Frankie Howerd

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

Frankie Howerd OBE
Portrait byAllan Warren,1976
Born	Francis Alick Howard (1917-03-06)6 March 1917 York,England
Died	19 April 1992(1992-04-19)(aged 75) Fulham,London, England
Resting place	St. Gregory's Church,Weare, Somerset,England
Education	Shooters Hill Grammar School
Occupations	Actor comedian
Years active	1946–1992
Partner	Dennis Heymer (1958–1992)

Francis Alick HowardOBE(6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992),better known by his stage-nameFrankie Howerd,was an English actor and comedian.

Early life

Howerd was born the son of a soldier Francis Alfred William(1887–1934)and Edith Florence Howard(née Morrison, 1888–1962),at the City Hospital inYork,England, in 1917 (not 1922 as he later claimed). His mother worked at theRowntree'sfactory. The family lived in Hartoft Street, which he later described as"a poorish area of the city near theRiver Ouse".He retained an affection for his home city, to which he often returned.

When his father was posted toWoolwich,the family moved toEltham,London while he was a young child, and he was educated atShooter's Hill Grammar SchoolinShooter's Hill.

Career

His first stage appearance was at age 13 but his early hopes of becoming a serious actor were dashed when he failed an audition for theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art.He began to entertain duringWorld War IIservice in theBritish Army.It was at this time that he adapted his surname to Howerd "to be different".In 1944 he became a bombardier in Plymouth, was promoted to sergeant, and on 6 June 1944 was part of theD-Dayeffort but was stuck on a boat off Normandy.Despite suffering fromstage fright,he continued to work after the war, beginning his professional career in the summer of 1946 in a touring show calledFor the Fun of It.

His act was soon heard on radio, when he made his debut, in early December 1946, on theBBC'sVariety Bandboxprogramme with a number of other ex-servicemen. His profile rose in the immediate postwar period (aided with material written byEric Sykes,Galton and SimpsonandJohnny Speight). Sykes had headed a rival concert party during the war and was asked by Howerd if he could provide his material; Sykes obliged and offered to write anything more Howerd needed. Sykes punctuated the material with various 'ooh's and 'ahh's to provide "punctuation pauses" in the delivery, but Howerd decided to deliver these verbatim.Howerd then toured the Music Hall circuit with an act including what became his standard catch-phrases such as "titter ye not". He also became a regular in the 1950s editions of the weekly hard-copy comicFilm Fun.

In 1954 he made his screen debut oppositePetula ClarkinThe Runaway Bus,which had been written for his specific comic talent. Filming took five weeks, with a budget of £45,000.

He then experimented with different formats and contexts, includingstage farces,Shakespearean comedyroles, andtelevision sitcoms.At the start of the 1960s, he began to recover his old popularity, initially with a season atPeter Cook's satiricalEstablishment ClubinSohoin London. He was boosted further by success onThat Was the Week That Was(TW3) in 1963 and on stage withA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum(1963–1965), which led into regular television work. In 1966 and 1967, he co-hosted a 90-minute Christmas show calledThe Frankie and Bruce Christmas ShowwithBruce Forsyth,featuring many top acts of the day.

During the 1960s and 1970s, he was involved in shows for theBBCandThames Television(as well asFrankie Howerd Reveals AllforYorkshire Televisionin 1980).Ray GaltonandAlan Simpsonwrote for him from 1964 to 1966 when he worked for the BBC and also for a one-off show for Thames,Frankie Howerd meets the Bee Gees,shown on 20 August 1968. He was known for his seeminglyoff-the-cuffremarks to the audience, especially in the showUp Pompeii!(1969–70), which was a direct follow-up fromForum.His television work was characterised by directaddresses to cameraand by his litteringmonologueswith verbalticssuch as "Oooh, no missus" and "Titter ye not". A later sale of his scripts, however, showed that the seemingly off-the-cuff remarks had all been meticulously planned.Barry Cryersaid of his technique: "What he could do with a script was amazing, like all the great performers. He transformed something you'd just written – what you hoped was in a Frankie Howerd idiom – but when you heard him do it, my God, it was something else; – it was gossiping over the garden wall, theapparentwaffle – he was like a tightrope walker, you thought he's going to fall off in a minute, you thought, 'Come on, Frank', we're waiting for a laugh, and then, suddenly,Bang.He knew exactly what he was doing. "Another feature of his humour was to feign innocence about his obvious andrisquédouble entendres,while mockingly censuring the audience for finding them funny.

Howerd appeared as Francis Bigger, one of the lead characters in 1967'sCarry On Doctor,of whichVarietynoted, "Added zest is given by the inclusion of Frankie Howerd as a quack 'mind-over-matter' doctor who becomes a reluctant patient. Howerd's brilliantly droll sense of comedy is given plenty of scope."

The success of the film version ofUp Pompeiiin 1971 saw British exhibitors vote him the ninth most popular star at the British box office that year.He would play versions of the character Lurcio inUp the Chastity Belt(Lurkalot), also in 1971, andUp the Front(Boot Boy Lurk) in 1972.

In 1971 Howerd recorded, withJune Whitfield,a comedy version of the song "Je t'aime",previously recorded byJane BirkinandSerge Gainsbourg,in which she featured as "Mavis" alongside Howerd's "Frank", and a third unexplained sleeping partner named "Arthur". The song was included in the 2004 CD re-issue ofOh! What a Carry On!.

In 1976, Howerd appeared inThe Frankie Howerd ShowonCBC TelevisioninCanada.It received good ratings but was not renewed.

He was awarded anOBEin 1977.

In 1978, Howerd appeared in the big-budget HollywoodmusicalSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Bandplaying Mean Mr Mustard, acting alongside musical and film talent such asPeter Frampton,theBee Gees,George Burns,Alice Cooper,AerosmithandSteve Martin.He was cast by producerRobert Stigwoodas he was on Stigwood'srecord labelat the time. The film was a critical and commercial flop. Since Howerd was not well known to American audiences, this may have been his biggest exposure in the US.

There was a cabaret tour of New Zealand in 1979.In 1982, Howerd appeared in the televised versions ofGilbert and Sullivan'sTrial by Jury(as the Learned Judge) andH.M.S. Pinafore(as Sir Joseph Porter, KCB). He performed a comedy-duet withCilla BlackonCilla Black's Christmas(1983).

After six years without a regular television show in the United Kingdom (though he had hosted a one-off UK version ofThe Gong ShowforChannel 4,which was critically panned and was not commissioned for a full series), Howerd returned to TV screens in 1987 in the Channel 4 showSuperfrank!,scripted byMiles TredinnickandVince Powell.In the last years of his career, Howerd developed a following with student audiences and performed a one-man show at universities and in small theatrical venues. He was also a regular guest on the late nightBBC Radio 1programmeInto the Night,hosted byNicky Campbell.

In 1990, he contributed to the last recording studio collaboration betweenAlan ParsonsandEric Woolfson,on the albumFreudiana,performing "Sects Therapy".

Howerd often worked withSunny Rogers(1913–2005), who was his accompanying pianist from 1960 onwards. She appeared in his TV and live theatre shows including his last major West End appearance — his one-man show — at theGarrick Theatrein 1990.He also occasionally performed with accompanist Vera Roper (1908–2001), ofSouthend-on-Sea,who was billed as "Madam Vere-Roper".

Personal life

Throughout his career, Howerd hid his potentially career-destroying homosexuality from both his audience and his mother, Edith. (Sexual acts between consenting males were illegal in England and Wales until 1967.) In 1958, he metsommelierDennis Heymer at theDorchester Hotelwhile dining withSir John Mills;Howerd was 40 and Heymer was 28. Heymer became his lover as well asmanager,and stayed with him for more than thirty years, until Howerd's death, with Heymer helping to revive Howerd's flagging career in the 1960s. However, the two had to remain discreet as Howerd feared being blackmailed if anyone beyond his immediate circle found out. The relationship was explored in 2008 in a drama forBBC Four,Rather You Than Me,starringDavid WalliamsandRafe Spall.

Backstage, Howerd was notoriously bold in his advances, and was known for hispromiscuity.One of Howerd's former boyfriends was comic actor Lee Young who created the TV sitcomWhoops Baghdad(1973) for him. Howerd's uncomfortable relationship with his sexuality – he once allegedly said toCilla Black,"I wish to God I wasn't gay" – as well as hisdepressivemental state, led him to seek resolution through a series of different methods. Heymer would often drop Howerd off on Friday at hispsychiatrist,who would ply him withLSDover the weekend.This experience was later the subject of the March 2015BBC Radio 4dramaFrankie Takes a Trip.

In his early career, Howerd suffered from astutter,which caused him some distress,but which he turned to an advantage in developing his delivery style as a comic.

For the last 20 years of Howerd's life, he and Heymer lived in Wavering Down, a house in the village ofCross, Somerset,under theMendip Hills.After Howerd's death, Heymer curated Howerd's collection of memorabilia until his own death in 2009.

Death

Having contracted a virus during a Christmas trip to theAmazonin 1991, Howerd sufferedrespiratoryproblems at the beginning of April 1992 and was taken to a clinic in London'sHarley Street,but was discharged at Easter. He collapsed and died ofheart failuretwo weeks later, on the morning of 19 April 1992, aged 75.Two hours before he died, he was speaking on the telephone to his TV producer about new ideas for his next show.

Howerd died the day before fellow comedianBenny Hill.News of the two deaths broke almost simultaneously and some newspapers ran an obituary of Howerd in which Hill was saying "We were great, great friends". The quote was released by Hill's unofficial press agent and friend, who was not aware that Hill had died.

Howerd's grave is atSt. Gregory's ChurchinWeare, Somerset.In May 2009, when Heymer died, he was buried near him.

Legacy

27 Edwardes Square, London

Blue plaque at Edwardes Square, London

A BBC TV biography about Frankie Howerd,Rather You Than Me,was broadcast byBBC Fouron 9 April 2008, and repeated on 10 February 2013. The script was written by Peter Harness, after extensive interviews with Howerd's partner, Dennis Heymer. The comedianDavid Walliamswas cast as Howerd.

On 15 May 2009, Heymer died in the home, Wavering Down, that he and Howerd had shared. He was 79.Wavering Down is now atourist attractionand, in the summer, hosts concerts and opens regularly as a museum of Howerd's collection ofmemorabiliaand personal effects such as his false teeth and ill-fitting toupee, to raise funds for charity.

Howerd also lived at 27Edwardes Square,Kensington,London W8. The house bears ablue plaqueinstalled 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 plaque was placed on the Cumberland Street entrance to theGrand Opera House.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 actorMark Addyand theLord Mayor of York.

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

Howerd's career was described by the comedianBarry Cryeras being "a series of comebacks".

Works

Recordings

Singles

• "Three Little Fishies"(1949), Harmony A1001, acc. byBilly Ternent and His Orchestra
• "English As She Is Spoken" / "I'm The Man Who's Deputising for the Bull" (1952),Columbia Records,written byEric Sykes,acc. by Billy Ternent and His Orchestra
• "All's Going Well" / "Nymphs and Shepherds"(1953),Philips RecordsPB214, withMargaret Rutherford
• "Up Je t'aime"(1971), withJune Whitfield

Albums

• At The Establishment and at the BBC(1963, Decca, scripted byBarry TookandMarty Feldman)
• Please Yourselves(1976, Polydor, scripted byDavid NobbsandDavid McKellar)

Radio

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

Television

• Frankly Howerd(1959)
• That Was The Week That Was(1962) – Himself
• The Frankie Howerd Show(1964-1966)
• East of Howerd(1966)
• Howerd's Hour(1968)
• Carry On Christmas(1969) – Robert Browning / Fairy Godmother
• Up Pompeii!(1969–1970) – Lurcio
• Whoops Baghdad(1973) – Ali Oopla
• Further Up Pompeii!(1975) – Lurcio
• The Frankie Howerd Show(1976)
• Up the Convicts(1976) – Jonathan Shirk
• The Howerd Confessions(1976)
• Frankie Howerd Reveals All(1980)
• Frankie Howerd Strikes Again(1981)
• Then Churchill Said to Me(1982)
• The Blunders(1986) – cartoon series voiced by Howerd
• Superfrank!(1987) – Himself
• All Change(1989) – Uncle Bob
• Frankie Howerd on Campus(1990)
• Further Up Pompeii(1991) – Lurcio
• Frankie's On...(1992)

Video

• Frankie Howerd at His Tittermost(1991) at theBirmingham Hippodrome

Selected filmography

• The Runaway Bus(1954) – Percy Lamb
• The Ladykillers(1955) – The Barrow Boy
• An Alligator Named Daisy(1955) – M.C. at Alligator Rally (uncredited)
• Jumping for Joy(1956) – Willie Joy
• A Touch of the Sun(1956) – William Darling
• Further Up the Creek(1958) – Bosun
• Watch It, Sailor!(1961) – Church organist (guest appearance)
• The Fast Lady(1962) – Road workman in hole
• The Cool Mikado(1963) – Ko-Ko Flintridge
• The Mouse on the Moon(1963) – Himself
• The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery(1966) – Alphonse of Monte Carlo / Alfred Askett
• Carry On Doctor(1967) – Francis Bigger
• Carry On Up the Jungle(1970) – Professor Inigo Tinkle
• Up Pompeii(1971) – Lurcio
• Up the Chastity Belt(1971) – Richard / Lurkalot
• Up the Front(1972) – Lurk
• The House in Nightmare Park(1973) – Foster Twelvetrees
• Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band(1978) – Mr. Mustard

Selected bibliography

• Howerd, Frankie (1976).On the Way I Lost It.W. H. Allen & Co.,ISBN0-491-01807-X.
• Robert Ross (2001).The Complete Frankie Howerd.Reynolds and Hearn,ISBN1-903111-08-0.
• Graham McCann(1 October 2004).Frankie Howerd: Stand-Up Comic(illustrated ed.).HarperCollinsUK.ISBN1-84115-310-9.

External links

• Frankie Howerdat theBritish Film Institute
• Frankie HowerdatIMDb
• Frankie HowerdatCurlie
• Frankie HowerdatBritish Comedy Guide
• Frankie Howerd: Gay GreatFrom Fyne Times Magazine
• Frankie Howerd Weekfrom British Classic Comedy