Francis Matthews

Francis Matthews (2 September 1927 – 14 June 2014) was an English actor born in York to Henry and Kathleen Matthews. His father worked as a shop steward at the Rowntree's chocolate factory near York. Matthews attended St George's RC Primary School before continuing his education at St Michael's Jesuit College in Leeds. Regular visits to the theatre with his parents cultivated an early interest in acting that would shape his professional life.

Matthews began his working life as a stagehand at the Theatre Royal in Leeds, making his theatrical debut in 1945 in The Corn Is Green. He subsequently served in the Royal Navy before returning to the stage. A 1954 touring production of No Escape, which starred Flora Robson, marked one of his early post-service appearances, and he made his West End debut in 1956.

His film work in the 1950s and 1960s included several productions for Hammer Studios. He appeared as the Baron's assistant in The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) and took on leading roles in both Dracula: Prince of Darkness and Rasputin the Mad Monk, released in 1966. That same year, Matthews made his Broadway appearance in Help Stamp Out Marriage!, playing the role of Stuart Wheeler. Matthews also co-starred with Morecambe and Wise in The Intelligence Men (1965) and That Riviera Touch (1966), a professional association that developed into a close personal friendship with Eric Morecambe.

In 1967, Matthews provided the voice of Captain Scarlet for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, performing the role in imitation of Cary Grant. During the recording sessions for that series, he divided his time between the studio and stage performances in Noël Coward's Private Lives. Also in 1967, he appeared in the Avengers episode "Mission ... Highly Improbable." From 1969 to 1971, he portrayed Francis Durbridge's amateur private detective Paul Temple in the BBC television series of the same name, a role for which he became particularly well known.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Matthews took on a range of television comedy roles, including an appearance in Eric & Ernie's Christmas Show in 1977. That same year he appeared alongside George Cole in Charles Wood's sitcom Don't Forget To Write!, playing a successful writer. In the late 1970s, he served as narrator and host of Follow Me!, a BBC educational programme designed to teach English to foreign viewers.

Matthews was married to actress Angela Browne from 1963 until her death in 2001. In 1986, the couple appeared together in the BBC adaptation of Josephine Tey's novel Brat Farrar. In 2000, they starred in two Ray Cooney plays — Run For Your Wife and Funny Money — aboard the cruise ship MS Marco Polo during a voyage to the Antarctic. Matthews had three sons with Browne: Damien Matthews and Paul Rattigan, both actors, and Dominic, an artist and musician. His younger brother, Paul Shelley, is also an actor, and he had a sister named Maura.

Matthews also worked in radio, playing the character Charles Paris in two BBC Radio 2 productions: In Order of Disappearance in June 1984 and So Much Blood in August 1985.

Matthews died on 14 June 2014 at the age of 86 following a short illness. He was survived by his three sons, seven grandchildren, and his two siblings.