Frank Windsor Higgins (12 July 1928 – 30 September 2020), known professionally as Frank Windsor, was an English actor, primarily known for his roles on television, especially policeman John Watt in ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

'' and its spin-offs.

Biography

Windsor attended

Queen Mary's Grammar School Queen Mary's Grammar School (QMGS) is a boys' grammar school with academy status located on Sutton Road, Walsall, England, about a mile from the town centre and one of the oldest schools in the country. The sixth form is coeducational. Admiss ...

, Walsall, and studied speech training and drama at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

, then based at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, London. He played Detective Sergeant John Watt in ''

'' from 1962 to 1965, and thereafter its spin-offs '' Softly, Softly'' (1966–1969), '' Softly, Softly: Taskforce'' (1969–1976), ''

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...

'' (1973), and ''

Second Verdict ''Second Verdict'' is a six-part BBC television series from 1976. It combines the genres of police procedural and docudrama, with dramatised documentaries in which classic criminal cases and unsolved crimes from history were re-appraised by fict ...

'' (1976). He appeared as "Tobin" in Series 6, Episode 9 of '' The Avengers''. In 1969, he appeared in the pilot episode of ''

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 ...

'' in the episode "

My Late Lamented Friend and Partner "My Late Lamented Friend and Partner" is the pilot episode of the 1969 British television series ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' starring Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope and Annette Andre. The episode was first broadcast on 21 September 1969 on IT ...

" as Sorrensen, a wealthy businessman with a murderous streak. His lighter side was demonstrated in the pilot episode of the

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

The Dustbinmen ''The Dustbinmen'' is a British television sitcom made by Granada Television for ITV, which starred Bryan Pringle, Trevor Bannister, Graham Haberfield and Tim Wylton. The show was a spin-off from a one-off 90-minute television film ''There's ...

'' in 1968, and as Scoutfinder General in an episode of ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comed ...

''. From 1987 to 1989, he starred in the comedy drama ''Flying Lady'' written by

Brian Finch Brian Finch (25 July 1936 – 27 June 2007) was a British television scriptwriter and dramatist. His longest relationship was with the ITV1 soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', for which he wrote 150 scripts between 1970 and 1989. He also helped th ...

. He also starred as a rather old-fashioned headmaster grappling with problems in education in ''Headmaster'', which started as a single play in ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' in 1974. It was expanded into a six-part series in 1977. He had regular roles in the BBC drama ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

''; the ITV drama ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most ...

''; he played

Major Charlie Grace The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 1992, by order of first appearance. Christine Hewitt Christine Hewitt, played by Elizabeth Power, is introduced in 1992 as a lonely divorcée ...

in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' (1992); appeared twice in ''

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 ...

''; had various stage roles, and in his later years appeared in television commercials advertising life-assurance policies for people over 50. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' on 3 December 1975 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

at the Metropolitan Police Sports Club in East Molesey. He was married to Mary Corbett from October 1959 until his death. They had two children. Windsor died at his home in London in September 2020, at the age of 92.

Partial filmography

* ''

This Sporting Life ''This Sporting Life'' is a 1963 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Lindsay Anderson. Based on the 1960 novel of the same name by David Storey, which won the 1960 Macmillan Fiction Award, it recounts the story of a rugby league footbal ...

'' (1963) – Dentist * ''

The Jokers ''The Jokers'' is a 1967 British comedy film written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Michael Winner. The film stars Michael Crawford and Oliver Reed as brothers who hatch a plot to steal the Crown Jewels. Very much of i ...

'' (1967) – Policeman in Court (uncredited) * '' Spring and Port Wine'' (1969) – Ned Duckworth * '' Dropout'' (1970) * ''

Sunday Bloody Sunday "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album ''War'' and was released as the album's third single on 21 March 1983 in the Netherlands and West Germany. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted f ...

'' (1971) – Bill Hodson * ''

Assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...

'' (1973) – John Stacy * ''

Barry McKenzie Holds His Own ''Barry McKenzie Holds His Own'' is the 1974 sequel to the 1972 Australian comedy film '' The Adventures of Barry McKenzie''. Returning from the original film is Barry Crocker in the title role, as well as Barry Humphries in the role of Barry ...

'' (1974) – Police Sergeant * ''Leyland Cars – The Quality Connection'' (1975) – Police Officer/Commentator * ''

Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? ''Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?'' (released in the UK as ''Too Many Chefs'') is a 1978 black comedy mystery film directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring George Segal, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Morley. It is based on the 1976 novel '' ...

'' (1978) – Blodgett * ''

The London Connection ''The Omega Connection'' is a 1979 American made-for-television action spy film directed by Robert Clouse for Walt Disney Productions. It stars Jeffrey Byron and Larry Cedar. It was released theatrically in other countries as ''The London Connecti ...

'' (1979) – McGuffin * ''Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective'' (1981) – Fred Fennell * ''

Coming Out of the Ice ''Coming Out of the Ice'' is a 1982 American made-for-television biographical film of Victor Herman.THE LIFE OF AN AMERICAN IN SIBERIA Boston Globe 23 May 1982: 1. It is based upon Herman's 1979 autobiography of the same name. Cast *John Savage ...

'' (1982) – Sam Herman * ''Doll's Eye'' (1982) – Restaurant Businessman * ''

'' – 4 episodes in 1983 and 1989 * ''

The Shooting Party ''The Shooting Party'' is a 1984 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges and based on the book of the same name by Isabel Colegate. The film is set in 1913, less than a year before the beginning of the First World War, and shows the soon-t ...

'' (1985) – Glass * ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

'' (1985) – Gen. Washington * '' Out of Order'' (1987) – Traffic Warden * '' All Creatures Great and Small'' (1989) – David Rayner in episode "Mending Fences" * ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

'' (1991) – Ralph Peagram in episode Raise the Hispanic * ''

'' (1 episode in 1992) – Major Grace * ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'' (1999) – George Meakham in S2:E2 "Strangler’s Woods" * '' Between Two Women'' (2000) – Mr Walker (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Windsor, Frank 1928 births 2020 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors People educated at Queen Mary's Grammar School People from Walsall Actors from Staffordshire