William Franklyn: Movies & Box Office

William Franklyn (born William Leo Beare on 22 September 1925 in Kensington, London) emerged from a lineage of stage performers; his mother Mary Rigby, father Leo Franklyn, and both his maternal grandfather and uncle, Arthur Rigby Sr. and Jr., were established actors. As a baby he travelled to Australia where his father toured with musical comedies, and he was schooled at Wesley and Haileybury Colleges in Melbourne, developing a lifelong passion for cricket that saw him trial as a fast bowler for Essex and later spin leg‑breaks for the Stage Cricket Club. Returned to England at age eleven, Franklyn was evacuated to Luscombe Castle during the Second World War before making his professional debut at the Savoy Theatre in 1943 in My Sister Eileen. After a brief stint in the Parachute Regiment in Palestine, he resumed his stage work, appearing in Arsenic and Old Lace at Southsea Pier in 1946 and spending six years in repertory before dabbling in antiques dealing to supplement his income. His screen and radio career blossomed in the 1950s and 1960s, with film credits such as Quatermass 2 (1957), a starring role in Pit of Darkness (1961) and a cameo in the Morecambe and Wise feature The Intelligence Men (1965). In the West End he starred in comedies like There’s a Girl in My Soup and Tunnel of Love, even directing the former in Italy after a crash course in the language. On television he became a familiar panelist on game shows like What’s My Line? and Call My Bluff, and portrayed Jacques Fleury in The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1955‑56). Franklyn’s distinctive voice made him a household name through the "Schhh… You Know Who" Schweppes adverts (1965‑73) and the narration of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio series (2004‑05). He also read for Quote Unquote for eleven years and appeared in the pilot of Danger Mouse. Married first to actress Margo Johns—fathering Sabina Franklyn—and later to Susannah Carroll, with whom he had two daughters, Francesca and Melissa, he continued performing almost to the end of his life. He succumbed to prostate cancer on 31 October 2006, leaving a legacy that spans stage, screen, radio and iconic commercial voice‑overs.