Career
His roles for Hammer Studios during the 1950s and 1960s included the Baron's assistant in The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) and the heroes of Dracula: Prince of Darkness and Rasputin, the Mad Monk (both 1965).
On television, between 1969 and 1971 he played Francis Durbridge's amateur sleuth Paul Temple in the BBC series of the same name. The series proved so popular in West Germany that later series were co-productions between the BBC and Taurus Films of Munich.
Matthews not only appeared with Morecambe and Wise in The Intelligence Men (1965) and That Riviera Touch (1966) – forging a close friendship with Morecambe – but also appeared throughout the 1960s and 1970s in a variety of comedy roles. He appeared on Eric & Ernie's Christmas Show in 1977. He starred alongside George Cole in Charles Woods' highly-regarded TV sitcom Don't Forget To Write (1977) as a successful writer.
In 1967, Matthews provided the voice of Captain Scarlet in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. In the late 1970s he served as narrator and host for the BBC-produced English crash course Follow Me!, which has been broadcast across the world (though not widely within the UK). In 1983, more than 100 million people in China used this series to learn English.
In 2000 Matthews and his wife Angela Browne appeared in two Ray Cooney plays on the cruise ship MS Marco Polo, which at the time was sailing to the Antarctic: Run For Your Wife and Funny Money. Matthews' TV career has continued into the 21st century.
Read more about this topic: Francis Matthews (actor)
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