Oooh Er, Missus! The Frankie Howerd Story, or Please Yourselves

This Arena documentary was made just a few years before Frankie Howerd died. It was made at a time when he had one of his regular career revivals. This time with the university crowd who might had caught him in some of the Carry On movies or repeats of Up Pompeii.

It starts off with Howerd rehearsing for a gig in a field with cows. This is interspersed with Howerd talking about his life, he was born in York but grew up in London.

After the war he got his big break in radio and became a star in the 1950s before he encountered money problems. He was ripped off by his management then fall out of public favour.

Only to be picked up by the emerging satirists. The likes of Ned Sherrin and Peter Cook saw something in his ramblings. On live television that could lead to the edge of danger as he knew he could not be easily cut off. However it was all well rehearsed, there was nothing bumbling about him.

Sitcom success in Up Pompeii cemented his reputation and made him a big star in the 1970s only for it to wane by the end of that decade. Howerd who was unable to be spontaneous was being overtaken by new alternative comedians.

In reflection this was sanitised. I only found out Howerd was gay after he had died. Only Max Bygraves and Michael Winner hinted at the real Frankie Howerd.

Bygraves talked about Howerd's money troubles. After all he had no wife, kids, mortgage, no car but wa stuck for cash. Winner lumped with a lot of other comedians who would be morose a lot of the time. Un able to crack a joke at the drop of a hat like Jimmy Tarbuck.

Nothing more about his private life, his long term relationship with Dennis Heymer, who became his manager.

Howerd's reputation took a hit when it emerged after his death that he was a sex pest. Often stripping naked in front of young men such as runners in the television industry and wanting a massage for his bad back.

This was a documentary in Howerd's own terms. He probably knew he did not have long to live and just offered a glimpse into his life but the dirt was missing.

Presented by Howerd himself, who is seen revisiting various places associated with his growing-up, as well as being interviewed, "Oooh er Missus" tells the story of the comedian. He was born in York, but his family soon moved to Eltham, South London, where he first began to perform at the Civic Hall (now the Bob Hope Theatre). After a wartime spent defending the Essex town of Southend, Howerd got his break as a member of a concert party, leading to a regular spot with the radio program VARIETY BANDBOX. A star at a comparatively young age, Howerd enjoyed a successful career until the late Fifties, when he suddenly fell out of favor. He ended up being involved in absolute turkeys such as Michael Winner's THE COOL MIKADO (1963), a modern update of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, in which he had to sing (and dismally failed). It was only when Peter Cook booked him for a season at the Establishment Club that his career revived; from then on, he became a regular fixture on stage and television, with such hits as THE FRANKIE HOWERD SHOW (1966) and UP POMPEII (1970).

In later life Howerd's reputation enjoyed something of a revival, as he became a cult among much younger audiences, most of whom had not been even thought of when he had performed at the Establishment Club. At the time this documentary was made (1990), he had just been engaged in a one-man show at London's Garrick Theatre, playing to packed houses.

What was perhaps most interesting about this documentary was Howerd's evasiveness; at no point did he seem particularly keen to discuss the highs and lows of his career. Rather he chose to change the subject, focusing on less contentious topics. It was only from friends and colleagues - including Eric Sykes, Max Bygraves, and June Whitfield - that we learned something of the complexities of Howerd's personality.

This documentary offered an interesting counterpoint to the biopic FRANKIE HOWERD: RATHER YOU THAN ME (2008), with David Walliams, which focused on the comedian's frustrated sexuality. This profile made no real reference to Howerd's private life, and by doing so underlined how reluctant the comedian was to talk about himself. Everything had to be focused on his public persona; the bumbling, apparently random monologues which were cleverly and intricately constructed, with every pause and caesura scripted and learned before Howerd went on the stage.