Robert Francis (actor)

Robert Charles Francis (February 26, 1930 – July 31, 1955) was an American actor. He appeared in only four Hollywood films, all with military themes, before his career and life were tragically cut short at the age of 25 in the crash of a small airplane he was piloting.

Early life

Robert Charles Francis was born in Glendale, California in 1930. His parents, James and Lillian Francis, ran a family pharmacy. He was the youngest by 10 years of three children. He was a conscientious student and an excellent skier, so much so that throughout the majority of his teenage years he had aspirations to join the U.S. Olympic team. However his career prospects soon changed as, while tanning himself on a Santa Monica beach, he was spotted by a Hollywood talent scout who persuaded him that with his handsome, all-American looks he should try to become an actor.

He graduated from Pasadena City College in 1947, after which he soon began to take acting classes in order to work on his skills. However, they were interrupted when he had to spend two years in the army. He resumed his classes after he was discharged from the army. He attended the Batomi Schneider Drama Workshop, which led to a screen test for Columbia Pictures. It just so happened that the husband of his acting coach worked at Columbia. He thought that Francis would be of interest to the studio's founder Harry Cohn. Cohn was on the look out for a new male lead. Francis's manner had always been quiet and respectful unlike James Dean and Marlon Brando. It was these personal traits that appealed to Cohn, who was known for demanding obedience from his stars and staff. Although he tended to play reserved characters, they were often very rebellious in their approach. On the strength of his screen test he earned a contract and the pivotal role in The Caine Mutiny.

Robert Francis

Robert Francis may refer to:

See also

Robert Francis (poet)

Robert Francis (August 12, 1901; Upland, Pennsylvania – July 13, 1987) was an American poet who lived most of his life in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Life

Robert Francis was born on August 12, 1901 in Upland, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Harvard University in 1923. He would later attend the Graduate School of Education at Harvard where he once said that he felt that he'd come home. He lived in a small house he built himself in 1940, which he called Fort Juniper, near Cushman Village in Amherst, Massachusetts. One of his poetic mentors was Robert Frost, and indeed Francis's first volume of poems, Stand Here With Me (1936), displays a poetic voice eerily reminiscent of Frost's own in carefully crafted nature poems. Frost once said: "poetry is the only acceptable way to say one thing and mean another."

Later work

Francis published very little during the 1940s–1950s. He decided that "for better or worse, I was a poet and there was really nothing else for me to do but go on being a poet. It was too late to change even if I had wanted to. Poetry was my most central, intense and inwardly rewarding experience." In 1960, Francis published The Orb Weaver, which revived his reputation as a poet.

Robert Francis (barrister)

Sir Robert (Anthony) Francis, QC is a British barrister born on 4 April 1950. He specialises in medical law, including medical and mental health treatment and capacity issues, clinical negligence and professional discipline. He has appeared as a barrister for and chaired several high profile inquiries into medical controversies/scandals.

He qualified as Bachelor of Law (LL.B) (Hons) at Exeter University. He has been a barrister since 1973 and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1992. He is a Recorder (part-time Crown Court judge) and authorised to sit as a deputy High Court Judge. He is a governing Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, where he has chaired its Education and Training Committee.

Notable inquiry work as barrister

He appeared as a barrister in inquiries for various NHS scandals: