Freddie Jones
Encyclopedia
Frederick Charles "Freddie" Jones (born 12 September 1927) is an English
character actor
.
Jones was born in the town of Longton
, Stoke-on-Trent
, Staffordshire
, the son of Ida Elizabeth (née Goodwin) and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products, when his hobby of acting took over. He was trained at the prestigious Rose Bruford College
and became famous for his role as Claudius
in the 1968 British television
series The Caesars
. He tends to play eccentric characters.
He narrated the award-winning video Sexual Encounters of the Floral Kind: Pollination. He plays the character Sandy Thomas
in ITV
’s soap opera
Emmerdale
.
He was also something of a David Lynch
regular, appearing in The Elephant Man (1980), Dune (1984), Wild At Heart (1990), his short-lived TV series On The Air (1992) and the short film Hotel Room (1993).
Jones is the father of actor Toby Jones
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
.
Jones was born in the town of Longton
Longton, Staffordshire
Longton is a southern district of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and is known locally as the "Neck End" of the city. Longton is one of the six towns of "the Potteries" which formed the City of Stoke-on-Trent in 1925.-History:...
, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, the son of Ida Elizabeth (née Goodwin) and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products, when his hobby of acting took over. He was trained at the prestigious Rose Bruford College
Rose Bruford College
Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance is a British drama school, offering university-level and professional vocational training for theatre and performance and the BA and MA degrees, based in Sidcup, Southeast London.-History:Founded in 1950, Rose Bruford "pioneered the first acting degree...
and became famous for his role as Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
in the 1968 British television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series The Caesars
The Caesars (TV series)
The Caesars is a British television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network in 1968. Made in black-and-white and written and produced by Philip Mackie, it covered similar dramatic territory to the later BBC adaptation of I, Claudius, dealing with the lives of the emperors of...
. He tends to play eccentric characters.
He narrated the award-winning video Sexual Encounters of the Floral Kind: Pollination. He plays the character Sandy Thomas
Sandy Thomas
Sandy Thomas is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Freddie Jones and made his first appearance on the show 6 November 2005...
in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
’s soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
.
He was also something of a David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
regular, appearing in The Elephant Man (1980), Dune (1984), Wild At Heart (1990), his short-lived TV series On The Air (1992) and the short film Hotel Room (1993).
Jones is the father of actor Toby Jones
Toby Jones
Toby Edward Heslewood Jones is an English actor.-Early life:Jones was born in Hammersmith, London, the son of actors Jennifer and Freddie Jones...
.
Film appearances
- Accident (1967)
- Marat/SadeMarat/Sade (film)Marat/Sade is a 1967 adaptation of the Peter Weiss play, The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade...
(1967) - Far from the Madding CrowdFar from the Madding Crowd (1967 film)Far from the Madding Crowd is a 1967 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted from the book of the same name by Thomas Hardy. It was Schlesinger's fourth film and marked a stylistic shift away from his earlier works which explored contemporary urban mores. The cinematography was by...
(1967) - The Bliss of Mrs. BlossomThe Bliss of Mrs. BlossomThe Bliss of Mrs. Blossom is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath. The screenplay by Alec Coppel and Denis Norden was adapted from a play by Coppel that was based on a short story by Josef Shaftel, who served as the film's producer.-Plot:...
(1968) - OtleyOtley (film)Otley is a 1968 British comedy thriller film.-Outline:Gerald Arthur Otley , a hapless and light-fingered antiques dealer, is mistaken for a spy and grows into the part - to such an extent that the real spy falls in love with him...
(1968) - Frankenstein Must Be DestroyedFrankenstein Must Be DestroyedFrankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions from 1969. The cast includes Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Veronica Carlson and Simon Ward. The film is the fifth in a series of Hammer films centering on Dr...
(1969) - Doctor in TroubleDoctor in TroubleDoctor in Trouble is a 1970 British comedy film, the last of the long-running Doctor in the House series of British comedy films. It was directed by Ralph Thomas it stars Leslie Phillips as a doctor who gets accidentally trapped on an outgoing cruise ship while it begins a round the world trip...
(1970) - Goodbye GeminiGoodbye GeminiGoodbye Gemini is a 1970 thriller directed by Alan Gibson from the novel Ask Agamemnon by Jenni Hall.-Plot:Jacki and Julian Dewar, a pair of fraternal twins, arrive via bus to London; they are home from university on Spring break, and their father is in Mexico on business...
(1970) - The Man Who Haunted HimselfThe Man Who Haunted HimselfThe Man Who Haunted Himself is a 1970 British psychological thriller film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Roger Moore. It was based on the novel The Strange Case of Mr Pelham by Anthony Armstrong....
(1970) - Horatio Knibbles (1971)
- KidnappedKidnapped (1971 film)Kidnapped is a 1971 British adventure film directed by Delbert Mann and starring Michael Caine and Trevor Howard, based on the novel Kidnapped and the first half of the sequel Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson.-Plot of the film:...
(1971) - AssaultAssault (film)Assault is a 1971 British thriller film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Suzy Kendall, Frank Finlay and Freddie Jones, with Lesley-Anne Down making an early screen appearance. It is based on the novel The Ravine by Kendal Young, and tells about a police attempt to track down a dangerous...
(1971) - Antony and CleopatraAntony and Cleopatra (1972 film)Antony and Cleopatra is a 1972 film adaptation of the play of the same name by William Shakespeare made by the Rank Organisation. It was directed by Charlton Heston and produced by Peter Snell from a screenplay by Federico De Urrutia and the director....
(1972) - Sitting TargetSitting TargetSitting Target is a 1972 British film directed by Douglas Hickox and shot in London.-Plot:It is a violent crime thriller starring Oliver Reed as Harry Lomart, a convicted murderer, and Ian McShane as Birdy Williams, as two convicts planning a breakout. Before the two men can abscond to another...
(1972) - Son of DraculaSon of Dracula (1974 film)Son of Dracula is a British musical comedy film released in 1974 by Apple Films, starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. It is also the title of a Harry Nilsson album released in conjunction with the film. It includes Nilsson songs that were showcased in the film as well as portions of dialogue,...
(1974) - JuggernautJuggernaut (film)Juggernaut is a 1974 British thriller film. It was produced by David V. Picker Productions and released in 1974 by United Artists. The film was directed by Richard Lester, who took over after directors Bryan Forbes and Don Medford each left the project in pre-production.On taking over the film,...
(1974) - VampiraVampira (film)Vampira is a 1974 comedy/horror film spoofing the vampire genre. It stars David Niven and Teresa Graves. Following the success of Young Frankenstein, Vampira was renamed Old Dracula for release in the United States in an attempt to cash in on Young Frankenstein's success.-Plot:Count Dracula is an...
(aka Old Dracula) (1974) - The Satanic Rites of DraculaThe Satanic Rites of DraculaThe Satanic Rites of Dracula is a 1974 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson. It is the eighth film in the Hammer Dracula series, and the seventh and final to feature Christopher Lee as Dracula. The film also the third film to reunite Peter Cushing as Van Helsing with Christopher Lee together...
(1974) - All Creatures Great and SmallAll Creatures Great and Small (film)All Creatures Great and Small is a 1975 television film, directed by Claude Whatham, based on the book All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot. The book is a compilation volume, first published in 1972, comprising Herriot's first two novels, If Only They Could Talk and It Shouldn't Happen...
(1975) - Never Too Young to Rock (1975)
- The NativityThe Nativity (television film)The Nativity is a 98-minute long 1978 television film set around the Nativity of Jesus and based on the accounts in the canonical Gospels of Matthew and Luke, in the apocryphal gospels of Pseudo-Matthew and James, and in the Golden Legend. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, written by Morton S...
(1978) (TV) - Zulu DawnZulu DawnZulu Dawn is a 1979 war film about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa. The screenplay was by Cy Endfield, from his book, and Anthony Story. The film was directed by Douglas Hickox...
(1979) - The Elephant ManThe Elephant Man (film)The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
(1980) - FirefoxFirefox (film)Firefox is a 1982 American action film produced, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name written by Craig Thomas....
(1982) - And the Ship Sails On (1983)
- KrullKrull (film)Krull is a 1983 heroic fantasy film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Ron Silverman. Released by Columbia Pictures, it stars Ken Marshall as Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony as Princess Lyssa....
(1983) - DuneDune (film)Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...
(1984) - FirestarterFirestarter (film)Firestarter is a 1984 science fiction thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. The plot concerns a young girl who develops pyrokinesis and the secret government agency which seeks to control her. The film was directed by Mark L. Lester, and stars Drew Barrymore and David...
(1984) - The Black CauldronThe Black Cauldron (film)The Black Cauldron is a 1985 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and originally released to theatres on July 24, 1985...
(1985) - Young Sherlock HolmesYoung Sherlock HolmesYoung Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 mystery/adventure film directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Chris Columbus, based on characters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
(1985) - Consuming PassionsConsuming PassionsConsuming Passions is a 1988 black comedy film conceived - though not actually written by - Michael Palin and Terry Jones. The film stars Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce, and Sammi Davis and was directed by Giles Foster...
(1988) - How to Be CoolHow To Be CoolHow to be Cool is a 1987 novel written by Philip Pullman and intended for older teen readers. The plot revolves around a young man named Jacob who finds out the truth about the sinister plans of the National Cool Board and hits upon an idea to beat them at their own game.-Television adaptation:It...
(1988) - Erik the VikingErik the VikingErik the Viking is a 1989 feature film written and directed by Terry Jones. The film was inspired by Jones's children's book The Saga of Erik the Viking , but the plot is completely different. Jones also appears in the film as King Arnulf....
(1989) - Dark River (1990)
- Wild at HeartWild at Heart (film)Wild at Heart is a 1990 American film written and directed by David Lynch, and based on Barry Gifford's 1989 novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula. Both the book and the film revolve around Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune , a young couple from Cape Fear, North Carolina who go on...
(1990) - The Last Butterfly (1992)
- The Mystery of Edwin DroodThe Mystery of Edwin Drood (1993 film)The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a 1993 film, the fourth film adaptation of the Charles Dickens unfinished novel of the same title.-Cast:* Robert Powell as John Jasper* Jonathan Phillips as Edwin Drood* Peter Pacey as Septimus Crisparkle...
(1993) - The Neverending Story 3: Escape from FantasiaThe NeverEnding Story IIIThe NeverEnding Story III: Return to Fantasia is a 1994 film and the second sequel to the fantasy film The NeverEnding Story...
(1994) - Cold Comfort FarmCold Comfort FarmCold Comfort Farm is a comic novel by Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb...
(1995) - Keep in a Dry Place and Away from ChildrenKeep in a Dry Place and Away from ChildrenKeep in a Dry Place and Away From Children is a single/EP to a 10 minute animation film entitled Keep in a Dry Place and Away From Children.-Track listing:#Space Siren#Space Iron ...
(voiceover) (1997) - The Life and Crimes of William PalmerThe Life and Crimes of William PalmerThe Life and Crimes of William Palmer is a British film made in 1998 about the Victorian poisonerWilliam Palmer....
(1998) - David CopperfieldDavid Copperfield (2000 film)David Copperfield is a 2000 film that was a joint US/Irish TV film adaptation of Charles Dickens's novel David Copperfield. It was filmed in Ireland, and broadcast on the TV Channel TNT as a Hallmark Entertainment production on December 10–11, 2000....
(2000) - House!House!House! is a 2000 British comedy film written by Eric Styles and Jason Sutton and directed by Julian Kemp. The film stars Kelly MacDonald, known for independent films such as Trainspotting and mainstream releases such as Nanny McPhee.-Plot:...
(2000) - The Count of Monte CristoThe Count of Monte Cristo (2002 film)The Count of Monte Cristo is a 2002 adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. The film is the tenth adaptation of the book of the same name by Alexandre Dumas, père and stars Richard Harris, James Caviezel, Dagmara Dominczyk, Guy Pearce, and Luis Guzman...
(2002) - PuckoonPuckoonPuckoon is a comic novel by Spike Milligan, first published in 1963. It is his first full-length novel, and only major fictional work. Set in 1924, it details the troubles brought to the fictional Irish village of Puckoon by the Partition of Ireland: the new border, due to the incompetence of the...
(2002) - Ladies in LavenderLadies in LavenderThe film's original music was written by Nigel Hess and performed by Joshua Bell and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Hess received a Classical BRIT Awards nomination for Best Soundtrack Composer....
(2004) - Katherine of Alexandria (2011)
TV appearances
- Z Cars "Pay by Results" (1963)
- Mystery and ImaginationMystery and ImaginationMystery and Imagination is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by ITV and featured plays based on the works of well-known authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, M. R. James, and...
"Lost Hearts" (1966) - The AvengersThe Avengers (TV series)The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
“Who’s Who???” (1967) - The CaesarsThe Caesars (TV series)The Caesars is a British television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network in 1968. Made in black-and-white and written and produced by Philip Mackie, it covered similar dramatic territory to the later BBC adaptation of I, Claudius, dealing with the lives of the emperors of...
(1968) - Cold Comfort FarmCold Comfort FarmCold Comfort Farm is a comic novel by Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb...
(1968) - Mystery and ImaginationMystery and ImaginationMystery and Imagination is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by ITV and featured plays based on the works of well-known authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, M. R. James, and...
"The Tell-Tale Heart" (1968) - The SaintThe Saint (TV series)The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
"A Time To Die" (1968) - Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)Randall and Hopkirk , first transmitted during 1969-70, is a British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, respectively. The series was originally created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman...
"For the Girl Who Has Everything" (1969) - Mystery and ImaginationMystery and ImaginationMystery and Imagination is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by ITV and featured plays based on the works of well-known authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, M. R. James, and...
"Sweeney Todd" (1970) - Doctor at Large (1971)
- Romance with a Double BassRomance with a Double BassRomance with a Double Bass is a 1974 short film from the United Kingdom. It was written by John Cleese, Connie Booth, and Bill Owen, and based on the short story of the same name by Anton Chekhov.-Plot:...
(1974) - Fall of EaglesFall of EaglesFall of Eagles is a 13-part British television drama aired by the BBC in 1974. The series was created by John Elliot and produced by Stuart Burge....
(1974) - Children of the StonesChildren of the StonesChildren of the Stones is a television drama for children produced by HTV in 1976 and broadcast on the United Kingdom's ITV network in January and February 1977. A one-off serial, the story was depicted over seven episodes and produced by Peter Graham Scott, with Patrick Dromgoole as executive...
(1976) - Space: 1999Space: 1999Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
"Journey to Where" (1976) - The Ghosts of Motley HallThe Ghosts of Motley HallThe Ghosts of Motley Hall was a British children's television series written by Richard Carpenter, produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence, and shown in 1976 by Granada Television.The series relates the adventures of 5 ghosts who haunt Motley Hall...
(1976–1978) - Duchess of Duke Street (1977)
- The Mayor of CasterbridgeThe Mayor of CasterbridgeThe Mayor of Casterbridge , subtitled "The Life and Death of a Man of Character", is a tragic novel by British author Thomas Hardy. It is set in the fictional town of Casterbridge . The book is one of Hardy's Wessex novels, all set in a fictional rustic England...
(1978) - Pennies From Heaven (1978)
- Spine ChillersSpine ChillersSpine Chillers was a 1980 British children's supernatural television series broadcast on BBC1. It featured readings of classic ghost and horror stories aimed at older children, and ran for 19 episodes ....
(1980) - Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe (1985)
- BulmanBulmanBulman was a Granada TV series which ran from 1985-1987 and followed the fortunes of the major character from the earlier XYY Man and Strangers series....
"Another Part of the Jungle" (1985) - The Return of Sherlock Holmes “Wisteria Lodge” (1987)
- Vanity FairVanity Fair (1987 TV serial)Vanity Fair was a BBC Pebble Mill Production consisting of 16 half-hour episodes. Shot on location and in studio. Locations included Winchester and Thetford. Virtually all the interiors where shot in Studio A at Pebble Mill....
(TV Series 1987) Sir Pitt Crawley - Inspector MorseInspector Morse (TV series)Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
“Who Killed Harry Field?” (1991) - On The AirOn the AirOn the Air is an American sitcom created by David Lynch and Mark Frost and broadcast by ABC. In the United States, only three episodes were aired although seven were filmed...
(1992) - Hotel RoomHotel RoomHotel Room is a three episode 1993 HBO television series produced by David Lynch . Each drama takes place in the same New York City hotel room at different times .Barry Gifford wrote, and David Lynch directed, the first and third episodes; Jay McInerney wrote, and James Signorelli...
(1993) - The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes “The Last Vampyre” (1993)
- NeverwhereNeverwhereNeverwhere is an urban fantasy television series by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC Two. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was devised by Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry, and directed by Dewi...
(1996) - Cold Comfort FarmCold Comfort FarmCold Comfort Farm is a comic novel by Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb...
(1996) - The League of GentlemenThe League of GentlemenThe League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,...
Christmas Special (2000) - Midsomer MurdersMidsomer MurdersMidsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
"The Maid in Splendour" (2004) - CasanovaCasanova (2005 TV serial)Casanova is a 2005 British television comedy drama serial, written by television scriptwriter Russell T Davies and directed by Sheree Folkson...
(2005) - EmmerdaleEmmerdaleEmmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
(2005-2011)