Frank Lawton

For his father, the American entertainer, see Frank Lawton (vaudevillian).

Frank Lawton Mokeley (30 September 1904 – 10 June 1969) was an English actor.

Frank Lawton
Lawton and his wife, Evelyn Laye, in 1934
Born	Frank Lawton Mokeley (1904-09-30)30 September 1904 St Giles, London, England
Died	10 June 1969(1969-06-10) (aged 64) Marylebone, London, England
Occupation	Actor
Spouse	Evelyn Laye ​ (m. 1934)​
Father	Frank Lawton

Biography

Frank Lawton was born in St Giles, London, on 30 September 1904. His parents were stage players Daisy May Collier and Frank Mokely Lawton.^[1] His first major screen credit was Young Woodley (1930). In the mid-1930s, Lawton appeared in some Hollywood films, most significantly as the adult David Copperfield in MGM's classic literature adaptation of David Copperfield (1935). However, Lawton never made his big breakthrough in Hollywood and returned to British film and theatre.

He was married to actress Evelyn Laye from 1934 until his death in 1969 aged 64. They acted together several times, including in the TV series My Husband and I.

During World War II, he joined the British Army in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps and rose to the rank of major. He was assigned as a liaison officer to the U.S. Army and ultimately was awarded the Legion of Merit, Degree of Legionnaire for his service.^[2]

In the West End, he appeared in Alex Atkinson's Four Winds (1953) and Ronald Miller's Waiting for Gillian (1954). He appeared alongside his wife in Michael Clayton Hutton's Silver Wedding in 1957.

Frank Lawton died at his home in London on 10 June 1969.^[1]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1930	Young Woodley	Woodley
	Birds of Prey	Jimmy Hilton
1931	The Skin Game	Rolf Hornblower
	The Outsider	Basil Owen
	Michael and Mary	David Rowe
	After Office Hours	Hec
1933	Cavalcade	Joe Marryot
	Heads We Go	Toby Tyrrell
	Friday the Thirteenth	Frank Parsons
1934	One More River	Tony Croom
1935	David Copperfield	David Copperfield
1936	The Invisible Ray	Ronald Drake
	The Devil-Doll	Toto
	The Mill on the Floss	Philip Wakem
1939	The Four Just Men	James Terry
1942	Went the Day Well?	Tom Sturry
1948	The Winslow Boy	John Watherstone
1953	Rough Shoot	Hassingham
1955	Above Us the Waves	Naval officer in briefing roon	Uncredited
1956	Doublecross	Chief Constable
1957	The Rising of the Moon	British officer	(3rd Episode)
1958	Gideon's Day	Liggot
	A Night to Remember	Chairman and managing director of White Star Line J. Bruce Ismay
1961	The Queen's Guards	Cmdr. Hewson

References

1. "Stage Star Frank Lawton Dies at 64". Hull Daily Mail. 11 June 1969. p. 6. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Recommendation for Award for Lawton, Franck C Rank: Major Regiment".

External links

• Frank Lawton at IMDb
• Frank Lawton at the Internet Broadway Database
• Frank Lawton at the BFI's Screenonline