Clive Francis

Clive Francis (born 26 June 1946) is a British stage, television and film actor.

Early life

He is the son of actors Raymond Francis and Margaret Towner. He was born in Eastbourne.

His father played Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart in the 1960s series No Hiding Place and his mother still acts today - most recently she played Jira, Anakin Skywalker's friend, in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Career

Clive Francis began his acting career at the age of 16 as a Penguin Player and has acted on stage, radio, television and to a lesser extent, in films.

He is also a noted caricaturist and has had several exhibitions. His caricatures have appeared on the covers for books written by actor Alec Guinness, for example and he's also had several books of caricatures published himself: There's Nothing Like A Dane (Hamlet), There's Nothing Like A Thane (Macbeth) and a book on John Gielgud.

Movies

Francis appeared as Joe the Lodger in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). He co-starred with Alan Arkin in Inspector Clouseau (1968) and co-starred in Girl Stroke Boy.

Television

Francis starred in the series The 10%ers; The Piglet Files (which used his caricatures in the credits) and May to December. He has guest-starred in dozens of other programmes, including Yes, Prime Minister, in which he played Luke, who, the Prime Minister is told, is a spy for the Foreign Office, whose policy is often in conflict with the PM's.

He also played Ross Poldark's cousin Francis in Poldark, the popular BBC series.

In addition Francis appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in Saturday, Sunday, Monday, a play which was part of the Laurence Olivier Presents series for Granada TV.

He followed his father into television's re-creation of Scotland Yard when he played Det. Sgt. Dexter in New Scotland Yard in 1974

He guest starred in episode five, "The Man with the Twisted Lip," of the series Sherlock Holmes as Neville St Clair.

Theatre

His first West End appearance was in There's A Girl In My Soup opposite Donald Sinden.

He regularly tours his one-man version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, as well as his anthology Merely Players (also with Sinden).

In December 2007, he performed his one-man version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the Théâtre Princesse Grace, Monte Carlo as part of the British Theatre Season, Monaco.

Personal life

Francis is married to the actress Natalie Ogle; they have two children.

Selected filmography

• Inspector Clouseau (1968)
• The Man Who Had Power Over Women (1970)
• Girl Stroke Boy (1971)
• Villain (1971)
• A Clockwork Orange (1971)
• Pierrepoint (2005)

External links

• Official Clive Francis website - USA

• Clive Francis at the Internet Movie Database