TELEVISION / More `ooh, ah, missus' than hits
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference."Oooh, noooh...listen...ah, no, oh...please yourselves." It doesn't quite work on paper, does it? And yet, it transpires in Heroes of Comedy (9pm C4), the majority of Frankie Howerd's interpolations were heavily scripted. The titter master would t irelessly recite his pieces until he reached the point where he would exercise such control over his oohs and aahs as to make them appear utterly shambolic.
Not that he was ever a slave to the page. Barry Cryer remembers the ongoing "ooh, no, missus" dilemma experienced by Howerd's scriptwriters: "If you didn't put them in, he'd say: `Where are they?', and if you did, he'd say `I do that'." An early "ooh" from 1949's Variety Bandbox illustrates just how little Howerd's trademark exclamations changed down the years. Not so his rug, which transformed itself from a neat boyish quiff (reminiscent of early Jonathan Ross) to an alarmingly precarious orange thatchcomplete with stick-on eyebrows.
His durability as a performer was unmatched by any other comic, as students wearing "Get Yer Titters Out" T-shirts at the time of his death would testify. Perhaps his greatest achievement was to survive nigh on half a century of comedy without ever once attempting what might be traditionally thought of as "a joke". If ever proof were needed that delivery is all, look no further than old camel face himself, Frankie Howerd.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments