Clement von Franckenstein

FamilyFranckenstein

Clement George Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein^[2] (28 May 1944 – 9 May 2019) was an English actor, best known for his film and television work in the United States.^[3] A member of the Franckenstein family, he was the only son of Austrian diplomat and dissident Georg von und zu Franckenstein. Between 1975 and 1989, he was credited under the stage name Clement St. George.

Family

Franckenstein was the only child Editha and Georg von und zu Franckenstein. His father was an Austrian Reichsfreiherr and diplomat who stayed in England after the Anschluss and received a British knighthood and British nationality, becoming an active intelligence and field agent at the OSS. His paternal uncle was the philologist Joseph von Franckenstein, and his uncle was composer Clemens von und zu Franckenstein. After the death of his father, Franckenstein inherited the title of Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein.

Early life

Franckenstein was born in Sunninghill, then in Buckinghamshire, on 28 May 1944.^[1][2] His parents died in an aircraft crash in Germany on 14 October 1953, and from the age of nine he was brought up by his parents' British friends. He was educated at Sunningdale School and Eton College.^[4][5] He served in the British Army, in the Royal Scots Greys, for three years and was discharged as a Lieutenant.^[6]

Career

With aspirations towards becoming an opera singer, Franckenstein trained as a tenor for three years and performed in cabarets and musicals, but ultimately decided to pursue acting instead.^[6] He initially went to castings as Clement St George as he thought "his real name might scare people". He moved to California in 1972 and joined the gentleman-playboy expat Brits like David Niven.

Franckenstein appeared in some eighty films; sometimes as the debonair escort for the leading lady or just wearing a leather thong. He was in Young Frankenstein, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and The American President, but was often low down the cast list or uncredited. He appeared as a corpse in Murder She Wrote.^[5]

He said that California changed between the 1970s and the 1990s, as he told the Daily Telegraph in 1994: "In the 1970s, life was easy, everyone was laid-back, everyone had a good time ... Now it has become oppressive, charmless. You can't smoke in restaurants, everyone is carrying around boxes of condoms, and at parties now there's this thing called the "no host bar" - you have to pay for your own bloody drinks. I mean it's just not on".

Franckenstein told stories from his life for the Joe Frank radio show, 'Clement at Christmas', from his childhood though his early days in Hollywood, the first half of the show.

Personal life

Playing with Hugh Grant and Mick Jagger, Franckenstein was a long-standing member of the Beverly Hills Cricket Club.^[5]

He never married, and was devoted to his beloved cat Tallulah.

Death

Von Franckenstein died from hypoxia at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, on 9 May 2019 at the age of 74.^[5] He had been in an induced coma for ten days.^[3]

Selected filmography

References

External links

• Clement von Franckenstein at IMDb