Francis de Wolff


Baron Francis-Marie Arist de Wolff was an English character actor. Large, bearded, and beetle-browed, he was often cast as villains and foreigners in both film and television.

Early life

De Wolff was born in Essex in January 1913. He was the son of Baron Vladimir de Wolff, a Russian-born nobleman, and Baroness Gwendolin May de Wolff. He was raised in the family’s estate in Lewes, and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Life and career

De Wolff made his film debut in Flame in the Heather, and made many other appearances in such films as Fire Over England, Treasure Island, Scrooge, as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Ivanhoe, Moby Dick, Saint Joan, From Russia with Love, and Carry On Cleo.
He is perhaps best remembered, however, as a supporting player in horror movies of the 1950s and 1960s, many of them for Hammer Films. These include Corridors of Blood, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Man Who Could Cheat Death, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, Devil Doll, and The Black Torment. His last film appearance was in The Three Musketeers.
His television appearances included The Avengers, Maigret, Richard the Lionheart, Danger Man, Doctor Who, The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, The Saint, Rookery Nook, Paul Temple, Dixon of Dock Green, The Tomorrow People, and the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.

Personal life

De Wolff was married three times, and had four children.

Death

He died in Sussex at the age of 71, on April 18, 1984.

Filmography