair......
The Death of Adolf Hitler
Character: Prof. Morell
The final days in the Bunker, with Hitler becoming more and more paranoid, plumbing the depths of his madness and reaching his well deserved fate....
Carry On Loving
Character: Bishop
The Wedded Bliss computer dating agency aims to bring together the lonely hearts of Much-Snoggin-in-the-Green. Its owner, Sidney Bliss, has enough complications in his own love life, but still produces a pamphlet called 'The Wit to Woo'. The strange collection of hopefuls lead to some outlandish matches—and jealousies are bound to lead to trouble....
Three Dangerous Ladies
Character: Benson
Three unrelated horror shorts from 1975 UK horror anthology series "Classics Dark and Dangerous" edited together into one horror film anthology with three segments. Each story features a woman who willingly or unwillingly spreads evil....
The Statue
Character: Sanders
Bolt, a British linguist, develops a universal language, so he's a sudden sensation and receives a Nobel prize. An ambitious diplomat, capitalizing on Bolt's celebrity, arranges for the U.S. to commission a statue for a London square to honor Bolt's achievement. Bolt's Italian wife, a renowned artist, sculpts an 18-foot nude of Bolt. In a pique, because he's neglected her for years to do his work, she gives the statue a spectacular phallus, telling Bolt that he wasn't its model. Thinking he's a ...
Bitter Harvest
Character: Mr. Jones
A pretty young woman will do anything to escape her deadly dull existence in the backlots of Wales. But when she reaches the bright lights of London is the price too high?...
The Little Ones
Character: Paddy
The story of Ted and Jackie, two London kids who decide to run away to Liverpool and, from there, stow away on a ship bound for Jamaica - the home of Jackie's estranged father....
No Love for Johnnie
Character: Frank
Johnnie Byrne is a member of the British Parliament. In his 40s, he's feeling frustrated with his life and his personal as well as professional problems tower up over him. His desires to win the next election are endangered by his constant looking for love and he is faced with the choice of giving up a career in politics or giving up the woman he loves....
Heart to Heart
Character: Sir John Dawson-Brown
A television interviewer is determined to get a coup on a dodgy cabinet minister....
The Comedy Man
Character: Merryweather
A middle-aged stock actor goes to London to try the big time. After much frustration, he lands a job doing TV commercials, gaining wealth and recognition. He eventually gives it all up to return to stage work and keep his pride....
This Is My Street
Character: Fingus
A bored housewife has an affair with her mother's lodger....
The Best Of Dick Emery
Character:
Compilation of classic clips, featuring the best performances from across the much-loved comedian's long BBC career, including examples of Emery's best-known slapstick routines and catchphrases. All the greatest clips from Dick Emery's long-running BBC career - a chance for fans both old and new to see what a huge contribution Emery made to contemporary slapstick comedy. All the classic characters appear: the father and son skinheads (with Roy Kinnear), "Oooh! You Are Awful", and a plethora of ...
Never Back Losers
Character: R. R. Harris
Two rival gangs are trying to fix horse races and a jockey is attacked and left for dead in a stage-managed car crash. An insurance investigator makes routine enquiries into the "accident" and one of the gang leaders feels threatened by this and takes counter measures....
Doctor Who: The Romans
Character: Nero
The TARDIS crew take up residence near Rome in 64AD, where Ian and Barbara are kidnapped by slave traders, and the Doctor's imitation of Maximus Pettulian sees him taken to the court of Emperor Nero where he inadvertently plays a part in deciding the course of history......
The Inspector
Character: Detective Inspector
At the end of WW2, a compassionate Dutch policeman helps smuggle a Jewish woman into British Palestine....
Smokescreen
Character: Dexter's Doctor (Uncredited)
A fastidious insurance assessor investigates a potential case of insurance fraud....
K is for Killing
Character: Shelby Grafton
A husband and wife team are hired to protect an eccentric millionaire from an assassin but a series of murders follows....
Murder Motel
Character: Sam
A young woman looking into the disappearance of her fiance discovers that the last place he was seen was at a very strange motel....
Who Killed Lamb?
Character: Octavius Lamb
A popular member of the Oxford community is killed and nobody figure out why. A police inspector is called in from Scotland Yard and discovers there may be more to the victim than anyone knows....
A Christmas Carol
Character: Pemberton
Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption....
The Verdict
Character: Supt. Brett
A racketeer, deported back from America, faces murder charge and hatches jury rigging plot with accomplice. Cross and double-cross follow....