Frankie Howerd Archive

The archive consists of many hundreds of scripts detailing Howerd's career on radio, television, on the stage and in film, from his first appearance on BBC Variety Bandbox in December 1946 through to his death in 1992. A number of the scripts have been annotated, revised or signed by Howerd himself, showing his working processes. The archive also includes scripts which are believed to have been offered to Howerd, but which it appears he rejected.
The archive also contains folders of original signed contracts for projects undertaken by Howerd between 1959 and 1992, when he was under the management of Beryl Vertue, and then Tessa Le Bars, as well as correspondence relating to professional projects between 1963 and 1992.
The archive includes correspondence relating to the management of the estate of Frankie Howerd following his death in April 1992 (primarily between Tessa Le Bars, Betty Paye (Frankie Howerd's sister), Dennis Heymer (Howerd's life partner) and a firm of solicitors).
The current archives catalogue for boxes 1 - 36 comprises a detailed box list in the order that the archive was received. The list itemises all the scripts in the archive, and notes highlights from amongst the contracts and correspondence. The first four boxes of scripts were originally found in Frankie Howerd's travelling suitcase, which also forms part of the archive.
Boxes 37-71 had no original order at the time of receipt. The boxes include extensive business correspondence, photographs and fan mail, as well as press cuttings and papers relating to the funeral and memorial for Frankie Howerd in 1992. The files have been individually listed, however the video and audio cassettes within this part of the collection haven't yet been fully catalogued.
Please see the series level descriptions in this archives catalogue for more detailed information about the contents of each box.

Frankie Howerd was born Francis Alick Howard on 6 March 1917, at the family home in Hartoft Street, York. His father, Francis Alfred William Howard, was a regular soldier stationed in the city, whilst his mother Edith worked at the Rowntree’s chocolate factory. Howerd spent the first two and a half years of his life living in the terraced house on Hartoft Street, before his father was posted to Woolwich and the family moved to Eltham, London. He was educated at Shooter’s Hill Grammar School.
Howerd first appeared on stage aged 13 and had hopes of becoming a dramatic actor, however he failed an audition for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He was called up to the British Army in 1940, and served in the Royal Artillery. He soon became very popular as an entertainer to his fellow troops. In 1946, after being demobbed from the army, Howerd appeared at the Stage Door Canteen in Piccadilly Circus, and was talent spotted by agent Stanley Dale, who worked for impresario Jack Payne. He was soon given a contract with them, and made his debut as a professional entertainer in a touring show entitled ‘For the Fun of It.’
In December 1946 Howerd made his radio debut on BBC Variety Bandbox, rising to almost immediate prominence. By the mid-1950s, he was a star on both radio and television, now working with Eric Sykes amongst others, and had formed Frankie Howerd Scripts Ltd (and later Associated London Scripts) with Dale and Sykes. An acrimonious breakup with his agent, however, was the catalyst for a decline in fortunes that very nearly brought an end to his career. In 1958, he met his life partner Dennis Heymer at the Dorchester Hotel. As homosexuality was banned in England and Wales until 1967, Howerd hid his sexuality from his audiences.
A new phase as a satirical comedian, with successful appearances at Peter Cook’s ‘Establishment’ club and on ‘That Was the Week That Was’, led to a resurgence in fortunes and another boom in Howerd’s fortunes. In the later 1960s and early 1970s, Howerd was in demand for stage musicals (‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’); film (including ‘Carry On’ appearances) and new TV ventures, including ‘Up Pompeii’. Associated London Scripts also had an array of new and exciting writing talent on their directors’ list, including Eric Sykes, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, Johnny Speight, Tony Hancock and Spike Miligan. In 1967, Associated London Scripts was sold to Robert Stigwood.
Howerd’s career continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s, with a series of ‘The Frankie Howerd Show’ in Canada in 1976, an appearance in the musical ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ in 1978, and numerous television, film and stage appearances throughout the 1980s. He also formed partnerships with new writers, including Barry Cryer, Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran and Barry Took.
During a Christmas trip to the Amazon River in 1991, Howerd contracted a virus which resulted in respiratory problems in April 1992. He collapsed and died of heart failure on 19 April 1992. At the time of his death, he was in another period of renewed popularity as an elder statesman of comedy, selling out performances at the Oxford Union and national theatre tours.

Boxes 1-36 are arranged in the order it was received by the Borthwick Institute in June 2021. Boxes 37-71 did not have an original order on receipt, but have been repackaged as found in June 2022. The archive was repackaged into archival quality packaging on arrival, and the catalogue entries reflect this structure.

Records are open to the public, subject to the overriding provisions of relevant legislation, including data protection laws. 24 hours' notice is required to access photographic material.

The archive was purchased by the Borthwick Institute in 2021. The acquisition was facilitated by Neil Pearson Rare Books Ltd with the generous support of the Friends of the National Libraries, V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Friends of the University of York Library and Archives, and Storey Fund for Library and Archives. The material in boxes 37-71 were transferred from Kaleidoscope (https://www.tvbrain.info/) in June 2022.

Frankie Howerd was born Francis Alick Howard on 6 March 1917, at the family home in Hartoft Street, York. His father, Francis Alfred William Howard, was a regular soldier stationed in the city, whilst his mother Edith worked at the Rowntree’s chocolate factory. Howerd spent the first two and a half years of his life living in the terraced house on Hartoft Street, before his father was posted to Woolwich and the family moved to Eltham, London. He was educated at Shooter’s Hill Grammar School.
Howerd first appeared on stage aged 13 and had hopes of becoming a dramatic actor, however he failed an audition for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He was called up to the British Army in 1940, and served in the Royal Artillery. He soon became very popular as an entertainer to his fellow troops. In 1946, after being demobbed from the army, Howerd appeared at the Stage Door Canteen in Piccadilly Circus, and was talent spotted by agent Stanley Dale, who worked for impresario Jack Payne. He was soon given a contract with them, and made his debut as a professional entertainer in a touring show entitled ‘For the Fun of It.’
In December 1946 Howerd made his radio debut on BBC Variety Bandbox, rising to almost immediate prominence. By the mid-1950s, he was a star on both radio and television, now working with Eric Sykes amongst others, and had formed Frankie Howerd Scripts Ltd (and later Associated London Scripts) with Dale and Sykes. An acrimonious breakup with his agent, however, was the catalyst for a decline in fortunes that very nearly brought an end to his career. In 1958, he met his life partner Dennis Heymer at the Dorchester Hotel. As homosexuality was banned in England and Wales until 1967, Howerd hid his sexuality from his audiences.
A new phase as a satirical comedian, with successful appearances at Peter Cook’s ‘Establishment’ club and on ‘That Was the Week That Was’, led to a resurgence in fortunes and another boom in Howerd’s fortunes. In the later 1960s and early 1970s, Howerd was in demand for stage musicals (‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’); film (including ‘Carry On’ appearances) and new TV ventures, including ‘Up Pompeii’. Associated London Scripts also had an array of new and exciting writing talent on their directors’ list, including Eric Sykes, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, Johnny Speight, Tony Hancock and Spike Miligan. In 1967, Associated London Scripts was sold to Robert Stigwood.
Howerd’s career continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s, with a series of ‘The Frankie Howerd Show’ in Canada in 1976, an appearance in the musical ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ in 1978, and numerous television, film and stage appearances throughout the 1980s. He also formed partnerships with new writers, including Barry Cryer, Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran and Barry Took.
During a Christmas trip to the Amazon River in 1991, Howerd contracted a virus which resulted in respiratory problems in April 1992. He collapsed and died of heart failure on 19 April 1992. At the time of his death, he was in another period of renewed popularity as an elder statesman of comedy, selling out performances at the Oxford Union and national theatre tours.

Good.

Created by L. Yeoman, 18.10.2021.
Revised by L. Yeoman in light of new material received, 09.06.2022.

A reprographics service is available to researchers. Copying will not be undertaken if there is any risk of damage to the document. Copies are supplied in accordance with the Borthwick Institute for Archives' terms and conditions for the supply of copies, and under provisions of any relevant copyright legislation. Permission to reproduce images of documents in the custody of the Borthwick Institute must be sought.

The collection has not yet been appraised, but some of the material in boxes 37-71 does not appear to relate to Frankie Howerd and may be returned to the depositor.

The scripts in the archive (boxes 1 - 36) were originally held by Frankie Howerd Scripts Ltd; whilst the contracts and correspondence were previously held by Tessa le Bars Management. The business records, fan mail and video and audio cassettes in boxes 37-71 were held by Tessa le Bars at her house before transfer to Kaleidoscope in c. 2010. Used in documentary 'Frankie Howerd: The Lost Tapes', by Gogglebox Production which led to some material being accidentally destroyed in 2013. Transferred to Borthwick on request of TLB in 2022.

Further accruals are not expected.

Further papers can be found in The Alan Ayckbourn Archive (AYCK), Barry Took Archive (BTOO) and the Marks and Gran Archive (MGRA).

The Frankie Howerd Archive: https://sites.google.com/york.ac.uk/frankie-howerd/home (published by University of York, 2021).

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