Francis James "Frank" Maher (18 June 1929 – 13 July 2007) was a British stuntman who was best known for his roles as a stuntman or stunt coordinator in many British television shows including ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' (US: ''Secret Agent'') and ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

''; he was frequently the stunt double for the series star Patrick McGoohan.

Early career

He was born in London on 18 June 1929. He was a gold medal-winning boxer at school. Before his career as a stuntman/actor he served in World War II in the Parachute Regiment of the British Army. He lied about his age to join the regiment which meant that he was only 15 when he took part in the battle of Arnhem (part of Operation Market Garden). His first stunt role was as a Roman Centurion in the film '' Caesar And Cleopatra'' (1945) starring Stewart Granger. His other movie stunt roles included work on ''

The Crimson Pirate ''The Crimson Pirate'' is a 1952 British-American international co-production Technicolor tongue-in-cheek comedy-adventure film from Warner Bros. produced by Norman Deming and Harold Hecht, directed by Robert Siodmak, and starring Burt Lancaste ...

'' (1952) doubling for Burt Lancaster and as a riding double in '' The Devil’s Disciple'' (1959). His later movie stunt roles included work on ''

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, r ...

'' in 1969.

TV stuntman

As a stuntman on '' The Avengers'', he played opposite both

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58. (1962 ...

and

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in ''On H ...

. After working on ''

Man in a Suitcase ''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. ABC broadcast episodes of ''Man in ...

'', he became stunt coordinator on '' Department S'' and ''

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Dennis Spooner and p ...

''. Following his work on ''Danger Man'', he again doubled for Patrick McGoohan in the TV series ''

'' (1967–68). He had a particularly large role in the episode " The Schizoid Man", which required a doppelganger of McGoohan's Number Six character to have a lot of screen time alongside the "real" Number Six. He also appeared as "Third Gunman" in ''The Prisoner'' western/cowboy style episode " Living in Harmony". He claimed to have suggested the idea of having a western/cowboy style episode to McGoohan. Maher also served as a stuntman / stunt coordinator / stunt arranger on a number of other TV programmes, including: ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ...

'', ''

The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is an action-comedy series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the cycle of adventure ser ...

'', ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on IT ...

'', ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

'', ''

The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...

'' and ''

Space 1999 ''Space: 1999'' is a British science-fiction television programme that ran for two series from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, set in the year 1999, nuclear waste stored on the Moon's far side explodes, knocking the Moon out of orbit an ...

''. On ''

'' (1962–69), he replaced Les Crawford as Roger Moore's double. Moore nicknamed him "Mrs Maher" because of his very careful planning of each stunt sequence. He also worked as the fight arranger in the first of the BBC Northern Ireland Billy Plays "Too Late to Talk to Billy" in 1982, in which Billy was played by

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

Author and writer

In the late 1970s, he co-wrote several novels in the thriller genre including ''The Capricorn Run'' (also known as ''The Hook'') in 1978, ''Wipe-Out!'' in 1980 and ''Sahara Strike'' in 1980. He also wrote action sequences for films, including ''Die Hard''.

Family

He married four times. His first marriage was to actress

Dilys Laye Dilys Laye (born Dilys Lay; 11 March 1934 – 13 February 2009) was an English actress and screenwriter, best known for her comedy roles. Early life Laye was born in Muswell Hill, London, the daughter of Edward Lay and his wife Margare ...

. He had one son, Gary, and one daughter, Stephanie, with his second wife Jackie, who was a dancer.

Death

He died on 13 July 2007 at St Mary's Hospital in Newport on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

after a long period suffering from emphysema.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maher, Frank 1929 births 2007 deaths English stunt performers Deaths from emphysema British Army personnel of World War II British Parachute Regiment soldiers