Frank Vosper

Frank Vosper
Born Frank Permian Vosper
(1899-12-15)15 December 1899
Hampstead, London, England
Died 6 March 1937(1937-03-06) (aged 37)
at sea
Cause of death accidental drowning
Occupation actor & writer

Frank Vosper (15 December 1899, in London – 6 March 1937) was an English actor and playwright.[1][2]

Stage

Vosper made his stage debut in 1919 and was best known for playing urbane villains.[3][4]

His extensive stage experience included appearing in his own play Love from a Stranger (1936), adapted from the short story "Philomel Cottage" by Agatha Christie.[5][6]

His screenplays included co-writing the comedy No Funny Business (1933).[7]

He also wrote People Like Us, based on the case of Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters.[8] Banned by the Lord Chamberlain after a performance at the Strand Theatre featuring Atholl Fleming,[9] it remained unperformed until 1948, when it premiered at Wyndham's Theatre in London, with Miles Malleson, George Rose, Robert Flemyng and Kathleen Michael.[10]

Filmography

His films as an actor included

His films as a writer included

Death

Vosper drowned on 6 March 1937, when he fell from the ocean liner SS Paris.[11] The death was eventually ruled as accidental after considerable media speculation.[5] Several newspapers reported that earlier in the evening Vosper had been attending a farewell party for Miss Muriel Oxford, "Miss Great Britain" of 1936, in her cabin, and that he had threatened suicide if she refused to marry him. Miss Oxford reported that her last conversation with Vosper was "quite normal" and that he never threatened suicide.[12][13][14] At the time there was a considerable debate, because Vosper was a well-known homosexual and it was said by many that it was because he found his lover flirting with a beauty queen that he threw himself from the ocean liner.[15]

According to the Daily Express Fiction Library edition of Murder on the Second Floor, Vosper fell from the French ocean liner SS Normandie, while contemporary newspaper accounts stated it was the liner SS Paris.[16][12][13][14]

References

  1. ↑ "Frank Vosper".
  2. ↑ League, The Broadway. "Frank Vosper – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB".
  3. ↑ Wearing, J. P. (27 March 2014). "The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel". Rowman & Littlefield – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Frank Vosper".
  5. 1 2 "Frank Vosper - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie".
  6. ↑ "Philomel Cottage".
  7. ↑ "No Funny Business (1933)".
  8. ↑ Kabatchnik, Amnon (1 January 2010). "Blood on the Stage, 1925-1950: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire". Scarecrow Press – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ "Music and Drama" Sydney Morning Herald 21 December 1929
  10. ↑ "CONTEMPORARY ARTS » 15 Jul 1948 » The Spectator Archive".
  11. ↑ "Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search".
  12. 1 2 "Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search".
  13. 1 2 "Nevada Mail - Google News Archive Search".
  14. 1 2 "The Owosso Argus-Press - Google News Archive Search".
  15. ↑ Pendergast, Bruce (2004). Everyman's Guide to the Mysteries of Agatha Christie. Ontario, Canada: Trafford Publishing. pp. 430–431. ISBN 1412023041.
  16. ↑ "Prescott Evening Courier - Google News Archive Search".
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