Francis Finlay (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English actor. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Iago in Othello (1965). His first leading television role came in 1971 in Casanova.BBC News, "Actor Frank Finlay dies aged 89", 31 January 2016. Accessed 1 February 2016. This led to appearances on The Morecambe and Wise Show.Gary Morecambe, Eric Morecambe: Life's Not Hollywood It's Cricklewood. BBC Books, 2004, p. 210. Finlay starred alongside famous Italian actress Stefania Sandrelli in Tinto Brass' The Key, the most successful Italian film of the 1983–1984 season. He also appeared in the drama Bouquet of Barbed Wire.Daily Telegraph. A four-time BAFTA nominee, Finlay won one for his television performances in 1974.
Early life Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Josiah Finlay and Margaret Finlay. He was educated at St Gregory the Great School, but left at 14 to train as a butcher at Toppings, gaining a City and Guilds Diploma in the trade.
Stage career Finlay made his first stage appearances at the local Farnworth Little Theatre, in plays that included Peter Blackmore's Miranda in 1951. The current Little Theatre president, also in the cast of that Miranda production, remembers him as a perfectionist in his craft. He also played in repertory, initially in Scotland, before winning a scholarship to RADA in London.
There followed several parts in productions at the Royal Court Theatre, such as the Arnold Wesker trilogy. He became particularly associated with the National Theatre, especially during the years when Laurence Olivier was director. Playing Iago opposite Olivier's title character in John Dexter's 1965 production of Othello, and the film adaptation of that production (also 1965), Finlay's performance left theatre critics unmoved, but he later received high praise for the film version and gained an Academy Award nomination. The critic John Simon wrote that the close-ups in the film allowed Finlay to give a more subtle and effective performance than he had done on stage.
At the Chichester Festival Theatre, Finlay played roles ranging from the First Gravedigger in Hamlet to Josef Frank in Weapons of Happiness. He also appeared in The Party, Plunder, Saint Joan, Hobson's Choice, Amadeus (as Salieri), Much Ado About Nothing (as Dogberry), The Dutch Courtesan, The Crucible, Mother Courage, and Juno and the Paycock.
Finlay made appearances on Broadway, in Epitaph for George Dillon (1958–1959), and in the National Theatre and Broadway productions of Filumena opposite Joan Plowright in 1980. Between November 1988 and April 1989, Finlay toured Australia, performing in Jeffrey Archer's Beyond Reasonable Doubt at theatres in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.
Screen
One of his earliest television roles was in the family space adventure serial Target Luna (1960), as journalist Conway Henderson. Finlay's first major television success was as Jean Valjean in the BBC's 1967 ten-part adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. He played the title role of Dennis Potter's BBC 2 series Casanova (1971). Following this, he portrayed Adolf Hitler in The Death of Adolf Hitler (1973) for London Weekend Television.
Finlay was one of the stars of Martin Ritt's highly acclaimed 1970 feature The Molly Maguires. He portrayed Richard Roundtree's nemesis, Amafi, in the film Shaft in Africa (1973), before playing Porthos for director Richard Lester in The Three Musketeers (also 1973), The Four Musketeers (1975) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989). He appeared in several additional films, including The Wild Geese (1978) and The Key by Tinto Brass.
Finlay starred as the father in the once-controversial Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1976), and its sequel Another Bouquet (1977), and he was reunited with his Bouquet of Barbed Wire co-star, Susan Penhaligon, when he played Professor Van Helsing in the BBC's Count Dracula (also 1977), with Louis Jourdan. He appeared in two Sherlock Holmes films as Lestrade, solving the Jack the Ripper murders (A Study in Terror, 1965, and Murder by Decree, 1979). He also played a role as the primary antagonist in an adaptation of "The Golden Pince-Nez" of the Granada Television series of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett, in which his son Daniel played a minor role as well. Finlay appeared on American television in A Christmas Carol (1984) playing Marley's Ghost opposite George C. Scott's Ebenezer Scrooge. He also guest-starred as a farcical witch-smeller in an episode of The Black Adder ("Witchsmeller Pursuivant", 1983), opposite Rowan Atkinson.
In 1994 he played Howard Franklin in fourth-series Heartbeat episode "Lost and Found". Finlay played Sancho Panza opposite Rex Harrison's Don Quixote in the 1973 British made-for-television film The Adventures of Don Quixote, for which he won a BAFTA award. He won another BAFTA award that year for his performance as Voltaire in the BBC TV production of Candide.
Finlay played the role of Justice Peter Mahon in the award-winning New Zealand television serial Erebus: The Aftermath (1988). In the Roman Polanski film The Pianist (2002), he took on the part of Adrien Brody's father. He starred alongside Pete Postlethwaite and Geraldine James in the BBC drama series The Sins in 2000, playing the funeral director "Uncle" Irwin Green. He appeared in the TV series Life Begins (2004–2006) 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. Finlay appeared in November 2008 in the eleventh episode of the BBC drama series Merlin, as "Anhora, Keeper of the Unicorns".
Personal life and honours Finlay met his future wife Doreen Shepherd when both belonged to Farnworth Little Theatre. They had three children, lived in Shepperton, Middlesex. She died in 2005 aged 79. As a Catholic, Finlay became a member of the British Catholic Stage Guild (now the Catholic Association of Performing Arts). Finlay was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year's Honours of 1984 and an honorary doctor of the University of Bolton in 2009.
Death Finlay died on 30 January 2016 at his home in Weybridge, Surrey, aged 89, from heart failure.
Awards and nominations +YearAwardsCategoryNominated workResultRef.1966Academy AwardsBest Supporting ActorOthelloGolden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Motion PictureSan Sebastián International Film FestivalSilver Shell for Best Actor1967British Academy Film AwardsMost Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles1972British Academy Television AwardsBest ActorCasanova1974Play of the Month: The Adventure of Don Quixote / Candide / ITV Sunday Night Theatre: The Death of Adolf Hitler1976Laurence Olivier AwardsActor of the Year in a New PlayWhen It Comes Down / Weapons of Decree1983British Academy Film AwardsBest Actor in a Supporting RoleThe Return of the Soldier
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1962Life for RuthHenry – Teddy's fatherThe Longest DayPrivate CokeUncreditedThe Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Booking Office clerk Private PotterCaptain Patterson1963Doctor in DistressCorsetiere The InformersLeon Sale1964Hot Enough for JuneBritish Embassy porterUncreditedThe Comedy ManProut1965A Study in TerrorInspector LestradeReprised the role fourteen years later in Murder by Decree The Wild AffairDrunkOthelloIago 1966The Sandwich ManSecond fish porterThe Deadly BeesH.W. Manfred1967The JokersHarassed manRobberyRobinsonI'll Never Forget What's'isnameChaplainThe Spare TyresCouncil foremanShort1968Inspector ClouseauSuperintendent WeaverThe Shoes of the FishermanIgor BouninTwisted NerveHenry Durnley1970The Molly MaguiresDaviesCromwellJohn Carter1971AssaultDet. Chief Supt. VelyanGumshoeWilliam Ginley1972Sitting TargetMarty GoldDanny JonesMr. JonesNeither the Sea Nor the SandGeorge Dabernon1973Shaft in AfricaAmafiThe Three MusketeersPorthos / O'Reilly 1974The Four MusketeersPorthosSequel to The Three Musketeers 1978The Wild GeeseFather Geoghagen 1979Murder by DecreeInspector LestradePaulaka Satan's Wife1982The Return of the SoldierWilliam GreyEnigmaCanarsky1983The Ploughman's LunchMatthew FoxThe KeyNino Rolfe19851919Sigmund FreudVoiceLifeforceDr. Hans Fallada1989The Return of the MusketeersPorthosFinal film in the Musketeers trilogy 1990King of the WindEdward Coke1992Cthulhu MansionChandu1993SparrowFather Nunzio1995GospaMonsignor1996Tiré à partJohn Rathbone1997For My BabyRudi WittfogelSo This Is Romance?Mike's dadThe Road to GloryYudah Lieb GoldPut K Slave1998Stiff Upper LipsHudson Junior1999Dreaming of Joseph LeesFather2000GhosthunterCharlie FieldingShort2001The MartinsMr. Heath2002The PianistSamuel Szpilman 2003The StatementCommissaire Vionnet 2004Lighthouse HillAlfred2007The Waiting RoomRoger
Television Year Title Role Notes 1959Sunday Night TheatreLouisEpisode: "Crime Passionel"1959-1960ITV Play of the WeekVarious3 episodes1960-1963ITV Television PlayhouseLew/Talkative Man2 episodes1962Z-CarsHarveyEpisode: "Fire!"1962-1969Armchair TheatreVarious4 episodes1963Drama 61-67Albert HopeEpisode: "Drama '63: Albert Hope"1967Thirty-Minute TheatreThe ManEpisode: "Oldenberg"Theatre 625Dr. DeeEpisode: "The Magicians: Dr. Kee, Kelly and the Spirits"1969The Wednesday PlayAlbertEpisode: "Blood of the Lamb"1969-1973ITV Sunday Night TheatreWilfred Tilly/Adolf Hitler2 episodes, including "The Death of Adolf Hitler"BBC Play of the MonthVarious4 episodes 1970-1981Play For TodayVarious3 episodes 1971CasanovaCasanovaMain role 1976 Bouquet of Barbed Wire Peter Manson TV mini-series 1977Count DraculaAbraham Van HelsingTV movie 1981Tales of the UnexpectedArthur PearsonEpisode: "There's One Born Every Minute" 1982 All for LoveCaptain MansonEpisode: "Mona" 1983The Black AdderThe Witchsmeller PursuivantEpisode: "Witchsmeller Pursuivant" 1984SakharovKravtsovTV movieA Christmas CarolJacob Marley's Ghost 1985Screen TwoFrank StrangeEpisode: "In the Secret State"1987CasanovaRazettaTV movie The Two RonniesBar CustomerChristmas Special1988Erebus: The AftermathJustice Peter MahonTV Mini-Series1992StalinSergei AlliluyevTV movie1994The Memoirs of Sherlock HolmesProfessor Coram/SergiusEpisode: "The Golden Prince-Nez"LovejoyHarold PlumEpisode: "Fruit of the Desert"Heartbeat Howard FranklinEpisode: "Lost and Found"1998–1999How Do You Want Me?Astley Yardley10 episodes2000Where the Heart Is Mr. TurnerEpisode: "Legacy"The Sins'Uncle' Irwin GreenBBC drama series2003Silent CryDr. Robert BarrumTV movie2003EroicaJoseph HaydnTV movieThe Lost PrinceH.H. Asquith2003-2006Prime SuspectArnold Tennison3 episodes 2004-2006Life BeginsEric16 episodes2008MerlinAnhoraEpisode: "The Labyrinth of Gedref"
References
External links
Obituary at the Bolton News [1 February 2016] Retrieved 7 February 2016.