{{Short description|English actor (1925–2006)}} {{other people}} {{more footnotes needed|date=March 2013}} {{Use British English|date=November 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = William Franklyn | image = William Franklyn.jpg | image_size = 150px | caption = | birth_name = William Leo Beare | birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|9|22|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Kensington]], [[London]], England | death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|10|31|1925|9|22|df=y}} | occupation = Actor | death_place = London, England | height = 6' (1.83 m) | other_names = | years_active = | spouse = [[Margo Johns]] (1952–1962) (1 child)<br>Susannah Carroll (1969–2006) (2 children) (his death) | website = }}

'''William Leo Franklyn''' ({{ne|'''Beare'''}}; 22 September 1925 &ndash; 31 October 2006) was an English actor, perhaps best known for voicing the "Schhh... You Know Who" adverts for [[Schweppes]] from 1965 to 1973. He also performed on stage, film, television and radio, taking over from [[Peter Jones (actor)|Peter Jones]] as "The Book" (the narrator) in the third, fourth and fifth radio series of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''. He is also known for his portrayal of [[Sexton Blake]] for [[BBC Radio 4]] in 1967.

==Early life== Franklyn was born William Leo Beare in [[Kensington]] into an acting family: his maternal grandfather, Arthur Rigby Sr. and uncle, [[Arthur Rigby (actor)|Arthur Rigby Jr.]], mother, Mary Rigby, and father, [[Leo Franklyn]], were all actors. He was taken to Australia as a baby, where his father toured with musical comedies. The young Franklyn attended [[Wesley College, Melbourne|Wesley]] and [[Haileybury College, Melbourne|Haileybury Colleges]], both in [[Melbourne]], and developed an abiding love of [[cricket]]. He later trialled as a [[fast bowler]] for [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]], and opened the bowling for the Stage Cricket Club. He also became a [[leg spin]]ner, and ran his own team, the Sargentmen, raising money for the [[Malcolm Sargent]] Cancer Fund for Children.

He returned to London, aged 11. He was evacuated to [[Luscombe Castle]] in [[Devon]] in the [[Second World War]]. His stage career began at the age of 18, when he appeared in ''[[My Sister Eileen]]'' at the [[Savoy Theatre]] in 1943. He was called up to join the [[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|Parachute Regiment]], and was sent to [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]].

==Career== He appeared in ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace (play)|Arsenic and Old Lace]]'' at [[Southsea Pier]]<ref>newspaper obituaries</ref> in 1946, soon after he was demobilised, and settled on an acting career. He continued to tour with the play in [[repertory]] for six years. In a slow period, he traded as an antiques dealer, taking junk away on a barrow from rich areas of London and selling it as [[antique]]s.

He went on to perform on the stage, on television and radio, and in several films. He appeared in several films in the 1950s, including ''[[Quatermass 2]]'' in 1957, and took a starring role in the 1961 film ''Pit of Darkness'' which was the B-feature shown with [[Adam Faith]]'s ''[[What A Whopper]]''. He featured in the 1965 [[Morecambe and Wise]] film ''[[The Intelligence Men]]''.

He appeared in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] in comedies such as ''[[There's A Girl In My Soup (comedy)|There's a Girl in My Soup]]'' and ''Tunnel of Love''. After perfunctory Italian lessons, he directed a version of ''[[There's A Girl In My Soup (comedy)|There's a Girl in My Soup]]'' in [[Italy]], with Italian actors, in Italian. On television, he was a panellist on game shows such as ''[[What's My Line#United Kingdom|What's My Line]]?'' and ''[[Call My Bluff (UK game show)|Call My Bluff]]''. He played Jacques Fleury in ''[[The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel]]'' (1955–56) and Peter Dallas in the spy drama series ''[[Top Secret (TV series)|Top Secret]]'' (1961–62), and also appeared in several episodes of ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''. He was in TV plays like ''Mid Level''.

Franklyn also was in comedy sketch show What's on Next and was the host of espionage quiz game The Masterspy. He was featured on ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' (1978), appeared in the 1984 comedy television series ''[[The Steam Video Company]]'', and in ''[[G.B.H. (TV series)|G.B.H.]]'' (1991) and ''[[Diana: Her True Story (film)|Diana: Her True Story]]'' (1993).

He was also known for commercial voice-over work; he appeared on screen in 10 commercials and voiced another 40 from 1965 to 1973. The "Schhh... You Know Who" [[Schweppes]] adverts Franklyn voiced were created by [[Ogilvy and Mather]].

He voiced ''[[Danger Mouse (1981 TV series)|Danger Mouse]]'' in the unbroadcast pilot for the British television series (although [[David Jason]] replaced him in all broadcast episodes).

On radio, he was the reader of the quotes on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Quote Unquote]]'' for 11 years, until shortly before his death, and also read for ''[[The News Quiz]]''. In 2004 and 2005 he took over the role of "The Book" (the narrator) from his friend [[Peter Jones (actor)|Peter Jones]] for the third, fourth and fifth radio series of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''. He also appeared as a guest star in an episode of the sketch show ''The Skivers''.

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1952|| ''[[Secret People (film)|Secret People]]'' || Surgeon || Uncredited |- |1953|| ''[[Operation Diplomat (film)|Operation Diplomat]]'' || Dr. Gillespie || Uncredited |- |1954|| ''[[The Runaway Bus]]'' || Crook in Opening Sequence || Voice, Uncredited |- |1954|| ''[[Time Is My Enemy]]'' || Sgt. Peter Thompson || |- |1954|| ''[[The Crowded Day]]'' || Studio Official || |- |1955|| ''[[Out of the Clouds]]'' || Control Tower Radio Operator || Uncredited |- |1955|| ''[[The Love Match]]'' || Arthur Ford || |- |1955|| ''[[Above Us the Waves]]'' || No. 1, X2 || |- |1957|| ''[[Quatermass 2]]'' || Brand || |- |1957|| ''[[That Woman Opposite]]'' || Ned Atwood || |- |1957|| ''[[The Flesh Is Weak]]'' || Lloyd Buxton || |- |1958|| ''[[The Snorkel]]'' || Wilson || |- |1959|| ''[[Danger Within]]'' || Capt. Tony Long || |- |1960|| ''Upgreen – And at 'Em'' || || |- |1960|| ''[[The Big Day (1960 film)|The Big Day]]'' || Mr. T. Selkirk || |- |1961|| ''[[Fury at Smugglers' Bay]]'' || The Captain || |- |1961|| ''[[Pit of Darkness]]'' || Richard Logan || |- |1965|| ''[[The Intelligence Men]]'' || Colonel Grant || |- |1966|| ''[[Cul-de-sac (1966 film)|Cul-de-sac]]'' || Cecil || |- |1972|| ''[[Ooh... You Are Awful]]'' || Arnold Van Cleef || |- |1973|| ''[[The Satanic Rites of Dracula]]'' || Torrence || |- |1983|| ''[[Nutcracker (film)|Nutcracker]]'' || Sir Arthur Cartwright || |- |1993|| ''[[Splitting Heirs]]'' || Andrews || |- |1996|| ''[[Robert Rylands' Last Journey]]'' || Robert Rylands || |}

==Personal life== Franklyn was married twice: first to [[Margo Johns]] in 1952; they had a daughter, actress [[Sabina Franklyn]], but were divorced in 1962. He remarried in 1969; he and his second wife, Susanna, had two daughters, Francesca Franklyn, a film producer, and Melissa Franklyn, an actress.

Franklyn died of [[prostate cancer]] on Tuesday, 31 October 2006. His funeral was held on Monday, 6 November 2006 at Mortlake Crematorium, Richmond-Upon-Thames, England.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0291598|name=William Franklyn}} *[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6102224.stm Obituary], [[BBC News]], 31 October 2006 *[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=NUC3D5MHJL3WXQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2006/11/01/db0101.xml Obituary]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 1 November 2006 *[https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,1936125,00.html Obituary], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 1 November 2006 *[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/william-franklyn-422405.html Obituary], ''[[The Independent]]'', 1 November 2006 *[https://archive.today/20110622092619/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2430855,00.html Obituary], ''[[The Times]]'', 31 October 2006 *[http://www.tv.com/danger-mouse/show/3897/cast.html], "[[TV.com Danger mouse cast]]", 31 May 2010

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklyn, William}} [[Category:1925 births]] [[Category:2006 deaths]] [[Category:English male film actors]] [[Category:English radio personalities]] [[Category:English male stage actors]] [[Category:English male television actors]] [[Category:English male voice actors]] [[Category:Male actors from London]] [[Category:People from Kensington]] [[Category:Deaths from prostate cancer in England]] [[Category:People educated at Haileybury (Melbourne)]] [[Category:People educated at Wesley College (Victoria)]] [[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]] [[Category:British Parachute Regiment soldiers]] [[Category:Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]] [[Category:Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]