William Leo Franklyn (22 September 1925 – 31 October 2006) was a British actor, perhaps best known for voicing the "Schhh... You Know Who" adverts for Schweppes from 1965 to 1973. He also performed on the stage, on film, on televisions, and on radio, taking over from the late Peter Jones as "The Book" (the narrator) in the third, fourth and fifth radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cadbury-Schweppes plc (Cadbury Trebor Bassett) is a chocolate and beverage company with its headquarters in London, UK. Jacob Schweppe developed a method to make mineral water in Geneva, Switzerland in 1783. ... Peter Jones in an episode of Rumpole of the Bailey Peter Jones (June 12, 1920 – April 10, 2000) was an English actor, born at Wem in Shropshire. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ...

Biography

Franklyn was born in Kensington into an acting family: his maternal grandfather, Arthur Rigby, Sr and uncle, Arthur Rigby, Jr, mother, Mary Rigby, and father, Leo Franklyn, were all actors. Franklyn was taken to Australia as a baby, where his father toured with musical comedies. The young Franklin attended Wesley College, Melbourne and Haileybury College, Melbourne, and developed an abiding love of cricket. He later trialled as a fast bowler for Essex County Cricket Club, and opened the bowling for the Stage Cricket Club. He later became a leg spinner, and ran his own team, the Sargentmen, raising money for the Malcolm Sargent Cancer Fund for Children. Kensington is an area to the west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. ... Wesley College is a coeducational independent school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Haileybury College is an independent school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ... Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. ... Essex County Cricket Club is a county cricket club based at the County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford, though with smaller grounds elsewhere. ... Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. ...

Franklyn returned to London aged 11. He was evacuated to Luscombe Castle in Devon in the Second World War. His stage career began at the age of 18, when he appeared in My Sister Eileen at the Savoy Theatre in 1943. He was called up to join the Parachute Regiment, and was sent to Palestine. Luscombe Castle was built in 1800 for Charles Hoare, a prominent banker from the near by resort town of Dawlish, in the county of Devon. ... Devon is a large county in South West England, bordered by Cornwall to the west, Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... My Sister Eileen is the name of several works based on short stories by Ruth McKenney about her adventures in Greenwich Village with her sister, Eileen McKenney. ... Savoy Theatre London, December 2003 The Savoy Theatre, which opened on 10 October 1881, was built by Richard DOyly Carte (1844 - 1901) on the site of the old Savoy Palace in London as a showcase for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, which became known as the Savoy Operas... The Parachute Regiments display team, the Red Devils at an American airshow The Parachute Regiment is the main body of elite airborne troops of the British Army. ...

He was married twice: first to Margo Johns in 1952; they had a daughter, actress Sabina Franklyn, but were divorced in 1962. He married Susanna Carroll in 1969; they had two daughters, Francesca Franklyn, a film producer, and Melissa Franklyn, also an actress. He was survived by his second wife, Susanna, and his three daughters. Sabina Franklyn (born 15 September 1954) is an English actress, and the daughter of William Franklyn. ...

The cause of his death was prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. ...

Career

He appeared in Arsenic and Old Lace at Southend Pier in 1946, soon after he was demobilised, and settled on an acting career. He continued to tour with the play in repertory for 6 years. In a slow period, he traded as an antiques dealer, taking junk away on a barrow from rich areas of London and selling them as antiques. He went on to perform on the stage, on television and radio, and in several movies. He appeared in several films in the 1950s, including Quatermass II in 1957, and took a starring role in 1961 film Pit of Darkness. He appeared in London's West End in comedies such as There's A Girl In My Soup and Tunnel Of Love. After perfunctory Italian lessons, he directed a version of There's A Girl In My Soup in Italy, with Italian actors, in Italian. On television, he was a panellist on the game shows What's My Line? and Call My Bluff, on a few occasions as a stand-in team captain for Patrick Campbell, played Jacques Fleury in The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel in 1955-6 and Peter Dallas in the 1961-2 spy drama series Top Secret, and also appeared in several episodes of The Avengers. Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by Joseph Kesselring, which was made into a film by director Frank Capra. ... Southend pier from the land Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Antiques (Latin antiquus, old) are objects which have reached an age which makes them a witness of a previous era in human society. ... The opening title sequence of Quatermass II. Quatermass II is a British television science-fiction serial, the second in the popular and influential Quatermass series written by Nigel Kneale. ... // West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre in London, or sometimes more specifically for shows staged in the large theatres of Londons Theatreland . Along with New Yorks Broadway Theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of theatre in the... Tunnel of love may refer to: Tunnel of love (amusement ride), the amusement park boat ride Tunnel of Love (album), an album by Bruce Springsteen Tunnel of Love (song), a song by Dire Straits Tunnel of Love EP, an album by Insane Clown Posse Category: ... Whats My Line? was a weekly panel game show originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. ... Call My Bluff is a British game show between two teams of three contestants. ... Patrick Gordon Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy (June 6, 1913 - November 9, 1980), better known simply as Patrick Campbell, was a British journalist, humorist and television personality. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Avengers is a British 1960s television series featuring secret agents in a fantasy 1960s Britain. ...

He was featured on This Is Your Life in 1978, appeared in the 1984 comedy television series The Steam Video Company, and in the 1991 drama G.B.H. and in the dramatised Diana: Her True Story in 1993. This Is Your Life was a television documentary series hosted by Ralph Edwards, which originally aired in the United States from 1952 to 1961, and again from 1972 on NBC. It originated as a radio show airing from 1948 to 1952 on NBC Radio. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... G.B.H. was a seven-part British television drama written by Alan Bleasdale, made by independent production company G.B.H (Films) and shown in the summer of 1991 on Channel 4, and repeated in July-August 2006 on More4. ...

He was also known for commercial voice-over work; those "Schhh... You Know Who" Schweppes adverts Franklyn voiced were created by Ogilvy and Mather and he appeared on screen in 10 commercials and voiced another 40 from 1965 to 1973. Cadbury-Schweppes plc (Cadbury Trebor Bassett) is a chocolate and beverage company with its headquarters in London, UK. Jacob Schweppe developed a method to make mineral water in Geneva, Switzerland in 1783. ... Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide is an advertising agency that has a worldwide presence. ...

On radio, he was the reader of the quotes on BBC Radio 4's Quote Unquote for 11 years, until shortly before his death, and also read for The News Quiz. In 2004 and 2005, he took over the role of "The Book" (the narrator) from the late Peter Jones, a friend, for the third, fourth and fifth radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of chiefly spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ... Quote Unquote is a light-hearted panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4 based on quotations. ... The News Quiz is a topical comedy quiz broadcast on British radio BBC Radio 4. ... Peter Jones in an episode of Rumpole of the Bailey Peter Jones (June 12, 1920 – April 10, 2000) was an English actor, born at Wem in Shropshire. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ...

External links

• Obituary, BBC News, 31 October 2006
• Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 1 November 2006
• Obituary, The Guardian, 1 November 2006
• Obituary, The Independent, 1 November 2006
• Obituary, The Times, 31 October 2006
• William Franklyn at the Internet Movie Database