1. William Franklyn performed on stage, film, television and radio, taking over from Peter Jones as "The Book" in the third, fourth and fifth radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
22 Facts About William Franklyn
1. 2.
William Franklyn was taken to Australia as a baby, where his father toured with musical comedies.
3.
The young Franklyn attended Wesley and Haileybury Colleges, both in Melbourne, and developed an abiding love of cricket.
4.
William Franklyn later trialled as a fast bowler for Essex, and opened the bowling for the Stage Cricket Club.
5.
William Franklyn became a leg spinner, and ran his own team, the Sargentmen, raising money for the Malcolm Sargent Cancer Fund for Children.
6.
William Franklyn was evacuated to Luscombe Castle in Devon in the Second World War.
7.
William Franklyn was called up to join the Parachute Regiment, and was sent to Palestine.
8.
William Franklyn appeared in Arsenic and Old Lace at Southsea Pier in 1946, soon after he was demobilised, and settled on an acting career.
9.
William Franklyn continued to tour with the play in repertory for six years.
10.
William Franklyn went on to perform on the stage, on television and radio, and in several films.
11.
William Franklyn appeared in several films in the 1950s, including Quatermass 2 in 1957, and took a starring role in the 1961 film Pit of Darkness which was the B-feature shown with Adam Faith's What A Whopper.
12.
William Franklyn featured in the 1965 Morecambe and Wise film The Intelligence Men.
13.
William Franklyn appeared in London's West End in comedies such as There's a Girl in My Soup and Tunnel of Love.
14.
William Franklyn played Jacques Fleury in The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel and Peter Dallas in the spy drama series Top Secret, and appeared in several episodes of The Avengers.
15.
William Franklyn was in comedy sketch show What's on Next and was the host of espionage quiz game The Masterspy.
16.
William Franklyn was known for commercial voice-over work; he appeared on screen in 10 commercials and voiced another 40 from 1965 to 1973.
17.
William Franklyn voiced Danger Mouse in the unbroadcast pilot for the British television series.
18.
William Franklyn appeared as a guest star in an episode of the sketch show The Skivers.
19.
William Franklyn was married twice: first to Margo Johns in 1952; they had a daughter, actress Sabina William Franklyn, but were divorced in 1962.
20.
William Franklyn remarried in 1969; he and his second wife, Susanna, had two daughters, Francesca Franklyn, a film producer, and Melissa Franklyn, an actress.
21.
William Franklyn died of prostate cancer on Tuesday, 31 October 2006.
22.
William Franklyn's funeral was held on Monday, 6 November 2006 at Mortlake Crematorium, Richmond-Upon-Thames, England.