Dudley Foster

Frank Dudley Foster was born in Knaresborough, Yorkshire West Riding, England, on 7 August 1924, as the youngest child to Frank Geden Foster, a civil engineer, and his wife, Ruth Chapman (née Butler), a barmaid. He had two siblings, a brother, John Geden Foster, and a sister, Ruth Butler 'Jill' Foster. His family had established links with the theatre as both of his siblings also appeared on the stage.^[4]

Foster attended Pocklington School, a private school, in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire. He began service as a navigator in the Royal Air Force when he left school. After he was demobbed, he studied chemistry at the University of Leeds.^[4]

Foster joined the recently formed Bradford Civic Playhouse Theatre School in 1948. After turning professional, he spent several successful years with Northern repertory companies. From the late 1950s and into the early 1960s, he was a member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, based at London's Theatre Royal Stratford East. In her autobiography, Joan's Book, Littlewood recalled that Foster had a wealthy father who financed some of the troupe's productions.^[4]

Foster appeared in The Night Walker in 1966.^[5]

Foster married Eileen Mary Kennally, an actress, in Sunderland, Durham, in April 1952. They had two sons together, Mark A Foster (b. 1953) and Benjamin Dudley Foster (b. 1965).^[6]

On 8 January 1973, Foster died at his home 3 Holly Hill, Hampstead in Greater London. He was 48. His death was said to be a suicide by hanging.^[7][8][9] His body was discovered by his wife, Eileen.^[10] She found him hanging from the stairs at their home, cut him down with a bread knife and tried to revive him with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.^[11][12] His father, who was said by a close family friend to be the driving force behind Foster in his career, had died at the age of 81, exactly a week before his son. The close family friend added: "He pushed Dudley on to better things and encouraged him all the way".^[13] He was buried at Hampstead Cemetery in West Hampstead, London.