Freddie Frinton (born Frederick Bittiner Coo;
[According to the NDR, and the General Record Office (Births, Marriages, Deaths) Frinton's birth name was Coo.][General Register Office: Register of Births – Mar 1909 7a _7 Grimsby – Frederick Bittiner Coo] 17 January 1909 – 16 October 1968) was an English
comedian
A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...
, and
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
and television actor. He is primarily remembered today as a household name in several
Central Europe
Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
an countries for his 1963 television comedic sketch entitled ''
Dinner for One'', a perennial national television broadcast New Year's Eve favourite there, whilst being largely forgotten in his home country.
Early life
Frinton was born in Hainton Avenue,
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...
,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
, the child of a
seamstress, Florence Elisabeth Coo (born 1892), and was brought up by
foster parent
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family memb ...
s. He started working in a Grimsby
fish processing plant, where he is said to have entertained his colleagues with parodies and jokes, but was eventually sacked. He moved into music hall, where he enjoyed modest success and renamed himself Freddie Frinton.
Career
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he made a moderate breakthrough as a comedian. In 1945, Frinton first performed the sketch ''Dinner for One'' in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
. As he had to pay a royalty every time he performed the sketch, he bought the rights to ''Dinner for One'' in the 1950s, which turned out to be a fateful decision.
In 1964, at the age of 55, Frinton became a belated success as the
plumber
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems. husband in the popular television
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''
Meet the Wife'', which ran for 40 episodes (the wife was played by
Thora Hird).
''Dinner for One''
In 1963, Frinton's ''
Dinner for One'' was recorded by the
Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) German television station. The role of Miss Sophie was played by
May Warden. Watching the English language sketch on television has subsequently become a Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Austrian, Finnish, and Swiss
New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...
tradition, with multiple repeats of the comedy short being shown every year from 1972 onwards.
''Dinner for One'' also found fame in Scandinavia where it has been a hugely popular institution on Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian and Swedish television on New Year's Eve for many years, as well as in Belgium in the original version. It has become so popular that several versions in various
German dialects have been produced and a version was made for
Dutch viewers, with the Dutch actor
Joop Doderer playing Frinton's role. It is shown every 23 December on Norwegian television (
NRK since 1980), and has been shown on the Australian
SBS television network on New Year's Eve for at least the last fifteen years. It also became a family tradition in South Africa when the
SABC
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...
aired it every New Year's Eve during the 1980s and 1990s. The TV short and its main actor Frinton are far less renowned in
Britain than in any of these countries.
Although Frinton originated from Lincolnshire, England, his most famous comedy short had never been shown in full on British television until 2018. It received its first UK screening on 23 November 2018 (more than 50 years after it was made) at the
Picture House in
Campbeltown
Campbeltown (; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port.
The 2018 populatio ...
,
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...
, as part of a comedy film festival. The skit was broadcast to a British audience for the first time on Grimsby local TV channel ‘Estuary TV’. It was first shown nationwide on 31 December 2018 on the
Sky Arts channel.
Personal life
Although he was an actor whose roles often comprised playing being inebriated, Frinton was
teetotal in real life, having seen in others the damage that alcohol could do.
Frinton was married twice and had five children. His first marriage was to Maisie Basil in 1931; they had one son together. His second wife was Nora Gratton, whom he married in 1945. They had four children: two daughters and two sons.
Death
On 16 October 1968, Frinton died unexpectedly from a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
in London at the age of 59. His body was buried in the
City of Westminster Cemetery, in London.
Partial filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frinton, Freddie
1909 births
1968 deaths
English male comedians
English male actors
Actors from Grimsby
British music hall performers
20th-century English male actors
20th-century English comedians
Comedians from Lincolnshire
Male actors from Lincolnshire