Actor. Born Frederick Bittener in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, on the East coast of England, his first job was in a fish processing plant, but he was fired for spending too much time entertaining his workmates. He then changed his name to Freddie Frinton, after the seaside resort of that name, and enjoyed modest success in the variety halls. After the War, he played small roles in half-a-dozen British film comedies, but did not become particularly well-known until the television series “Meet the Wife” (1963) in which he played a master plumber, and Thora Hird played the wife. This has the unusual distinction of being the only comedy programme to be mentioned in a Beatles song; “Good Morning, Good Morning.” Also in 1963, he appeared on German television as a drunken butler in a sketch known as “Dinner for One”, which has become something of a cult in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, and is shown there every New Year’s Eve. Freddie Frinton died just three weeks before he was due to film a remake of this sketch for British televison, and the original version has never been transmitted in Great Britain or the United States. (bio by: Iain MacFarlaine)