Francis Marie de Wolff (7 January 1913 – 18 April 1984) was an English character actor. Large, bearded, and beetle-browed, he was often cast as villains in both film and television.

Francis de Wolff
Francis de Wolff in The Smallest Show on Earth, 1957
Born
Francis Marie de Wolff

(1913-01-07)7 January 1913
Essex, England
Died18 April 1984(1984-04-18) (aged 71)
Sussex, England
OccupationActor
Years active1935–1977 (Retired)
Spouses
Jean Fairlie
(m. 1942; div. 1950)
Melissa Dundas
(m. 1958; div. 1971)
Linda Finch
(m. 1976)

Life and career

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Born 7 January 1913[1] in Essex, and educated at Stonyhurst College, he made his film debut in Flame in the Heather (1935), and made many other appearances in such films as Fire Over England (1937), Treasure Island (1950), Scrooge (1951), as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Ivanhoe (1952), Moby Dick (1956), Saint Joan (1957), From Russia with Love (1963), and Carry On Cleo (1964).

He is perhaps best remembered, however, as a supporting player in horror movies of the 1950s and 1960s, many of them for Hammer Films. These include Corridors of Blood (1958), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959), The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), Devil Doll (1964), and The Black Torment (1964). His last film appearance was in The Three Musketeers (1973).

His television appearances include The Avengers, Maigret, Richard the Lionheart, Danger Man, Doctor Who (twice, once as Agamemnon), The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, The Saint, Rookery Nook, Paul Temple, Dixon of Dock Green, The Tomorrow People, and the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.

He died in Sussex on 18 April 1984.[1]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b Arnold, Mark (2023). Stars of Walt Disney Productions. Orlando, Fla.: BearManor Media. p. 2017. ISBN 9798887710723.
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