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

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

, and television executive.

Life and career

Littler was born in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, 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 area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. 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 and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. His first London productions were pantomimes at the Coliseum, the Prince's, and

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

."Mr Prince Littler", ''The Times'', 14 September 1973, p. 18 Littler's West End shows included '' Glamorous Night'' (1936), ''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and score by Frederick Loewe. The plot features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every 100 years; on ...

'' (1950); ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

'', (1951); ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, 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 Run ...

'' (1953), ''

Can-Can The can-can (also spelled cancan as in the original French /kɑ̃kɑ̃/) is a high-energy, physically demanding dance that became a popular music-hall dance in the 1840s, continuing in popularity in French cabaret to this day. Originally dance ...

'' (1954), ''

The Black and White Minstrel Show ''The Black and White Minstrel Show'' is a British light entertainment show on BBC prime-time television that ran from 1958 to 1978. The weekly variety show presented traditional American minstrel and country songs, as well as show tunes and m ...

'' 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 ...

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

Associated Television ATV Network Limited, originally Associated TeleVision (ATV), was a British broadcaster, part of the ITV (TV network), ITV (Independent Television) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on week ...

. 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 The Royal Variety Charity is a British charity based in Twickenham, London, England. It is dedicated to giving support to those who have professionally served the entertainment industry and find themselves sick, impoverished or elderly. The char ...

. He served on the boards of the South Bank Theatre and the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

. In 1957, Littler was appointed CBE.Gaye, pp. 884–885 He retired from production in 1966, and died at his home in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

in 1973 at the age of 72.

Notes

References

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