Researching Frank Jarvis

Jarvis, an AAU champion in the 100 y, was among the pre-race favourites for the 100 m at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, but the hot favourite was American Arthur Duffey, who won the British Championships just prior to the Games.

In the heats, however, Jarvis and another American, Walter Tewksbury, posted times of 10.8, equaling the World Record. All three Americans qualified for the final, complemented by Stan Rowley of Australia. After a close first half of the final race, leading Duffey pulled a muscle, fell, and retired the race, leaving the three others to decide for the victory—Jarvis won.

At the same Olympics, Jarvis also competed in the triple jump and the standing triple jump (with no run-up), but did not achieve top classifications.

After his running career, Jarvis became a lawyer.

He was educated at Orange Hill County Grammar School for Boys, Edgware, where he played Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream and the title role in Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan. He trained at RADA and made his film debut in Mix Me a Person (1962).

One of Jarvis' best known cinema roles was his portrayal of Roger in the 1969 British crime caper film, The Italian Job. In one of the film's iconic scenes, Jarvis' character is stranded in a bus hanging off a cliff. He also appeared in films such as That Kind of Girl (1963), Rotten to the Core (1965), Nobody Ordered Love (1972), Out of Season (1975) and A Bridge Too Far (1977).

His television appearances include the Doctor Who serials The War Machines (1966), Underworld (1978) and The Power of Kroll (1978).

With Wendy Mcphee he toured Europe with the Shakespeare company Theatre Set-Up on many summer seasons, travelling throughout England and the Isle of Man as well as Belgium and Denmark.

Jarvis died on 15 September 2010, at the age of 69. He was a resident of Merry Hill Road in Bushey, Hertfordshire.