# William Franklyn > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Franklyn > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Franklyn.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Franklyn > Source revision: 1355145688 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) English actor (1925–2006) For other people named William Franklyn, see [William Franklyn (disambiguation)](/source/William_Franklyn_(disambiguation)). This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) William Franklyn Born William Leo Beare (1925-09-22)22 September 1925 Kensington, London, England Died 31 October 2006(2006-10-31) (aged 81) London, England Occupation Actor Height 6' (1.83 m) Spouse(s) Margo Johns (1952–1962) (1 child) Susannah Carroll (1969–2006) (2 children) (his death) **William Leo Franklyn** ([né](/source/Birth_name#Maiden_and_married_names) **Beare**; 22 September 1925 – 31 October 2006) was an English actor, perhaps best known for voicing the "Schhh... You Know Who" adverts for [Schweppes](/source/Schweppes) from 1965 to 1973. He also performed on stage, film, television and radio, taking over from [Peter Jones](/source/Peter_Jones_(actor)) as "The Book" (the narrator) in the third, fourth and fifth radio series of *[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy](/source/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy)*. He is also known for his portrayal of [Sexton Blake](/source/Sexton_Blake) for [BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4) in 1967. ## Early life Franklyn was born William Leo Beare in [Kensington](/source/Kensington) into an acting family: his maternal grandfather, Arthur Rigby Sr. and uncle, [Arthur Rigby Jr.](/source/Arthur_Rigby_(actor)), mother, Mary Rigby, and father, [Leo Franklyn](/source/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](/source/Wesley_College%2C_Melbourne) and [Haileybury Colleges](/source/Haileybury_College%2C_Melbourne), both in [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne), and developed an abiding love of [cricket](/source/Cricket). He later trialled as a [fast bowler](/source/Fast_bowler) for [Essex](/source/Essex_County_Cricket_Club), and opened the bowling for the Stage Cricket Club. He also became a [leg spinner](/source/Leg_spin), and ran his own team, the Sargentmen, raising money for the [Malcolm Sargent](/source/Malcolm_Sargent) Cancer Fund for Children. He returned to London, aged 11. He was evacuated to [Luscombe Castle](/source/Luscombe_Castle) in [Devon](/source/Devon) in the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War). His stage career began at the age of 18, when he appeared in *[My Sister Eileen](/source/My_Sister_Eileen)* at the [Savoy Theatre](/source/Savoy_Theatre) in 1943. He was called up to join the [Parachute Regiment](/source/Parachute_Regiment_(United_Kingdom)), and was sent to [Palestine](/source/Palestine_(region)). ## Career He appeared in *[Arsenic and Old Lace](/source/Arsenic_and_Old_Lace_(play))* at [Southsea Pier](/source/Southsea_Pier)[1] in 1946, soon after he was demobilised, and settled on an acting career. He continued to tour with the play in [repertory](/source/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 [antiques](/source/Antique). 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](/source/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](/source/Adam_Faith)'s *[What A Whopper](/source/What_A_Whopper)*. He featured in the 1965 [Morecambe and Wise](/source/Morecambe_and_Wise) film *[The Intelligence Men](/source/The_Intelligence_Men)*. He appeared in London's [West End](/source/West_End_theatre) in comedies such as *[There's a Girl in My Soup](/source/There's_A_Girl_In_My_Soup_(comedy))* and *Tunnel of Love*. After perfunctory Italian lessons, he directed a version of *[There's a Girl in My Soup](/source/There's_A_Girl_In_My_Soup_(comedy))* in [Italy](/source/Italy), with Italian actors, in Italian. On television, he was a panellist on game shows such as *[What's My Line](/source/What's_My_Line#United_Kingdom)?* and *[Call My Bluff](/source/Call_My_Bluff_(UK_game_show))*. He played Jacques Fleury in *[The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel](/source/The_Adventures_of_the_Scarlet_Pimpernel)* (1955–56) and Peter Dallas in the spy drama series *[Top Secret](/source/Top_Secret_(TV_series))* (1961–62), and also appeared in several episodes of *[The Avengers](/source/The_Avengers_(TV_series))*. 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](/source/This_Is_Your_Life_(British_TV_series))* (1978), appeared in the 1984 comedy television series *[The Steam Video Company](/source/The_Steam_Video_Company)*, and in *[G.B.H.](/source/G.B.H._(TV_series))* (1991) and *[Diana: Her True Story](/source/Diana%3A_Her_True_Story_(film))* (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](/source/Schweppes) adverts Franklyn voiced were created by [Ogilvy and Mather](/source/Ogilvy_and_Mather). He voiced *[Danger Mouse](/source/Danger_Mouse_(1981_TV_series))* in the unbroadcast pilot for the British television series (although [David Jason](/source/David_Jason) replaced him in all broadcast episodes). On radio, he was the reader of the quotes on [BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4)'s *[Quote Unquote](/source/Quote_Unquote)* for 11 years, until shortly before his death, and also read for *[The News Quiz](/source/The_News_Quiz)*. In 2004 and 2005 he took over the role of "The Book" (the narrator) from his friend [Peter Jones](/source/Peter_Jones_(actor)) for the third, fourth and fifth radio series of *[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy](/source/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy)*. He also appeared as a guest star in an episode of the sketch show *The Skivers*. ## Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1952 Secret People Surgeon Uncredited 1953 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 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 Cecil 1972 Ooh... You Are Awful Arnold Van Cleef 1973 The Satanic Rites of Dracula Torrence 1983 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](/source/Margo_Johns) in 1952; they had a daughter, actress [Sabina Franklyn](/source/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](/source/Prostate_cancer) on Tuesday, 31 October 2006. His funeral was held on Monday, 6 November 2006 at Mortlake Crematorium, Richmond-Upon-Thames, England. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** newspaper obituaries ## External links - [William Franklyn](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0291598/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [Obituary](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6102224.stm), [BBC News](/source/BBC_News), 31 October 2006 - [Obituary](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=NUC3D5MHJL3WXQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2006/11/01/db0101.xml)[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*], *[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)*, 1 November 2006 - [Obituary](https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,1936125,00.html), *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*, 1 November 2006 - [Obituary](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/william-franklyn-422405.html), *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)*, 1 November 2006 - [Obituary](https://archive.today/20110622092619/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2430855,00.html), *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*, 31 October 2006 - [\[1\]](http://www.tv.com/danger-mouse/show/3897/cast.html), "[TV.com Danger mouse cast](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=TV.com_Danger_mouse_cast&action=edit&redlink=1)", 31 May 2010 Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF National France BnF data Italy Artists MusicBrainz Other SNAC --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Franklyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Franklyn) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Franklyn?action=history)). 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