Frank Finlay

Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Josiah Finlay and Margaret Finlay. He was educated at St Gregory the Great School, but left at 14 to train as a butcher at Toppings, gaining a City and Guilds Diploma in the trade. ==Stage career==

Finlay made his first stage appearances at the local Farnworth Little Theatre, in plays that included Peter Blackmore's Miranda in 1951. and the film adaptation of that production (also 1965), The critic John Simon wrote that the close-ups in the film allowed Finlay to give a more subtle and effective performance than he had done on stage. At the Chichester Festival Theatre, Finlay played roles ranging from the First Gravedigger in Hamlet to Josef Frank in Weapons of Happiness. He also appeared in The Party, Plunder, Saint Joan, ''Hobson's Choice, Amadeus'' (as Salieri), Between November 1988 and April 1989, Finlay toured Australia, performing in Jeffrey Archer's Beyond Reasonable Doubt at theatres in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. ==Screen==

One of his earliest television roles was in the family space adventure serial Target Luna (1960), as journalist Conway Henderson. Finlay's first major television success was as Jean Valjean in the BBC's 1967 ten-part adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. He played the title role of Dennis Potter's BBC 2 series Casanova (1971). for which he won a BAFTA award. He won another BAFTA award that year for his performance as Voltaire in the BBC TV production of Candide. Finlay played the role of Justice Peter Mahon in the award-winning New Zealand television serial Erebus: The Aftermath (1988). In the Roman Polanski film The Pianist (2002), he took on the part of Adrien Brody's father. He starred alongside Pete Postlethwaite and Geraldine James in the BBC drama series The Sins in 2000, playing the funeral director "Uncle" Irwin Green. He appeared in the TV series Life Begins (2004–2006) and as Jane Tennison's father in the last two stories of Prime Suspect (2006 and 2007). In 2007, he guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio adventure 100. Finlay appeared in November 2008 in the eleventh episode of the BBC drama series Merlin, as "Anhora, Keeper of the Unicorns". ==Personal life and honours==

Finlay met his future wife Doreen Shepherd when both belonged to Farnworth Little Theatre. They had three children, Finlay became a member of the British Catholic Stage Guild (now the Catholic Association of Performing Arts). Finlay was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year's Honours of 1984 and an honorary doctor of the University of Bolton in 2009. ==Death==

Finlay died on 30 January 2016 at his home in Weybridge, Surrey, aged 89, from heart failure. == Awards and nominations ==

Film Television ==References==