Frank Williams (actor)

Frank J Williams (born 2 July 1931)[1] is an English actor best known for playing vicars and other members of the clergy, most notably Timothy Farthing, the vicar in the BBC comedy Dad's Army. Ian Lavender and Williams are the series' last surviving major cast members. He reprised the role of Farthing in the 2016 film adaptation of the series.[2] As of 2020, he is also the last surviving cast member of The Army Game.

Frank Williams
Williams in May 2011
Born (1931-07-02) 2 July 1931
Hampstead, London, England
OccupationComedy actor
Years active1953–present
Notable work
Dads Army and The Army Game

Biography

Born in London, Williams was educated at Ardingly College, West Sussex, and Hendon School (then Hendon County School). Williams started his acting career in Repertory theatre, most notably with the Watford Palace Theatre which was being run by Jimmy Perry who would go on to create Dad's Army. Williams also met many of his future co-stars including Michael Knowles, Colin Bean, Donald Hewlett and Mavis Pugh. [3]

At the time Television was in its infancy and it was television that Williams wished to get in to. He made several television appearances through out the 1950s, during series one of The Army Game he made various small appearances and in 1957 was invited back as a regular character, the commanding officer Captain Pocket. Williams continued to play the role until the series came to an end in 1960. In total he appeared in 116 episodes of The Army Game which were transmitted live across the nation on a weekly basis.

His first film appearance was as an uncredited extra in the The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan in 1953, his first larger role came in 1956 with the film The Extra Day in which he played the role of Sid. Williams went on to appear in three films with Norman Wisdom including The Square Peg (1958), The Bulldog Breed (1960) and A Stitch In Time (1963). He then to appear in films such as Inn for Trouble (1960), Just for Fun (1963), Hide and Seek (1964), Headline Hunters (1968), One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975), Jabberwocky (1977), What's Up Nurse! (1977), The Human Factor (1979) and Oh! Heavenly Dog (1980). He had a leading role in the BBC TV series Diary of a Young Man (1964), which was partly directed by Ken Loach, in addition to small parts in numerous TV series of the 1950s and 1960s.

It is, however, for his role in Dad's Army[4] as the vicar that Williams is best known. His first appearance on the show was in the episode ‘The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones’ which was the first episode of series three. He had worked with David Croft before on Hugh and I and he had also worked with Jimmy Perry at the Watford Palace Theatre. He thought he had come to make a one-off appearance and did not realise that he would become a regular fixture of the show. He would go on to appear in half of the 80 episodes and both feature films. Coincidentally, while at Hendon County, Williams wrote in his memoir, he had played the lead in the school play of his final year, The Ghost Train, written nearly 30 years earlier by Arnold Ridley, who would become one of his fellow actors in Dad's Army.[5]

Williams featured with Tessie O'Shea in the short-lived sitcom As Good Cooks Go (1970). He appeared in an episode of All Gas and Gaiters as one of the vicars choral in episodes broadcast in 1967 and 1971. At the height of his Dad's Army fame, he had a cameo role in Monty Python's Flying Circus (1972), and later appeared as a record producer in the Rutles movie All You Need Is Cash (1978). He appeared in the short-lived television sitcom High & Dry as a bank clerk. He had a recurring role in You Rang, M'Lord?[6] which was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the same as Dad's Army. Williams played Lord Bishop Charles appearing in 14 out of a total of 26 episodes.

For many years, Williams has lived in Edgware, Middlesex.[7] Until 2000, he was a member of the House of Laity in the General Synod of the Church of England. He was a guest on This Morning on Thursday 31 July 2008, talking about Dad's Army with fellow cast members, Ian Lavender and Bill Pertwee. He also appeared on BBC1's Jonathan Ross Salutes Dad's Army show on Sunday 3 August 2008.[8][9]

With other surviving members of the Dad's Army cast he walked in the 100th Birthday parade for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, whose favourite programme it had been. He is the author of several plays, including The Playing Fields and Murder Weekend, some of which have been performed in the pro-amateur theatre. His autobiography, Vicar to Dad's Army: the Frank Williams story, was published in 2002.

Williams is the patron of Veneratio, a charity established to counter the social isolation of the elderly.[10]

In 1993, he founded with Bill Pertwee the Dad's Army Appreciation Society. He was the society's Vice President until the death of Bill Pertwee in 2013 when he became the President and now attends many society events.

During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 Williams reported that ‘I share the house with my good friend Ronald Grainge, who I met on the Dad’s Army stage show way back in 1975, so the two of us have been self-isolating and watching TV. We enjoy good dramas, and catch up with an old film occasionally.’ He then went on to say that the programmes which he enjoyed the most are ‘older comedies, but programmes like Would I Lie to You? are great fun. And chat programmes where comedy people get together.’[11]

References
  1. GRO Registers of Birth: SEP 1931 1a 774 HAMPSTEAD – Frank J. Williams, mmn = Myles
  2. "Frank Williams". Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  3. Permission To Speak, Sir! Dads Army Appreciation Society Magazine. DAAS. 2013.
  4. Correspondent, By Nicole Martin, Digital and Media (9 July 2008). "Original cast of Dad's Army reunited". Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  5. Williams, Frank; Sidney, Chris (2003) [2002]. Vicar to Dad's Army: The Frank Williams Story. Norwich: Canterbury Press. pp. 50, 152. ISBN 9781853115431.
  6. BBC Genome listing for 2 December 1990 episode
  7. Stephenson, David (4 May 2014). "Frank Williams reveals his excitement for the big-screen version of Dad's Army". Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  8. "Don't panic – it's our Dad's Army gallery". The Guardian. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  9. "Jonathan Ross Salutes Dad's Army (2008)". bfi.org.uk. BFI. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  10. Veneratio Archived 2012-02-22 at the Wayback Machine; Veneratio.org.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2012
  11. Braxton, Mark (2020). Frank Williams on lockdown and laugh. DAAS. p. 26.
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