They drove towards the South. The Bentley swallowed the miles keenly, relishing the open road. Never had the Garden of England looked more beauteous! Never had Maltravers and Eithne Ratcliffe been so much together, so equal in their love! They took their luncheon in a flowery dell and chattered amiably of cricket and of their happiness.
Then the great Bentley, smoothly seeming to sense its destination, headed towards the sea, towards those white cliffs which, until this last devil, had hitherto daunted every foreign invader.
As they neared the cliff-top, Maltravers Ratcliffe, without diminishing the great car’s speed, took his wife’s small hand in his. ‘Take heart, my angel!’ he cried cheerily. ‘We may thank our stars that we have had each other. Onward now, my fair one — and we’ll be there in two twos!’
The news of Aurelia Howarth and Barton Rivers’s fatal car crash was on the radio the following morning. It wasn’t the first item. That was of course the ITV strike.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dame Aurelia Howarth
The death of Aurelia Howarth, who died in a car accident together with her husband, Barton Rivers, robs the British theatre of one of its most glittering and best-loved stars. Born Anne Howarth, she was the daughter of a grocer and spent her early years near Guildford. Her great natural talents led to her enrolment in the stage school from where she progressed to the chorus of a West End revue, Careless Rapture, at the tender age of fifteen. She was ‘spotted’ in this show by the great Andre Chariot, who gave her solo spots in some of his revues, and later taken up by the impresario C. B. Cochran, one of the most famous of whose ‘Young Ladies’ she became. Her biggest successes of this period were in Parisian Trifles, Only the Night and Shimmering Stars. It was in this last show that she first sang I Dream of Dancing, the song that she made her own and which virtually became her signature tune. She also went with Shimmering Stars to Broadway where, under the title of Box of Tricks, it became one of the hits of the season, and established Aurelia Howarth as an important new star in America. During the Thirties she played leading roles in many British films, of which the most memorable are probably Lovers’ Moon, Princess of Dreams and Tomorrow’s Gone. During the War she worked indefatigably entertaining the troops, services which were recognised by a CBE in 1947. In the post-war years her career took a new turn and she started to build a reputation as a straight actress. Long runs in the West End in such shows as The Long Climb, Here We Go A-Wassailing and The Former Mrs Wellington demonstrated her versatility. Then, at an age when many people contemplate retiring, Aurelia Howarth started to work in the growing medium of television, where she proved very popular, particularly in the role of the scatty Mrs Strutter in the comedy series, What’ll The Neighbours Say? She was working on a new series in the same character at the time of her death. Throughout a long career in the theatre, Aurelia Howarth was one of the few performers who commanded universal love and who never did a malicious action to anyone. Both in the profession and with the public, her popularity never waned. She was created a Dame of the British Empire in the recent Birthday Honours List. She married Barton Rivers, a revue performer, in 1918 and their one son, Hilary, was killed in action in 1944.
There was no separate obituary for Barton Rivers. Neither his reputation as an actor nor as a writer justified it.
Charles Paris tried ringing his wife Frances on and off for about three days and, when he still didn’t get any reply, he rang their daughter Juliet at her home in Pangbourne.
‘No, Mummy’s not there at the moment.’
‘Where is she?’
‘It’s school holidays. She’s away.’
‘Where?’
‘Naxos.’
‘That’s Greece, isn’t it?’
‘One of the islands, yes.’
‘Do you happen to know if she went on her own or. .’
‘She went with a friend.’
‘You don’t know who?’
‘No.’
‘Oh.’
‘She’ll be back in about ten days.’
‘Ah. I’ll ring her then. How are things with you?’
‘Oh fine. Hectic with the twins.’
‘I’m sure.’
‘Still, they start play school in September. And I’m going back to work. Just mornings.’
‘Ah.’
‘Miles and I would love to see you if you’re free. Give us a buzz if you’re about.’
‘Yes, I will.’
‘I must dash. Damian’s pulling Julian’s hair. ’Bye.’
‘Goodbye.’
West End Television Ltd.
W.E.T. House,
235-9 Lisson Avenue, London NW1 3PQ.
29th October 1979.
Dear Charles,
Now that the strike’s over and life here is getting back to normal, I wanted to drop you a note to thank you for all your hard work over the series of The Strutters.
Obviously, with Dob’s tragic death, there is no possibility of the series being completed. Recasting such a major role is out of the question. Still, you should by now, I hope, have received your outstanding contractual payments.
Plans here are still rather fluid, so the future of the programmes in the series that were completed is uncertain. There’s still a bit of editing and sound-dubbing to do on them, and since the demand on those facilities here is pretty heavy at the moment, it’ll be some time before they’re ready to be transmitted. But the ‘powers that be’ have spoken of the possibility of putting the seven completed programmes out as a mini-series in the Spring or Summer. We’ll have to see.
Now that we don’t have The Strutters there’s a possibility that we may do another series of What’ll The Neighbours Say? at some point. Obviously, without Dob, it’ll have to be rather different and so I can’t really say whether your character would be likely to recur or not. Anyway, it’s a long way in the future and will depend when Bernard Walton’s free. He’s currently in Australia doing a tax year (and, incidentally, remaking a What’ll The Neighbours Say series out there with an Australian supporting cast!).
I haven’t heard much from the Strutters crowd, though I did see George Birkitt with his wife at a premiere the other week. Oh, and also I have to pass on the bad news that Willy and Sam Tennison have split up. I’ve just had a very exciting new script from Willy, provisionally titled Marriage on the Rocks.
Once again, many thanks for all you did to make The Strutters what it was. I look forward to working with you again on some other project.
With the warmest good wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Peter
Peter Lipscombe
Producer The Strutters