Leo Franklyn

Leo Franklyn was born in London on 7 April 1897 and educated by the Franciscan Brotherhood before enlisting in the army at the outset of the First World War. He made his theatrical debut in August 1916 in the chorus of The Belle of New York in Sunderland and, when the production transferred to the West End that December, he appeared on the prestigious London stage for the first time. After three years touring with Julian Wylie's musical‑comedy companies, Franklyn secured a West End success opposite Lupino Lane in Turned Up, where the Times praised his humour and dancing ability. The early 1920s saw him touring the northern provinces, notably playing Bibi St. Po in the Scottish production of Kissing Time, before a decade‑long Australian sojourn during which he starred in such shows as The Duchess of Dantzic, Gay Divorce, The Girl Friend, Music in the Air, Our Miss Gibbs and The Quaker Girl. Returning to London, he was thrust into the spotlight when Laddie Cliff fell ill; Franklyn assumed the comic lead in the new musical comedy Crazy Days as James J. Hooker, earning the Times accolade of “a lively, unrepetitive comedian, quick off the mark, and secure of his audience.” Throughout the 1930s and the Second World War he remained a versatile performer, appearing as Dame Crusoe in the 1938 pantomime Robinson Crusoe at the Duke of York's Theatre, entertaining troops with ENSA, and taking roles in productions such as A Waltz Dream (1942) and The Merry Widow (1943). His final musical comedy was The Lilac Domino at the Adelphi in 1944. In 1956 Franklyn joined Brian Rix's Whitehall farce company, where he became best known for roles like the crooked bookie Alf Tubbs in Dry Rot and the butler Jugg in One for the Pot, sustaining a thirteen‑year partnership that moved to the Garrick Theatre in 1967. He also appeared in several Rix‑produced films, including The Night We Dropped a Clanger (1959) and Nothing Barred (1961). Franklyn continued working into his late seventies, starring in the long‑running farce No Sex Please, We're British when a heart attack forced his sudden death on 17 September 1975. The Times obituary lauded him as “the doyen of Whitehall farce,” and he left behind his wife, actress Mary Rigby, and their son, actor William Franklyn.