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Frank Howson

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Frank Howson
Born
Frank Michael Howson
Other namesFrankie Howson
Occupation(s)Film director, producer, screenwriter.
Record producer, singer, songwriter.
Theatre producer, director, script writer.
Years active1959 - present
Spouse(s)Lisa Waters (m. fl. 1976),
Lynn Murphy (m. ? -c. 1997) divorced,
Terri Garber (m. 2001-2002) divorced
ChildrenOliver (b. 1991, to Lynn Howson)
AwardsMelbourne Underground Film Festival 2006 Best Short Film Award[1] (Note: co-winner with Penny by John King)[2]
Websitehttp://www.myspace.com/frankhowson

Frank Howson (born Frank Michael Howson[4][5] 1952, Melbourne, Australia)[3] has had a career in entertainment. He directed Flynn (1996) on the early life of Errol Flynn and Hunting (1991).[6] Howson, with Peter Boyle, helped establish Boulevard Films which produced thirteen films from Boulevard of Broken Dreams (1988) to Flynn; besides producing for Boulevard Films, Howson often wrote scripts and directed.[7]

Early years

Howson started in show business when he was seven.[3] After leaving school, Christian Brothers College, St. Kilda (1963–1967), Howson's first job was with Melbourne radio station 3UZ as office boy. Eventually promoted to panel operator, he worked on John McMahon's popular weekly show Radio Auditions (see 3UZ). Whenever not enough acts showed up, young Frank was summoned to perform under made up names. During this period Howson was nicknamed 'Magical Frank'[8] when asked to perform on a pilot for a TV talent show by 3UZ's Jimmy Hannan.

Recording artist

DJ Stan Rofe signed Howson to a recording deal and produced his first single: Seventeen Ain't Young (written by Jeff Barry)[4] / Hide and seek (Richie Adams, Mark Barkan)[4] performed by "Frankie Howson" (1969)[9] who was seventeen during recording, it became a Top 40 hit in Melbourne. Barry, Adams and Barkan were all involved in The Archies, both songs were on their first album, The Archies, and are described as Bubblegum Pop.

Howson released two other singles This Night (Howson, Kenneth Firth, Miller)[4] and 1983 The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (John Capek, Howson).[4][10]

Music publisher

Howson was manager of the Australian branch of German-based I.C. Records to publish musical works (including his own) distributed by EMI. He signed New Romantic band Pseudo Echo and co-wrote their songs ‘’Autumnal Park’’ and ‘’Destination Unknown’’ with Tony Lugton,[5] they later had a 1987 #1 hit in Australia with their version of Funky Town. I.C. Records scored 3 national hits in Australia in its first 12 months of operation. Howson and Peter Boyle were Executive Producers[10] for John Paul Young's 1983 hit Soldier of Fortune (John Capek, Marc Jordan)[4] reaching #15[11].

Howson and Allan Zavod wrote Time Can't Keep Us Apart[4] which won the 1987 Asian Popular Song contest performed by Kate Ceberano[12] to an estimated TV audience of 500 million.

Theatre Works

Frank Howson began his career as stage actor, singer and dancer, and appeared in 21 major productions (including the Australian production of Oliver!) before turning 21.[13] In the early 1970s, Howson met fellow actor Barry Ferrier while they were both appearing in the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and the two men subsequently collaborated on a number of theatre-related projects. The first of these was a children's musical entitled The Faraway Land of Magical Frank, which was produced at the Toral Theatre in Melbourne in January 1976.[14] A studio cast album of the show's score was recorded at the time, with performers including Reg Livermore and John Paul Young, but it was never commercially released. Later that year, Howson and Ferrier released a concept recording of a follow-up children's musical, entitled The Boy who dared to dream, performed by Trevor White, pop singer Mark Holden and actors John Waters and Tommy Dysart. The first staged production of the show (featuring some of the actors from the concept recording) was mounted in Melbourne in January 1978, with a second production in May 1981.[15] In 1979, Howson and Ferrier collaborated on an ambitious opera about notorious pre-War Melbourne criminal Squizzy Taylor. The project received attention after a radio performance was broadcast on the ABC and 3CR, but plans for a full-scale stage production were subsequently abandoned when a rival producer announced his intention to make a film based on Taylor's life.

Frank Howson went on to create two more childen's musicals, without Ferrier's involvement: Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp (music by Robert Gavin, 1981) and Sinbad the Sailor: The Last Adventure (music by Ian McKean, 1982). Both were initially staged at the Alexander Theatre at Monash University, which had regularly presented original children's musicals (some written by Peter Pinne and Don Battye since the mid-1970s.

From Errol Street to Broken Boulevard

Boulevard Films was a production company on Errol St, North Melbourne.[16] Executive producer was usually Peter Boyle (sometimes Malcolm Oliverstone or George Birch), with Barbi Taylor as associate/line producer; some films were co-produced with James Michael Vernon.[3]

Howson wrote, produced, acted in and directed various Boulevard Films; they were nominated for 13 AFI awards and sold internationally to such companies as Miramax, Paramount, Warners, J&M Entertainment, Disney, and American Broadcasting Corp.[3]

Boulevard’s notable productions include:

Some Boulevard Films listed at Internet Movie Database did not have a general release, e.g. The Final Stage (1995)[18] had its 'World Premiere' ten years later at Melbourne Underground Film Festival 2005.[19]

Howson moved to Hollywood in 1997 after a falling out with his business partner and the collapse of Boulevard Films.[1]

Personal life

Howson has been married three times:

  1. Lisa Waters (fl. 1976)
  2. Lynn Murphy (1983–1999) Their son, Oliver Howson was born in 1991.
  3. Terri Garber (2001–2002)

Howson has been debilitated, at times, by Spasmodic Dysphonia which affects his voice; it is periodically mitigated by Botox injections into his larynx. His gravelly voice can be heard in a 2005 radio interview with Paul Harris and Brett Cropley of 3RRR on Film Buffs' Forecast.[8]

John Michael Howson is his cousin.

Subsequent career

Hollywood Hiatus

Howson was on the Crystal Prix Jury for the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. From 1997 to 2005 Howson worked and lived in Hollywood. He served on the Board of Directors for the Starlight Children’s Foundation of California.

Mr. Insincere, (written / performed by Howson)[4] appears in the Disney movie Burn Hollywood Burn (1998), starring Eric Idle (as Alan Smithee) and Ryan O'Neal; with Whoopi Goldberg, Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone, and Robert Evans.[20] Howson was asked by Steven Berkoff to direct the TV version of Berkoff’s international hit theatre show Shakespeare's Villains (2002).[3]

Recently Howson has completed writing his memoirs on the film industry[8] A Life in the Circus, and wrote songs for Steve Housden's (Little River Band lead guitarist) solo album.

MUFF & More

Richard Wolstencroft formed MUFF in 2000 and appointed Howlson as President of the Jury.[8] Boulevard Films' The Intruder (directed by Wolstencroft) and The Final Stage (directed by Howson) were both presented at the 2005 festival.[8] The following year saw Howson's film Remembering Nigel tie with Penny by John King for MUFF's 2006 Best Short Film award.[2]

Howson directed the Caryl Churchill play A Number for its Melbourne premiere in 2005.

In 2008 Rhonda Burchmore is due to perform her one-woman show Cry Me A River – The World of Julie London (written/directed by Howson). He has acted (and script editor) in a new Wolstencroft film The Beautiful and Damned (2008, in post-production).[3][21]

Howson currently serves as a board member of Open Channel, a non-profit organisation that supports young filmmakers. Recently Howson was invited to direct the premiere production of the short play The Replacement Son for the Short and Sweet festival at Melbourne's Arts Centre in December '07.

Some excerpts from Howson's film Flynn can be seen in the new documentary on the life of Errol Flynn, The Tasmanian Devil.

The new release book The Actors' Handbook by Marnie Hill, published by AT2, contains an interview with him.

He is currently preparing a New York workshop for January 2009 for his new musical, Dream Lover. The opening song is composed by Howson and P.F. Sloan.

References

  1. ^ a b "Something to shout about". The Age Lawrence Money, Bridie Smith (20 July 2006). Retrieved 2007-09-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Bad Lit 'Even More MUFF'". Mike Everleth (22 July 2006). Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Internet Movie Database entry on Frank Howson (I)". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  5. ^ a b "The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers". ASCAP. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
  6. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes entry on Frank Howson". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  7. ^ "IMDb entry on Boulevard Films". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Film Buffs' Forecast (2 July 2005) podcast". Paul Harris and Brett Cropley of radio 3RRR. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  9. ^ "The Sixties: Australian rock & pop recordings, 1964-1969 PDF p 134" (PDF). Ross Laird (1999), accessed from National Film and Sound Archive on-line. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  10. ^ a b "Australian Library Collections". Libraries Australia, National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Miles was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ PDF "Kate Ceberano wins 1987 Asian Popular Song Contest". Ralph Carr Management. Retrieved 2007-09-20. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  13. ^ "AusStage - Gateway to the Australian Performing Arts". AusStage (contributor Frank Howson). Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  14. ^ XLS "Australian Stage Database cites The Faraway Land of Magical Frank performed at the Total Theatre as reviewed by Sally White, (1 February 1976), The Age p2". AusStage. Retrieved 2007-09-20. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  15. ^ "Gateway to the Australian Performing Arts". AusStage (contributor Frank Howson). Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  16. ^ "Actors Feature Film Award 1979". Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  17. ^ "IMDb plot summary for What the Moon Saw". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  18. ^ "IMDb The Final Stage entry". Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  19. ^ "Melbourne Underground Film Festival 2005 Director's statement". Richard Wolstencroft. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  20. ^ "IMDb entry on [[An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn]] (1998)". Retrieved 2007-09-21. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter |producer= ignored (help)
  21. ^ "IMDb entry on Frank Howson (II)". Retrieved 2007-09-21. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |producer= ignored (help)

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