Michael Howard (comedian)

Michael Howard
Born(1916-03-04)4 March 1916
Holywell Green, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died18 February 1988(1988-02-18) (aged 71)
London, England
Occupation(s)Actor and comedian
Spouse(s)Betty Kelly (1938–19 ?, divorce)
Peggy Evans (1949–1956, divorce)
June Howard (?–1967, divorce) [1]
Children3

Michael Howard (4 March 1916 – 18 February 1988) was a British actor and comedian.[2][3]

His parents were the Scottish Congregational minister, psychologist and academic John Grant McKenzie and Margaret Ann née Murray.[4]

He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed at various theatres in Britain and America.[5] He became a resident comic at the Windmill Theatre in London in 1941.[6]

He wrote and starred in a number of comedy shows for BBC Radio including For the Love of Mike, Leave it to the Boys, The Michael Howard Show and Here's Howard.[7][8] The last was adapted for BBC Television and was transmitted from 14 March to 20 June 1951.[9][10]

He married Betty Kelly in 1938, with whom he had one child, Harriet. They later divorced and in 1949 he married the actress Peggy Evans, with whom he had two children, Annabelle Howard and Ian Howard.[11][10]

The 1956 'Picture Show Who's Who on the Screen' Annual gives, on Page 71, the following titles of Howard's then most recent "Films": I See a Dark Stranger; It Always Rains on Sunday; A Sister to Assist 'Er; Front Page Story; and, Out of the Clouds.

  1. ^ "Newspaper clipping".
  2. ^ "Michael Howard". BFI. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Michael Howard". www.aveleyman.com.
  4. ^ "Dr. J. G. McKenzie", The Times (London), 20 May 1963, p. 16.
  5. ^ "Michael Howard - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  6. ^ "Michael Howard - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.
  7. ^ "Michael Howard in * FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE'". 25 October 1946. p. 23 – via BBC Genome.
  8. ^ "First House Michael Howard in 'HERE'S HOWARD'". 13 January 1950. p. 30 – via BBC Genome.
  9. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Here's Howard - BBC1 Stand-Up". British Comedy Guide.
  10. ^ a b "Peggy Evans, actress - obituary". 14 August 2015 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  11. ^ McFarlane, Brian (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781526111968 – via Google Books.