Frank Randle - Revision history

Kurt at 14:02, 3 February 2023

2023-02-03T14:02:25Z

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	~~{{Short description\|English comedian (1901–1957)}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=February 2022}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=August 2012}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| image = Frank Randle.jpg		\| image = Frank Randle.jpg
	~~\| imagesize = 220px~~
	\| name = Frank Randle		\| name = Frank Randle
	\| birth_name = Arthur Hughes		\| birth_name = Arthur Hughes

Kurt: /* External links */

2023-01-18T15:42:19Z

External links

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	==External links==		==External links==
	* {{IMDb name\|0709814\|Frank Randle}}		* {{IMDb name\|0709814\|Frank Randle}}

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Randle, Frank}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Randle, Frank}}

Kurt at 22:01, 23 August 2022

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	{{Short description\|English comedian (1901–1957)}}		{{Short description\|English comedian (1901–1957)}}
	~~{{More footnotes\|date=May 2015}}~~
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=February 2022}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=February 2022}}
	{{Use British English\|date=August 2012}}		{{Use British English\|date=August 2012}}

Kurt at 21:53, 23 August 2022

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	{{Short description\|English comedian (1901–1957)}}		{{Short description\|English comedian (1901–1957)}}
	~~{{Redirect\|Arthur McEvoy\|the Canadian politician\|Arthur J. McEvoy\|the Olympic cricketer\|Arthur MacEvoy}}~~
	{{More footnotes\|date=May 2015}}		{{More footnotes\|date=May 2015}}
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	\| birth_name = Arthur Hughes		\| birth_name = Arthur Hughes
	\| birth_date = {{birth date\|1901\|01\|30\|df=y}}		\| birth_date = {{birth date\|1901\|01\|30\|df=y}}
	\| birth_place = [[Aspull]], England		\| birth_place = [[w:Aspull\|Aspull]], England
	\| death_date = {{death date and age\|1957\|07\|07\|1901\|01\|30\|df=y}}		\| death_date = {{death date and age\|1957\|07\|07\|1901\|01\|30\|df=y}}
	\| death_place = [[Blackpool]], England		\| death_place = [[w:Blackpool\|Blackpool]], England
	\| occupation = Comedian/Comic actor		\| occupation = Comedian/Comic actor
	\| yearsactive =		\| yearsactive =
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	}}		}}

	'''Frank Randle''' (born Arthur Hughes, also known as '''Arthur McEvoy''' or '''Arthur Twist'''; 30 January 1901 – 7 July 1957) was an English comedian.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f230a15\|title=Frank Randle}}</ref> A contemporary of fellow [[Lancashire\|Lancastrians]] [[George Formby, Jr.\|George Formby]] and [[Gracie Fields]], he was regarded as more subversive.<ref name=independent>{{cite news\|last=Wareham\|first=Mark\|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy-perfectly-frank-frank-randle-eschewed-the-stereotyped-comedy-of-his-wigan-peers-but-became-1394468.html\|title=Perfectly Frank: Frank Randle eschewed the stereotyped comedy\|newspaper=The Independent\|date=16 February 1994\|access-date=12 July 2022}}</ref>		'''Frank Randle''' (born Arthur Hughes, also known as '''Arthur McEvoy''' or '''Arthur Twist'''; 30 January 1901 – 7 July 1957) was an English comedian.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f230a15\|title=Frank Randle}}</ref> A contemporary of fellow [[w:Lancashire\|Lancastrians]] [[w:George Formby, Jr.\|George Formby]] and [[Gracie Fields]], he was regarded as more subversive.<ref name=independent>{{cite news\|last=Wareham\|first=Mark\|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy-perfectly-frank-frank-randle-eschewed-the-stereotyped-comedy-of-his-wigan-peers-but-became-1394468.html\|title=Perfectly Frank: Frank Randle eschewed the stereotyped comedy\|newspaper=The Independent\|date=16 February 1994\|access-date=12 July 2022}}</ref>

	==Life and career==		==Life and career==
	Randle was born in [[Aspull]], near [[Wigan]], Lancashire, to an unmarried Rhoda Heathcoate Hughes. He left school aged 13 and worked in menial jobs until two years later when he joined an [[acrobatics\|acrobatic]] troupe.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/randle.htm\|title=Frank Randle & Josef Locke}}</ref> He took the name Arthur McEvoy after his mother married Richard McEvoy. In 1928, Randle began to tour as a comedian, principally in Lancashire and Northern England.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.mislaidcomedyheroes.com/frank-randle\|title=mislaid-comedyheroes}}</ref> Randle appeared on stage carrying a red warning lamp, similar to the type found around road works, declaring "Look what some dam'd fool left in’t road".{{sfnp\|Mather\|2003\|p=19\|ps=}} He developed his own show, ''Randle's Scandals'', which in the 1950s featured [[Roy Castle]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/90b402cadc19415da34e99127826e132\|title=Leave 'em Laughing: The Roy Castle Story – BBC Radio 4 FM – 13 March 2005 – BBC Genome}}</ref>		Randle was born in [[w:Aspull\|Aspull]], near [[w:Wigan\|Wigan]], Lancashire, to an unmarried Rhoda Heathcoate Hughes. He left school aged 13 and worked in menial jobs until two years later when he joined an [[acrobatics\|acrobatic]] troupe.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/randle.htm\|title=Frank Randle & Josef Locke}}</ref> He took the name Arthur McEvoy after his mother married Richard McEvoy. In 1928, Randle began to tour as a comedian, principally in Lancashire and Northern England.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.mislaidcomedyheroes.com/frank-randle\|title=mislaid-comedyheroes}}</ref> Randle appeared on stage carrying a red warning lamp, similar to the type found around road works, declaring "Look what some dam'd fool left in’t road".{{sfnp\|Mather\|2003\|p=19\|ps=}} He developed his own show, ''Randle's Scandals'', which in the 1950s featured [[Roy Castle]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/90b402cadc19415da34e99127826e132\|title=Leave 'em Laughing: The Roy Castle Story – BBC Radio 4 FM – 13 March 2005 – BBC Genome}}</ref>

	Randle's mischievous wit led to a running conflict with Harry Barnes, a police chief of the Lancashire seaside resort of [[Blackpool]], who frequently banned him from performing in the town's venues. He was prosecuted in 1952 on four charges of obscenity and fined £10 on each count.<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Kynaston\|first1=David\|title=Family Britain 1951-7\|date=2009\|publisher=Bloomsbury\|location=London\|isbn=9780747583851\|page=109}}<!--\|accessdate=23 August 2015--></ref> Randle responded to his critics in robust fashion, frequently throwing his false teeth into the audience and once bombarding Blackpool from an aeroplane with toilet rolls (according to an episode of ''Rude Britannia'', broadcast by the BBC on 15 June 2010, the toilet roll bombardment actually took place over [[Accrington]], not Blackpool).<ref>{{cite news\|last=Moore\|first=Charles\|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/7858215/A-largely-academic-view-of-British-bawdy.html\|title=A largely academic view of British bawdy\|newspaper=The Telegra[ph\|date=28 June 2010\|access-date=12 July 2022}}</ref> Randle's police charge sheet is lodged with [[Lancashire Archives]].<ref>Lancashire Archives, PLA, accession 6401</ref>		Randle's mischievous wit led to a running conflict with Harry Barnes, a police chief of the Lancashire seaside resort of [[w:Blackpool\|Blackpool]], who frequently banned him from performing in the town's venues. He was prosecuted in 1952 on four charges of obscenity and fined £10 on each count.<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Kynaston\|first1=David\|title=Family Britain 1951-7\|date=2009\|publisher=Bloomsbury\|location=London\|isbn=9780747583851\|page=109}}<!--\|accessdate=23 August 2015--></ref> Randle responded to his critics in robust fashion, frequently throwing his false teeth into the audience and once bombarding Blackpool from an aeroplane with toilet rolls (according to an episode of ''Rude Britannia'', broadcast by the BBC on 15 June 2010, the toilet roll bombardment actually took place over [[w:Accrington\|Accrington]], not Blackpool).<ref>{{cite news\|last=Moore\|first=Charles\|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/7858215/A-largely-academic-view-of-British-bawdy.html\|title=A largely academic view of British bawdy\|newspaper=The Telegra[ph\|date=28 June 2010\|access-date=12 July 2022}}</ref> Randle's police charge sheet is lodged with [[Lancashire Archives]].<ref>Lancashire Archives, PLA, accession 6401</ref>

	On the outbreak of the Second World War, having failed his medical to join the [[Royal Air Force\|RAF]], Randle joined the [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)\|Home Guard]] and established a career in film. His iconoclastic portrayal of the underdog, flouting authority and disrupting the establishment, found a ready audience in a population suffering the privations of war. He took equity in [[John E. Blakeley]]'s [[Manchester]]-based [[Mancunian Films\|Mancunian Film Studios]], appearing in eight of its productions. In his last film, ''[[It's a Grand Life]]'' (1953), his co-star was [[Diana Dors]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/its-a-grand-life-v96919\|title=It's a Grand Life (1953) – John E. Blakeley – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related – AllMovie}}</ref>		On the outbreak of the Second World War, having failed his medical to join the [[w:Royal Air Force\|RAF]], Randle joined the [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)\|Home Guard]] and established a career in film. His iconoclastic portrayal of the underdog, flouting authority and disrupting the establishment, found a ready audience in a population suffering the privations of war. He took equity in [[John E. Blakeley]]'s [[Manchester]]-based [[Mancunian Films\|Mancunian Film Studios]], appearing in eight of its productions. In his last film, ''[[It's a Grand Life]]'' (1953), his co-star was [[Diana Dors]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/its-a-grand-life-v96919\|title=It's a Grand Life (1953) – John E. Blakeley – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related – AllMovie}}</ref>

	[[File:frankrandle'sgrave.jpg\|thumb\|right\|Frank Randle's grave]]		[[File:frankrandle'sgrave.jpg\|thumb\|right\|Frank Randle's grave]]

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-08-23T21:48:56Z

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en>Philip Cross: ce

2022-07-12T11:54:41Z

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{{Short description|English comedian (1901–1957)}}
{{Redirect|Arthur McEvoy|the Canadian politician|Arthur J. McEvoy|the Olympic cricketer|Arthur MacEvoy}}
{{More footnotes|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Frank Randle.jpg
| imagesize = 220px
| name = Frank Randle
| birth_name = Arthur Hughes
| birth_date = {{birth date|1901|01|30|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Aspull]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1957|07|07|1901|01|30|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Blackpool]], England
| occupation = Comedian/Comic actor
| yearsactive =
| spouse = May Annie Victoria Douglas
}}

'''Frank Randle''' (born Arthur Hughes, also known as '''Arthur McEvoy''' or '''Arthur Twist'''; 30 January 1901 – 7 July 1957) was an English comedian.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f230a15|title=Frank Randle}}</ref> A contemporary of fellow [[Lancashire|Lancastrians]] [[George Formby, Jr.|George Formby]] and [[Gracie Fields]], he was regarded as more subversive.<ref name=independent>{{cite news|last=Wareham|first=Mark|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy-perfectly-frank-frank-randle-eschewed-the-stereotyped-comedy-of-his-wigan-peers-but-became-1394468.html|title=Perfectly Frank: Frank Randle eschewed the stereotyped comedy|newspaper=The Independent|date=16 February 1994|access-date=12 July 2022}}</ref>

==Life and career==
Randle was born in [[Aspull]], near [[Wigan]], Lancashire, to an unmarried Rhoda Heathcoate Hughes. He left school aged 13 and worked in menial jobs until two years later when he joined an [[acrobatics|acrobatic]] troupe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/randle.htm|title=Frank Randle & Josef Locke}}</ref> He took the name Arthur McEvoy after his mother married Richard McEvoy. In 1928, Randle began to tour as a comedian, principally in Lancashire and Northern England.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mislaidcomedyheroes.com/frank-randle|title=mislaid-comedyheroes}}</ref> Randle appeared on stage carrying a red warning lamp, similar to the type found around road works, declaring "Look what some dam'd fool left in’t road".{{sfnp|Mather|2003|p=19|ps=}} He developed his own show, ''Randle's Scandals'', which in the 1950s featured [[Roy Castle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/90b402cadc19415da34e99127826e132|title=Leave 'em Laughing: The Roy Castle Story – BBC Radio 4 FM – 13 March 2005 – BBC Genome}}</ref>

Randle's mischievous wit led to a running conflict with Harry Barnes, a police chief of the Lancashire seaside resort of [[Blackpool]], who frequently banned him from performing in the town's venues. He was prosecuted in 1952 on four charges of obscenity and fined £10 on each count.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kynaston|first1=David|title=Family Britain 1951-7|date=2009|publisher=Bloomsbury|location=London|isbn=9780747583851|page=109}}</ref> Randle responded to his critics in robust fashion, frequently throwing his false teeth into the audience and once bombarding Blackpool from an aeroplane with toilet rolls (according to an episode of ''Rude Britannia'', broadcast by the BBC on 15 June 2010, the toilet roll bombardment actually took place over [[Accrington]], not Blackpool).<ref>{{cite news|last=Moore|first=Charles|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/7858215/A-largely-academic-view-of-British-bawdy.html|title=A largely academic view of British bawdy|newspaper=The Telegra[ph|date=28 June 2010|access-date=12 July 2022}}</ref> Randle's police charge sheet is lodged with [[Lancashire Archives]].<ref>Lancashire Archives, PLA, accession 6401</ref>

On the outbreak of the Second World War, having failed his medical to join the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]], Randle joined the [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)|Home Guard]] and established a career in film. His iconoclastic portrayal of the underdog, flouting authority and disrupting the establishment, found a ready audience in a population suffering the privations of war. He took equity in [[John E. Blakeley]]'s [[Manchester]]-based [[Mancunian Films|Mancunian Film Studios]], appearing in eight of its productions. In his last film, ''[[It's a Grand Life]]'' (1953), his co-star was [[Diana Dors]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/its-a-grand-life-v96919|title=It's a Grand Life (1953) – John E. Blakeley – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related – AllMovie}}</ref>

[[File:frankrandle'sgrave.jpg|thumb|right|Frank Randle's grave]]

With the decline of [[music hall|Variety]] in the 1950s, Randle's career declined. Pressed by debts and tax arrears, and suffering from the consequences of a life of [[alcohol abuse]], he was made [[bankrupt]] by the tax authorities in 1955.<ref name=independent/> He died in Blackpool of [[gastroenteritis]] in 1957 and is buried in [[Carleton Crematorium and Cemetery|Carleton Cemetery]], [[Blackpool]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41514137|title=Frank Randle (1901–1957) – Find A Grave Memorial}}</ref>

He had married May Annie Victoria Douglas, known as ''Queenie'', in 1928 in [[Greenwich]], London. There were no children but [[Manchester]] artist [[Arthur Delaney]] was alleged to be Randle's illegitimate son by fellow performer Genevieve Delaney (also known as Eve Delaney).

Randle's comedy achievement was celebrated in "Grin up North", a major touring exhibition that looked at the unique Northern sense of humour. He was most recently featured in an episode of BBC 4's ''Rude Britannia'' shown in June 2010.<ref name=independent/>

In 2007, a celebratory plaque paid for by members of the Cuthbert Club was unveiled to Randle on Blackpool's [[North Pier, Blackpool|North Pier]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/1902|title=Frank Randle blue plaque}}</ref> In 2010, the same organisation paid for the refurbishment of Randle's gravestone, which was unveiled in July 2010.

==Filmography==
* ''[[Somewhere in England (film)|Somewhere in England]]'' (1940)
* ''[[Somewhere in Camp]]'' (1942)
* ''[[Somewhere on Leave]]'' (1943)
* ''[[Somewhere in Civvies]]'' (1943)
* ''[[Home Sweet Home (1945 film)|Home Sweet Home]]'' (1945)
* ''[[Holidays with Pay]]'' (1948)
* ''[[When You Come Home]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Somewhere in Politics]]'' (1949)
* ''[[School for Randle]]'' (1949)
* ''[[It's a Grand Life]]'' (1953)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography and further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Mather |first=Geoffrey |title=Tacklers' Tales: A Humorous look at Lancashire |year=2003 |publisher=Palatine Books |isbn=978-1-874181-19-4}}
{{refend}}

* Nuttall, J. (1978) ''King Twist'', {{ISBN|978-0710089779}}
* Fisher, J. (1973) ''Funny Way to be a Hero'', {{ISBN|978-1848093133}}
* Band, B. (1995) ''Blackpool's Comedy Greats''
* Richards, J. (1994) ''Stars in our Eyes''
* Montgomery, J. (1954) ''Comedy Films : 1894–1954'', {{ISBN|9780047910180}}
* Mellor, J. G. (1982) ''They Made us Laugh'', ASIN: B00SLS58X2
* {{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Philip Martin |last2=Williams |first2=David L |title=Wired to the Moon: Frank Randle - A Life |year=2006 |publisher=History on Your Doorstep |isbn=978-0-9518012-5-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Philip Martin |last2=Williams |first2=David L |title=The Theatrical World of Arthur Twist: The Early Career of Frank Randle |year=2011 |publisher=History on Your Doorstep |isbn=978-0-9518012-7-7}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0709814|Frank Randle}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randle, Frank}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1957 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Aspull]]
[[Category:People from Wigan]]
[[Category:British male comedy actors]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]
[[Category:20th-century English screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:British Home Guard soldiers]]