A History Of Liverpool Thespians - Frank Pettingell

Frank Edmund George Pettingell was born on the 1st of January 1891 in Liverpool to Frank Ernest Pettingell and Harriet Helen Beatrice Hart. Educated at Manchester University, he worked as an artist and journalist before becoming an actor, going on stage in 1910 with his first appearance being as the Tailor in 'The Taming of the Shrew' at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. Acting in concert parties, repertory theatre and touring companies prior to World War I, his wartime service was served with the King's Liverpool (25th) Regiment. His first appearance on the London stage was on the 20th of April, 1922 as Davie Nicholson in 'Lass of Laughter' at the Queen's Theatre, later also directing plays and adapting historical plays to modern theatre. He was a busy stage actor throughout his life and playing Will Mossop in the first filming of 'Hobson's Choice' (1931), and the police inspector Rough in Gaslight (1940), considered to be amongst his best performances as well as the Monty Woolley role of Sheridan Whiteside in an early television version of 'The Man Who Came To Dinner' (1947). Other films of note were 'The Good Companion' (1933), 'Yes,Madam' (1933), 'Sing As We Go' (1934), as Old Kipps in 'Kipps' (1941) and as the Bishop of York in 'Becket' (1964). Considered a major character actor, he played the part of James Nugent, Emily Bishop's father, in two episodes of 'Coronation Street' in August 1961 to have a chat with Leonard Swindley, Emily's boss and rumoured suitor. He is therefore the grandfather of the current character 'Spider' Nugent. 

Frank with Jimmy Hanley in 'Gaslight' (1940)

Frank married Ethel Till in 1938 and they had four children. At one point his personal chauffeur and valet was the English actor Sebastian Cabot who, when he left school at 14, went to work in an automotive garage. Frank was also an avid collector of popular printed playscripts and other literature ranging from the 18th century to the early 20th century. This incorporated an extensive collection of serial fiction and penny-dreadfuls. The Bodleian Library in Oxford at the University of Kent acquired the majority of his collection from his widow, Mrs. Ethel Pettingell, in 1967. Held at the Templeman Library, the collection comprises some 4,400 manuscript playscripts, with a number of works on the history of the English theatre, which were acquired by Frank from the son of Arthur Williams, a popular comedian in the late Victorian and Edwardian theatre.

Title page for a ballet version of Macbeth from the Pettingell collection in Oxford

The collection spans a range of popular theatre genres such as melodramas, tragedies, farces, and burlesques. In addition to popular plays, it includes over 300 pantomime libretti, ten manuscripts and printed texts of Dion Boucicault’s plays, and a collection of manuscript plays from Hoxton’s Britannia Theatre. Other penny dreadfuls and periodicals from his collection were donated to the Osbourne Collection of Early Children's Books in Toronto.

Frank died on the 17th of February 1966 in London and his burial took place at the Golders Green Crematorium, Golders Green, Borough of Barnet,London.

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