|
|
|
Welcome to the official web site of the Summer Wine Appreciation Society, in partnership with Holmfirth Web. This is our tribute to the world's longest-running TV comedy series which is filmed in the Holme Valley, and surrounding villages. |
|
|
|
Welcome to the official web site of the Summer Wine Appreciation Society, in partnership with Holmfirth Web. This is our tribute to the world's longest-running TV comedy series which is filmed in the Holme Valley, and surrounding villages. |
|
Robert Fyfe
(Howard) Summer 1998 By Margaret Tillotson, Chairman of the Summer Wine Appreciation Society. How did you originally get the part of Howard? Well there was a stage play done in 1984 at Eastbourne - which I wasn't in - and then it was revived in 1985 at Bournemouth. We did two weeks on tour and then a season in Bournemouth and I played Howard in that. Roy Clarke came to see it and decided he would put the character into the series, so that's how I came in, how Marina came in, how Pearl came in. Were they called Howard, Marina and Pearl? Yes. Then we took the play out again the following year. It was originally called Last of the Summer Wine but the following year we took it out on tour and it was called Compo plays Cupid. Was he the Howard we know and love so well now? Yes. Well it started from there really - the cap, the moustache, but not the apron. There was Peter and Bill and Jane in 1984. It was tremendous fun. Kathy came down to see it - I'd met Kathy several years before but I did not actually know her. Had you worked with any of the cast before then? Not with either Peter or Bill. I had worked with Jane "Entertaining Mr Sloan" was one of the plays we did - in which I played her father (laughter) and I got killed in the second act. I have done other plays with her, but I can't remember when we first met. Do you think the character of Howard has developed a lot since those first days on the stage? In the stage play Howard and Marina never actually met. The first act was all about the build up of how she was coming, because she didn't want to live in the village, it was a very complicated story. We never actually had a scene together in that. When we first came into the programme we started off doing a tango in the field. That was the very first time we appeared ("Catching Digby's Donkey"). This was rather reminiscent of the tango between Howard and Pearl at the end of the pantomime in Hull in 1994/95? That was what sparked off the idea - it wasn't in the script but it worked jolly well. Is there anything of Robert Fyfe in Howard? There's always a bit of an actor in what he does but no I don't think so - not really - not a great deal anyway. Do you have a favourite character (not Howard) from the show? No, I just love the show. Did you watch it before you were in it? I watched it a bit because of Jane, because I know her. I didn't watch it at the very beginning. Do you have a favourite episode? I liked the "earring" episode and the "stoneworm" episode. Did you find it difficult finding an accent for Howard? You are originally from Scotland aren't you? Yes, but I actually went to drama school in Bradford so I was in this part of the country for three years. I used to bring my children up to the West Riding in the school holidays - we went walking - so it was very familiar. What do you do to relax? Walking, especially here. When I have days off I like to go walking. At home I garden. I like cooking, making jam, marmalade, chutney, sloe gin. You do it and its all done at once so you see the finished product, whereas you do something like this where you do a scene one day and then a scene two to three weeks later and it's a long time before you see it. What are you thoughts on having an appreciation society? Well I think its absolutely splendid that you've taken the trouble to set it up, get it going and keep it running. Long may it prosper. Did you always want to be an actor? Not from the age of 7 or 8 or so because where I was brought up there was no professional theatre. It started when I was at school and I got a chance of being in school plays, and it just sort of clicked with me that it was something I'd like to do. It didn't meet with family approval I'm afraid. Unfortunately, my father died when I was still a drama student and the last thing he said to me was "You want to get yourself a sensible job!!". But my mother came round to it. She continued to live in Scotland and I was always sorry I didn't go back to work up there. I did just before I got married. We went and did a season in Scotland but on the other side from her. Two or three months after she died I was actually back in Kirkcaldy - which is where I came from - playing Mr Bolfry in a play called "Mr Bolfry" so she wasn't there to see it, which was rather sad. Can you tell us something more about your career before Summer Wine? I did all the usual things actors did in those days - working in Rep, around the country. In fact, my wife and I started at the same time in theatre in Lincoln, which was where we met. We were there for about a year and then we went up to Scotland, except the wedding was down in Sussex where she comes from, so we had to go all the way down and all the way back again, so we had like three days honeymoon. I ended up at Bristol Old Vic and from there I went to London with a play that was down there, playing a Welshman. One of the TV casting directors then saw me and I was offered a part - an Irish part - and it just started from that. Have you done a lot of TV? Yes, a fair bit. For a time I actually played some Scottish characters. I was Dr Finley's first patient in the first series, the BBC Dr Finlay when they were first using the original stories - Barbara Mullen, Andrew Cruickshank, Bill Simpson. I have been working in Scotland at the Lyceum in Edinburgh. At that time my eldest son was at university there, so it was rather nice to be able to have some time with him. Howard and Marina spend a lot of time cycling. Were you a cyclist before that, or are you an expert since? I can't remember now how it happened but nobody said "Can you ride a bike?" We were just given bikes and luckily we can both ride bikes. She's got a new bike..I haven't. I wonder who bought it for her? Mmmmmm! I don't think we want to go into that really. I used to go cycling a lot when I was a child staying in Youth Hostels, carry all your stuff on the back. Scotland was lots of rain in the summer - with a big, bright yellow cycling cape. Howard is often seen cycling with a variety of props, double bass etc. Do you do all those stunts yourself? Yes, yes. And you enjoy it? Is it difficult? Well, you just do it. Its part of the show. You prefer to do it yourself? Oh yes. There are some things obviously, you can't do because if anything happened. Do you enjoy all the different disguises? Oh very much, yes, I remember dressing up as a lady, still with moustache ("The Magnificent Thighs of Ernie Burniston") Would you consider playing Dame in panto? I did do it when Rep companies existed. I've done it three or four times. I would like to do it again, but nobody's offered it. I'd quite like to have a bash. Do you enjoy Panto? Yes. I like theatre. You're in direct contact with the audience. Have you done a lot of panto? I only started doing big pantos about four or five years ago. Has it always been with Pearl? No. The first one I did was with Barbara Windsor and Billy Pearce, and I enjoyed it. The following year I started doing them with Juliette. We did three or four together. What do you think of
Roy Clarke's writing? Howard in his pinny |
|
© 2000 Area5. The Summer Wine On-Line web site brought to you by Area5 Public Relations, Holmfirth. Thanks to everyone who has contributed material to this web site, including Colin Frost, of Side's Café, Holmfirth. |
