Oh I'm upset about Francis. I worked with him, he was an absolutely brilliant man to be on stage with. I really loved him. One day we were playing a two-handed scene which we were both beginning to get a bit sick of, and he looked me in the eye with a twinkle and put on his Cary Grant voice, we only just held it together. I learnt so so much from him - technically a very excellent actor as well as a fount of amazing stories (Ava Gardner for one, lucky man...), hilarious impressions of people and a really lovely attitude towards younger actors. Could be rather sharp and grumpy but the best company ever.
He had the skill of hitting every single laugh, every single performance - I've never seen anyone do that before or since. He would work out where the laughs were through rehearsal and a couple of previews, then he got every single one, week after week for 3 months, even on a damp Wednesday afternoon in a half-full house in the sticks. He respected the audience.
It's odd, as an actor you get so close to someone when you work together, then you might not ever meet again but you always retain an incredibly strong impression of them. During the time we toured together I truly loved him and will always think of him fondly.
