English Actor and CAA member Frank John Williams passed away on 26th June 2022. He was six days short of his 91st Birthday.
Edgware born, Frank was an only child. He began his career in rep at the Watford Palace Theatre which was then being run by a young Jimmy Perry, who went on to create Dad’s Army. This was the early days of Television, a performing medium that most attracted Frank.
He made several TV appearances in the early 1950s and landed the part of Captain Pocket in the ‘Army Game’, a show in which he made 116 appearances.
His first film role was as an uncredited extra in ‘The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan’ in 1953. His first notable role was in 1956 in the film ‘The Extra Day.’ He went on to appear in three films with Norman Wisdom; ‘The Square Peg’ (1958); ‘The Bulldog Breed’ (1960), and ‘A Stitch in Time’ (1963). Throughout this period he appeared in films such as ‘Inn for Trouble’ (1960), ‘Just for Fun’ (1963), ‘Hide and Seek’ (1964), ‘Headline Hunters’ (1968).
In the 1970s he appeared in ‘One of our Dinosaurs is Missing’ (1975), ‘Jabberwocky’ (1977), ‘What’s Up Nurse?’ (1977) ‘Oh, Heavenly Dog’ (1980). He also received acclaim for a TV role in ‘Diary of a Young Man’ (1964) Directed by Ken Loach. Often cast as a member of the clergy, Frank also appeared in ‘You Rang M’Lord,’ ‘Hi De Hi,’ ‘The Worker,’ ‘All Gas and Gaiters’ and ‘Vanity Fair.’
However he became a national treasure and was best known for playing Reverend Timothy Farthing in TV’s ‘Dad’s Army’ (1969 – 1977). He appeared in the Dad’s Army feature film and also had a cameo in the remake in 2016. In 1993 he co-founded with Bill Pertwee the Dad’s Army Appreciation Society. Frank described working on Dad’s Army as the happiest time of his professional life.
Frank Williams was a lifetime Christian and a patron of Veneration, a charity established to prevent the social isolation of the elderly.
by Chris Hare