1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:06,120 'The theatre is a temple... 2 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:11,480 'and we are here to worship the gods of comedy and tragedy. 3 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:15,880 'Tonight I am pleased to announce a comedy. 4 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:22,920 'We shall employ every device we know, in our desire to divert you.' 5 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,000 Since Frankie Howerd died in 1992, 6 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:31,800 his house in Somerset has been left virtually untouched. 7 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:35,040 Look! Oh, yeah, w... Control yourselves, please! 8 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:36,440 Now, look! 9 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:39,440 Ooh! 10 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:43,840 Ooh! 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:45,960 Come on, there's one more! Come on. 12 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,640 Ooh! That's the lot. 13 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:51,840 All over the house, 14 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:55,480 the walls are decorated exactly as Frankie left them. 15 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,960 Still on a table in the lounge are his signed photographs 16 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:03,240 of his close friends Richard Burton, and Elizabeth Taylor... 17 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:05,320 and stacked on dusty shelves, 18 00:01:05,320 --> 00:01:10,200 lost recordings of Frankie's 1940s radio shows. 19 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:11,960 No, but the things is... 20 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:14,920 the BBC said to me, "Now look, Francis, you must have a new image. 21 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:16,840 "You MUST have a new image," you see. 22 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:18,840 They said, "You must show a part of yourself, 23 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:20,920 "which has never been seen before." 24 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:22,320 LAUGHTER 25 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:25,440 Shall we, missus, shall we find out what part we're talking about first, 26 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:26,960 before you start guffawing? No... 27 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:28,280 (LAUGHS) 28 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,000 "Ha-ha-ha!" 29 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,480 Don't you go, sir, you want to be a godsend. Don't you go! 30 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:33,640 LAUGHTER 31 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,120 Common lot here tonight. No, the thing is this, ladies and gentlemen, 32 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,120 there's a lot of me, which has not been seen on television... 33 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:42,920 I have many facets. 34 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,440 There's more evidence upstairs of the comedian's life. 35 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:51,440 In a chaotic bedroom, the odd sight of Frankie's ghetto blaster. 36 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,640 And still in the tape player, a cassette of Frankie rehearsing. 37 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:02,560 'That's naughty. Naughty! Naughty! Now, erm... 38 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,520 'if you can't force titters, or chortles or guffaws 39 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,560 'I'd be very grateful if you'd try and force a smile. A smile. 40 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,000 'Nothing worse than looking down 41 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,680 'and someone is glaring up at you like that.' 42 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:16,360 The house was sold in 2010. 43 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,480 But the new owners have yet to remove the many items 44 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:21,680 that once belonged to Frankie Howerd. 45 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,520 As a result, Frankie's former home offers a unique insight 46 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:29,920 into the life and career of one of the country's favourite comedians. 47 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:32,200 Oh, no! Oh, no, missus, no... 48 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,560 CHEERING AND APPLAUSE 49 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:36,600 But that's not all... 50 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,520 ..across the country, in London, the professional and personal files 51 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,000 of Frankie Howerd's career have also recently come to light. 52 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,920 They were stored in his former agent's garden shed 53 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:49,640 for the last 20 years 54 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:52,960 and now the huge collection of unseen documents and photographs 55 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:55,840 can be viewed for the first time. 56 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:57,520 Amongst the collection, 57 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,640 are also hours of un-transmitted programmes, strange projects, 58 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:05,840 like Up The Alps, Frankie's misadventures at a ski resort. 59 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:08,760 What is she doing here? 60 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:12,000 The reams of letters show Frankie's wide circle of friends 61 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,800 including Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness and Paul McCartney. 62 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,520 Also discovered were in-depth interviews, 63 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:21,720 which have never been broadcast. 64 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:25,600 And there's the story of Frankie Howerd's work with The Beatles 65 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,200 and a bizarre collaboration with the Bee Gees. 66 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:29,600 Who are you? 67 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:30,920 Your sons, father. 68 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:32,920 Oh yes. The leeches. 69 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,960 The unseen files and recordings 70 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,360 tell the story of a life of extreme highs and lows, 71 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:45,200 of a man touched by genius but cursed with anxiety and self-doubt. 72 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:49,360 They show how he survived a roller coaster career, getting laughs with 73 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,240 an act that broke all the rules, and influenced so many others. 74 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:57,160 They show that Frankie Howerd was a man who truly suffered for his art 75 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:00,000 and his art was comedy. 76 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:01,800 'I was AMAZED! 77 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,080 'And to you all, the best of luck. 78 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,200 'God bless you, thank you very much.' 79 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:09,120 APPLAUSE 80 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:18,400 Oh, to be incarcerated. I don't want to be incarcerated! 81 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:20,600 INCARCERATED! 82 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,960 Look it up in the dictionary. 83 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,240 Oh, I'm too young to die, too young... 84 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:26,840 Come on, then. Come on... 85 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:29,320 Wait a minute, I haven't finished yet. 86 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,640 I'm sure. 87 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:33,320 There's a monologue here. 88 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:35,040 It's my best bit. 89 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:38,960 Oh, I've forgotten where I am now. 90 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:45,520 As a comic he was just wonderful. 91 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:46,720 You're looking very well. 92 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:47,480 Oh, really? 93 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:49,120 Very well, I must say. 94 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:50,760 I must say, it's in the script. 95 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:54,240 I mean, it's the charm of it as well, really, you know? 96 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:56,680 It's just so charming to be... 97 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:58,680 Really, just making a selection of noises 98 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,520 and, "No, no..." and everyone just be falling about laughing. 99 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:03,880 Not actually saying all that much. 100 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:07,800 I, no, ah, well, now, ah, now, ooh, now this is it - 101 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:09,840 I was wondering how I could get these in! 102 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:11,800 Thank you. No, listen... 103 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,840 What he did was always brilliant and it remained brilliant, 104 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:19,320 you know, like the best comics, he was the one that was being funny, 105 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,000 and the stuff that he was talking about was really... 106 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:26,480 that was just stuff he said while he was being funny. 107 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:31,280 I come from a military background. Military background? Oh, yes. 108 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:35,240 Ooh, lot of heroes in our family. War heroes? Oh, yes. 109 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,080 Erm, no, no, the first... 110 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,760 No, no. No, you all jeer, you're mocking... 111 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,640 You are mocking Francis, mocking Francis! 112 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,320 For me, he was, he was stand up comedy. 113 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,920 Come on, now, get your titters out now, please. 114 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:50,520 Get your titters out. 115 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,240 Titter time has arrived, let's have all the little titters out. 116 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:54,480 That's right. 117 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,200 And the big ones, missus, yes. 118 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:00,760 Get your big titters out. Let's have all titters. 119 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,760 When Frankie Howerd was a boy he found God. 120 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,200 He went to church, he said his prayers, 121 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:16,560 he had a vision of himself as Saint Francis of Eltham, South London. 122 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:20,480 I started off with the intention of being a saint, roughly. 123 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:23,480 Well, some idea of being a saint and you also may have gathered, 124 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:28,040 since then, I've been a spectacular failure at that. 125 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:30,600 Evidence of his life-long interest in religion 126 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,640 can still be seen at his house in Somerset. 127 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:37,760 Resting on a table by the front door is the Howerd family bible. 128 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,960 And, for luck, Frankie would place his hand on this bible 129 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,440 each time he left the house. 130 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,520 As a young man, he even planned to become a priest, 131 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:51,760 but a trip to the Lewisham Hippodrome changed all that. 132 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:56,520 Frankie Howerd was seduced by the tainted world of show business 133 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:01,160 and began to worship the comedy icons of the variety theatre. 134 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:06,320 Max Miller, Sid Field, George Robey - 135 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,920 fallen angels with dirty jokes, 136 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,320 and the young Frankie Howerd was hooked. 137 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,000 A bawdy kind of comedy was now in his blood and for the rest 138 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:21,600 of his life Frankie would be torn between saint and sinner. 139 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,880 'Welcome to Variety Bandbox.' 140 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:29,160 In 1946, Frankie Howerd appeared on BBC radio's Variety Bandbox, 141 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,600 and became a star. 142 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:33,760 'Frankie Howerd.' 143 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:35,840 APPLAUSE 144 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,280 'Now, er, ladies and gentlemen. 145 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:43,560 'Now, look, now, listen, now, look. 146 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:45,880 'Now, look, no, I'm not the one to complain, am I?' 147 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,600 Variety Bandbox not only started his career, 148 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,160 but it really made him a huge star in Britain. 149 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:56,720 At one stage it was really THE big radio show, 150 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:59,760 and radio was far more popular than TV, and so 151 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:02,480 if you were at the top of radio you were at the top of show business. 152 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,120 Eric Sykes wrote a lot for him in those days, 153 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,520 and Eric wrote brilliantly for him. And surreal stuff - 154 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,120 taking an elephant on the tube, and... Oh, wonderful! 155 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,520 'Two elephants... 156 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,480 'two elephants... 157 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:19,880 'I was AMAZED!' 158 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,200 LAUGHTER 159 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:25,480 'So, I got a bit of string... 160 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,240 LAUGHTER 161 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:30,560 '..and I, erm, tied it round their necks, you see, 162 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:32,520 'and I let them out into the street. 163 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,040 'Oh, I did... Oh, I did feel a ninny!' 164 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:37,120 LAUGHTER 165 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,720 'Anyway...but the... No! 166 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,160 'But the way people stared, the way people stared, you'd think 167 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,600 'they'd never seen two elephants going down the underground before.' 168 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:48,560 LAUGHTER 169 00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:50,120 I mean, it must have been extraordinary 170 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:51,960 hearing him on the radio in the '40s. 171 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:57,320 This bizarre torrent of exaggerated burlesque vocals. 172 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,640 And when you see his face, it fits entirely 173 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:01,800 because he's not actually a dead pan, 174 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,880 his face is just running round the whole playground - 175 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,720 hitting people and running away. His face is just massively elastic. 176 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,960 By the end of his four years on Variety Bandbox, 177 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,720 Frankie Howerd was one of the most famous comedians in the country, 178 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:20,120 earning huge amounts of money in the process. 179 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,240 He had made it to the top and wanted to stay there. 180 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,240 He was ambitious and talented, and he wanted it all. 181 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:29,760 He spoke of his ambition 182 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:34,440 in an interview with the BBC'S Arena in 1989. 183 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:36,920 The full interview was found in his agent's archives, 184 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:40,800 and unseen extracts from the tapes are being shown on television now 185 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:42,720 for the very first time. 186 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:47,600 I was very ambitious, very, to succeed. 187 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,080 I wanted to be famous. 188 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,680 I don't know why, actually... 189 00:09:52,680 --> 00:09:54,200 but I did! 190 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,200 And, erm, an actual goal to be famous, we oft... 191 00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,280 you know, the, the... 192 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:03,320 I often puzzle out, really, what the goal of being famous actually is, 193 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:04,800 what it does to be famous. 194 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,880 Frankie Howerd swept to the top with a burst of creative energy 195 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:12,400 that shook up the world of variety. 196 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:14,840 It's important for people to remember these days, 197 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:18,120 that in the time when Frankie Howerd became a star, 198 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,840 there was a very conventional view of what a stand up comedian was, 199 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,960 that he was basically a clown, he was a turn. 200 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:28,000 And they wore funny outfits, or very smart outfits, 201 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,640 and they had a very rigid line of patter. 202 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:33,760 And Frankie Howerd changed that, 203 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:35,800 and that was quite revolutionary at the time. 204 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:38,480 We didn't have anyone who looked like him! 205 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:42,560 You know, all the comics before him, all came on in smart suits 206 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:45,600 and bloody trilby hats, like Trinder and people like that, 207 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:50,600 and were smart, and slick, and doing great gags, and all this type of... 208 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:55,280 Frank was rambling, like he looked, he was rambling and strange. 209 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:58,560 We didn't know what the hell he was all about but he made me laugh. 210 00:10:58,560 --> 00:11:01,160 Frankie's originality was no accident, 211 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:03,560 he had a vision of a new type of stand up comedy, 212 00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:07,080 as he explains in this previously unseen interview. 213 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,680 I always used to come on and say I wasn't with this show at all, 214 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:12,360 "I'm not with, I'm not with this lot. 215 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:16,640 "Oh, no! They're a funny lot. Oh, I keep myself to myself. 216 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:18,320 "I think it's best, don't you?" 217 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,040 "Mmm," or I'd... "Mmm, you're right." 218 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:25,480 In the early '50s, Frankie Howerd was riding the crest of a wave, 219 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,560 and the next step was the movies. 220 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:35,280 Jumping For Joy was set in the dodgy world of London greyhound racing. 221 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:36,160 What's it to be this time, sonny? 222 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:37,760 Cactus Jack. 223 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:40,960 3-1, how much do you want on it, couple of hundred? (LAUGHS) 224 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:43,520 Yes. (LAUGHS) There you are. 225 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:48,840 He had ambitions to be a Bob Hope style international comedy star 226 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:50,040 but the films he was making 227 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,080 were never going to deliver international stardom. 228 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:54,480 (THEY ALL LAUGH) 229 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,680 His brief appearance in the Ealing comedy, The Ladykillers, 230 00:11:57,680 --> 00:12:01,800 would really highlight the gap between comedy star, and film star. 231 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:02,840 Young man! 232 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:05,200 Do you mind?! 233 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,240 Now, go on, get out of it. Get this horse out the way, there! 234 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,760 He's been following me all the way down from Burton Street, 235 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:14,360 he's had three pound of my best pippins, and let's see - one, six... 236 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:16,600 Go on, get out of it. Go on, get out... 237 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:18,520 The Ladykillers would become a classic 238 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,120 thanks to the acting talent of Peter Sellers and Alec Guinness. 239 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:25,560 Frankie Howerd would, for now, have to accept the role 240 00:12:25,560 --> 00:12:28,040 as a memorable bit-part player. 241 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:33,120 These original drawings from his own comic strip in Film Fun, 242 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,720 show that by the mid '50s Frankie Howerd was a major star. 243 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:39,960 It was all going so well... 244 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,360 nobody could have predicted what happened next. 245 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:55,120 The comedian Frankie Howerd 246 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,680 lived for many years in this house in Somerset. 247 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:02,160 It still contains many of his personal possessions, 248 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:07,280 including the OBE he was awarded in 1977. 249 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,000 I expected to leave a trail of wreckage in Buckingham Palace, 250 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,960 but apart from knocking into two footmen, I didn't do too badly. 251 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:16,640 And even this stayed on, which was quite something for me. 252 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:20,520 By his side to collect his OBE at Buckingham Palace 253 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:22,880 was his long-term partner Dennis Heymer. 254 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:25,920 They lived together in this house called Wavering Down. 255 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:27,680 It was Dennis who kept everything as it was 256 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:30,560 in the years following Frankie's death. 257 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:34,080 I went to Wavering Down and I knew Dennis, 258 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,240 who was Frankie's long-term partner. 259 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,680 It was slightly turned into a bit of a museum, you know, 260 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:42,360 sort of Howerd's End really, with, you know, his... 261 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:48,440 a wig of his had been preserved, and posters of his films. 262 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:54,360 So it was quite a sweet memorial to him in a slightly odd way. 263 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:58,440 Occasionally Dennis would host open days at the house, 264 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:02,480 where visitors could view strange items such as Frankie's false teeth. 265 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,000 And an X-ray of his pelvis. 266 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,000 I went to Frankie's house in the West Country to do 267 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:14,120 a report for The Guardian, and it was an extraordinary place. 268 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:19,080 Dennis was still alive at that time, and there were literally papers 269 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:25,320 on his table, his briefcase was there, also loads of Egyptian stuff. 270 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:29,360 They got all sorts of stuff from going to Egypt. 271 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:32,320 And the extraordinary thing was is that when I went there, 272 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,920 he'd been dead 15 years at least. 273 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:38,320 And it seemed like he'd left the place about 15 minutes before. 274 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,640 Frankie's partner, Dennis Heymer, had such a deep interest in 275 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:47,720 ancient Egypt that he bought himself a coffin in the style of a pharaoh. 276 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:49,880 He kept it in the lounge for years, 277 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,520 and was buried in the sarcophagus when he died in 2009. 278 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:59,720 # Do-do, do-do-do-do 279 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:02,000 # Do-do, do-do-do-do 280 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,240 # You dreamboat 281 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:07,200 # You lovable dreamboat... # 282 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,160 Dennis and Frankie had met in 1955 when homosexuality was still 283 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:12,280 a criminal offence. 284 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:16,560 I had friends like Frank, and Jimmy Edwards 285 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,680 and there was Russ Conway, the pianist, and they were gay. 286 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:24,800 They didn't come out. There was no hypocrisy involved - if they'd have 287 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:28,920 come out, or been outed, they would have been ruined and go to prison. 288 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:33,200 I mean, it was just a hideous era - they were haunted, hunted men. 289 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,200 Oh, yes, he said you see, he said, 290 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:39,920 "The trouble with you is," he said, 291 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,080 "you're so difficult to categorise." 292 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:45,560 He said, "You see, you don't fit in anywhere. 293 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:47,600 "You're neither one thing nor the other." 294 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:49,640 I don't know what he meant by that. 295 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,200 LAUGHTER 296 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,400 He said... Please... 297 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,440 Too much tittering - naughty titter-mongers. 298 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:06,280 When Frankie met Dennis, his career was at a crisis point. 299 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,560 A combination of insecurity and perfectionism had made him 300 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:11,600 very difficult to work with. 301 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,680 A letter to Frankie from the BBC at this time asks for 302 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,480 "no more fusses, no more arguments." 303 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,160 Behind the scenes he was a great worrier, 304 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:27,640 and always pushing everyone around him to do the best they could. 305 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:31,400 And it meant that he would inevitably have lots 306 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,600 and lots of arguments with producers, and engineers, 307 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:37,520 and just about anyone working on his shows. 308 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,480 He drove many producers to the point of collapse, 309 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:44,200 and one in fact had a full-blown nervous breakdown. 310 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,880 The patience of the BBC was further tested by a disastrous appearance 311 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:52,160 on the panel show What's My Line? in 1954. 312 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,400 The unscripted programme relied on quick-fire repartee, 313 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:59,440 but Frankie, paralysed by fear, said almost nothing. 314 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:02,840 I had a note the other day, from this what's-his-name. 315 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:07,600 The man in charge. What's his name, you know? Thing. Well, no... 316 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:09,480 I had this note, and it said, "Dear Howerd, 317 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:14,400 "your presence is requested in my office between 2.30 and 2.35." 318 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:15,920 I thought to myself, "Hello. 319 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:21,120 "He's never given me that long before. I must be worried." 320 00:17:21,120 --> 00:17:24,200 So I went in there, and he was... He said, uh, you know, thing. 321 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,160 He said, "Ah yes," he said, "there you are..." 322 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:28,480 He looked at his secretary, and she said, "Howerd." 323 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:30,520 He said, "Ah yes. Come in, Trevor." 324 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,160 He said, "Now..." 325 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:34,840 He said, "Do sit down." 326 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:37,640 He's never offered me a seat before, so I knew I was all right. 327 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:39,360 He said, "Would you care for a cigarette?" 328 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:42,400 I said, "Thank you very much." So he threw his tin over. 329 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:47,080 He said, "I wonder if you'd roll me one as well while you're at it." 330 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:49,400 He had been the golden boy of BBC comedy, 331 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:52,760 but by the end of the '50s, his reputation was in tatters 332 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:56,840 as Galton and Simpson, the writers of Hancock's Half Hour, found out. 333 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:03,600 When we finished working with Tony Hancock, the BBC, 334 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,800 in the persona of Tom Sloan, Head of Light Entertainment, 335 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,880 called us up to the BBC. 336 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,160 He said, "Well, now you're not working with Tony 337 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,160 "any more, what do you want to do?" 338 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:16,920 We said, "Oh, we would like to write a series with Frankie Howerd. 339 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,440 He said, "Are you kidding?" He said, "He's finished." 340 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:22,440 We said, "What do you mean finished?" 341 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:24,480 He said, "His last series was terrible." 342 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,720 I don't know, Frank began to lose favour with everybody, 343 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,800 you know, one minute he was a huge star, 344 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:35,560 and then gradually, over a period, he wasn't, you know. 345 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:39,560 It was really awful to watch, to be honest. 346 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:41,160 I beg your pardon. 347 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:42,280 Who are you? 348 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:44,360 Who am I? I'm Frankie Howerd! 349 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:45,800 Who? 350 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:48,840 If your own agent has never heard of you, what chance do you stand? 351 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:50,480 I'm sorry, I don't recognise you. 352 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,440 As the offers of work dried up, 353 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,720 Frankie would begin to suffer periods of intense depression. 354 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,360 Of course it affected him greatly, he loved his audience. 355 00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:02,000 You know, and if he was being rejected, 356 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,560 or wasn't being allowed to practice his craft 357 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:09,360 and that, he would get very depressed, everyone would, you know. 358 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:11,600 People say to me, "When are you going to retire?" I say, 359 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:12,800 "When they stop asking." 360 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:16,440 They stopped asking Frank, and he didn't... 361 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,600 That was terribly upsetting, you know. 362 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,000 Particularly at the age he was, he wasn't an old man 363 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,120 when he got the elbow really, you know. 364 00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:25,120 It's rather... 365 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:29,480 ..moving, thinking back, him sort of brooding at home 366 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,000 and nothing's happening, "Oh, it's over." 367 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:33,680 You know, it's over. 368 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,120 And it never was, happily, but he wouldn't know that at the time. 369 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,520 With his career on the slide, there was another shock 370 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:45,360 when Frankie discovered he had lost all his money in 371 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:49,480 dubious investments made by his agent, Stanley "Scruffy" Dale. 372 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:52,720 By 1960, Frankie Howerd, the most innovative comedian 373 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:57,360 of his generation, had no money, and no career. 374 00:19:57,360 --> 00:20:01,000 He'd had career knocks, he'd had financial disasters, 375 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:05,720 then his mother died, and he was crushed as an individual 376 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:10,400 to a great extent, to the point where he even sought therapy with LSD, 377 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,920 that was being experimented on at the time, and he used to go for 378 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:20,600 fortnightly weekends, where he would be injected with LSD and Ritalin, 379 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:23,400 and then be psychoanalysed because he just couldn't 380 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:27,640 figure out how to get out of this trough that he'd found himself in. 381 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:33,240 In this unseen interview, he looks back on those difficult times. 382 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,480 I never actually gave up show business, I mean I... 383 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:40,040 I never stopped working, as we say, but it dwindled, 384 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,120 let's put it that way... 385 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:47,760 Down to a very trickle, you know, in a desert. 386 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:53,280 For a man who had once been at the top of the entertainment world, 387 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:55,960 the trickle of work was not enough. 388 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:59,720 It broke his heart, but he decided the next job would be his last. 389 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:02,960 At Frankie's house in Somerset, 390 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:07,320 a bronze figure on a side table tells the story of that next job, 391 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:11,000 and the impact it had on the rest of his career. 392 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,360 It's an award given to Frankie for his years of entertaining 393 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:17,280 speeches at the Evening Standard Drama Awards, 394 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:19,640 including the one he was about to make. 395 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:24,560 CHEERING AND APPLAUSE 396 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,840 Frankie had accepted that it was all over for him. 397 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:35,560 He had made up his mind to do one last performance, and this was it. 398 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:41,640 But if this was the end, he wanted it to be Frankie Howerd at his best. 399 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,040 I want to make a little appeal to you, but it's not 400 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:47,160 an appeal for money, all right, love. She's getting her purse out. 401 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:49,840 You're all right, love. No, it's an appeal for you to try 402 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,240 and laugh as much as you can at the jokes... 403 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:57,560 I mean, they'd never had a compere for the awards like him. 404 00:21:57,560 --> 00:21:59,920 Always bitching and gossiping about who'd... 405 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:03,560 He'd turned it into a show, it was wonderful. 406 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:07,880 And at that Evening Standard was Peter Cook. 407 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:10,000 And he and Dudley Moore, 408 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:14,120 they'd got this club they'd opened called The Establishment. 409 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:18,840 Peter Cook had opened The Establishment club 410 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,520 the year before, as the new home of cutting-edge comedy. 411 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:26,600 He offered Frankie Howerd a month-long run at the club. 412 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:28,800 He later told the story of their meeting 413 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:30,840 on This Is Your Life in 1976. 414 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,960 At the Drama Awards, which were quite serious, 415 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,120 he just sent the whole thing up so marvellously, 416 00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:41,240 seemingly ad lib, and I thought The Establishment needed sending up 417 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,280 because we were a pretty snotty little club at that time, 418 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,840 and I thought we needed somebody to send it up. 419 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:48,040 But... 420 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:49,960 I was very scared, you see, to ask you, 421 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,240 because you were a big star, you see, so I had to have a 422 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:55,680 couple of scotches before I'd come up and say hello. 423 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:59,040 And then I read in your book that you were sloshed at the time. 424 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:00,880 I was. I was. 425 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:02,040 I was scared of you. 426 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:04,000 Half a bottle of scotch for God's sake. 427 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:08,240 I won't waste any more time. I'd say one of the funniest men in the world, 428 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:11,120 I'd say THE funniest, but Dudley's very sensitive. 429 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,240 At the very moment he had given up hope, 430 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:20,720 Peter Cook had thrown him a lifeline. 431 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,280 Peter Cook was very much a pure comedian. 432 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,920 He was really into the idea of comedy, rather than just advancing 433 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:31,000 his career, I think he loved comedy in its purest form, and I think with 434 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,400 Frankie Howerd, he just saw someone who transcended his surroundings. 435 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,320 He didn't obviously care about Frankie Howerd being a leftover 436 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,000 from the '50s or anything like that, he just really liked 437 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,560 Frankie Howerd and thought that Frankie Howerd's humour, 438 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,160 rightly or wrongly, would work in this new 439 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:49,440 context of The Establishment, and the world of Beyond The Fringe. 440 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:51,840 With its reputation for radical satire, 441 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,880 The Establishment club didn't seem to be the natural home for 442 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:59,360 Frankie Howerd, and he was convinced he was going to be a disaster. 443 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:03,480 He was very nervous leading up to it, you know, I mean... 444 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,760 because it was a complete change for him. 445 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:07,920 Part of him thought, 446 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,480 "Oh, I wonder if I'm going to be any good at this." 447 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:19,000 A tense and nervous Frankie heard Peter Cook make the introduction. 448 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,640 And now, ladies and gentlemen, Frankie Howerd. 449 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,600 APPLAUSE 450 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,600 Frankie Howerd then walked on stage with his entire career on the line. 451 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:42,240 The Establishment Club, '63 and on stage a nervous Frankie Howerd. 452 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,880 'I'd like to explain how I happen to get here in this place... 453 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,040 ..before we start, because, uh...as you know...if I... 454 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,520 ..well, if you do know at all, I'm a humble music hall comedian. 455 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:54,440 A sort of variety artist, you know, 456 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:57,440 I'm not usually associated with these sophisticated venues. 457 00:24:57,440 --> 00:24:58,880 LAUGHTER 458 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:01,280 Although Frankie could be nervous before a show, 459 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:03,240 when it started, he was... 460 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,640 ..he was on and he was THE Frankie Howerd. 461 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:11,440 Out of all of the apparent nervousness and fragile quality 462 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,520 that he had, when it came to his act, 463 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:17,760 he was very brave when he thought what he was doing was right. 464 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:20,440 And that was the art, and he was going to protect it, 465 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:22,440 and defend it no matter what. 466 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:24,680 'Every year they have these Drama Awards, 467 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:28,120 the Evening Standard Drama Awards at the Savoy...the hotel.' 468 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:29,760 LAUGHTER 469 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,040 'Well there are so many cafes with that name now...' 470 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,000 LAUGHTER 471 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:35,640 And it's a... 472 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,080 ..they have a dinner there, this young lad came over to me, 473 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,800 and quite a presentable boy, and I said, quite nice lad, 474 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,960 quite nice type, you know? And he said... 475 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:44,480 ..he goes, "I was wondering..." 476 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:47,080 He said, "I was wondering if I could introduce myself?" 477 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:48,600 He said, "I'm Cook." 478 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,440 So I said, "Oh it was a lovely meal." I said, "It was lovely..." 479 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:52,880 LAUGHTER 480 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:57,960 It was a night that changed Frankie's life. 481 00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:59,920 The fashionable crowd loved him. 482 00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:02,760 It was a triumph and a resurrection at the home 483 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:04,160 of the new wave of comedy. 484 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:10,280 'Delighted for Frank because he was going through a bad period, 485 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:13,760 where people were assuming that he was finished.' 486 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:16,880 And it's very difficult, once people start thinking and believing it, 487 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,680 it's very difficult to get out of it, you know. 488 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:24,240 But he did it with one, with one bound he was free as they say. 489 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:26,680 I must say I did enjoy it very much. 490 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:28,640 I did it twice nightly. 491 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:33,320 It was rather odd to do a club, a night club, twice nightly. 492 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:34,680 But it did very well. 493 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:37,400 When I was there, playing there, 494 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:41,200 we had a visit from a distinguished gentleman called... 495 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,280 ..well he thought he was distinguished, called Ned Sherrin. 496 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:45,640 (LAUGHS) 497 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:52,800 Who shall remain anonymous. And he, he...anyway he... 498 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:58,920 ..engaged me to appear in That Was The Week That Was. 499 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:01,560 So that my satirical stage I went through then. 500 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:07,160 Ned Sherrin was the producer of That Was The Week That Was. 501 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:08,440 # That was the week that was 502 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:10,920 # It's over, let it go...# 503 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,640 The show defined the satirical comedy attitude of the day. 504 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:20,880 Into this new radical arena came the 46-year-old, Frankie Howerd. 505 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:24,480 And now the week at Westminster, 506 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,240 and our Lobby Correspondent is Mr Frankie Howerd. 507 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,080 APPLAUSE 508 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,440 Uh...before we, uh...this is the... 509 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:40,440 ..oh this is one I'm on, yes. 510 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,560 It's about time, I've been waiting a hell of a time here to get on, 511 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:44,560 it's 11:35pm! 512 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:45,440 LAUGHTER 513 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:50,840 I thought I'd have to have another shave before I got on, 514 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:52,120 but never mind. 515 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:57,320 So, I enjoyed bits of it. Um... 516 00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:58,840 LAUGHTER 517 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:02,360 And I mean the bits I understood. 518 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:05,240 Ladies and gentlemen, a fore... no, um... 519 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:11,480 Now he's found himself at the satirical centre of show business, 520 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:13,960 and he took the mickey out of it basically, that's what he did. 521 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:17,320 Of course, the longer he went on, the more his confidence grew. 522 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,520 He thought, "I'm back, here we go again, I'm back." 523 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,400 "I'm back on television, and it's working", you know. 524 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,320 And he began to really enjoy it. 525 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:29,440 I saw the producer, this...Ned Sherrin. 526 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,640 And, oh no, nice man...underneath. 527 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:33,400 And he, uh... 528 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:34,920 LAUGHTER 529 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:37,840 No, no. And listen...No, no please, no please... 530 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,720 For one night only the show that loved to attack politicians gave 531 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:47,240 the floor to a comedian who turned the whole concept on its head. 532 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:55,240 My technique was to play right against the current trend 533 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:58,120 of attacking...them. 534 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:01,160 I used to defend them. Which is... 535 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:05,840 ..my defence was a jolly sight worse than anybody else's attack. 536 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:08,800 Because I would never say... 537 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:13,960 ..joke about McMillan direct, I would just say, 538 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,160 I would talk about his wife, Dorothy, you see, 539 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:22,560 and I'd say, you know, "That's not him, no it's her..." 540 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,200 Everyone blames Mac. Everyone... 541 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:28,920 ..now you know this is true, everyone blames McMillan for sacking 542 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,160 half the government last year, you see everyone blames McMillan 543 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:34,720 for sacking half the government, but you see, I don't. 544 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,640 No, I'm sorry I don't. I don't blame him. 545 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:38,920 I blame her. 546 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:39,960 LAUGHTER 547 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:46,120 No, I do. It's Dot, Dot. 548 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:47,440 LAUGHTER 549 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:53,440 It was over the garden wall again, he said, "I blame Dot." 550 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:57,840 She was suddenly Dot, Lady Dorothy McMillan. 551 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:02,000 That was brilliant, that was pure Howerd, "I blame Dot. Gossip." 552 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,720 There's a moment where you see the joy in his face 553 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:08,000 where he realises that they're not taking the mickey out of him, 554 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,760 that he's not a novelty act, that they haven't just put somebody 555 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:12,960 they remember as a kid on to be laughed at. 556 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:16,120 He's being laughed with, the audience are getting back into it. 557 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:19,160 And...It may have seemed old fashioned to them, 558 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:22,040 but in the midst of that kind of old fashioned delivery, 559 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:25,560 he was actually delivering some really interesting, satirical stuff. 560 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:27,320 It was massive on a Saturday night. 561 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:28,920 Pubs and restaurants would empty, 562 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,320 people going home to watch That Was The Week That Was. 563 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:36,080 He couldn't have had a better showcase for a comeback, 564 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:40,480 you know, to appear on that big show on a Saturday night, was great. 565 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:51,200 It was a career-defining performance. 566 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,600 He had entered the world of the sharp minds of Oxbridge satire, 567 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,560 and given a master class in the art of stand up comedy. 568 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:05,760 Frankie Howerd was now one of the hottest properties in show business. 569 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:09,360 From the bottom of the heap to the top in just a few eventful months. 570 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:14,840 He was being fated and admired, 571 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:18,960 but Frankie Howerd's finances were still in a sorry state. 572 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:20,760 But all that was about to change. 573 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,960 From across the Atlantic, from the heart of New York City, 574 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,760 a Steven Sondheim musical would greatly improve 575 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:31,880 the Frankie Howerd bank balance. 576 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:33,960 'A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum', 577 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:37,920 the biggest hit show on Broadway, came to London's West End. 578 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:39,840 And Frankie got the starring role. 579 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:45,520 # Something familiar 580 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:47,160 # Something peculiar 581 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:49,800 # Something for everybody 582 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,120 # Comedy tonight. # 583 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:55,240 The play also started a running theme in Frankie's act. 584 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:58,560 For the first time he was being saucy with semi-naked women. 585 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:01,960 Go ahead and look her over as you did before, 586 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:05,360 but then when you get around, put your arm up like this, Christine. 587 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:06,880 And you look through and... 588 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,440 This rare film shows Frankie rehearsing with the show's 589 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,000 legendary Broadway director, George Abbott. 590 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,440 Like this, so I've got to feel her haven't I first, that's it. 591 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,520 I must keep this in because I enjoy this bit. 592 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:21,000 Ah, you've got one as well. 593 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,240 For a man who was trying to be discreet about his sexuality, 594 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,720 the lecherous character of Pseudolus was the perfect part. 595 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:31,560 And bawdy, sexual innuendo became a major part of his act 596 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:33,680 from this point on. 597 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:37,040 Two years of 'A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum', 598 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:40,480 also sparked an interest in all things Roman. 599 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,320 At the house in Somerset, the garden is dotted with 600 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:45,720 versions of classical statues. 601 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,640 And Frankie had Roman columns installed in the lounge. 602 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:54,280 In one corner his 3D, Elvis Presley portrait hangs incongruously 603 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:56,600 next to one of the columns. 604 00:32:56,600 --> 00:33:00,760 The pride of Frankie's Roman collection were two replica swords 605 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,360 which still sit by the fireplace. 606 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,120 They were given to him by his friend, Richard Burton, 607 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:09,360 and were the swords Burton used when he played Mark Anthony, 608 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:11,400 in the 1963 film, Cleopatra. 609 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:16,080 Frankie Howerd knew exactly what the Roman's had done for him, 610 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:19,240 on stage, and soon on television. 611 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:20,760 ..# A comedy tonight. # 612 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:32,800 A Radio Times from December 1964 shows Frankie Howerd 613 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:34,040 was back on television. 614 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:40,400 The Frankie Howerd Show was written by the best in the business, 615 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:43,680 Galton and Simpson, the writers of Hancock's Half Hour 616 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:44,800 and Steptoe And Son. 617 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:50,440 In this episode, Frankie has had enough of living on his own. 618 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:53,280 I've never felt so bad. 619 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:57,240 Do you know, for one minute I was seriously considering the gas oven, 620 00:33:57,240 --> 00:33:58,840 but that was no good, it was no good, 621 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,600 because it was only one of those tiny bachelor ones! 622 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:04,640 It's a hard enough job getting your foot in, let alone... 623 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:07,840 And I said to myself, "Francis, this is not the answer, 624 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:09,440 "not the coward's way out." 625 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:11,760 "Pull yourself together, you blithering fool..." 626 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:14,840 Because I often talk to myself like that, you know? 627 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:16,960 I don't care what I say to myself... 628 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:19,200 No, I give myself a right lashing sometimes. 629 00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:23,160 I said, "Francis, you are still young, now get out into the world 630 00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:26,320 and find yourself a mate, mate." 631 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:29,240 Frankie signs up with a lonely hearts agency 632 00:34:29,240 --> 00:34:32,400 and is sent on a series of disastrous blind dates, 633 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:34,040 this one with June Whitfield. 634 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:37,920 Excuse me, I don't suppose for one moment you are, 635 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:40,880 but could you by any chance be a Miss Beryl Cuttlebun? 636 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:42,320 Yes, I am. 637 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:44,640 I'm sorry, yeah... Pardon? 638 00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:46,200 I am Beryl Cuttlebun. 639 00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:48,920 Ooooh! Ooooh! 640 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:52,560 Must be something wrong with her. 641 00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:54,480 Um, would you permit me to introduce myself? 642 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:56,920 I am Francis A Howerd, esquire. 643 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,840 Oh, don't touch me, I can't stand men touching me. 644 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:01,320 Didn't I tell you? 645 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:05,360 I always get 'em, don't I? 646 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:08,520 Everyone enjoyed the sketches with Frankie and June. 647 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:10,840 Everyone, that is, except Frankie. 648 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,760 He didn't really like performing. 649 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,600 He hated it. And... 650 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:22,440 you know, he always said if he could win the lottery or something, 651 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:24,200 he wouldn't do it. 652 00:35:25,720 --> 00:35:28,440 He was so nervous before he did a show. 653 00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:34,720 The nervousness works to his advantage in the end, 654 00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:38,000 as he worried away at every aspect of his performance. 655 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,200 And it was in this series that Frankie experimented with the device 656 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:45,560 of breaking off from the story to talk directly to the camera. 657 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:47,520 You must think I'm rather strange. 658 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:48,760 Oh, no. Oh, no, not at all. 659 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:54,200 What a funny woman! 660 00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:56,320 It was quite something for a television 661 00:35:56,320 --> 00:36:01,000 to take the viewer, basically, the viewers aside from the action, 662 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:02,760 and say, "Listen..." 663 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:07,040 It was a great technique and so perfectly suited to Frankie Howerd. 664 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:10,960 I just totally lap up that whole thing of he's talking 665 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:15,280 to the audience, and it's all, "You know, I've got, don't..." 666 00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:17,600 I love the way he's bouncing off audience reactions, 667 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:19,200 it's just spontaneous, you know. 668 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:21,560 Nobody had done it and he was probably one of the few 669 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:26,520 people who could do it properly, and get away with it, you know? 670 00:36:27,720 --> 00:36:32,160 Just that gap between the television and the audience at home, 671 00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:34,320 drawing them in - lovely. 672 00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:37,880 Elsie! 673 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:39,240 It's here! 674 00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:44,080 I should turn the sound off if I were you. She's not on long. 675 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:50,400 I should turn the vision off as well. 676 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:51,480 Won't be long. 677 00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:53,560 Ah, yes, thank you. 678 00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:56,880 By the mid '60s, television fame was the only thing that counted 679 00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,520 in the world of entertainment, 680 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:02,400 and Frankie Howerd was one of TV's biggest stars. 681 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:05,440 His shambolic style was even put to use in advertising, 682 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:09,040 and he became the unlikely face of Lyons Maid ice cream. 683 00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:13,240 I'm doing this commercial for ice cream. 684 00:37:13,240 --> 00:37:16,320 Fools! I've never touched the stuff! No! 685 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:17,800 Still, they're paying me... 686 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:19,920 Ah yes, here. 687 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:23,640 Strawberry and vanilla ice cream, rippled with a strawberry sauce, 688 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:26,280 or with a cherry on top? 689 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:27,720 Extravagant devils. 690 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:34,320 Audiences everywhere had a great affection for Frankie, 691 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:38,320 and he was also admired and adored by his fellow comedians. 692 00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:40,840 As a guest star, he was the highlight of any programme, 693 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:44,480 and he was a regular on the Bruce Forsyth Show. 694 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:48,400 MUSIC SLOWS DOWN AND STOPS 695 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:53,280 He was wonderful to work with. I just loved the man. 696 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:56,320 Pretend you are sawing a piece of wood with one hand. 697 00:37:56,320 --> 00:37:57,720 Oh, yes. 698 00:37:57,720 --> 00:38:01,120 That's right. And blowing up a balloon with the other. 699 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,120 That's it. 700 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,120 No, you'll never make a trombone player. 701 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:09,840 Now pretend you're shaking... 702 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:12,760 I hope you are pretending. 703 00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:15,680 ...I'm waiting to continue the show. Pretend! 704 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:20,680 Attend or pretend? 705 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:25,200 Pretend... I'll start again. 706 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:27,960 Pretend... 707 00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:30,680 You're....Where the hell are we now? 708 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:34,880 Frankie could forget his lines and that why he was, 709 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:39,240 "Oh, well, yes, oh, no, I'll make myself comfy..." 710 00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:43,840 That used to cover up him trying to think of his lines. 711 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:46,600 That wants to be a G. Give him a G, love, give him a G. 712 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:49,320 Don't break that... 713 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:51,440 What? 714 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:52,960 Now... it doesn't matter.... 715 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:55,000 That's a funny line! 716 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:56,480 You got the gist of it, didn't you? 717 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:58,440 I got the gist of it, all right, yeah. 718 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:01,520 It's not the words, it's the acting that's important, now... 719 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:07,480 All right, well, we only just met. For goodness' sake. 720 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:09,280 You... Listen... 721 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:12,360 Frankie often went into a whole other level of apparent 722 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,840 amateurishness when teamed with other performers. 723 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:18,400 He had a long-running routine with various female piano players, 724 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:20,640 who were hard of hearing and got everything wrong. 725 00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:26,560 It was fashionable in those days for people who sang 726 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:28,720 to have an accompanist, have a pianist. 727 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:31,520 An awful lot of people sang... 728 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:36,040 stars, and always had their own pianist, and they would 729 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:40,840 perhaps be in evening dress, and the pianist at the piano. 730 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:45,080 And they were always men, always men, I never saw a woman pianist. 731 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:46,960 And... 732 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:49,320 So I thought, well, I'd get a woman. 733 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:54,480 Everyone else has a straight man pianist, 734 00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:56,720 I'd have a comedy lady pianist. 735 00:39:56,720 --> 00:39:57,960 Just to be different. 736 00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:00,680 I'm going to do a song tonight ladies and gentlemen, 737 00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:04,360 and I'm going to sing a song, which... Oh, God! 738 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:06,320 Don't laugh, don't. 739 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:08,760 No, don't, you'll get me into trouble, please, no, don't. 740 00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:11,880 She's a funny woman. 741 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,680 No, she can't hear very well, she has this impediment of the ear, 742 00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:17,000 and she's a bit miserable, you know? 743 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:21,240 I mean, some people are happy sufferers, but she, you know... 744 00:40:21,240 --> 00:40:24,320 She's bitter with it, you know, poor soul. 745 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:25,240 Evening. 746 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:30,960 No, don't laugh, it might be one of your own, don't laugh. 747 00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:32,600 Poor soul. 748 00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:35,960 Now, um with the, yes, it's chilly tonight, yes. 749 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:37,520 Poor old soul, she's past it. 750 00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:39,960 She would say, "Chilly, ooh, chilly, chilly." 751 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:44,520 And he'd go, "Oh, yes, chilly, chilly, I'm sweating like a pig." 752 00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:47,920 And, you know, talking about "the pianist" over there. 753 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:50,760 Well, now, listen, we'll do a song, now, do a song. 754 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:53,840 (SHOUTING) Do a song now! Do a song now, yes. 755 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:56,800 Oh, she is a burden, I can't... 756 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:01,280 Now, this is a kind of aria, a kind of aria. 757 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:03,720 (SHOUTING) Do the aria now! Yes, the aria. 758 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:08,200 She doesn't know whether she's on her aria or her elbow! 759 00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:13,960 I love the way that the sort of grand piano, 760 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:16,440 the slightly dour-looking female... 761 00:41:16,440 --> 00:41:19,520 pianist and him making remarks to the audience about her, 762 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:22,600 clearly, you know, in the real world, within earshot. 763 00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:24,800 But supposedly out of earshot of the pianist. 764 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:26,760 It's all about, you know, 765 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:29,920 I'm telling you something about this person and they can't hear me, 766 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,920 which is sort of what his whole act was kind of about anyway. 767 00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:37,120 "Listen, no, listen, these people, let me tell you this, you know." 768 00:41:37,120 --> 00:41:39,480 It was a comic idea he came up with during the war, 769 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:43,440 but it still worked on stage 45 years later. 770 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:45,520 Hers is a sad story. 771 00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:47,560 Don't laugh, hers is a sad story. 772 00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:48,960 Yours... 773 00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:51,680 (SHOUTING) I was just saying yours is a sad story! 774 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:58,200 And of course, five years ago, tragedy struck. 775 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:00,880 (SHOUTING) Tragedy struck five years ago. 776 00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:09,800 The 1960s saw Frankie Howerd fast becoming a British comedy icon. 777 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:13,920 And a clue to just how big he had become can be found in his files. 778 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:17,160 This invitation from Paul McCartney 779 00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:20,680 is evidence of a close relationship with the Beatles. 780 00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:23,400 Frankie even interviewed McCartney on television, 781 00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:27,040 but all that survives is this short sound recording. 782 00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:29,040 (FRANKIE) Mr Paul McCartney, here he is. 783 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:30,440 APPLAUSE 784 00:42:30,440 --> 00:42:33,080 How do you manage to keep this youthful image? 785 00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:34,280 That's what I want to know. 786 00:42:34,280 --> 00:42:36,920 (PAUL) Well, you know, I just... I do a lot of exercise. 787 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:38,320 What sort of ex...? 788 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:39,360 Well, you know, every morning... 789 00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:41,560 Anything you can tell us about? 790 00:42:41,560 --> 00:42:44,800 Well, you know, every morning, twice round the block. 791 00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:46,840 Twice round the block, I see. 792 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:49,880 Frankie had known The Beatles from their earliest days, 793 00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:54,360 so when the Beatles needed help in 1965, they turned to Frankie Howerd. 794 00:43:01,080 --> 00:43:03,280 These rare photographs tell the story 795 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:06,440 of Frankie's forgotten work on the Beatles' film, Help! 796 00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:13,040 I'm fairly sure the Beatles wanted him in Help! 797 00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:16,040 because he'd been a good supporter of them in their early days, 798 00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:20,160 he actually managed to get them gigs when they were underage, 799 00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:21,800 in places like Jersey. 800 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:23,880 And he was quite a good advisor in those days - 801 00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:26,960 he used to meet them informally - and so they were big fans, 802 00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:29,240 particularly Lennon and McCartney, I think. 803 00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:31,520 Yeah, that... I mean, that says a lot about 804 00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:32,920 Frankie's success at the time, 805 00:43:32,920 --> 00:43:34,760 that he would be in a film with The Beatles, 806 00:43:34,760 --> 00:43:37,840 The Beatles presumably could choose who they asked to be in their films, 807 00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:39,600 and maybe they thought he was funny. 808 00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:42,560 When The Beatles made their films, they put in people like Ivor Cutler, 809 00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:44,040 they put in cult comedians - 810 00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:46,000 they didn't put in Jimmy Tarbuck, 811 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:48,040 though I'm sure he'd have loved to have been in it. 812 00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:50,120 They put in people like Frankie Howerd, 813 00:43:50,120 --> 00:43:53,080 who, even though Frankie Howerd was popular, he was a cult figure. 814 00:43:53,080 --> 00:43:55,160 The Beatles just liked comedy - 815 00:43:55,160 --> 00:43:57,480 they were very good at appreciating comedy. 816 00:43:57,480 --> 00:44:01,960 And he was in a scene with Paul McCartney and Wendy Richard 817 00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:04,160 and they filmed it, it was all made, 818 00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:06,760 but when they got to cut the movie, 819 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:09,360 Dick Lester cut the whole section out. 820 00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:16,280 I think he was quite shattered 821 00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:18,400 when he found that he was on the cutting room floor 822 00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:19,800 because he enjoyed doing it, 823 00:44:19,800 --> 00:44:21,840 and I think he thought it worked quite well. 824 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:25,600 Frankie Howerd was now right at the centre of '60s showbusiness. 825 00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:27,760 And the disappointment of Help! 826 00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:31,080 was soon replaced by the excitement of Carry On Doctor. 827 00:44:31,080 --> 00:44:32,240 But... What the...? 828 00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:33,320 ARGH! 829 00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:35,720 Ooh...oi! Oof... 830 00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:39,600 Frankie made two films in quick succession - 831 00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:42,160 Carry On Doctor, and Carry On Up The Jungle - 832 00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:44,680 and in both films, he was the highest-paid actor. 833 00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:47,320 Quick, show him your doings. 834 00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:48,000 I beg your pardon? 835 00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:49,120 Show him your doings! 836 00:44:49,120 --> 00:44:50,800 I will not. You show him yours. 837 00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:52,520 He wants to see a bit of magic. 838 00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:55,680 Well, you should have said, you see... Magic? Who? 839 00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:57,720 Show me magic doing. 840 00:44:57,720 --> 00:45:00,720 It's magic doings. Oh, dear, he's insistent, isn't he? 841 00:45:00,720 --> 00:45:02,880 Well, now, have you...? No, you... Ah... 842 00:45:02,880 --> 00:45:05,640 Now wait a... This, er... What's er, er...? 843 00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:06,520 WATCH CHIMES 844 00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:07,760 Oh, look - 12 o'clock. 845 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:11,480 That's it. You've got him going. 846 00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:16,360 In his second film, Carry On Up The Jungle, 847 00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:18,840 Frankie found a friend in Joan Sims. 848 00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:21,680 This rare behind-the-scenes footage offers a glimpse 849 00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:24,800 into what Frankie described as their "mad chemistry". 850 00:45:28,240 --> 00:45:31,480 Ah, Lady Bagley, did you see the giraffes just now? 851 00:45:31,480 --> 00:45:33,360 Yes, I did. Quaint things. 852 00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:35,600 I wonder why it is they need such long necks. 853 00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:37,640 Ah, well, that's quite simply, really - 854 00:45:37,640 --> 00:45:40,520 it's because their heads are so far away from their bodies. 855 00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:42,320 But what I wanted to know was, 856 00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:46,360 if one came in close contact with a snake, could it harm one? 857 00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:48,000 Well, that would depend on the snake. 858 00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:50,960 There is... Ha! And there is a brown one, of course... 859 00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:52,720 SNIGGERING 860 00:45:52,720 --> 00:45:53,960 Go on, Frank. 861 00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:55,200 Oh, sorry. 862 00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,320 There is a brown one, of course - the African Viper, 863 00:45:58,320 --> 00:45:59,880 which is quite deadly. 864 00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:01,080 Oh, no, no. 865 00:46:01,080 --> 00:46:04,520 No, this was definitely a green one, and it seemed to move sort of... 866 00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:05,600 like that. 867 00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:08,200 Ah, that would be a windscreen viper. 868 00:46:08,200 --> 00:46:08,800 LAUGHTER 869 00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:09,800 Stop! 870 00:46:10,920 --> 00:46:13,600 Frankie Howerd now left behind the Carry Ons 871 00:46:13,600 --> 00:46:15,640 in hospital and up the jungle, 872 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:18,520 for eruptions of laughter in Up Pompeii! 873 00:46:27,500 --> 00:46:29,780 As the '60s drew to a close, 874 00:46:29,780 --> 00:46:32,700 Frankie Howerd could reflect on the achievement of coming 875 00:46:32,700 --> 00:46:36,060 back from the brink of obscurity, to the top of his profession. 876 00:46:36,060 --> 00:46:38,500 He had made all kinds of films, 877 00:46:38,500 --> 00:46:41,060 and starred in West End theatre productions. 878 00:46:41,060 --> 00:46:46,580 But one thing still eluded him, a successful situation comedy. 879 00:46:46,580 --> 00:46:51,900 But lurking around the corner was the spark of an idea. 880 00:46:51,900 --> 00:46:55,500 The head of light entertainment at the BBC in those days was on holiday 881 00:46:55,500 --> 00:47:00,620 and was looking around the ruins of Pompeii, 882 00:47:00,620 --> 00:47:01,900 and said he half expected - 883 00:47:01,900 --> 00:47:04,460 thinking of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum - 884 00:47:04,460 --> 00:47:07,180 to see Frankie Howerd come round the corner in a toga, and that 885 00:47:07,180 --> 00:47:11,460 suddenly sparked the idea into life of saying, "Why don't we do a sitcom?" 886 00:47:17,580 --> 00:47:20,340 Oooh, some shocking things go on here you know. 887 00:47:20,340 --> 00:47:24,660 Licentiousness, libertinage, orgies... 888 00:47:24,660 --> 00:47:27,620 even bingo. Listen... 889 00:47:27,620 --> 00:47:32,540 A pilot episode of Up Pompeii was made in September 1969, 890 00:47:32,540 --> 00:47:34,540 and the first series soon followed. 891 00:47:35,780 --> 00:47:38,700 It did Frankie the world of good, it was a marvellous show, 892 00:47:38,700 --> 00:47:41,460 and he was great in it. Built for him. 893 00:47:41,460 --> 00:47:45,100 Up Pompeii was the perfect vehicle for Frankie Howerd's comedy. 894 00:47:45,100 --> 00:47:47,860 It thrived on innuendo and gossip, 895 00:47:47,860 --> 00:47:53,380 and was set in a world of intrigue, treachery, and sex. 896 00:47:53,380 --> 00:47:55,300 It was quite sort of naughty telly that 897 00:47:55,300 --> 00:47:57,900 I shouldn't really be watching, because there were lots of 898 00:47:57,900 --> 00:48:01,980 sort of, nubile girls wandering around, who were jolly pretty. 899 00:48:01,980 --> 00:48:04,900 It's putting me off, turn round... 900 00:48:04,900 --> 00:48:08,140 No bra or anything. 901 00:48:08,140 --> 00:48:09,660 It was very sexual, 902 00:48:09,660 --> 00:48:13,900 but mostly it was just about how ludicrous the situation was. 903 00:48:13,900 --> 00:48:16,380 His whole thing, like any great comedian, 904 00:48:16,380 --> 00:48:19,220 is like, isn't everything stupid, isn't everything ridiculous? 905 00:48:19,220 --> 00:48:21,980 You're ridiculous, I'm ridiculous, life is pointless. 906 00:48:21,980 --> 00:48:24,380 And the whole thing with that character was just, 907 00:48:24,380 --> 00:48:26,940 aren't these people ludicrous, aren't they silly? 908 00:48:26,940 --> 00:48:31,820 Remember the three wise monkeys, and keep your counsel. 909 00:48:31,820 --> 00:48:34,820 Yes and you remember the three brass monkeys, and... 910 00:48:36,900 --> 00:48:38,660 And keep out of a draught. 911 00:48:40,660 --> 00:48:43,820 It was set in 79 AD, 912 00:48:43,820 --> 00:48:48,260 But it was really the middle-aged comedian's take on the swinging '60s. 913 00:48:48,260 --> 00:48:51,220 Frankie began each episode in stand-up comedy mode, 914 00:48:51,220 --> 00:48:54,220 but this time it was called The Prologue. 915 00:48:54,220 --> 00:48:57,380 Greetings, good citizens. The Prologue. 916 00:48:57,380 --> 00:48:59,700 Oh, dear... 917 00:48:59,700 --> 00:49:01,620 Cold as ever. Now... 918 00:49:01,620 --> 00:49:04,340 It was always The Prologue, wasn't it? "The Prologue." 919 00:49:04,340 --> 00:49:09,740 It was like, right, we're presenting a genuine historical epic here. 920 00:49:09,740 --> 00:49:12,100 And the fact that he would... "The Prologue," 921 00:49:12,100 --> 00:49:15,940 then the soothsayer comes in, then somebody else. He's like, "Right..." 922 00:49:15,940 --> 00:49:20,100 This god, Zeus, looked down on Earth and he saw this maiden, Leda, 923 00:49:20,100 --> 00:49:22,140 and he fancied her, see. 924 00:49:22,140 --> 00:49:25,980 So he said "Right." He said, "I will go down to Earth..." 925 00:49:33,420 --> 00:49:35,940 Are you expecting anybody? 926 00:49:35,940 --> 00:49:38,220 You know, it's the same thing he did with his stand-up, 927 00:49:38,220 --> 00:49:40,940 where he would go, you know, I'm presenting the... 928 00:49:40,940 --> 00:49:44,580 Oh - hang on, right... And then off he goes, you know. 929 00:49:44,580 --> 00:49:49,260 Frankie Howerd used every trick of his comedy trade to make the show work. 930 00:49:49,260 --> 00:49:52,060 But there was one trick which really stood out - 931 00:49:52,060 --> 00:49:57,980 his favourite technique of talking straight to the camera, to the audience, to us. 932 00:49:57,980 --> 00:50:00,020 I don't want to die. You don't want to die? 933 00:50:00,020 --> 00:50:01,780 I'm too young to die. Too young to die. 934 00:50:01,780 --> 00:50:03,780 We shall overcome. We will overcome. 935 00:50:03,780 --> 00:50:05,460 We shan't go to war. We won't go to war. 936 00:50:05,460 --> 00:50:07,820 Down with war. Down with war. 937 00:50:07,820 --> 00:50:12,100 Down, down, down with war! Down with war. 938 00:50:12,100 --> 00:50:14,220 What a shocking actor, isn't he? 939 00:50:14,220 --> 00:50:17,900 It's Roman times and he's talking to a camera. 940 00:50:17,900 --> 00:50:22,740 And sending up all the other characters! Made for him. 941 00:50:22,740 --> 00:50:24,660 I love the fact that everyone is in a... 942 00:50:24,660 --> 00:50:27,020 No-one is allowed to kind of look out except Frankie, 943 00:50:27,020 --> 00:50:30,820 so the whole thing is this like, kind of play going on around him 944 00:50:30,820 --> 00:50:32,900 and he's like this the whole time down the lens. 945 00:50:32,900 --> 00:50:36,380 Fire and brimstone will rain down on the city. 946 00:50:36,380 --> 00:50:42,380 The very ground will tremble, and all shall perish in the destruction. 947 00:50:42,380 --> 00:50:46,540 And that is the end of the weather forecast. 948 00:50:46,540 --> 00:50:48,220 (SHE WAILS DRAMATICALLY) 949 00:50:48,220 --> 00:50:50,940 Ah. Silly old bag. 950 00:50:50,940 --> 00:50:53,940 Up Pompeii was all about drawing attention to the camera, 951 00:50:53,940 --> 00:50:57,380 the audience, the script, the poverty of the script, 952 00:50:57,380 --> 00:50:59,100 the terrible acting involved. 953 00:50:59,100 --> 00:51:02,020 And he'd be constantly stepping out and being Frankie Howerd, 954 00:51:02,020 --> 00:51:04,820 and that made it very funny, very unusual. 955 00:51:04,820 --> 00:51:06,940 And very radical in a way. 956 00:51:06,940 --> 00:51:11,060 Frankie Howerd had finally made a classic situation comedy, 957 00:51:11,060 --> 00:51:14,460 but not all his fans approved of Up Pompeii. 958 00:51:14,460 --> 00:51:17,380 Discovered in the Howerd files are some of the huge 959 00:51:17,380 --> 00:51:21,900 amount of letters he received from unhappy viewers. 960 00:51:21,900 --> 00:51:26,940 I got a tremendous amount of... of, of, of letters. 961 00:51:26,940 --> 00:51:29,740 And there were nine of the ten... 962 00:51:29,740 --> 00:51:33,940 out of every ten liked it very much, and the tenth thought it was 963 00:51:33,940 --> 00:51:36,500 the most dreadful thing ever seen on television. 964 00:51:37,820 --> 00:51:43,500 "Dear Mr Howerd, these episodes are merely disgusting, not even funny." 965 00:51:43,500 --> 00:51:47,060 "Dirt for dirt's sake gets terribly tedious." 966 00:51:47,060 --> 00:51:50,380 "Neither my wife nor I would dream of missing one of your programmes, 967 00:51:50,380 --> 00:51:52,940 "until the present series of Up Pompeii, 968 00:51:52,940 --> 00:51:56,020 "and the filth that passes for humour." 969 00:51:56,020 --> 00:51:59,180 "You don't have to rely on filth, Mr Howerd, you really don't. 970 00:51:59,180 --> 00:52:00,900 "We loved you as you were." 971 00:52:02,860 --> 00:52:05,980 The sensitive Frankie Howerd was hurt by the criticism, 972 00:52:05,980 --> 00:52:09,420 and took time to reply to all the letters, usually adding 973 00:52:09,420 --> 00:52:12,660 at the end, "I am sorry you did not like all the material in the 974 00:52:12,660 --> 00:52:14,100 "Up Pompeii series, 975 00:52:14,100 --> 00:52:17,620 "but it is difficult to please everybody all the time." 976 00:52:18,860 --> 00:52:20,900 Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Frankie Howerd. 977 00:52:22,140 --> 00:52:25,220 The corny jokes and sexual references may have lost him 978 00:52:25,220 --> 00:52:29,260 a few fans, but the series won him the Variety Club's top award 979 00:52:29,260 --> 00:52:33,860 for show business personality of the year for 1971. 980 00:52:33,860 --> 00:52:36,140 It had been a long and emotional journey, 981 00:52:36,140 --> 00:52:39,820 but Frankie Howerd was finally back at the top. 982 00:52:39,820 --> 00:52:48,100 Well, before I came on here tonight, Mr Delfont said to me... 983 00:52:49,740 --> 00:52:54,980 ..try not, he said, to look smug, as though you've actually deserved it. 984 00:52:56,300 --> 00:53:00,420 And I said, well look, I'll try not to look smug, I said, if you try not 985 00:53:00,420 --> 00:53:04,420 to look as though you've actually paid for the awards yourself. 986 00:53:08,060 --> 00:53:12,860 I have been in show business, this month, 25 years. And... 987 00:53:14,020 --> 00:53:17,660 ..I started in the music halls and I did... 988 00:53:17,660 --> 00:53:21,260 Started on Variety Bandbox, that was 25 years ago. 989 00:53:21,260 --> 00:53:24,900 I was thinking tonight, my goodness, it's a long time ago, I've had a... 990 00:53:24,900 --> 00:53:28,660 During that time, of course, I've had a...like many... 991 00:53:28,660 --> 00:53:30,500 all of you... 992 00:53:30,500 --> 00:53:34,420 ups and downs, I've had some success, 993 00:53:34,420 --> 00:53:36,820 and I've had a good deal of failure. 994 00:53:36,820 --> 00:53:38,260 But I'm thankful, 995 00:53:38,260 --> 00:53:42,340 I must tell you this, to be even considered for an award 996 00:53:42,340 --> 00:53:45,780 such as this, let alone to actually receive it. 997 00:53:45,780 --> 00:53:48,220 And I want to tell you, that ladies and gentlemen, 998 00:53:48,220 --> 00:53:53,620 especially may I say thank you to those 999 00:53:53,620 --> 00:53:56,860 friends of mine in the public who have given me 1000 00:53:56,860 --> 00:53:59,180 over all these years their support. 1001 00:53:59,180 --> 00:54:00,780 You know, their support and 1002 00:54:00,780 --> 00:54:06,940 their laughs, their smiles, and dare I say it, their affection. 1003 00:54:06,940 --> 00:54:09,700 And I'm very grateful. 1004 00:54:18,580 --> 00:54:21,940 Off screen there were some unlikely business developments, 1005 00:54:21,940 --> 00:54:23,900 with Frankie's agent, Beryl Vertue, 1006 00:54:23,900 --> 00:54:27,660 merging their company with the management of the Bee Gees. 1007 00:54:27,660 --> 00:54:29,340 This gave rise to one of the strangest 1008 00:54:29,340 --> 00:54:32,060 projects of Frankie's career. 1009 00:54:32,060 --> 00:54:35,940 Still in the attic of Frankie's former home, Wavering Down, 1010 00:54:35,940 --> 00:54:37,700 is Frankie's record collection, 1011 00:54:37,700 --> 00:54:41,780 and amongst the albums is Cucumber Castle by the Bee Gees. 1012 00:54:47,900 --> 00:54:50,780 The hour-long film made to promote the album teamed 1013 00:54:50,780 --> 00:54:52,660 Frankie Howerd with the Bee Gees, 1014 00:54:52,660 --> 00:54:56,820 in a psychedelic medieval tale of kings and cucumbers. 1015 00:54:56,820 --> 00:55:01,220 It was a lavish, but ill-conceived project, and not surprisingly 1016 00:55:01,220 --> 00:55:05,020 has not been shown on television since it was first made. 1017 00:55:05,020 --> 00:55:06,380 This should be goodbye really. 1018 00:55:06,380 --> 00:55:08,180 Where are you going, Father? 1019 00:55:08,180 --> 00:55:11,660 I'm dying. I'm dying, you fool. Dying. Dying. 1020 00:55:11,660 --> 00:55:13,780 And nobody cares. Dying. 1021 00:55:13,780 --> 00:55:15,820 I haven't finished yet. 1022 00:55:15,820 --> 00:55:17,620 Dying. Dying. 1023 00:55:24,420 --> 00:55:30,340 I think I'm going. I think I'm going. 1024 00:55:31,100 --> 00:55:34,180 Bonsoir. 1025 00:55:34,180 --> 00:55:37,060 Oooh, I've changed my mind, I'm coming back. 1026 00:55:37,060 --> 00:55:38,900 I think those pills are working. 1027 00:55:40,900 --> 00:55:43,340 Soon after Cucumber Castle, 1028 00:55:43,340 --> 00:55:47,220 Frankie released a strange record of his own. 1029 00:55:47,220 --> 00:55:49,140 # Je t'aime, je t'aime. # 1030 00:55:49,140 --> 00:55:50,940 SNORING What? 1031 00:55:50,940 --> 00:55:53,420 I was phoned up one day by my agent, 1032 00:55:53,420 --> 00:55:55,500 "Do you want to make a record with Frankie Howerd?" 1033 00:55:55,500 --> 00:55:57,420 I said, "Yes, of course." 1034 00:55:57,420 --> 00:56:04,180 So I go along to the studio, and there's Frank and Ray and Alan. 1035 00:56:04,180 --> 00:56:09,100 And they said, "Do you know Je T'Aime?" I said no. 1036 00:56:09,100 --> 00:56:12,500 "Oh well, we'll play it to you." 1037 00:56:12,500 --> 00:56:17,540 So they played it, you see, a couple of times, and I said, 1038 00:56:17,540 --> 00:56:19,900 "I see, and I'm the heavy breathing?" 1039 00:56:19,900 --> 00:56:21,900 They said, "That's right." 1040 00:56:21,900 --> 00:56:25,700 Up Je T'Aime was his version of the French record, Je T'Aime, 1041 00:56:25,700 --> 00:56:28,420 the song which appeared to include a recording of the singer 1042 00:56:28,420 --> 00:56:32,580 Serge Gainsbourg having sex with his girlfriend, Jane Birkin. 1043 00:56:35,060 --> 00:56:39,580 The British version had Frankie Howerd in bed with June Whitfield. 1044 00:56:39,580 --> 00:56:42,820 # Oh, maintenant... # 1045 00:56:42,820 --> 00:56:49,540 And I was just going, "ooh, ah", this and the other, you know. 1046 00:56:49,540 --> 00:56:54,540 And it turned out in the end that they were in bed with her husband. 1047 00:56:54,540 --> 00:56:57,340 I remember that because I played her husband. 1048 00:56:57,340 --> 00:56:58,180 Oi. 1049 00:56:58,180 --> 00:56:59,420 What? 1050 00:56:59,420 --> 00:57:01,540 If you two don't keep quiet, I'm getting out of this bed 1051 00:57:01,540 --> 00:57:02,900 and I'm going to sleep in the other room. 1052 00:57:02,900 --> 00:57:04,740 Oh, I'm sorry Arthur. 1053 00:57:04,740 --> 00:57:09,380 But that was Je T'Aime, which got banned by the BBC for lewdness. 1054 00:57:09,380 --> 00:57:11,500 I mean, how ridiculous can you be? 1055 00:57:11,500 --> 00:57:14,540 Frankie Howerd now embarked on a series of feature films, 1056 00:57:14,540 --> 00:57:18,140 beginning with a film version of Up Pompeii. 1057 00:57:18,140 --> 00:57:20,140 Hey, you there, slave. Who, me? 1058 00:57:20,140 --> 00:57:21,900 Yes, you. Move your ass. 1059 00:57:21,900 --> 00:57:25,740 Well, that's nice, isn't it? 1060 00:57:25,740 --> 00:57:31,140 The next film was Up The Chastity Belt, and then Up The Front. 1061 00:57:31,140 --> 00:57:34,060 The series of Up films were in danger of typecasting 1062 00:57:34,060 --> 00:57:38,180 Frankie Howerd, as a comedian who could only do sexual innuendo. 1063 00:57:38,180 --> 00:57:42,940 A return to the BBC for An Evening With Francis Howerd 1064 00:57:42,940 --> 00:57:45,900 was an attempt to change this perception. 1065 00:57:45,900 --> 00:57:50,580 This show isn't going to be like all the shows I've been doing recently. 1066 00:57:50,580 --> 00:57:53,580 I mean, there's no... you know, there's no sort of... 1067 00:57:53,580 --> 00:57:57,140 uh...what's the...? Wait a minute. Wait a minute. 1068 00:57:57,140 --> 00:58:00,140 It's no, sort of curvaceous, you know, lovelies, lovely ladies. 1069 00:58:00,140 --> 00:58:03,820 Mind you, I hope we get as many titters in this show. 1070 00:58:03,820 --> 00:58:06,900 But the thing is... No. 1071 00:58:06,900 --> 00:58:10,460 See, I think it's time to prove that I can rise above all that. 1072 00:58:10,460 --> 00:58:12,020 LAUGHTER 1073 00:58:12,020 --> 00:58:14,260 Ha, ha, ha. Above all that. No. 1074 00:58:14,260 --> 00:58:17,020 Because in real life you know, in real life, 1075 00:58:17,020 --> 00:58:21,100 I mean, I look down on that sort of thing, frequently... 1076 00:58:21,100 --> 00:58:22,020 LAUGHTER 1077 00:58:22,020 --> 00:58:24,620 ..frequently, you fools you, you fools. 1078 00:58:24,620 --> 00:58:26,660 However much he wanted to change, 1079 00:58:26,660 --> 00:58:30,860 Frankie Howerd was trapped by his own successful formula, 1080 00:58:30,860 --> 00:58:35,100 and just when he thought he was out, it would always pull him back in. 1081 00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:46,760 The worries about failure kept Frankie 1082 00:58:46,760 --> 00:58:48,680 to tried and tested formulas, 1083 00:58:48,680 --> 00:58:53,280 And he now rehashed the Up Pompeii template in Whoops Baghdad. 1084 00:58:53,280 --> 00:58:56,440 This'll wait till later. Listen, wait. Greetings, Salam. 1085 00:58:58,000 --> 00:59:00,560 Welcome to Old Baghdad, 1086 00:59:00,560 --> 00:59:04,160 gateway to the East, pearl of the Orient, 1087 00:59:04,160 --> 00:59:07,000 and the best knocking shop this side of Cairo. 1088 00:59:09,240 --> 00:59:11,720 Ah! 1089 00:59:11,720 --> 00:59:15,280 "Ah," you're saying to yourselves, "he's slipped one in already," 1090 00:59:15,280 --> 00:59:17,000 that's what you're saying. 1091 00:59:17,000 --> 00:59:19,400 Yes, he has. I tell you why. 1092 00:59:19,400 --> 00:59:22,040 Because I don't want you to switch off, that's why. 1093 00:59:22,040 --> 00:59:25,520 In 1975, as offers in the UK dried up, 1094 00:59:25,520 --> 00:59:28,880 he set off for Canada to make The Frankie Howerd Show. 1095 00:59:28,880 --> 00:59:32,960 The 14 episodes, with their colourful titles, have never been 1096 00:59:32,960 --> 00:59:34,560 shown on UK television. 1097 00:59:36,000 --> 00:59:39,120 Frankie plays a lodger in a shared house full of misfits. 1098 00:59:43,800 --> 00:59:47,640 Honestly, I'm exhausted. Exhausted! 1099 00:59:47,640 --> 00:59:50,640 Yes. What? Don't laugh. 1100 00:59:50,640 --> 00:59:52,640 It's wicked to mock the afflicted. 1101 00:59:52,640 --> 00:59:54,120 Oh, I think what I'll do, I think... 1102 00:59:54,120 --> 00:59:55,440 LAUGHTER 1103 00:59:55,440 --> 00:59:59,320 No, listen. Listen now, please. 1104 00:59:59,320 --> 01:00:02,120 Don't be wicked. 1105 01:00:02,120 --> 01:00:05,760 I think I'll... Shut your faces a minute! 1106 01:00:05,760 --> 01:00:08,640 What I think I'll do, I think I'll have a tinkle... 1107 01:00:08,640 --> 01:00:11,840 On the pianoforte! 1108 01:00:14,040 --> 01:00:15,960 Frankie now had a new agent. 1109 01:00:15,960 --> 01:00:19,160 Beryl Vertue handed the management of Frankie's career 1110 01:00:19,160 --> 01:00:20,480 to Tessa Le Bars, 1111 01:00:20,480 --> 01:00:22,520 who talks about life with Frankie here 1112 01:00:22,520 --> 01:00:24,480 for the first time on television. 1113 01:00:24,480 --> 01:00:27,880 Just after I took over in '76, 1114 01:00:27,880 --> 01:00:32,760 I had to go over to see him in Canada. 1115 01:00:32,760 --> 01:00:36,920 I think he found it a little bit difficult over there. 1116 01:00:36,920 --> 01:00:38,920 I think he was very pleased to see me. 1117 01:00:38,920 --> 01:00:41,360 Obviously, Dennis was there with him all the time. 1118 01:00:41,360 --> 01:00:47,600 Dennis was an extremely calm sort of person, 1119 01:00:47,600 --> 01:00:51,640 who could put up with Frank's occasional 1120 01:00:51,640 --> 01:00:54,600 highs and lows of anxiety. 1121 01:00:54,600 --> 01:00:59,200 Dennis is the person who got him through every day, 1122 01:00:59,200 --> 01:01:03,400 from getting him to the right place at the right time 1123 01:01:03,400 --> 01:01:05,520 to checking out the lighting, 1124 01:01:05,520 --> 01:01:08,000 making sure everything went smoothly. 1125 01:01:09,400 --> 01:01:12,600 Yes, he was absolutely ideal for Frank, 1126 01:01:12,600 --> 01:01:16,840 and I suppose he and I, between us, 1127 01:01:16,840 --> 01:01:20,040 really kept him going throughout those years 1128 01:01:20,040 --> 01:01:22,680 that we were working together with him. 1129 01:01:22,680 --> 01:01:24,680 Oh, God, I'm going to faint. 1130 01:01:24,680 --> 01:01:26,160 Oh, yes. 1131 01:01:29,440 --> 01:01:32,320 Oh, I'm going to faint! 1132 01:01:32,320 --> 01:01:35,680 Do you mind, dear? They can't see the face. 1133 01:01:41,440 --> 01:01:45,520 Back in Britain, offers of television work remained limited. 1134 01:01:45,520 --> 01:01:48,880 This Is Your Life told the story of his career so far, 1135 01:01:48,880 --> 01:01:51,320 and everyone who had played a part was there... 1136 01:01:54,040 --> 01:01:55,440 Peter Cook. 1137 01:01:59,120 --> 01:02:00,840 Eric Sykes. 1138 01:02:00,840 --> 01:02:04,400 It was a night of high emotion, and there through it all 1139 01:02:04,400 --> 01:02:08,560 was his discreet and loyal partner, Dennis Heymer. 1140 01:02:08,560 --> 01:02:11,080 Let me just say this. 1141 01:02:11,080 --> 01:02:13,120 You know, it's nice to have these tributes, 1142 01:02:13,120 --> 01:02:15,320 and I'm very touched, I really am, but... 1143 01:02:18,880 --> 01:02:20,800 Silly old fool. 1144 01:02:20,800 --> 01:02:22,760 APPLAUSE 1145 01:02:23,840 --> 01:02:26,240 When I wasn't doing... 1146 01:02:28,480 --> 01:02:32,000 ..so well, so many people were kind to me. 1147 01:02:32,000 --> 01:02:34,320 Dennis and Tessa and Blanche - 1148 01:02:34,320 --> 01:02:37,880 they all stood by me. I'm very grateful to them. 1149 01:02:37,880 --> 01:02:39,800 I'm sorry. I'm being stupid. 1150 01:02:39,800 --> 01:02:43,080 APPLAUSE 1151 01:02:52,720 --> 01:02:55,080 The late '70s and early '80s 1152 01:02:55,080 --> 01:02:57,560 saw another dip in Frankie Howerd's career. 1153 01:03:00,480 --> 01:03:05,000 From 1983, a variety of TV and theatre productions kept him busy, 1154 01:03:05,000 --> 01:03:08,560 but nothing captured that special Frankie Howerd quality. 1155 01:03:11,360 --> 01:03:14,240 A revival of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum 1156 01:03:14,240 --> 01:03:16,840 failed to live up to former glories. 1157 01:03:20,080 --> 01:03:22,840 The net was cast wide for interesting projects, 1158 01:03:22,840 --> 01:03:27,200 and in 1985, Frankie Howerd found himself Up The Alps. 1159 01:03:32,200 --> 01:03:34,960 Up The Alps has never been shown on television before. 1160 01:03:34,960 --> 01:03:37,720 It shows that Frankie still had a spirit of adventure 1161 01:03:37,720 --> 01:03:39,840 and he was not going to give up on his career. 1162 01:03:47,560 --> 01:03:50,200 What is she doing here? 1163 01:03:50,200 --> 01:03:53,440 As television gave up on him, Frankie Howerd went back 1164 01:03:53,440 --> 01:03:58,480 on the road, touring theatres with his vintage stand up comedy act. 1165 01:03:58,480 --> 01:04:00,560 Because it's very funny, you know. 1166 01:04:00,560 --> 01:04:01,720 I didn't know I'd be here. 1167 01:04:01,720 --> 01:04:04,200 About six weeks ago, I was sitting at home one night, 1168 01:04:04,200 --> 01:04:06,360 watching the telly. Nothing on, mind you, 1169 01:04:06,360 --> 01:04:09,240 but you get used to that position, you know. 1170 01:04:11,800 --> 01:04:13,760 And the phone rang. 1171 01:04:13,760 --> 01:04:16,680 The phone rang and I thought, now, who can this be? Can't be my agent, 1172 01:04:16,680 --> 01:04:19,240 cos he thinks I'm dead. 1173 01:04:19,240 --> 01:04:22,320 There were old jokes and new jokes, 1174 01:04:22,320 --> 01:04:25,520 but one element remained the same - 1175 01:04:25,520 --> 01:04:28,120 the unique style of Frankie Howerd. 1176 01:04:28,120 --> 01:04:29,920 The ordinary suit, 1177 01:04:29,920 --> 01:04:34,440 the shambolic delivery, the connection to the audience. 1178 01:04:34,440 --> 01:04:37,480 Well, ah, no, you see I thought the management 1179 01:04:37,480 --> 01:04:39,280 would send me a car, see? 1180 01:04:39,280 --> 01:04:41,040 No, they sent me a map. 1181 01:04:41,040 --> 01:04:43,320 LAUGHTER 1182 01:04:43,320 --> 01:04:46,880 He toured relentlessly, up and down the country. 1183 01:04:46,880 --> 01:04:48,840 He'd built a reputation, 1184 01:04:48,840 --> 01:04:52,960 and they came in their thousands to see the man himself - 1185 01:04:52,960 --> 01:04:54,200 Frankie Howerd. 1186 01:04:56,040 --> 01:05:00,200 Suddenly and unexpectedly, his time had come again. 1187 01:05:02,600 --> 01:05:05,680 The alternative comedy of the late '80s was all about stand up, 1188 01:05:05,680 --> 01:05:10,000 and a new, younger audience now had an appreciation of 1189 01:05:10,000 --> 01:05:12,720 the comedy skills of a true original. 1190 01:05:14,000 --> 01:05:16,240 What? Don't, you are wicked. 1191 01:05:16,240 --> 01:05:18,320 No, you see... Listen. No. 1192 01:05:18,320 --> 01:05:21,160 Listen, listen! 1193 01:05:21,160 --> 01:05:22,800 Naughty! 1194 01:05:22,800 --> 01:05:25,040 Now listen. 1195 01:05:25,040 --> 01:05:28,840 I must ask you to shut your gobs. 1196 01:05:28,840 --> 01:05:32,600 Frankie Howerd began to sell out bigger and bigger theatres, 1197 01:05:32,600 --> 01:05:35,760 and the fans kept getting younger and younger. 1198 01:05:39,920 --> 01:05:43,120 He came back because of his talent. He was rediscovered again and again. 1199 01:05:43,120 --> 01:05:45,560 He put the work in and he just kept coming back, 1200 01:05:45,560 --> 01:05:46,920 and that strikes me... 1201 01:05:46,920 --> 01:05:50,600 For all that people talk about his depression and his anxiety, 1202 01:05:50,600 --> 01:05:53,120 that's an immense resilience, 1203 01:05:53,120 --> 01:05:57,120 and also an indication that he wanted to keep going back on stage. 1204 01:05:57,120 --> 01:05:59,520 All of a sudden, he became a cult figure again. 1205 01:05:59,520 --> 01:06:02,080 And then it was all up again, so it was wonderful. 1206 01:06:03,400 --> 01:06:06,040 Now in his 70s, 1207 01:06:06,040 --> 01:06:10,320 Frankie Howerd was as popular and admired as he'd ever been. 1208 01:06:10,320 --> 01:06:13,560 He was a prized guest on youth TV shows like The Word. 1209 01:06:19,480 --> 01:06:23,960 And all the best chat shows now wanted a piece of Frankie. 1210 01:06:23,960 --> 01:06:26,760 There was also a return to advertising, 1211 01:06:26,760 --> 01:06:28,840 as the face of Boddingtons Bitter. 1212 01:06:28,840 --> 01:06:31,800 Bitter ye not. 1213 01:06:31,800 --> 01:06:33,800 Bitter ye not. 1214 01:06:33,800 --> 01:06:35,320 Boddies. 1215 01:06:35,320 --> 01:06:37,720 If you don't get Boddies, you'll just get... 1216 01:06:37,720 --> 01:06:39,960 Bitter! 1217 01:06:39,960 --> 01:06:42,680 This late success was everything he could've hoped for. 1218 01:06:42,680 --> 01:06:46,840 But the high point would come at the most unlikely of venues... 1219 01:06:46,840 --> 01:06:48,360 Oxford University, 1220 01:06:48,360 --> 01:06:50,920 and the debating chamber of the Oxford Union 1221 01:06:50,920 --> 01:06:53,880 was the chosen place for the swansong of Frankie Howerd. 1222 01:06:59,600 --> 01:07:02,800 He came on. The place went mad. 1223 01:07:02,800 --> 01:07:05,040 This was a young audience. 1224 01:07:05,040 --> 01:07:10,640 But the reception he got from the students was wonderful. 1225 01:07:10,640 --> 01:07:14,200 Before we start the actual comedy act, 1226 01:07:14,200 --> 01:07:16,600 what've you come to see, the sort of comedy stuff, 1227 01:07:16,600 --> 01:07:19,280 I just wanted to say a word to you, which is, 1228 01:07:19,280 --> 01:07:22,160 well, not serious, exactly, 1229 01:07:22,160 --> 01:07:24,200 but... 1230 01:07:24,200 --> 01:07:29,480 sincere. Yeah. No, it's because I'm not... 1231 01:07:29,480 --> 01:07:31,880 Well, you know, no, you don't know, but I mean... 1232 01:07:31,880 --> 01:07:33,560 No, but you'll believe me 1233 01:07:33,560 --> 01:07:37,080 when I tell you I'm not what you call an intellectual, 1234 01:07:37,080 --> 01:07:39,440 I'm not a... No, no. 1235 01:07:39,440 --> 01:07:43,960 I'm not what you call brainy, you know, a sort of clever clogs, 1236 01:07:43,960 --> 01:07:47,200 I'm not... Levels, O-levels and A-levels, ooh, no, no, no, not that. 1237 01:07:49,040 --> 01:07:51,160 Because you're all students, 1238 01:07:51,160 --> 01:07:54,400 so naturally to you I'm not what you'd call an academic. 1239 01:07:54,400 --> 01:07:57,600 By no way at all could you call me an intellectual... 1240 01:07:57,600 --> 01:07:59,480 Hear, hear. 1241 01:08:03,600 --> 01:08:06,680 Which is why I feel so much at home here tonight. 1242 01:08:08,680 --> 01:08:11,400 There were echoes of That Was The Week That Was, 1243 01:08:11,400 --> 01:08:14,280 the old-school comedian teaching an Oxbridge crowd a thing or two 1244 01:08:14,280 --> 01:08:19,240 about the toughest subject of them all, stand-up comedy. 1245 01:08:19,240 --> 01:08:20,960 Shut your face. 1246 01:08:20,960 --> 01:08:23,000 He's mocking! 1247 01:08:25,920 --> 01:08:29,800 Ooh, no! Ooh, no, missus, no! 1248 01:08:31,800 --> 01:08:33,640 No... 1249 01:08:39,560 --> 01:08:43,880 Nay, nay, thrice nay. 1250 01:08:46,640 --> 01:08:50,000 Oh, titter ye not! Titter ye not! 1251 01:08:54,400 --> 01:08:57,720 He's mocking Francis. You're mocking Francis! 1252 01:08:57,720 --> 01:09:00,120 This is your Francis. 1253 01:09:00,120 --> 01:09:02,480 Yes, my maiden name, Francis... 1254 01:09:02,480 --> 01:09:05,360 Frankie Howerd had nothing left to prove. 1255 01:09:05,360 --> 01:09:08,520 He was loved, admired and respected right to the end. 1256 01:09:10,760 --> 01:09:14,400 In April, 1992, he was admitted to hospital with heart trouble. 1257 01:09:14,400 --> 01:09:16,840 Frankie Howerd was admitted as an emergency 1258 01:09:16,840 --> 01:09:18,520 into the intensive care unit 1259 01:09:18,520 --> 01:09:22,640 here at the Harley Street clinic 1260 01:09:22,640 --> 01:09:25,120 with a very serious heart problem. 1261 01:09:25,120 --> 01:09:28,120 This is being treated currently with medication. 1262 01:09:28,120 --> 01:09:31,280 He came home for Easter, but on 19th April, 1263 01:09:31,280 --> 01:09:33,920 the great comedian passed away. 1264 01:09:35,120 --> 01:09:39,640 He was buried in the cemetery of St Gregory's Church in Somerset, 1265 01:09:39,640 --> 01:09:43,400 just a few miles from his house, Wavering Down. 1266 01:09:46,120 --> 01:09:50,080 I mean, I'd love to be the first man to play on the moon. 1267 01:09:50,080 --> 01:09:51,960 By "play", I mean act. 1268 01:09:51,960 --> 01:09:54,160 Act on the moon. 1269 01:09:54,160 --> 01:09:56,160 That'd be a... 1270 01:09:56,160 --> 01:09:58,080 But I don't think I'm going to be. 1271 01:10:00,600 --> 01:10:02,560 He just made you laugh. 1272 01:10:02,560 --> 01:10:06,640 And I mean, I think that is a wonderful epitaph for anybody. 1273 01:10:06,640 --> 01:10:11,320 If you say, "Well, what can you remember about Frankie Howerd?" 1274 01:10:11,320 --> 01:10:14,000 "He made me laugh." I mean, what a lovely epitaph. 1275 01:10:16,720 --> 01:10:19,960 He went through decades entertaining people 1276 01:10:19,960 --> 01:10:21,680 and making them laugh. 1277 01:10:21,680 --> 01:10:23,560 Not many people can say that. 1278 01:10:25,000 --> 01:10:28,280 He is always there, you know. If you take a sort of snapshot 1279 01:10:28,280 --> 01:10:31,880 of the late '50, '60s, '70s, '80s, all the way through to his death, 1280 01:10:31,880 --> 01:10:34,040 he's always there or thereabouts, 1281 01:10:34,040 --> 01:10:36,480 in a way that a lot of comedians weren't. 1282 01:10:36,480 --> 01:10:40,320 Everyone who's followed practically owes a debt to Frankie Howerd, 1283 01:10:40,320 --> 01:10:43,960 because all the ranges of stand up comedy owes a huge debt to him, 1284 01:10:43,960 --> 01:10:47,440 because he was the subversive one who dared to do it first. 1285 01:10:50,200 --> 01:10:53,320 He was way ahead of the game, he was a very modern comic. 1286 01:10:53,320 --> 01:10:56,160 He'd be just fine now. He'd be just fine. 1287 01:11:02,240 --> 01:11:06,400 People who were involved with him did love him, 1288 01:11:06,400 --> 01:11:08,600 you know, did love him, 1289 01:11:08,600 --> 01:11:10,680 for all his hotchpotch that he was. 1290 01:11:14,960 --> 01:11:19,000 I understood him so well, being a fellow Pisces. 1291 01:11:19,000 --> 01:11:22,760 And I'll always miss my friend, Frankie Howerd. 1292 01:11:34,480 --> 01:11:39,360 Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd