Francis Marie de Wolff (7 January 191318 April 1984) was an English

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

. Large, bearded, and beetle-browed, he was often cast as villains in both film and television.

Life and career

Born in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, he made his film debut in '' Flame in the Heather'' (1935), and made many other appearances in such films as ''

Fire Over England ''Fire Over England'' is a 1937 London Film Productions film drama, notable for providing the first pairing of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. It was directed by William K. Howard and written by Clemence Dane from the 1936 novel ''Fire Over ...

'' (1937), ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' (1950), '' Scrooge'' (1951), as the

Ghost of Christmas Present The Ghost of Christmas Present is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit ...

, ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...

'' (1952), ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whit ...

'' (1956), '' Saint Joan'' (1957), '' From Russia with Love'' (1963), and ''

Carry On Cleo ''Carry On Cleo'' is a 1964 British historical comedy film, the tenth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). Regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, and Jim Dale are present and Connor made his la ...

'' (1964). He is perhaps best remembered, however, as a supporting player in horror movies of the 1950s and 1960s, many of them for

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

. These include ''

Corridors of Blood ''Corridors of Blood'' (aka ''Doctor from Seven Dials'')Tom Weaver, ''The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon'', Bear Manor Media 2011 p 80-95 is a 1958 British-American period drama film directed by Robert Day and starring Boris Karloff and Christo ...

'' (1958), ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set i ...

'' (1959), ''

The Man Who Could Cheat Death ''The Man Who Could Cheat Death'' is a 1959 British horror film, directed by Terence Fisher and starring Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, and Christopher Lee. Jimmy Sangster adapted the screenplay from the play '' The Man in Half Moon Street'' b ...

'' (1959), ''

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll ''The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll'' is a 1960 British horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher, and stars Paul Massie as Dr. Jekyll, and co-stars Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee and David Kossoff. The scree ...

'' (1960), '' Devil Doll'' (1964), and ''

The Black Torment ''The Black Torment'' (a.k.a. ''Estate of Insanity'') is a 1964 British gothic horror film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring John Turner, Heather Sears and Ann Lynn. The film is set in 18th-century Devon and was scripted by bro ...

'' (1964). His last film appearance was in ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' (1973). His television appearances include '' The Avengers'', ''

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...

'', ''

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', ''

The Ordeal of Richard Feverel ''The Ordeal of Richard Feverel: A History of Father and Son'' ( 1859) is the earliest full-length novel by George Meredith; its subject is the inability of systems of education to control human passions. It is one of a select group of standard ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Rookery Nook'', ''

Paul Temple Paul Temple is a fictional character created by English writer Francis Durbridge. Temple is a professional author of crime fiction and an amateur private detective. With his wife Louise, affectionately known as 'Steve' in reference to her jo ...

'', ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'', ''

The Tomorrow People ''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction television series created by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran from 30 April 1973 to 19 February 1979. The theme music was ...

'', and the miniseries ''

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

''.

Filmography

*''

Ten Minute Alibi ''Ten Minute Alibi'' is a 1935 British crime film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring Phillips Holmes, Aileen Marson and Theo Shall. It was made at Beaconsfield Studios.Wood p.84 The film's sets were designed by the art director Andre ...

'' (1935) *'' Flame in the Heather'' (1935) as Hawley *''

Line Engaged ''Line Engaged'' is a 1935 British, black-and-white, thriller film, thriller directed by Bernard Mainwaring and starring Bramwell Fletcher, Jane Baxter and Arthur Wontner. It was produced by British Lion Film Corporation. Plot Eva Rutland (play ...

'' (1935) (uncredited) *''

'' (1937) as Sir James Tarleton *''

It's Hard to Be Good ''It's Hard to Be Good'' is a 1948 British comedy film directed by Jeffrey Dell and starring Jimmy Hanley, Anne Crawford and Raymond Huntley. In the film, an ex-army officer finds his altruistic attempts to improve the world are unsuccessful. It ...

'' (1948) as Fighting Neighbour (uncredited) *''

Cardboard Cavalier ''Cardboard Cavalier'' is a 1948 British historical comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Sid Field, Margaret Lockwood and Jerry Desmonde. It was the last film for Forde and Field. Field died of a heart attack shortly after the f ...

'' (1949) as Soldier *''

Adam and Evelyne ''Adam and Evelyne'', released in the U.S. as ''Adam and Evalyn'', is a 1949 romance film starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons. According to Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, this suited the stars, as they were romantically inv ...

'' (1949) as 2nd Man at Restaurant Bar (uncredited) *''

Trottie True ''Trottie True'' is a 1949 British musical comedy film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Jean Kent, James Donald and Hugh Sinclair. It was known as ''The Gay Lady'' in the US, and is an infrequent British Technicolor film of the per ...

'' (1949) as George Edwards (uncredited) *''

Under Capricorn ''Under Capricorn'' is a 1949 British historical thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock about a couple in Australia who started out as lady and stable boy in Ireland, and who are now bound together by a horrible secret. The film is based on ...

'' (1949) as Major Wilkins *''

'' (1950) as Black Dog *''

The Naked Heart ''The Naked Heart'' (French title: ''Maria Chapdelaine'') is a 1950 British-French historical drama film directed by Marc Allégret, based on the novel ''Maria Chapdelaine'' by Louis Hémon. The film stars Michèle Morgan, Kieron Moore and Fran� ...

'' (1950) as Papa Suprenant *''

She Shall Have Murder ''She Shall Have Murder'' is a 1950 British drama film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Rosamund John, Derrick De Marney and Felix Aylmer. The screenplay concerns a law office clerk who becomes a detective. Premise A law office clerk who asp ...

'' (1950) as Police Inspector *''The Powder Monkey'' (1951 TV movie) as Ben *'' Flesh and Blood'' (1951) as Ambassador (uncredited) *'' Scrooge'' (1951) as

Spirit of Christmas Present The Ghost of Christmas Present is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit ...

*''

Tom Brown's Schooldays ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...

'' (1951) as Squire Brown *''

'' (1952) as Front De Boeuf *''

Miss Robin Hood ''Miss Robin Hood'' is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Guillermin, and starring Margaret Rutherford and Richard Hearne. Other actors involved include Dora Bryan, James Robertson Justice, Peter Jones (actor), Peter Jones, Sid James, R ...

'' (1952) as Accident Policeman *''

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (P ...

'' (1952) as Victor (uncredited) *''

The Master of Ballantrae ''The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale'' is an 1889 novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, focusing upon the conflict between two brothers, Scottish noblemen whose family is torn apart by the Jacobite rising of 1745. He w ...

'' (1953) as Matthew Bull *''

The Kidnappers ''The Kidnappers'' (US: ''The Little Kidnappers'') is a 1953 British film, directed by Philip Leacock and written by Neil Paterson. Plot In the early 1900s, two young orphaned brothers, eight-year-old Harry (Jon Whiteley) and five-year-old ...

'' (1953) as Jan Hooft Sr. *'' The Diamond'' (1954) as Yeo *''The Man Upstairs'' (1954 TV movie) as Cyrus Armstrong *''

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...

'' (1954) as Capt. Bryce *''

Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...

'' (1955) as Samson *'' King's Rhapsody'' (1955) as The Prime Minister *''Here's Archie'' (1956 TV movie) as Tutor *''

'' (1956) as Captain Gardiner *''

Odongo ''Odongo'' or ''Odongo Adventure on the African Frontier'' is a 1956 British Warwick Films CinemaScope African adventure drama film directed by John Gilling and starring Rhonda Fleming, Macdonald Carey and Juma. The screenplay concerns a white ...

'' (1956) as George Watford *''

The Smallest Show on Earth ''The Smallest Show on Earth'' (US: ''Big Time Operators'') is a 1957 British comedy film, directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers and Margaret Rutherford. The supporting cast includes Bernard Mile ...

'' (1957) as Albert Hardcastle *'' Saint Joan'' (1957) as La Tremouille *'' Sea Fury'' (1958) as Mulder *'' The Roots of Heaven'' (1958) as Father Farque *''

'' (1958) as Black Ben *''

'' (1959) as Doctor Richards Mortimer *''

'' (1959) as Inspector Legris *''

Tommy the Toreador ''Tommy the Toreador'' is a 1959 British musical comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Tommy Steele, Janet Munro, Sid James, Bernard Cribbins, Noel Purcell and Kenneth Williams. Premise A British ship docks in Spain and ...

'' (1959) as Hotel Proprietor *''

The Savage Innocents ''The Savage Innocents'' is a 1960 adventure film directed and co-written by Nicholas Ray. Anthony Quinn and Yoko Tani star, with Lee Montague, Marco Guglielmi, Carlo Giustini, Anthony Chinn, and Michael Chow in supporting roles, alongside ...

'' (1960) as Trading Post Proprietor *''

'' (1960) as Inspector *''

Clue of the Twisted Candle ''Clue of the Twisted Candle'' is a 1960 British crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Bernard Lee, David Knight and Francis De Wolff. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it ...

'' (1960) as Ramon Karadis *''

The Curse of the Werewolf ''The Curse of the Werewolf'' is a 1961 British horror film based on the novel ''The Werewolf of Paris'' by Guy Endore. The film was made by the British company Hammer Film Productions and was shot at Bray Studios on sets that were constructed ...

'' (1961) as Bearded Customer (uncredited) *''

The Silent Invasion ''The Silent Invasion'' is a low budget 1962 British film. Plot During WW II, a German garrison is stationed in the small French town of Mereux. French local Maria falls in love with German captain Eric Von Strafen. However, the romance comes to ...

'' (1962) as Emile *''

The Durant Affair ''The Durant Affair'' is a 1962 British drama film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Jane Griffiths, Conrad Phillips and Nigel Green. Plot A will is contested in court after a fortune is granted to an unexpected heiress. Cast * Jane Gr ...

'' (1962) as Mario Costello *''

Siege of the Saxons ''Siege of the Saxons'' is a 1963 British adventure film directed by Nathan H. Juran and released by Columbia Pictures. Starring Janette Scott and Ronald Lewis, the film is set in the time of King Arthur, but, as with many Arthurian themed fil ...

'' (1963) as The Blacksmith *'' From Russia with Love'' (1963) as Vavra *''

The World Ten Times Over ''The World Ten Times Over'' is a 1963 British drama film written and directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Sylvia Syms, June Ritchie, Edward Judd and William Hartnell. Donald Sutherland makes a brief appearance in a night club scene, one of his ...

'' (1963) as Shelbourne *''

The Three Lives of Thomasina ''The Three Lives of Thomasina'' is a 1963 fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey, starring Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, child actor Matthew Garber and child actress Karen Dotrice in a story about a cat and her influence on a family. The ...

'' (1963) as Targu *'' Devil Doll'' (1964) as Dr. Keisling *''

'' (1964) as Black John *''

'' (1964) as

Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Agri ...

*'' Licensed to Kill'' (1965) as Walter Pickering *'' The Liquidator'' (1965) as Ambassador Dragov (uncredited) *''

Triple Cross The papal cross is a Christian cross, which serves as an emblem for the office of the Pope in ecclesiastical heraldry. It is depicted as a staff with three horizontal bars near the top, in diminishing order of length as the top is approached. ...

'' (1966) as German Colonel General *'' Ghosts – Italian Style'' (1968) as The Scotsman *'' The Fixer'' (1968) as Warden *''

Sinful Davey ''Sinful Davey'' is a 1969 wikt:picaresque, picaresque adventure film, adventure/Crime fiction, crime/comedy film directed by John Huston and starring John Hurt, Pamela Franklin, and in early appearances Fionnula Flanagan and Anjelica Huston. Jo ...

'' (1969) as Andrew *'' Rookery Nook'' (1970 TV movie) as Mr. Putz *''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, ...

'' (1972) as The Bride's Father (uncredited) *''

'' (1973) as Sea Captain

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Francis De 1913 births 1984 deaths 20th-century English male actors English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Essex