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Sally Ann Howes

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Sally Ann Howes

Sally Ann Howes is a British-born singer and actress, born July 20, 1930 in London, England. She holds a dual citizenship, having become a naturalized United States citizen. Her career on stage, screen and television has spanned over six decades. She is best remembered by many fans for the role of Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Biography

Sally Ann Howes was born to British comedian/actor/singer/variety star Bobby Howes (b. 1895, d. 1972) and actress/singer Patricia Malone (b. 1899, d. 1971). She is the granddaughter of Capt. J.A.E. Malone (d. 1928), London theatrical director of musicals, and she has an older brother, Peter Howes, a retired professional musician and music professor. Her great-grandfather, Joseph Malone, was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1854 during the Crimean War. Her uncle, Pat Malone, was an actor on stage, films, and television.

Early Life and Childhood Film Career

Born in St. Johns Wood, London and later moving to the family's country house in Essendon, Hertfordshire for the duration of World War II, Sally Ann Howes was a show-business baby who lived a quiet, orderly childhood where she grew up with a nanny and was surrounded by a variety of pets and her parents' theatrical peers, including actor/writer Jack Hulbert and his wife, actress Cicely Courtneidge, who had an adjoining house. Her first taste of the stage was school productions, but as she came from a theatrical family, it was inevitable that another family friend, an agent who was visiting the Howes family for dinner, became impressed with her and not long after suggested the young Sally Ann for a role in a movie. Two hundred young girls had already been screen tested without success, and the producers were desperate to find a talented little girl to play the lead, and they asked her father to please rush in some pictures on the recommendation of the agent. The movie, Thursday's Child, was written by playwright and screenwriter Rodney Ackland, also a close neighbor to the Howes family, and it would become Ackland's directorial debut.

Thursday's Child (1943) launched her career. A second film, The Halfway House (1944), led to her being put under contract by Michael Balcon of Ealing Studios, and this was followed by many other film roles as a child actress including Dead of Night (1945) with Sir Michael Redgrave, Pink String and Sealing Wax (1946), Nicholas Nickleby (1947), My Sister and I (1948), Anna Karenina) (1948), opposite Vivien Leigh.

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Nicholas Nickleby, 1947.

At age 18 she was given a new, seven-year contract, this time by J. Arthur Rank, and she went on to make the films, Stop Press Girl (1949), The History of Mr. Polly (1949) opposite John Mills, Fools Rush In (1949), and Due mogli sono troppe (1950) aka Honeymoon Deferred (UK).

Musical Theatre on the West End and Broadway

Sally Ann had begun taking singing lessons on the recommendation of a visiting teacher friend not only to bring out her natural talents but also in effort to lower her speaking voice which was quite high-pitched. While still in her teens, she made her first musical-comedy stage appearance in Fancy Free. In late 1950 starred in a BBC TV version of Cinderella.

In 1950 she accepted her first professional stage role in the Sandy Wilson musical, Caprice, forcing her to terminate her contract with Rank, with whom she'd been unhappy with the film roles and being on "loan out." She was finding gainful employment in television and radio, and she was looking to flex her singing talent, something that both Balcon and Rank had overlooked. Caprice was followed by Bet Your Life opposite Julie Wilson, Arthur Askey and Brian Reece. She was also simultaneously on the radio with Askey and Reece. In 1953 she starred on the West End in Paint Your Wagon with her father, Bobby Howes. The show ran for 18 months. It was followed by Summer Song, also on the West End, and she had firmly established herself as a leading musical comedy star. This was followed by her critically acclaimed performance in the stage drama, A Hatful of Rain. In the early to mid-1950s, she also mixed her theater with television appearances and even modeling, commercials and product endorsements.

She became a popular celebrity in England, even appearing as a comic-strip character in "TV Fun" serial comics and annuals, as a young, wholesome teacher in the wild American west at a time when Western TV shows were very popular. She appeared on the cover of many magazines, not the least of which was LIFE MAGAZINE (3 March 1958) when she came to the United States to take over My Fair Lady on Broadway.

In late 1957 she was offered the part (for the third time) of taking over for Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady on Broadway so that Julie could join the cast in London. She turned it down twice previously. The first offer had been to join the USA touring company of the musical, and the second time she declined the part was due to her film commitment for Admirable Crichton (1957). With the persistence of Lerner and Loewe, however, she accepted the third time, for a year's contract, but at a higher salary than Julie. She became an instant hit as a very fiery Eliza Doolittle.

Just prior to taking over My Fair Lady, Sally married Tony-winning composer Richard Adler (The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees) in January 1958. In December 1958 she appeared on Television in Adler's musical adaptation (which was written for her) of O'Henry's short story, The Gift of the Magi.

She simultaneously appeared on many TV shows including Perry Como, Dinah Shore, Jack Paar, The Tonight Show, plus appearing in The Bell Telephone Hour, The Kraft Music Hall, The United States Steel Hour. She appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show four times.

With her one-year contract in My Fair Lady over, she returned to England to tape six one-hour variety shows entitled The Sally Ann Howes Show for the British commercial television network. She was also personally requested to sing for three US Presidents (Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson). She became a frequent guest panelist on game shows and was known for her quick, spontaneous answers.

She returned to Broadway in 1961 in the short run of Kwamina, another Adler musical which was written for her. She starred opposite Terry Carter, Brock Peters, and Robert Guillaume. The musical centered on an interracial love story and was too controversial in a time when civil rights were hotly contested. The show has not had a Broadway revival since. Coincidentally, her father, Bobby Howes, was also on Broadway that year with a short revival of Finian's Rainbow, and a cast album exists of that show as well.

In 1962 she starred in a short revival of the musical Brigadoon at the New York City Opera and received a Tony nomination, the first performer to be nominated for a revival performance. She recreated the role in a private White House performance at the express invitation of President and Mrs. Kennedy. In 1964 she starred on Broadway opposite Robert Alda and Steve Lawrence in the energetic What Makes Sammy Run?, which lasted for over 500 performances.

She returned to familiar territory on TV in 1966 with Brigadoon opposite Robert Goulet, Peter Falk and some of her Broadway cast, and it garnered six Emmy awards.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

In 1967 she began the long film shoot for what would become a celebrated children's classic, and a role for which she would achieve new and everlasting fame, that of Truly Scrumptious, the beautiful, aristocratic daughter of a candy magnate in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).

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Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts, Heather Ripley as Jemima Potts and Adrian Hall as Jeremy Potts.

Despite all her work before and after the film, it is the one role she is consistently identified with and loved for.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang did not, however, restart her film career or launch a career for her in episodic television despite several guest-starring roles in Mission Impossible, Marcus Welby, M.D., and Branigan and The Men From Shiloh. Even the pilot Prudence and the Chief which was a spoof on The King and I, did not get picked up as a TV series. In addition, musicals were now failing at the box office and that venue was closed to her. As a result, she returned almost exclusively to the musical stage, appearing in only a few more films/TV productions.

Later Theatrical Career

In the 1970's she toured Britain with The King and I and later the USA with The Sound of Music. After her debut with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera in 1972 with The Sound of Music she returned to England to star in the stage drama, Lover, which was written specifically for her.

In the 1970s and 1980s, she began to cross over from standard musicals to operettas. She performed two summers with the Kenley Players in Blossom Time and The Great Waltz, and she later added Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow and then two seasons of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music at the New York City Opera. She also added the role of Gertrude from Hamlet to her repertoire.

In 1990 she debuted her one-woman show, From This Moment On at the Edinburgh Festival and at a benefit for the Long Island AIDS Association at the John Drew Theatre in Easthampton, New York.

Her last film was the 1992 miniseries Judith Krantz's Secrets. That marked her 50th year in film.

Recent projects include her narrations of Cubby Broccoli, The Man Behind Bond on the 2000 year release of the DVD Diamonds Are Forever, The Making of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang The Musical (2002), and her appearance in the documentary, After They Were Famous - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (2004).

Personal

She has been married to Douglas Rae since the early 1970s. Except for occasional lectures, charity functions and some Broadway openings, she is mostly retired (as of 2005), although she still hosts events or performs two or three times per year. She is currently an Artistic Advisor for the Palm Beach Theater Guild, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the Royal Poinciana Playhouse in Palm Beach, Florida.

Filmography

Theatre

Television Movies, Miniseries, Series, Musicals and Specials

  • "After They Were Famous" playing "Herself" in episode: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" 24 December 2004
  • Judith Krantz's "Secrets" (1992) (miniseries)
  • "Great Performances" playing "Herself" in "An Evening with Alan Jay Lerner" (episode # 18.5), Oct. 23 & 24 November 1989
  • Female Artillery (1973)
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles (1972)
  • Prudence and the Chief (1970) (TV pilot)
  • Brigadoon (1966) ABC-TV (musical)
  • The Sally Ann Howes Special – A General Motors Special, A CBS Special for the opening of Lincoln Center – Sept. 23, 1962
  • Jane Eyre (1961)
  • "Play of The Week" in episode: "After Hours" - 1961 with Christopher Plummer
  • "Play of the Week" in episode: "The Old Foolishness" (episode # 2.24) 6 March 1961
  • The Sally Ann Howes Show (6 variety shows - UK) 1960
  • The Fifth Column (1960)
  • "Hallmark Hall of Fame" playing "Della Young" in episode: "The Gift of the Magi" 9 December 1958
  • Cinderella (1950) (TV - BBC)

Television Guest Appearances

  • "Theatre Talk" - regarding "James Joyce's The Dead" - 20 January 2000
  • "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" playing "Herself" 19 October 1998
  • "Marcus Welby, M.D." in episode: "The Day After Forever" (episode # 4.23) 27 February 1973
  • "The Virginian" playing "Martha Clayton" in episode: "Tate, Ramrod" (episode # 9.20) 24 February 1971
  • "The Virginia Graham Show" - guest appearance approx. 1971
  • "Bracken's World" playing "Isabel Blue" in episode: "Miss Isabel Blue" (episode # 2.15) 25 December 1970
  • "The Hollywood Squares" - "Guest Panelist" - 23-27 November 1970
  • "It Takes Two" - "Guest Panelist" - 25 May 1970
  • "Mission: Impossible" playing "Beth" in episode: "Fool's Gold" (episode # 4.5) 26 October 1969
  • "This Is Tom Jones" playing "Herself" 22 May 1969
  • "The Hollywood Palace" playing "Herself" 5 April 1969
  • "What's My Line?" playing - various appearances 1968-1970, Daytime version
  • "Everybody's Talking" playing "Guest Panelist" 22-26 May 1967
  • "The Dean Martin Show" playing "Herself" 6 April 1967
  • "Run for Your Life" playing "Rhona" in episode: "The Savage Machines" (episode # 1.29) 2 May 1966
  • "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" playing "Allison Lang" in episode: "The Enemy on the Beach" (episode # 3.10) 5 January 1966
  • "Fanfare" playing "Herself" 28 August 1965
  • "The Miss Universe Beauty Pageant" (hostess) - 24 July 1965
  • "The Miss U.S.A. Pageant" (hostess) - 4 June 1965
  • "The Price Is Right" - (with host Bill Cullen) - "Guest Star" - 1963 or 1964
  • "You Don't Say!" (gameshow) - 1963, 1964 or 1965
  • "The Merv Griffin Show" - 1963 or 1964
  • "I've Got a Secret" playing "Guest Panelist" 24 June 1963
  • "The Match Game" - various appearances 1963-1964, Daytime version
  • "To Tell the Truth" - various appearances 1962-1965, Daytime and nightime versions
  • "Password" - various appearances 1962-1965, Daytime version
  • "The United States Steel Hour" in episode: "The Leonardi Code" (episode # 8.19) 17 May 1961
  • "Dinah Shore Show" playing "Herself" - 1961
  • "The Bell Telephone Hour" in episode: "A Night of Music" 9 October 1959, "Holiday in Music" 30 September 1960, "Music hath Charms" 20 January 1961, "A Measure of Music" 19 January 1962
  • "Sunday Night at the London Palladium" - March 1959
  • "The Perry Como Show" - 17 May 1958, 15 November 1958, 3 June 1959
  • "Toast of the Town" playing "Herself" (episode # 11.20) 9 February 1958, (episode # 17.37) 21 June 1964, (episode # 19.12) 28 November 1965, (episode # 20.23) 12 February 1967
  • "Have You A Camera?" playing "Herself" with Royal photographer, Baron - mid-1950s.
  • "Saturday Spectacular" / "Startime" - variety show broadcast from Prince of Wales Theatre - 1950s?

Radio

  • "Arthur's Inn" - radio variety program with Arthur Askey & Brian Reece - June 1952
  • Merle Becker's "Out-FM" show, heard on WBAI-FM (99.5) (or on the internet at http://www.wbai.org/) from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. - October 1, 2000

Other Live Performances

  • The 16th Annual New York Cabaret Convention - Mabel Mercer Foundation - "Music From the Movies" - Oct. 20, 2005
  • Port Huron Town Hall - guest lecturer in "The Best of Broadway" - Monday, December 8, 2003
  • Townhall Celebrity Lecture Series, 11:30am, Michigan League Ballroom (University of Michigan) - guest lecturer in "The Best of Broadway" - Wednesday, October 15, 2003
  • Age Cannot Wither - Rosemary Harris, Sally Ann Howes and Hayley Mills appeared in A Benefit for Shakespeare Globe Centre USA called "Coward X2"- presented at University Club, 1 West 54th Street, in New York City. - Mar. 17, 2003 (Monday)
  • Lansing Town Hall Celebrity Lecture Series - guest lecturer in "The Best of Broadway" - Lansing, Michigan - Monday, May 20, 2002
  • The 12th Annual New York Cabaret Convention - "A Nightengale Sang in Berkeley Square" - October 24, 2001 - was booked for but cancelled due to the events of 9/11.
  • Broadway Honors BMI Composer Lehman Engel - Merkin Concert Hall - hosted by Sally Ann Howes. April 2, 2001
  • "A Cultural Affair" - New York Pops Gala, A Cultural Affair honors New York City Commissioners of Cultural Affairs Schuyler Chapin - May 15, 2000
  • Cabaret at the Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room in New York City - late 1990s - the cabaret may have been the inspiration for her album "Mary Lea, Songs My Sister Loved and Sang."
  • "Jack in Review" - charity gala concert in tribute to Jack Tinker, the theatre critic with the Daily News newspaper. London Palladium, London. Friday, 28 February 1997, 2:30 P.M. Sally sang "Alice Blue Gown."
  • "A Time To Start Living" - A Celebration of the great Elizabeth Welch - The Shaftsbury Lyric Theatre - A World Aid’s Day Gala, a fundraising event for Crusaid - December 6, 1992
  • "A Glamorous Night With Evelyn Laye And Friends" - one-night gala at the London Palladium - Sunday, July 26 1992
  • "Kids at Heart" - at the London Palladium - a fundraising evening for Medical Aid for Free Romania. - January 20, 1991
  • “Let’s Do it” – all star celebration of Noel Coward/Cole Porter – 1 night event at Barbican Centre Concert Hall - October 19, 1989
  • Being Alive - A Celebration Of The Genius Of Stephen Sondheim - at the Drury Lane Theatre, on 4th June 1989, 7:00pm
  • "An Evening With Alan Jay Lerner" - The Opera House Manchester - March 27, 1988
  • "An Evening With Alan Jay Lerner" - The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. (Recorded Live - recordings available). - June 7, 1987 (Sunday)
  • A Celebration Of Shakespeare “Hamlet Travestie” - Action Against Aids, at The Sadlers Wells Theatre - Sally sang "So In Love" from "Kiss Me Kate" - April 12, 1987
  • Memorial service for Alan J. Lerner - was a speaker/singer at St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden - September 1, 1986
  • "A Royal Night Of One Hundred Stars" - one night performance at the NT Olivier Theatre - in aid of the "Save the Children Fund." March 17, 1985 (Sunday 8:00 P.M.)
  • "Golden Gala" - London Palladium - A musical spectacular from the London Palladium to mark the 50th anniversary of Equal Voting Rights For Women. Princess Margaret was the guest of honour. July 2, 1978
  • London Palladium "Night of 100 Stars" - A Midnight Revue in aid of The Actors' Orphanage - Thursday, June 23, 1955
  • London Palladium "Midnight Cavalcade 1954" - A Gala Night of World-Famous Stars in aid of The Actors' Orphanage , the Charitable Funds of the Grand Order of Water Rats & the J.N.F. Charitable Trust - Thursday, March 18th 1954
  • Royal Variety Performance - at the Victoria Palace Theatre - October 29, 1951

Discography

She has several Broadway, West End, TV and Film cast albums available including:

She can also be found on the albums The Best of the Telephone Hour, An Evening With Alan Jay Lerner (1987), and the three Christmas songs she recorded, Toyland, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, and O Little Town of Bethlehem can be found reissued each year on various compilation Christmas albums. The last known recording she made was a gift album for a party for a friend, called Mary Lea, Songs My Sister Loved & Sang (1998) for which she holds the production rights and copyright.

Product Endorsements & Modeling

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Sally Ann Howes lent her face to many products, of which a few are mentioned here:

  • Blend-rite Hair Clips (late 1940s)
  • BritviC Gold Pure Juice Cocktail (1953) - a photo of Sally Ann Howes, and mentions that she is starring in the new Jack Hylton musical "Paint Your Wagon".

She did some modeling in the 1950s and early 1960s, and can be found in the following publications:

  • Weldons Knitting Booklet #319 (approx. 1953) - a photo of Sally Ann Howes modeling a jersey, and mentions that she is starring in the new Jack Hylton musical "Paint Your Wagon".
  • TV Guide - Oct. 13-19, 1962 - "Sally Ann Howes With Fall Fashions" pgs. 22-24

Further reading

The following publications feature portions about her career and life. For magazine articles and covers, see her biography on the Internet Movie Database: [1].

  • You Gotta Have Heart - by Richard Adler
  • Sing Out Louise! - by Dennis McGovern & Deborah Grace Winer. Schirmer Books, 1993.
  • ESP and The Stars - Dick Kleiner. Grosset & Dunlap, 1970.

Trivia

  • Became a naturalized American citizen.
  • Richard Adler and Bob Merrill once collaborated on a musical version of W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage so that Sally could play Mildred.
  • Adopted Adler's two sons, Andrew and Christopher (d. 1984) after the death of his first wife (1964).
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