Frankie Howerd

Frankie Howerd

actor, writer, soundtrack

Frankie Howerd was born on Mar 06, 1917 in UK. Frankie Howerd's big-screen debut came with The Runaway Bus directed by Val Guest in 1954, strarring Percy Lamb. Frankie Howerd is known for Further Up Pompeii directed by Ian Hamilton, Frankie Howerd stars as Lurcio and Joanna Dickens as Colossa. The upcoming new tvshow Frankie Howerd plays is Then Churchill Said to Me - Season 1 which will be released on Mar 01, 1993.

Francis Alick Howerd, who grew up to become popular British comedian Frankie Howerd, was born in 1917 and first stepped onstage at age 4. As a teen he taught Sunday school; not long after his Army-man father died in 1934, 17-year-old Frankie was invited to audition for RADA. After a poor audition, he knew his calling was as a comedian instead of an actor. At 19 he put together revues for music halls that included monologues, impressions, jokes, and comic songs. This was difficult since he suffered from major stage fright, a life-long debilitation. Following war service, Frankie refocused on his career with radio and theatre appearances. In the 1950s he finally earned his own TV variety show, but his burgeoning reputation, coupled with a lack of self-confidence, led the painfully shy man to suffer severe emotional conflicts with this newfound success. In the 1960s this culminated in a severe nervous breakdown. Prone to melancholia and deep depression, he somehow managed to recover, and he earned high praise for both his musical-comedy performance in the London production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (in the Zero Mostel role) and his work on the popular satire series That Was the Week That Was (1962). Though never a strong film performer, he managed to find work in such films as Tueurs de dames (1955), Croisière en torpilleur (1958), The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966), some 'Carry On' appearances, and the lead role in The House in Nightmare Park (1973). Frankie was awarded the OBE in 1977, the year his autobiography, "On My Way I Lost It," was published. In early April 1992 he went to the hospital for respiratory problems; he died of heart failure on April 19. He was buried at St. Gregory's Church in Weare, Somerset.

  • Birthday

    Mar 06, 1917
  • Place of Birth

    York, England, UK

Known For

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