Frank Thornton died at the grand old age of 92 this week.
He was most famous for Are You Being Served, LOTSW and cropping up unexpectedly in numerous films and sitcoms.
He never had a true starring role of his own, but had very prominent roles playing part of a team in the likes of AYBS and LOTSW.
He was nearly always cast as a firm but fair figure of authority. One of his talents was never to overact this, so he was always believable.
One of his earlier examples of this was in the classic The Blood Donor starring Tony Hancock, which featured LOTSWs June Whitfield.
This led to him being the most often used guest star in Steptoe and Son, again usually playing the snooty straight man. Memorable roles include the disgruntled travel agent, and in the second film, the insurance agent - who has to conduct business from the Steptoe's toilet, and even gets offered champagne that has been chilled down the pan.
His career was similar to that of John Le Mesurier, in that he would appear in anything - sometimes in a major role, sometimes just a bit part. But the immediate reaction from the audience would be 'oh, it's him!'
Other notable film appearances include a drunken party-going doctor on the telephone to Norman Wisdom in The Early Bird; Leslie Phillips' friendly doctor in Spanish Fly; the shop manager in Carry On Screaming; and Warren Mitchell's boss in All the Way Up.
In Some Will, Some Won't, there is a great scene with Frank Thornton as a hotel manager interviewing Thora Hird.
Frank Thornton of course appeared in No Sex Please, We're British with Michael Bates and Brian Wilde, the ultimate LOTSW connection.
Frank Thornton became a household name with AYBS, and it's follow up Grace and Favour.
He was then off the screen for a while, apart from appearances on Noel's House Party. Then in 1997 he was offered a part to replace Brian Wilde in Last of the Summer Wine.
It would have been perfectly acceptable for Frank to play the part in the style of Captain Peacock, complete with moustache, pompousity, and the military tie that he shared with Foggy.
Instead, they went at it at a different, unexpected angle. They got Frank to play it as a friendly policeman. Easy going mostly, and a good drinker. Certainly had more in common with Compo and Clegg than some of the 'third men'. This made a refreshing change to the series, while still remaining true to the original concept.
Frank beautifully underplayed the part, and created another of the show's most endearing characters.
He was most famous for Are You Being Served, LOTSW and cropping up unexpectedly in numerous films and sitcoms.
He never had a true starring role of his own, but had very prominent roles playing part of a team in the likes of AYBS and LOTSW.
He was nearly always cast as a firm but fair figure of authority. One of his talents was never to overact this, so he was always believable.
One of his earlier examples of this was in the classic The Blood Donor starring Tony Hancock, which featured LOTSWs June Whitfield.
This led to him being the most often used guest star in Steptoe and Son, again usually playing the snooty straight man. Memorable roles include the disgruntled travel agent, and in the second film, the insurance agent - who has to conduct business from the Steptoe's toilet, and even gets offered champagne that has been chilled down the pan.
His career was similar to that of John Le Mesurier, in that he would appear in anything - sometimes in a major role, sometimes just a bit part. But the immediate reaction from the audience would be 'oh, it's him!'
Other notable film appearances include a drunken party-going doctor on the telephone to Norman Wisdom in The Early Bird; Leslie Phillips' friendly doctor in Spanish Fly; the shop manager in Carry On Screaming; and Warren Mitchell's boss in All the Way Up.
In Some Will, Some Won't, there is a great scene with Frank Thornton as a hotel manager interviewing Thora Hird.
Frank Thornton of course appeared in No Sex Please, We're British with Michael Bates and Brian Wilde, the ultimate LOTSW connection.
Frank Thornton became a household name with AYBS, and it's follow up Grace and Favour.
He was then off the screen for a while, apart from appearances on Noel's House Party. Then in 1997 he was offered a part to replace Brian Wilde in Last of the Summer Wine.
It would have been perfectly acceptable for Frank to play the part in the style of Captain Peacock, complete with moustache, pompousity, and the military tie that he shared with Foggy.
Instead, they went at it at a different, unexpected angle. They got Frank to play it as a friendly policeman. Easy going mostly, and a good drinker. Certainly had more in common with Compo and Clegg than some of the 'third men'. This made a refreshing change to the series, while still remaining true to the original concept.
Frank beautifully underplayed the part, and created another of the show's most endearing characters.
