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Blackpool Wonderful Blackpool By Donald Auty
But Frank was mentally unstable a very sick man and could probably have received successful treatment in these present times but back in the forties and fifties there was nothing. He became unreliable and would stand at the back of the stalls and watch his understudy go on for him. His drinking became a great problem and he would smash up dressing rooms in drunken rages. He swore at the audience at the Shepherds Bush Empire and was banned from the Moss and Stoll tour. He was prosecuted many times in the Blackpool Magistrates Courts for breaking the Sunday observance laws and using material that was not licensed by the Lord Chamberlain and Jack Taylor was prosecuted along with him, being producer of the shows, and they both had to pay hefty fines a number of times. He drove his car down the tram tracks after staying in his dressing room drinking until three o'clock in the morning at the Central Pier and collided with a tram that ran during the night sweeping the tracks. Jack had to finally let him go when Frank plucked a fire axe from the wall at the back of the stalls at the Hippodrome and chased him round the theatre shouting "I'll fettle thee Jack Taylor". In the mid fifties Randle was made bankrupt by the income tax authorities for non payment of tax for many years and was more or less unemployable but Jack Taylor kept an eye open for him right to the end. Josef Locke was almost as much trouble and would go missing for days on end. One Christmas Jack had both of them in pantomime at the Hulme Hippodrome in Manchester. There were only four performances throughout the season when they were both on stage for a full show. During the years after the war Roy Barbour had presented a concert party style entertainment along with a well loved local artiste Terry Wilson. At the Central Pier. By 1950 names were needed in order to compete with the many other theatres in the town. Jack took the place over and decked it out with drapes like the Hippodrome. The theatre was small with a tiny stage but Jack produced a full blown production show starring Frankie Howard in conjunction with Henry Hall the well known band leader that played to capacity business for 16 weeks. |
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Donald
Peers was another regular bill topper at the South Pier as was Frank
Randle, the enfant terrible of the Northern Variety Theatre. Jack
First discovered Frank in the middle thirties when he was doing a
comic strong man double act. He booked him as a single comedy act
and gave him his big break in 'King Fun' at the 
