Frank Atkinson (actor)


Frank Atkinson was an English actor and writer.
Atkinson was born in Blackpool, Lancashire. He appeared in at least 130 films between 1930 and 1963. A stalwart of British films, often in small or uncredited roles, and also in Hollywood in the 1930s, notably in the Raoul Walsh directed Me and My Gal and Sailor's Luck. Allmovie described him as "tall and slender, and with gaunt facial features that lent themselves to looks of eccentricity, and with a highly cultured speaking voice, he could melt unobtrusively into a scene, as an anonymous bit-player, or could, with the utterance of a few words or a look, transform himself into a wryly comedic presence -- he played everything from jailers, guards, garage attendants, and soldiers to upper class twits."
He was the first person to play the scarecrow Worzel Gummidge on television in the original series, broadcast by the BBC on 10 February 1953. He died in Pinner, Middlesex, aged 69.

Selected filmography

ActorAlong Came Youth - Bit Role Ladies' Man - ValetAlways Goodbye - Servant Ambassador Bill - American Embassy Valet The Menace - Man from Cartier's The Wet Parade - Barman At New Year Party Devil's Lottery - Summers the Butler The Woman in Room 13 The Man from Yesterday - British Soldier Skyscraper Souls - Waiter At Party The Man Called Back - Lower Level Court Clerk False Faces - Butler Sherlock Holmes - Man in PubCall Her Savage - Stevens - Crosby's Valet For Me and My Gal - Ashley's Chum The Right to Live - Harry WoodsCavalcade - Uncle Dick Smoke Lightning - Alf BaileySailor's Luck - Swimming pool attendant Pleasure Cruise - AlfLife in the Raw - Picayune Cafe Patron Paddy the Next Best Thing - Chemist My Lips Betray - Baptiste, Royal Valet Rolling in Money - WigginsThe Outcast - Bit Part The Path of Glory - KarlFreedom of the Seas - O'HaraThe Great Defender - PopeThe Third Clue - LeftyRoad House - MagicianThe Man Who Knew Too Much - Policeman Shot Behind Mattress Barnacle Bill - Arthur NealDeath Drives Through - John 'Nigger' LarsonNight Mail - Be Careful, Mr. Smith Look Up and Laugh - Debt Collector Me and Marlborough - Soldier No Monkey Business - Chauffeur Play Up the Band - Alf RamsbottomThe Morals of Marcus - Ship StewardA Woman Alone - PorterThe Limping Man - Insp. CableSkylarks Shipmates o' Mine - Oliver BrightThe High Command - CorporalThe Show Goes On - Actor at OHara's Agency Knights for a Day - Timothy TroutOh, Mr Porter! - Irate Irishman in Barney's Bar Young and Innocent - Petrol Pump Attendant The Green Cockatoo - Protheroe - the ButlerThe Schooner Gang - Ben WortonA Romance in Flanders - Joe StugginsKicking the Moon Around - Pygmalion - Taxi-DriverI've Got a Horse - BunkerOver the Moon - Reporter Discoveries - PhotographerThe Body Vanished - HobbleberryWhere's That Fire? - Town Clerk The Stars Look Down - MinerTen Days in Paris - PierrePenn of Pennsylvania - Hard Steel - Dick SeftonMrs. Miniver - Man in Tavern The Avengers - Drunk at Oslo Quayside They Flew Alone - Reporter in the Johnson's House Let the People Sing - Bit Role Asking for Trouble - Policeman Much Too Shy - Village Policeman The Great Mr. Handel - PermobbleThe Gentle Sex - Restaurant Customer Get Cracking - Station Master Bell-Bottom George - Harry On Approval - Hansom Cab Driver Give Us the Moon - He Snoops to Conquer - Joe Kiss the Bride Goodbye - Waterloo Road - George - Pub Barman Great Day - Man at gate The Voice Within - FarmerWanted for Murder - Chip Shop Customer I See a Dark Stranger - Soldier in Pub Great Expectations - MikeThe Last Load - JenkinsThe Man in the White Suit - The BakerTime Bomb - GuardThe Titfield Thunderbolt - Station SergeantThe Broken Horseshoe - Railway Ticket ClerkThe Fake - Tate Gallery Attendant Stryker of the Yard Lease of Life - VergerThe Green Carnation - Lift operatorThe Black Rider - LandlordThe Love Match - Worktaker At Milford Before I Wake - Taxi driver Track the Man Down - George The Man Who Knew Too Much - Edgar, Taxidermist Wicked as They Come - Hotel Porter Reach for the Sky - Tullin Sailor Beware! - Chauffeur Circus Friends - HoraceThree Men in a Boat - Lockkeeper Hour of Decision - CaretakerAt the Stroke of Nine - Festival Hall PorterCat Girl - Guard High Flight - ParkerJust My Luck - Green Stormy Crossing - Night PorterBeyond This Place - Night DoormanLeft Right and Centre - Railway Porter Trouble with Eve - CabdriverThe Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll - Groom Saturday Night and Sunday Morning - Tommy The Night We Got the Bird - Bald headed manThe Kitchen - AlfredMurder at the Gallop - Hotel Night Porter
ScreenwriterPlay Up the Band King of the Castle Not So Dusty