Ronald Frankau
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Ronald Frankau (22 February, 1894 - 11 September, 1951) was an English comedian and musician from London who started in cabarets and made his way to old-time radio and movies.
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[edit] Family
It is said that it was difficult to get much information about Ronald Frankau’s early life because, when asked about it, he would joke rather than divulge any personal information.
His father was Arthur Frankau, grandson of Joseph Frankau, a German Jew from Frankfurt who came to London in the late 1830’s and started a cigar trading business. Arthur married Julia Davis, who was a celebrated novelist of satirical books. Some of the titles include Pigs in Clover and An Incomplete Etonian. This may account for Ronald’s grasp of satire in his later work as a comedian.
They had four children, Gilbert, Jack, Ronald, and Joan. Gilbert went into the family trading business and his daughter, Pamela Frankau, became a novelist like her mother.
[edit] Early life
Frankau worked as a Chorus Boy at Daly's Theatre in London in 1911 and joined the army in 1914 to fight in World War I. During that time he continued his music and comedy ambitions, organizing his own concerts in Africa and the UK.
After the war he worked in night clubs and hotel lounges as an entertainer with both comical song and dance. It was then that he met performer Monte Crick, who would end up being his pianist in all his later recordings.
In 1925 he started broadcasting saucy jokes on the radio in an Etonian tone for the BBC, but is actually better known these days for what he was never allowed to broadcast. Frankau recorded a number of songs and skits on Parlophone, some of which, like Winnie the Worm and Everyone’s Got Sex Appeal For Someone, were banned altogether. Despite, or, because of this flavour in his songs, Frankau sold over 100,000 records in 1932.
Like most comedians, he often commented on the current events at the time, often in satire. Some of the songs he recorded regarding current events (the war, at that time) were ‘’Heil Hitler! Ja! Ja! Ja!’’ and ‘’The Navy The Army and The Police’’. Despite his dangerously naughty tones off the air, he was able to keep his jokes clean enough for some of the toughest censors of British Broadcasting at the time, including Baron Reith.
In 1934 Frankau began a comedy duo with a man named Tommy Handley that they called 'Murgatroyd and Winterbottom'.
On 7/11/2006 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a review of one of his partnerships - "Mr Murgatroyd and Mr Winterbottom" - 'The story of Tommy Handley and Ronald Frankau, a comedy partnership which had its heyday in the 1930s world of radio. There was no straight man, so the partnership was a rare one. Tommy was a fast talking Liverpudlian, while Ronald in contrast was upper class and Eton-educated. Presented by Nicholas Frankau, actor and grandson of Ronald.' http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/pip/cqry9/
[edit] Children’s Books
Frankau also published children’s books and poems. Here is one poem attributed to Frankau.
"If you'd like to hear a story of many years ago, Then gather round, good children, and I'll tell you all I know It's all about a princess who couldn't quite behave, And how a naughty ogre took that princess to his cave, And how the little princess was rescued by a prince, And how they've been so very very happy ever since.
Extraordinary! Wonderful! Fascinating! Queer! Marvellous! Incredible! Oh dear, dear "
'Oh Dear Dear and ‘'Crazy Omnibus' are titles of books written by Frankau.
[edit] Movie Credits
- (1947) Dual Alibi
- (1947) The Ghosts of Berkeley Square
- (1945) What Do We Do Now?
- (1942) Much Too Shy (credited as screenwriter)
- (1939) His Brother’s Keeper
- (1935) Radio Follies
- (1932) Bridegroom for Two
- (1932) The Other Mrs. Phipps
- (1931) Potiphar’s Wife
- (1931) The Skin Game
- (1931) Let’s Love and Laugh
