Prince Frank Littler

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(25 July 1901 – 1973) born Prince Frank Richeux, was an English theatre proprietor,

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. Hist ...

, and television executive.

Life and career

Littler was born in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, in the south east of England, the elder son in the family of five children of Jules Richeux (1863–1911), a cigar importer, and his wife, Agnes May, ''née'' Paisey (b. 1874). Richeux became a theatrical proprietor, leasing the Ramsgate Victoria Pavilion from 1906, while Agnes Richeux leased the Artillery Theatre, Woolwich, from 1909. After Richeux's death, his widow married, in 1914, the theatre manager Frank Rolison Littler (1879–1940), who adopted the five children, all of whom took his surname. Morley, Sheridan
"Littler, Prince Frank (1901–1973)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, October 2009, retrieved 5 August 2014 The younger son Emile, and one of the daughters, Blanche, also went into theatrical management. With Blanche, Littler started a theatrical career in 1927, assembling small companies for provincial tours. After a stint as resident manager of his parents' theatre in Woolwich, he became an independent theatre owner in 1931, buying two theatres in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. The following year he married a widow, Annie Leonora Maclachlan, an actress, professionally known as Norah Delaney. There were no children of the marriage. Over the following years he bought theatres in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. His first London productions were pantomimes at the

Coliseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

, the Prince's, and

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

."Mr Prince Littler", ''The Times'', 14 September 1973, p. 18 Littler's West End shows included ''

Glamorous Night ''Glamorous Night'' is a musical with a book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall, Novello's collaborator in six of the eight Novello musicals staged between 1935 and 1951. ''Glamorous Night'' was the first of severa ...

'' (1936), ''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song " Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a ...

'' (1950); ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

'', (1951); ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'' (1953), '' Can-Can'' (1954), ''

The Black and White Minstrel Show ''The Black and White Minstrel Show'' was a British light entertainment show that ran for twenty years on BBC prime-time television. Running from 1958 to 1978, it was a weekly variety show that presented traditional American minstrel and countr ...

'' and '' Fiddler on the Roof '' (both 1966). He presented more than 200 pantomimes in the regions, but unlike his younger brother, Emile, he played no part in writing any of his pantomimes, and concentrated wholly on the business side of the theatre. Littler was chairman and managing director of three major theatre groups, chairman of a fourth (

Moss Empires Moss Empires was a company formed in Edinburgh in 1899, from the merger of the theatre companies owned by Sir Edward Moss, Richard Thornton and Sir Oswald Stoll. This created the largest chain of variety theatres and music halls in the United K ...

). From the beginning of commercial television in the UK, he was a major shareholder in

Associated Television Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and ...

. He was a member of the council of the Theatrical Managers' Association, and vice-president of the boards of the Society of West End Theatre Managers, Denville Home for Aged Actors and Actresses and the Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund. He served on the boards of the South Bank Theatre and the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

. In 1957, Littler was appointed

.Gaye, pp. 884–885 He retired from production in 1966, and died at his home in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in 1973 at the age of 72.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Littler, Prince 1901 births 1973 deaths British television executives British theatre managers and producers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Impresarios ITV people