Author: Gary Wharton
Publisher: Gary Wharton
Date: June 2024
ISBN-13: 978-1-99-990836-2 (UK edition)
Contact the author at: vetchbook@yahoo.co.uk
to order!
To Be Frank is the authorised biography of Frank Thornton.
‘You won’t do any good until you’re 40,’ was the advice given to a young Frank Thornton by farceur Robertson Hare.
That prediction came true when Frank joined Michael Bentine’s It’s A Square World in 1961, and by the time Are You Being Served? propelled Frank to stardom in 1972 he was considered a veteran of stage and screen. When the curtain came down on his career in 2012, he had become one of the most recognisable actors in Britain. All this despite shying away from fame, preferring to work in the shadows of such comedy giants as Tony Hancock, Harry Worth, Tommy Cooper, Benny Hill, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett and Morecambe and Wise.
In To Be Frank… Brian tells the full story of Frank Thornton’s career, with access to family archives and Frank’s own journals and letters. From his early days performing Shakespeare with Donald Wolfit to his lengthy stay in Last of the Summer Wine, via the RAF, a career-threatening speech impediment and the worldwide popularity of Captain Peacock – all with his beloved wife Beryl by his side. With contributions from his daughter, Jane, and friends and colleagues including Alan Titchmarsh MBE, Julian Clary, Noel Edmonds, Gyles Brandreth, Richard Bentine and David MacGillivray, To Be Frank… shines the spotlight on a man too humble to crave stardom, but who became one of the most famous faces on British television.
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“Best of the Britcoms”
Author: Garry Berman
Publisher: Natl Book Network
Date: September 1, 1999
ISBN-0-87833-160-3
“Of all the fun jumpers I’ve worn on television it is the pattern for this
one that has been most sought-after by viewers. It’s a personal favorite that
I sometimes wear back to front-so that I can say that I’ve got a
bear behind! It looks good on me, but it looks even better on John Inman.”
“Cockatoos are superb, stylish, sophisticated creatures which come from Australia,
New Guinea and the Phillippines. John Inman is superb, stylish, sophisticated
and comes from Blackpool. Overleaf he’s modelling one of my favorite Wit Knits.
I hope you like it too.”
(Images and quotes used with the permission of the author Gyles Brandreth).
Some Joe You Don’t Know: An American Biographical Guide to 100 British Television Personalities
Author: Anthony Slide
Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group
Date: 1996
ISBN-10: 0313295506
ISBN-13: 9780313295508
# of pages: 271 pages
