Francis Matthews(1927-2014)

Francis Joseph Matthews was born in York to Kathleen, nee Empson and Henry Ernest Matthews and was educated at St Georges School in York and St Michaels Jesuit College in Leeds and did some work at Leeds Repertory Theatre before doing his National Service in the Royal Navy after which he did repertory at various theatres including 2 years at the Oxford Playhouse. In 1962 he went to the Hebrides to film Shark Island, a six part series for the BBC and was picked up from the airport by the actress Angela Browne who he married the following year and had 3 sons,Paul, Dominic and Damien. Gerry Anderson was planning a television puppet television series when he heard Francis on the radio doing a Cary Grant voice and liked the transatlantic sound of his voice and asked him to provide the voice of Captain Scarlett in the television puppet series he was preparing. He has an actor brother, Paul Shelley and a sister, Maura. Another brother, Anthony, predeceased them.