Frankie Howerd

At 75 years old, Frankie Howerd has this physical status:

Francis Alick Howard, (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English comedian and comic actor whose career, described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as "a series of comebacks", spanned six decades.

Early life

Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934) and Edith Florence Howard (née Morrison, 1888–1962), at the City Hospital in York, England, in 1917 (not 1922 as he later claimed). His mother worked at the Rowntree's chocolate factory. For his first two and a half years, Howerd lived in a terraced house at 53, Hartoft Street. He described it as "a poorish area of the city near the River Ouse". He later said he had only one memory of living in York and that was of falling down the stairs, an experience which left him with a life-long dread of heights. He returned to York on many occasions for family holidays, however, and later in life spoke of his fondness for the city.

His family moved to Eltham, London when he was a young child, and he was educated at Shooter's Hill Grammar School in Shooter's Hill.

Personal life

Throughout his career, Howerd hid his potentially career-destroying homosexuality (acts between consenting males being illegal in England and Wales until 1967) from both his audience and his mother, Edith. In 1958, he met Sommelier Dennis Heymer at the Dorchester Hotel while dining with Sir John Mills; Howerd was 40 and Heymer was 28. Heymer became his lover as well as manager, 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 for BBC Four, Rather You Than Me, starring David Walliams and Rafe Spall.

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

In his early career, Howerd suffered from a stutter, which caused him some distress, but which he turned to 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 of Cross, Somerset, under the Mendip Hills. After Howerd's death, Heymer curated Howerd's collection of memorabilia until his own death in 2009.

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Career

He appeared on stage for the first time at age 13, but his early aspirations of becoming a good actor were dashed when he failed an audition for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. During his time in the British Army during World War II, he began to entertain. He adapted his surname to Howerd "to be different" at the time. He was promoted to sergeant in 1944, and on June 6, 1944, he was stranded on a boat off the coast of Normandy, but was stuck on a ship off the coast of Normandy. Despite suffering from stage fright, he continued to work after the war, beginning his career in 1946 in For the Fun of It, a touring exhibition.

His appearance was soon heard on radio as he made his radio debut, in early December 1946, alongside a number of other ex-servicemen from the BBC's Variety Bandbox show. His fame increased in the immediate postwar period (aided by information written by Eric Sykes, Galton, Simpson, and Johnny Speight). "Titter ye not" was then on tour with an act that included what became his signature catchphrases. In the 1950s editions of the weekly hard-copy comic Film Fun, he appeared on several shows.

He made his screen debut in 1954 opposite Petula Clark in The Runaway Bus, which had been written for his particular comic talent. Filming took place over five weeks with a budget of £45,000.

He then experimented with new styles and environments, including stage farces, Shakespearean comedy roles, and television sitcoms. He began to reclaim his old image, first with a stint at Peter Cook's satirical Establishment Club in Soho in London. His fame was boosted by his appearance on That Was the Week That Was (TW3) in 1963 and on stage with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963–1965), which culminated in regular television appearances. He co-hosted The Frankie and Bruce Christmas Show with Bruce Forsyth in 1966 and 1967, starring many of the best acts of the day.

He appeared on television and Thames television in the 1960s and 1970s (as well as Frankie Howerd Reveals All for Yorkshire Television in 1980). Ray Galton and Alan Simpson performed for him from 1964 to 1966, as well as for a one-off show for Thames, Frankie Howerd meets the Bee Gees, which was on display on August 20, 1968. He was known for his ostensibly off-the-cuff remarks to the audience, particularly in the show Up Pompeii. (1969–70), which was a direct sequel to Forum. His television appearances were characterized by direct addresses to camera, as well as symphony monologues with verbal tics such as "Ooh, no missus" and "Titter ye not." A later sale of his scripts revealed that the obviously off-the-cuff remarks had all been meticulously planned. "What he could do with a script was amazing," Barry Cryer said of his technique: "What he could do with a script was amazing, as well as all the great actors." He transformed something you'd just written, in a Frankie Howerd idiom, but as you heard him do it, my God, it was like a stench – you're waiting for a laugh, and then Bang. He knew exactly what he was doing." Another part of his humour was to conceal his confusion over his ostensible and risqué doubleentendres, while mocking the audience for laughing at them amusing.

Howerd, a film director, played Francis Bigger, was one of the main characters in Carry On Doctor's 1967, "Additional zest is provided by Frankie Howerd's appearance as a quack'mind-over-matter' doctor who becomes a reluctant patient." The brilliantly droll sense of comedic comedy by Howerd is given a lot of room."

Following the success of Up Pompeii's film version in 1971, British voters voted him the ninth most popular actor at the British box office that year. In Up the Chastity Belt (Lurkalot), 1971, and Up the Front (Boot Boy Lurk) in 1972, he would perform versions of Lurkio.

Howerd created "Je t'aime," a comedy version of the song "Je t'aime" previously released by Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, as "Mavis" alongside Howerd's "Frank" and a new unexplained sleeping partner named "Arthur" in 1971. The song was included in Oh!'s 2004 CD re-issue. What a Carry On!

Howerd appeared on CBC Television in Canada in 1976. It received high reviews, but it was not renewed.

In 1977, he received an OBE.

Howerd appeared in the big-budget Hollywood musical Sgt in 1978. Mean Mr Mustard, Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, is a musical and film group starring Peter Frampton, George Burns, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, and Steve Martin. As he was on Stigwood's record label at the time, he was cast by producer Robert Stigwood. The film was a critical and commercial flop. Since Howerd was not well known to American audiences, this may have been his best exposure in the United States.

In 1979, New Zealand underwent a cabaret tour. Howerd appeared in the televised versions of Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury (as the Learned Judge) and H.M.S. Pinafore (as Sir Joseph Porter, KCB) (also known as Pinafore). On Cilla Black's Christmas (1983), he performed a comedy-duet with Cilla Black.

Howerd returned to TV screens in 1987 in the Channel 4 show Superfrank!, scripted by Miles Tredinnick and Vince Powell after six years without a regular television show in the United Kingdom (though he had hosted a one-off UK version of The Gong Show for Channel 4, which was critically panned and not ordered for a complete series). Howerd began to gain a following among student audiences and appeared in a one-man performance at universities and in small theatres. He appeared on the late night BBC Radio 1 program Into the Night, hosted by Nicky Campbell, and was also a regular guest on the late night BBC Radio 1 show Into the Night.

He contributed to Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson's last recording studio collaboration on the album Freudiana, where they appeared on "Sects Therapy" in 1990.

Howerd used to work with Sunny Rogers, who was his accompanying pianist from 1960 to 1979. She appeared on his television and live theatre performances, including his last major West End appearance — his one-man performance — at the Garrick Theatre in 1990.

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