Frank Dudley Foster (7 August 1924 – 8 January 1973) was an English actor who regularly appeared in television roles. Foster was born in Brighouse,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. His family had established links with the theatre and a brother and sister also appeared on the stage. They were the children of Frank Geden Foster, a civil engineer, who was to die exactly a week before his son. Educated at

Pocklington School Pocklington School is an independent school in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1514 by John Dolman. The school is situated in of land, on the outskirts of the small market town, from York and from Hull. ...

, Dudley Foster after service as a navigator in the RAF studied chemistry at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. In 1948 he joined the recently-formed Bradford Civic Playhouse Theatre School and after turning professional spent several successful years with northern repertory companies. From the later 1950s into the 1960s, he was a member of

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West E ...

based at London's

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

. In her autobiography ''Joan's Book'' Littlewood recalled that Foster had a wealthy father who financed some of the troupe's productions. On television he appeared in such series as ''

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 ...

'', '' The Saint'', '' The Avengers'' (" The Hour That Never Was", 1965), "Something Nasty in The Nursery" (1967) and "Wish You Were Here" (1969 – playing a perfect mannered yet sinister hotel manager in a parody of the TV series ''

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 ...

''), ''

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 "All Work and No Pay", 1969) as villain George Foster, ''

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 ...

'' (1971 in the episode "Anyone Can Play", in which he played the spy network paymaster Heather), ''

Catweazle ''Catweazle'' is a British children's fantasy television series, starring Geoffrey Bayldon in the title role, and created by Richard Carpenter for London Weekend Television. The first series, produced and directed in 1969 by Quentin Lawren ...

'' ("The Ghost Hunters as Hector Kenley", 1971) ''

Steptoe and Son ''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and w ...

'' (four episodes: playing Martin, the oily 'card shark' in "Full House", the supercilious Labour Party rep in "My Old Man's A

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

", the pained Police Inspector in "Robbery with Violence", and uncredited as the car salesman in "The Colour Problem") and '' Doctor Who'' ("

The Space Pirates ''The Space Pirates'' is the mostly missing sixth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1969. In this serial, the TARD ...

", 1969), often in villainous roles.Biography of Foster on 'The Avengers Forever' website
/ref> 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 debut ...

'' in the early 1960s he played a police detective, Inspector (later Superintendent) Dunn. He was also in ''

Bat Out of Hell ''Bat Out of Hell'' is the 1977 debut album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. It is one of the best-selling albums in history. The album was developed from a musical, ''Neverland'', a futuristic rock version of '' ...

'' (1966), a BBC serial by

Francis Durbridge Francis Henry Durbridge (; 25 November 1912 – 11 April 1998) was an English dramatist and author, best known for the creation of the character Paul Temple, the gentlemanly detective who appeared in 16 BBC multi-part radio serials from ...

, playing a formidable Police Inspector, and starred with John Bird in the office comedy series ''If It Moves File It'' (1970) by

Troy Kennedy Martin Troy Kennedy Martin (15 February 1932 – 15 September 2009) was a Scottish-born film and television screenwriter. He created the long-running BBC TV police series ''Z-Cars'' (1962–1978), and the award-winning 1985 anti-nuclear drama ''Edge of ...

. He occasionally appeared in films. He appeared in the films ''

The Little Ones ''The Little Ones'' is a 1965 British family comedy film directed by British director Jim O'Connolly starring Carl Gonzales and Kim Smith. Dudley Foster stars as Superintendent Carter and Derek Newark plays the strict Detective Sgt. Wilson ...

'' as Superintendent Carter alongside

Derek Newark Derek John Newark (8 June 1933 – 11 August 1998) was an English actor in television, film and theatre. Career Newark began his working life as a soldier in the Coldstream Guards before joining the Royal Artillery. However, he wanted to beco ...

and in '' A Study in Terror'' (both 1965) as

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...

Henry Matthews. He also participated in a 30-minute documentary titled ''Two in a Tiger''. This film follows his training as he learns to fly a De Havilland Tiger Moth. In 1970 he provided the voice-over for an edition of the BBC documentary series '' Chronicle'': "The Great Iron Ship", about the salvage and return from the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

of the

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

ship ''

SS Great Britain SS ''Great Britain'' is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great We ...

''. His penultimate role was in the film version of the BBC sitcom ''

That's Your Funeral ''That's Your Funeral'' was a BBC sitcom from 1971 about a North of England funeral director called Basil Bulstrode (Bill Fraser). Storylines used many urban legends An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urba ...

'' (1972) and his final appearance was in the 18th-century-set comedy-drama '' Mistress Pamela'' which was not released until after his death. Foster died at 3 Holly Hill, Hampstead, NW3, in January 1973."FOSTER Frank Dudley" in ''Wills and Administrations 1973 (England and Wales)'' (1974), p. 3017 His early death was found to be the result of suicide by hanging. He left a widow, the actress Eileen Kennally (who appeared in ''

In Sickness and in Health ''In Sickness and in Health'' is a BBC television sitcom that ran between 1 September 1985 and 3 April 1992. It is a sequel to the successful '' Till Death Us Do Part'', which ran between 1966 and 1975, and '' Till Death...'', which ran for on ...

''); they had married in 1952 and had two sons. Foster’s estate was valued for probate at £36,535, .

Selected filmography

* ''

The Two-Headed Spy ''The Two-Headed Spy'' is a 1958 British spy thriller film directed by Andre DeToth and starring Jack Hawkins, Gia Scala, Erik Schumann and Alexander Knox. The film, which has elements of film noir and is set in the Second World War, was based ...

'' (1958) - Gestapo Agent (uncredited) * ''

Operation Bullshine ''Operation Bullshine'' is a 1959 British colour comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Donald Sinden, Barbara Murray and Carole Lesley. The working title of the film was ''Girls in Arms'' that features as a marching song in the fil ...

'' (1959) - Gunner (uncredited) * ''The Wakefield Shepherd's Play'' (1961) - First Shepherd * '' Term of Trial'' (1962) - Detective Sergeant Keirnan * ''

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

'' (1963) - Peter Dexter * ''Never Mention Murder'' (''

Edgar Wallace Mysteries The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''The E ...

'' - 1964) - Philip Teasdale * ''

'' (1965) - Supt. Carter * '' A Study in Terror'' (1965) - Home Secretary * ''

Where's Jack? ''Where's Jack?'' is a 1969 British adventure film recounting the exploits of notorious 18th-century criminal Jack Sheppard and London "Thief-Taker General" Jonathan Wild. The film was produced by Stanley Baker through his company Oakhurst Pro ...

'' (1969) - Blueskin * ''

Moon Zero Two ''Moon Zero Two'' is a 1969 British science fiction film from Hammer Films, directed by Roy Ward Baker, and starring James Olson, Catherine Schell, Warren Mitchell, and Adrienne Corri. The film takes place on the Moon in the year 2021. A for ...

'' (1969) - Whitsun * '' Foreign Exchange'' (1970, TV film) - Leo * ''

The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer ''The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer'' is a 1970 British satirical film starring Peter Cook, and co-written by Cook, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, and Kevin Billington, who directed the film. The film was devised and produced by David Frost u ...

'' (1970) - Federman * ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent re ...

'' (1970) * ''

Dulcima ''Dulcima'' is a 1971 British drama film directed by Frank Nesbitt. It was entered into the 21st Berlin International Film Festival. The story revolves around a love triangle: a farmer, his housekeeper and the handsome neighbour. Plot Dulcima G ...

'' (1971) - Symes * '' Quest for Love'' (1971) - Grimshaw * '' Follow Me!'' (1972) - Mr. Mayhew * ''

'' (1972) - Grimthorpe * '' Mistress Pamela'' (1973) - Jonathan (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Dudley 1924 births 1973 deaths English male film actors English male television actors People from Brighouse Suicides in Hampstead 20th-century English male actors 1973 suicides Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Suicides by hanging in England