Rip Captain Peacock another legend gone
Frank Thornton RIP Page 2
Rip Frank Thornton A Very Good Actor who played some great roles. Like SAS LOTSW and AYBS.
RIP. I thought he was excellent when he joined the cast of Last of the Summer Wine. Obviously Roy Clarke's writing was patchy by that point but the show survived due to the wonderful cast that they had and Frank Thornton delivered his lines superbly.
Quote: FracturedMirror @ March 18 2013, 4:53 PM GMTTruly of the Yard
=a policeman.
Foggy=an officer.
Seymour=a headmaster.
What was Blamire?
Quote: Tim Azure @ March 19 2013, 8:32 AM GMT=a policeman.
Foggy=an officer.
Seymour=a headmaster.What was Blamire?
I thought Blamire was ex army in the show and had served with Foggy.
RIP Frank Thornton, he was in so many films and TV shows over the years apart from AYBS and LOTSW, my own favourite his appearance in The Bed Sitting Room as The BBC.
Quote: Tim Azure @ March 19 2013, 8:32 AM GMT=a policeman.
Foggy=an officer.
Seymour=a headmaster.What was Blamire?
According to Andrew Vine's book on LOTSW
'Blamire was a self appointed leader of men. A strait-laced ex water board official and Royal Corps of Signals RSM . .'
Quote: Will Cam @ March 18 2013, 1:28 PM GMTWhat a shame.
Am I the only person who feels like a tiny bit of their own life/history has died when a performer you admire dies?
I always feel exactly the same way. Especially when Eric Sykes and Ronnie Barker died.
I was saddened to learn this afternoon that Frank Thornton passed away last Saturday. When an oxygen thief like Kim Kardashian breaks a fingernail, it becomes the latest bit of hot gossip. But when a talented personality who devoted their life to entertaining the masses passes away, it only registers on a slow-news day. There was nothing about it on the evening news and it only appeared in the newspaper today. Frank's passing was given no more than a blunt paragraph on page 30. The Daily Telegraph here in Australia devoted its daily history article to him and his prolific career. I knew he was a ripe old age, but my heart still fell when I saw it.
I first saw Are You Being Served? a few years after it was cancelled. In the late eighties, which were my high school years, it was rerun during afternoons on Australian TV. I loved the humour, the performances and the quaint atmosphere. Most of all, I loved the character of Captain Peacock and the name Frank Thornton became familiar to me. I remember a playground conversation one day about favourite actors and the deafening silence when I named Frank as one of my favourites. Nobody had the faintest idea who I was talking about. That's because their favourite actors were on Miami Vice or The A Team.
I recognised Frank over the years when he popped up in cameo roles in movies like Bless This House, The Magic Christian and No Sex Please We're British.
He was always great fun. A couple of Frank's performances stand out in my mind. There was always a degree of sadness beneath the surface of Captain Peacock, the retired military man who had to cope not only with the reduction of power in civilian life but also the constant jibes and mockery of his workmates. This was never better exemplified than the first series episode where the staff of Grace Brothers spend the night on the shop floor in tents after a transport strike. Frank's touching bedtime monologue about the hardships faced by wartime Britain is met with a typically irreverent reaction by Trevor Bannister's character, Mr Lucas. It was another commendable example of British comedy treading the fine line between comedy and tragedy in a way that Americans simply haven't the finesse (just look at the pigs' breakfast they made of One Foot In The Grave when they remade it as Cosby).
Farewell Frank and thanks for the laughs...
Quote: wizardofaus @ March 20 2013, 11:43 AM GMTI was saddened to learn this afternoon that Frank Thornton passed away last Saturday. When an oxygen thief like Kim Kardashian breaks a fingernail, it becomes the latest bit of hot gossip. But when a talented personality who devoted their life to entertaining the masses passes away, it only registers on a slow-news day.
Yep, that's the sad truth. On the other hand in twenty years time the status of such real artists won't alter that much. But no one will speak of those talent show has-beens and star shaggers anymore.
Again: Rest in peace, Frank!
Yes, Rest In Peace, and thank you for the many happy hours of laughter - especially his "crossing swords" with The Lad Himself in "The Blood Donor".
"Well, go on then - how much did you give to the Arab refugees?"
"Oh really, if you must know, I gave £5"
(Not verbatim - just what I remember!)
Had I not left my AYBS DVD set left in a packing case in a shipping container, I'd be attempting an AYBS marathon this weekend. And trying to put some foreign subtitles to an episode. I don't know if the Chinese are familiar with AYBS.