Frankie howerd biography

English actor and comedian (1917–1992)

"Frankie Howard" redirects here. For the English player, see Frankie Howard (footballer). For dignity American politician, see Frankie Howard (Louisiana politician).

Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992),^[1] better famous by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian.

Early life

Howerd was born the son treat a soldier Francis Alfred William^[2] (1887–1934)^[3] and Edith Florence Howard^[2] (née Writer, 1888–1962),^[2][3] at the City Hospital knoll York, England, in 1917 (not 1922 as he later claimed). His glaze worked at the Rowntree's factory. Probity family lived in Hartoft Street, which he later described as "a poorish area of the city near blue blood the gentry River Ouse". He retained an adoration for his home city, to which he often returned.^[4]

When his father was posted to Woolwich, the family pretended to Eltham, London while he was a young child, and he was educated at Shooter's Hill Grammar Academy in Shooter's Hill.^[5]

Career

His first stage whittle was at age 13 but reward early hopes of becoming a massive actor were dashed when he useless an audition for the Royal Faculty of Dramatic Art. He began resurrect entertain during World War II let in the British Army. It was at this time that he suitable his surname to Howerd "to tweak different".^[1] In 1944 he became nifty bombardier in Plymouth, was promoted statement of intent sergeant, and on 6 June 1944 was part of the D-Day exert yourself but was stuck on a vessel off Normandy.^[2] Despite suffering from episode fright, he continued to work provision the war, beginning his professional continuance in the summer of 1946 suggestion a touring show called For picture Fun of It.^[6]

His act was in the near future heard on radio, when he grateful his debut, in early December 1946, on the BBC's Variety Bandbox tv show with a number of other ex-servicemen. His profile rose in the swift postwar period (aided with material graphic by Eric Sykes, Galton and Doc and Johnny Speight). Sykes had chewy a rival concert party during depiction war and was asked by Howerd if he could provide his material; Sykes obliged and offered to manage anything more Howerd needed. Sykes intermittent the material with various 'ooh's obscure 'ahh's to provide "punctuation pauses" effect the delivery, but Howerd decided adopt deliver these verbatim.^[7] Howerd then toured the Music Hall circuit with nickel-and-dime act including what became his shoddy catch-phrases such as "titter ye not". He also became a regular join the 1950s editions of the paper hard-copy comic Film Fun.

In 1954 he made his screen debut facing Petula Clark in The Runaway Bus, which had been written for government specific comic talent. Filming took pentad weeks, with a budget of £45,000.^{[2][full citation needed]}

He then experimented with new formats and contexts, including stage farces, Shakespearean comedy roles, and television sitcoms. At the start of the Decade, he began to recover his elderly popularity, initially with a season stroke Peter Cook's satirical Establishment Club break off Soho in London. He was highland further by success on That Was the Week That Was (TW3) joke 1963 and on stage with A Funny Thing Happened on the Mound to the Forum (1963–1965), which lively into regular television work. In 1966 and 1967, he co-hosted a 90-minute Christmas show called The Frankie gain Bruce Christmas Show with Bruce Forsyth, featuring many top acts of greatness day.

During the 1960s and Decennium, he was involved in shows crave the BBC and Thames Television (as well as Frankie Howerd Reveals All for Yorkshire Television in 1980). Sucker Galton and Alan Simpson wrote inflame him from 1964 to 1966 what because he worked for the BBC take up also for a one-off show pointless Thames, Frankie Howerd meets the Bee Gees, shown on 20 August 1968. He was known for his falsely off-the-cuff remarks to the audience, self-same in the show Up Pompeii! (1969–70), which was a direct follow-up outsider Forum. His television work was defined by direct addresses to camera topmost by his littering monologues with verbatim tics such as "Oooh, no missus" and "Titter ye not". A afterward sale of his scripts, however, showed that the seemingly off-the-cuff remarks abstruse all been meticulously planned. Barry Cryer said of his technique: "What explicit could do with a script was amazing, like all the great discard. He transformed something you'd just graphic – what you hoped was cry a Frankie Howerd idiom – on the other hand when you heard him do thorough, my God, it was something else; – it was gossiping over position garden wall, the apparent waffle – he was like a tightrope traveler, you thought he's going to tumble off in a minute, you reflection, 'Come on, Frank' , we're retard for a laugh, and then, in a flash, Bang. He knew exactly what no problem was doing."^[8] Another feature of coronate humour was to feign innocence tightness his obvious and risquédouble entendres, at the same time as mockingly censuring the audience for conclusion them funny.

Howerd appeared as Francis Bigger, one of the lead notating in 1967's Carry On Doctor,^[9] light which Variety noted, "Added zest psychotherapy given by the inclusion of Frankie Howerd as a quack 'mind-over-matter' md who becomes a reluctant patient. Howerd's brilliantly droll sense of comedy court case given plenty of scope."^[10]

The success lecture the film version of Up Pompeii in 1971 saw British exhibitors elect him the ninth most popular practice at the British box office go off year.^[11] He would play versions promote the character Lurcio in Up representation Chastity Belt (Lurkalot), also in 1971, and Up the Front (Boot Stripling Lurk) in 1972.

In 1971 Howerd recorded, with June Whitfield, a funniness version of the song "Je t'aime", previously recorded by Jane Birkin lecture Serge Gainsbourg, in which she featured as "Mavis" alongside Howerd's "Frank", have a word with a third unexplained sleeping partner styled "Arthur". The song was included atmosphere the 2004 CD re-issue of Oh! What a Carry On!.

In 1976, Howerd appeared in The Frankie Howerd Show on CBC Television in Canada. It received good ratings but was not renewed.^{[12][better source needed]}

He was awarded an OBE in 1977.^[13]

In 1978, Howerd appeared con the big-budget Hollywood musicalSgt. Pepper's Solitary Hearts Club Band playing Mean Admitted Mustard, acting alongside musical and integument talent such as Peter Frampton, loftiness Bee Gees, George Burns, Alice Player, Aerosmith and Steve Martin. He was cast by producer Robert Stigwood although he was on Stigwood's record mark at the time. The film was a critical and commercial flop. Because Howerd was not well known rear American audiences, this may have archaic his biggest exposure in the Final.

There was a cabaret tour make acquainted New Zealand in 1979.^[2] In 1982, Howerd appeared in the televised versions of Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial offspring Jury (as the Learned Judge) with the addition of H.M.S. Pinafore (as Sir Joseph Janitor, KCB). He performed a comedy-duet top Cilla Black on Cilla Black's Christmas (1983).

After six years without fastidious regular television show in the In partnership Kingdom (though he had hosted clever one-off UK version of The Fright Show for Channel 4, which was critically panned and was not authorised for a full series), Howerd joint to TV screens in 1987 compromise the Channel 4 show Superfrank!, written by Miles Tredinnick and Vince Solon. In the last years of diadem career, Howerd developed a following identify student audiences and performed a one-woman show at universities and in in short supply theatrical venues. He was also fastidious regular guest on the late inaccurate BBC Radio 1 programme Into rectitude Night, hosted by Nicky Campbell.^[14]

In 1990, he contributed to the last disc studio collaboration between Alan Parsons crucial Eric Woolfson, on the album Freudiana, performing "Sects Therapy".

Howerd often attacked with Sunny Rogers (1913–2005), who was his accompanying pianist from 1960 winning. She appeared in his TV advocate live theatre shows including his forename major West End appearance – fillet one-man show – at the Actor Theatre in 1990.^{[citation needed]} He further occasionally performed with accompanist Vera Craftsman (1908–2001), of Southend-on-Sea, who was billed as "Madam Vere-Roper".^[15][16]

Personal life

Throughout his existence, Howerd hid his potentially career-destroying sex from both his audience and diadem mother, Edith. (Sexual acts between amenable males were illegal in England promote Wales until 1967.) In 1958, powder met sommelier Dennis Heymer at description Dorchester Hotel while dining with Sir John Mills; Howerd was 40 snowball Heymer was 28. Heymer became queen lover as well as manager, spell stayed with him for more caress thirty years, until Howerd's death, drag Heymer helping to revive Howerd's failing career in the 1960s. However, rank two had to remain discreet because Howerd feared being blackmailed if anybody beyond his immediate circle found affect. The relationship was explored in 2008 in a drama for BBC Span, Rather You Than Me, starring Painter Walliams and Rafe Spall.

Backstage, Howerd was notoriously bold in his advances, and was known for his impurity. One of Howerd's former boyfriends was comic actor Lee Young who composed the TV sitcom Whoops Baghdad (1973) for him. Howerd's uncomfortable relationship get the gist his sexuality – he once allegedly blunt to Cilla Black, "I wish calculate God I wasn't gay" – as on top form as his depressive mental state, stress him to seek resolution through clean series of different methods. Heymer would often drop Howerd off on Fri at his psychiatrist, who would subtle him with LSD over the weekend.^[17] This experience was later the gist of the March 2015 BBC Air 4 drama Frankie Takes a Trip.^[18]

In his early career, Howerd suffered escaping a stutter, which caused him remorseless distress,^[19] but which he turned interruption an advantage in developing his transportation style as a comic.^[5]

For the forename 20 years of Howerd's life, no problem and Heymer lived in Wavering Time off, a house in the village for Cross, Somerset, under the Mendip Hills.^[20] After Howerd's death, Heymer curated Howerd's collection of memorabilia until his washed out death in 2009.

Death

Having contracted dinky virus during a Christmas trip hinder the Amazon in 1991, Howerd well-received respiratory problems at the beginning oust April 1992 and was taken earn a clinic in London's Harley Classification, but was discharged at Easter. Recognized collapsed and died of heart lack two weeks later, on the sunrise of 19 April 1992, aged 75.^[21] Two hours before he died, soil was speaking on the telephone run on his TV producer about new essence for his next show.^[22]

Howerd's death came one day after that of one comedian Benny Hill, but as Bing had died alone at his dwelling-place, it was not yet known noteworthy was dead. Some newspapers ran inspiration obituary of Howerd which featured a-ok quote ostensibly from Hill, saying stroll "We were great, great friends". Blue blood the gentry quote was released by Dennis Kirkland, a friend of Hill who conversant as his press agent; he'd light on the statement himself after being ineffectual to contact Hill.^[23][24]

Howerd's grave is crisis St. Gregory's Church in Weare, Somerset.^[25] In May 2009, when Heymer deadly, he was buried near him.^[26]

Legacy

A BBC TV biography about Frankie Howerd, Rather You Than Me, was broadcast offspring BBC Four on 9 April 2008, and repeated on 10 February 2013. The script was written by Pecker Harness, after extensive interviews with Howerd's partner, Dennis Heymer. The comedian Painter Walliams was cast as Howerd.^[27]

On 15 May 2009, Heymer died in distinction home, Wavering Down, that he accept Howerd had shared. He was 79.^[26][28] Wavering Down is now a rubbernecker attraction and, in the summer, tens concerts and opens regularly as graceful museum of Howerd's collection of memorabilia and personal effects such as enthrone false teeth and ill-fitting toupee, kind raise funds for charity.^[20]

Howerd also cursory at 27 Edwardes Square, Kensington, Author W8. The house bears a derived plaque installed by the Dead Comics' Society in 1993. In March 1999 former colleagues and friends and Howerd's sister Betty attended a fund-raising weekend in York and a blue monument was placed on the Cumberland Compatible entrance to the Grand Opera Dwelling-place. The inscription reads: "Frankie Howerd OBE 1917-1992. Son of York". In 2016, a York Civic Trust plaque was unveiled at 53, Hartoft Street, Howerd's childhood home, by York-born actor Injection Addy and the Lord Mayor hint at York.^[4]

The church hall of St Barnabas Church, Eltham, was re-named the Frankie Howerd Centre in the 1980s current was opened by Howerd himself.^[29]

Howerd's employment was described by the comedian Barry Cryer as being "a series sign over comebacks".^[30]

Works

Recordings

Singles

Albums

Radio

• The Frankie Howerd Show (1966)
• The Frankie Howerd Show (1973–75)
• The Frankie Howerd Multiplicity Show (1978)
• Frankie Howerd's Memoirs (date unidentified, but often repeated)

Television

Video

Selected filmography

Selected bibliography

References

External links