Francie and Josie

Francie and Josie was a double act performed by Scottish comedians Jack Milroy as Francie and Rikki Fulton (of Scotch and Wry) as Josie. from 1958 - 1990's.

History

The Francie and Josie concept first appeared on The Five Past Eight Show in the Alhambra Theatre Glasgow during the 1958 season, and was a brainwave of Stanley Baxter, Stan Mars and Rikki Fulton. Over the season the idea grew and they refined the concept.^[1] Often there would be a sketch from Francie alone and a sketch from Josie alone and then the two together at the end.

In 1962 Scottish Television gave them their own show, The Adventures of Francie and Josie which also starred Clement Ashby, Glen Michael, and Ethel Scott (first wife of Rikki Fulton). The show became a hit, being broadcast by Border Television, Grampian Television, Tyne Tees and UTV, and resulted in the pair appearing at the opening of many British Relay TV rental shops. The first shop they opened, in Airdrie, caused such mayhem that crowds smashed the shop windows.^[1]

In 1965 the last series was produced, with the pair returning to The Five Past Eight Show the following year. Both Jack Milroy and Rikki Fulton were given their own show on Scottish Television. The double act toured around Scotland and also created a Panto. During 1970 the pair did a successful tour around Northern Ireland.

In 1970 they released an LP called Francie & Josie on PYE Golden Guinea

Episodes

Over its course 32 episodes were created between 1962 and 1965.

• S1: 1962: 6 episodes : The first series consisted of reworkings of the original stage scripts ^[2]
• S2: 1963: 13 episodes
• S3: 1965: 13 episodes

No copies of The Adventures of Francie and Josie survived. Much of Scottish Television's early output was wiped, and recorded over, a common practice in the television industry at the time.^[3]

Characters

• Francie McKenzie—Francie is seen as the less intelligent one of the pair but overrules Josie by telling jokes. He's more interested in "birds". He would often burst into laughter in the middle of Josie telling a story at something Josie says. The things he laughs at are usually not funny. Example: Josie: "I couldnae get a hud o' that Chinese waiter, ye know, the one wi' the funny walk." (Walk/Wok)^[1]
• Josie Tierney—Josie is the more intelligent one of the pair. He's interested in talking about culture and politics where Francie usually laughs at him. He would often muddle up his words to mean something utterly different. Example: Josie: "There's no wonder that Glasgow has been decimated the city of architecture."
• Auntie Jessie—Auntie Jessie is the somewhat dumb woman who looked after Francie and Josie after both of their families left their homes. She's usually mentioned a lot in the stage shows and has been played on stage by Mary Lee Milroy.
• Glen Michael—Glen Michael played many parts on the show, including Josie's cousin when Jack Milroy was ill

Stage

After the hugh success and public demand, Fulton suggested that he take over as scriptwriter as Mars was moving on to America. The latter agreed and licence to write the scripts.^[2] The stage show ran for over 30 years. The best-remembered stage shows are Francie and Josie (1989) and The Farewell Performance (1996). No others are listed. Francie and Josie would sing some songs, followed by a solo from Francie, then a piano tune from Josie, another song and then the famous Arbroath gag.

In popular culture

Boaby called Jack and Victor "Francie and Josie" to wind them up in a 2002 episode of Still Game.

References