Francis Matthews Dead: 'Captain Scarlet' Voice Actor Dies Aged 86

Francis Matthews, famous for providing the voice of ‘Captain Scarlet’ in the 1960s children’s TV series of the same name, has died at the age of 86.

The actor’s death was confirmed in a statement from Anderson Entertainment, who produced the puppet-based sci-fi series.

'Captain Planet and the Mysterons' aired in the late 1960s

The statement reads: “We are very sorry to report that Francis Matthews, best known to Gerry Anderson fans as the voice of the indestructible puppet hero Captain Scarlet, has died aged 86.”

They went on to explain that Francis’ voicing of the Captain Scarlet character had been groundbreaking at the time, as he had retained his British accent for the role when American accents were more desirable at the time.

"Having previously had a policy of using American accents in their shows to aid sales to America, Gerry and Sylvia relaxed their casting requirements for Captain Scarlet as it was felt that British accents were now more acceptable Stateside than had previously been the case," it read.

Francis Matthews

In addition to his work with ‘Captain Scarlet’, Francis also played the title character in the TV detective series ‘Paul Matthews’, and later fronted ‘Follow Me!’, an educational BBC show intended to help viewers learn English.

He married actress Angela Browne in 1963, though she passed away in 2001. The couple had three sons, Damien, Paul and Dominic.

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