Frankie Howerd

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