Acting
Jan 16, 1909
Grimsby, England, UK
Freddie Frinton
Acting
Biography
Frinton was born in Hainton Avenue, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, the illegitimate child of a seamstress, Florence Elisabeth Coo, and was brought up by foster parents. He started working in a Grimsby fish processing plant, where he is said to have entertained his colleagues with parodies and jokes, but was ultimately sacked. He moved into music hall, where he enjoyed modest success and renamed himself Freddie Frinton. During the Second World War he made a moderate breakthrough as a comedian. In 1945, Frinton first performed the sketch Dinner for One in Blackpool. As he had to pay a royalty every time he performed the sketch, he bought the rights to Dinner for One in the 1950s, which turned out to be a very prescient decision. At the age of 55, Frinton became a belated success as the plumber husband in the popular television sitcom Meet the Wife, which ran for 40 episodes (the wife was played by Thora Hird). The series is mentioned in the Beatles song "Good Morning Good Morning" with the line "It's time for tea and Meet the Wife". In October 1968, at the age of 59, Freddie Frinton died suddenly from a heart attack in London. He is buried in City of Westminster Cemetery, Hanwell.
Feature Films (9)
A very old woman wants to have dinner with her friends. As they are all dead, the butler has to play the role of every guest.
Dinner for One
In a mansion block in Knightsbridge, a gang of middle-aged biddies decide to brighten up "the dullness of the tea time of life" by staging a series of robberies on furriers, then donating the proceeds to charitable concerns. Terry Thomas as a retired army officer leads the gang, which includes Athene Seyler and Hattie Jacques, on a series of capers that nearly go awry when their maid, Billie Whitelaw, an ex-con and also a resident of the block, falls for a police officer.
Make Mine Mink
Glückwunsch, Miss Sophie – 50 Jahre „Dinner for one“: Das Erfolgsgeheimnis des Kultsketches
A writer attempts to raise some cash by writing a book about the Loch Ness Monster. No publisher will take it because they all think there isn't really a monster. The writer and some of his friends make a fake monster and take photographs and then travel to Scotland to see if they can convince the locals.
What a Whopper
Forces sweetheart, Judy James, is back in town and that means various admirers are showing up at the hotel where she stays.
Forces' Sweetheart
A radio commentator is sent to a village to broadcast a bell-ringing team. Meanwhile a property speculator tries to buy a plot of land for less than it is worth.
Trouble in the Air
The annual birthday dinner for the elderly Miss Sophie is coming up. Unfortunately, the invited guests have all passed away and so butler James has to take over their roles. Swiss version of the famous sketch.
Dinner for One
A group of feisty, talented young performers pool their resources and buy a dilapidated theatre to showcase their acts – but unscrupulous property developers also want the theatre and resort to dirty tricks to disrupt the first night's performance!