Howes was born on 20 July 1930, inSt John's Wood, London,[1] the daughter of British comedian/actor/singer/variety starBobby Howes (1895–1972) and actress/singerPatricia Malone (1899–1971).[1] She was the granddaughter of Capt. J.A.E. Malone (died 1928), London theatrical director of musicals, and she had an older brother, Peter Howes, a professional musician and music professor. Her great-grandfather, CaptainJoseph Malone, was awarded theVictoria Cross in 1854 at theCharge of the Light Brigade. Her uncle, Pat Malone, was an actor on stage, films, and television.[2]
Howes moved to the family's country house inEssendon, Hertfordshire, for the duration ofWorld War II. She 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/writerJack Hulbert and his wife, actressCicely Courtneidge, who had an adjoining house.[3]
Her first taste of the stage was school productions,[3] but as she came from a theatrical family, 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 film. 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 film,Thursday's Child, was written by playwright and screenwriterRodney Ackland, also a close neighbour to the Howes family, and it would become Ackland's directorial debut.Thursday's Child (1943) launched her career.[2]
On a teacher friend's recommendation, Howes took singing lessons – not only to bring out her natural talents, but in an effort to lower her speaking voice, which was quite high. While still in her teens, she made her first musical-comedy stage appearance inFancy Free. In late 1950, she starred in aBBC TV version ofCinderella.
The same year, Howes accepted her first professional stage role in theSandy Wilson musicalCaprice. She terminated her contract with Rank, where she had been unhappy with the film roles she'd received, and with being "lent out" to other studios. She was finding gainful employment in television and radio, and looking to flex her singing talent, something Balcon and Rank had overlooked.Caprice was followed byBet Your Life withJulie Wilson,Arthur Askey, andBrian Reece, with whom Howes was also simultaneously on radio.[5] She participated in a TV version ofThe Golden Fool.
In 1953, she starred in the West End in the musicalPaint Your Wagon with her father, Bobby Howes, which ran for 18 months. It was followed bySummer Song, also in theWest End, firmly establishing Howes as a leading musical comedy star.[6]
Then came her critically acclaimed performance in the stage dramaA Hatful of Rain. In the early-to-mid-1950s, Howes's career expanded to include television appearances, modelling, commercials, and product endorsements.[7]
Howes appeared as a comics character inTV Fun serialcomics 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 many magazine covers, most notablyLife (3 March 1958), when she took overJulie Andrews's role inMy Fair Lady onNew York City'sBroadway.
Howes was offered the part inMy Fair Lady twice before: first, to join the musical's U.S. touring company (which she declined); and second, to replace Andrews on Broadway – which, at the time, conflicted with Howes's commitment to filmThe Admirable Crichton (1957) withKenneth More.[8]My Fair Lady creatorsLerner and Loewe were persistent, though, and Howes accepted the third time, with a year's contract, and at a higher salary than Andrews. Howes was an instant hit asEliza Doolittle.
When her contract inMy Fair Lady ended, she returned to Britain to tape six 1-hour installments ofThe Sally Ann Howes Show, a variety show forITV, the British commercial television network.
She returned to Broadway in 1961 in the short run ofKwamina, another musical Adler wrote for her, where she starred oppositeTerry Carter. Its theme of interracial romance proved controversial at a time whencivil rights were hotly contested, and it has not been revived onBroadway since. (Howes's father was also on Broadway that year, in a short revival ofFinian's Rainbow.) That year, she didJane Eyre for television.[10]
In 1962, she starred in a short revival of the musicalBrigadoon at theNew York City Opera,[1] and received a Tony nomination, the first performer to be nominated for a revival performance.[11] She recreated the role in a privateWhite House performance at the invitation of President andMrs. Kennedy.
At her audition for this role, Howes was asked if she could dance. Her father had taught her to always say "yes" if a director asks if you can do something, and then if you can't do it, learn very quickly how to. She had a crash course in dancing lessons before filming a dance as a wooden doll. 150 extras watched her film this scene, which was completed in one take.[2]
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang did not, however, restart Howes' film career or launch a career for her in episodic television despite several guest-starring roles inMission: Impossible,Marcus Welby, M.D.,Branigan, andThe Men From Shiloh. Even the pilotPrudence and the Chief, which was a spoof onThe King and I, did not get picked up as a TV series. In addition, film musicals were now failing at the box office, and that avenue was closed to her. As a result, she returned almost exclusively to the stage, appearing in only a few more films and television productions.
"I would have liked a film career, but I didn't pursue it – I just loved connecting with an audience," said Howes. "The theatre is a drug. The problem is that to be remembered, you have to do films."[5]
In the 1970s, she toured Britain withThe King and I and later the United States withThe Sound of Music. After her debut with theLos Angeles Civic Light Opera in 1972 withThe Sound of Music, she returned to Britain to star in the stage drama,Lover, which was written specifically for her.
She later said "The moment you hit 45... your career changes. You have to rethink everything, and you have to adjust. I was always aware of it because of the people I was brought up with. We saw careers go up and down and be killed off. I've never been prepared for anything, I've always jumped into the next thing, and therefore it's been a strange career. I've enjoyed experimenting. I've been so fortunate to be able to change – do cabaret, do concerts, or lectures."[5]
In 1990, she debuted her one-woman show,From This Moment On, at theEdinburgh Festival and at a benefit for the Long Island AIDS Association at the John Drew Theatre inEast Hampton, New York. Her last film was the 1992 miniseriesJudith Krantz's Secrets. That marked her 50th year in film.
Her other projects included narrations ofCubby Broccoli, The Man Behind Bond on the release of the DVDDiamonds Are Forever in 2000,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).
Except for occasional lectures, charity functions, and some Broadway openings, she was semi-retired, although she still hosted events or performed two or three times per year. Over the period September 2007 to January 2008, she toured the U.S. in theCameron Mackintosh production ofMy Fair Lady, appearing as Mrs. Higgins. When she was not performing, she was an artistic advisor for the Palm Beach Theatre Guild, a non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving the Royal Poinciana Playhouse inPalm Beach, Florida.
Howes marriedRichard Adler in 1958,[1] and adopted his sons Andrew andChristopher after their mother died in 1964. Howes and Adler divorced in 1966,[1] though she continued raising the boys after their divorce.[2] Howes recalled her marriage to Adler as a mistake stating, "We were both in show business but our values were very different. And his career was plummeting and mine was going great guns. And I made another mistake – I began turning down work because I thought if I was working and he wasn't, it would increase his insecurity."[5] Christopher was a Broadway lyricist, and died of AIDS-related cancer in 1984 at the age of 30.[14]
She was married to the English literary agent Douglas Rae from 1972 until his death in September 2021. According to her nephew, they were "inseparable".[2]
Babes in the Wood (Robin Hood) – British pantomime – Golders Green Hippodrome – withArthur Askey, holiday season 1954
Romance in Candlelight (Margaret) – at Piccadilly – 1955 – 53 performances
Summer Song (Karolka) – Princes Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, W.C.2 148 performances – directed by Charles Hickman – opened February 1956. Premiered at the Opera House, Manchester on 21 December 1955 before moving to the Princes Theatre on London'sWest End.
Early TV appearances included a guest appearance inCafe Continental with her father when they faced the camera together for the first time. Other appearances includedKaleidoscope, and her series titledShort and Sweet with Harry Jacobson at the piano. She appeared in the 1951 Festival of Musical Production, written for her and titledThe Golden Year.
Cinderella (1950) (TV, BBC), 26 December 1950
Hallmark Hall of Fame playing Della Young in the episode "The Gift of the Magi", 9 December 1958
The Sally Ann Howes Show (6 variety shows, UK) 1960
"Cafe Continental" – variety show 1947–1953. Appeared with her father as a guest star.
"Saturday Spectacular" / "Startime" – variety show broadcast from Prince of Wales Theatre – 1950s?
"Have You A Camera?" playing "Herself" with Royal photographer, Baron – mid-1950s.
"Toast of the Town" playing "Herself" (episode No. 11.20) 9 February 1958, (episode No. 17.37) 21 June 1964, (episode No. 19.12) 28 November 1965, (episode No. 20.23) 12 February 1967
"Sunday Night at the London Palladium" – March 1959
"The Perry Como Show" – 17 May 1958, 15 November 1958, 3 June 1959
"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
"Dinah Shore Show" -"Herself" – 8 May 1960
"The United States Steel Hour" in episode: "The Leonardi Code" (episode No. 8.19) 17 May 1961
"To Tell the Truth" – various appearances 1962–1965, Daytime and nighttime versions
"Password" – various appearances 1962–1965, Daytime version
"The Match Game" – various appearances 1963–1964, Daytime version
"I've Got a Secret" playing "Guest Panelist" 24 June 1963
"The Merv Griffin Show" – 1963 or 1964
"You Don't Say!" (gameshow) – 1963, 1964 or 1965
"The Price Is Right" – (with host Bill Cullen) – "Guest Star" – 1963 or 1964
"The Miss U.S.A. Pageant" (hostess) – 4 June 1965
"The Miss Universe Beauty Pageant" (hostess) – 24 July 1965
"Fanfare" playing "Herself" 28 August 1965
"Bob Hope presents the Chrysler Theatre" playing "Allison Lang" in episode: "The Enemy on the Beach" (episode No. 3.10) 5 January 1966
"Run for Your Life" playing "Rhona" in episode: "The Savage Machines" (episode No. 1.29) 2 May 1966
"The Dean Martin Show" playing "Herself" 6 April 1967
"Everybody's Talking" playing "Guest Panelist" 22–26 May 1967
"What's My Line?" playing – various appearances 1968–1970, Daytime version
"The Hollywood Palace" playing "Herself" 5 April 1969
"This Is Tom Jones" playing "Herself" 22 May 1969
"Mission: Impossible" playing "Beth" in episode: "Fool's Gold" (episode No. 4.5) 26 October 1969
"It Takes Two" – "Guest Panelist" – 25 May 1970
"The Hollywood Squares" – "Guest Panelist" – 23–27 November 1970
"Bracken's World" playing "Isabel Blue" in episode: "Miss Isabel Blue" (episode No. 2.15) 25 December 1970
"The Virginian" playing "Martha Clayton" in episode: "Tate, Ramrod" (episode No. 9.20) 24 February 1971
"The Virginia Graham Show" – guest appearance approx. 1971
"Sesame Street" - guest star. 1 February 1972
"Marcus Welby, M.D." in episode: "The Day After Forever" (episode No. 4.23) 27 February 1973
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, she appeared on many radio programmes including:Ignorance is Bliss,Geraldo's Open House,Taxi with Jerry Verno,Desert Island Discs,Talk Yourself Out of This, and she appeared twice on theCalling All Forces show.
Arthur's Inn – radio variety program withArthur Askey & Brian Reece – June 1952
Marle Becker's "Out-FM" show, heard on WBAI-FM (99.5) (or on the internet atHome) from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. – 1 October 2000
Royal Variety Performance – at the Victoria Palace Theatre – 29 October 1951
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, 18 March 1954
London Palladium "Night of 100 Stars" – A Midnight Revue in aid of the Actors' Orphanage – Thursday, 23 June 1955
Grand opening of the Heinz Hall inPittsburgh, PA – 21 September 1971
"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. 2 July 1978
"Cinderella's Star Night" – Charity gala at the Prince Edward Theatre, 31 January 1982.
"A Royal Night of One Hundred Stars" – one night performance at the NT Olivier Theatre – in aid of the "Save the Children Fund." 17 March 1985 (Sunday 8:00 pm)
Memorial service for Alan J. Lerner – was a speaker/singer at St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden – 1 September 1986
A Celebration of Shakespeare "Hamlet Travestie" – Action Against Aids, at the Sadlers Wells Theatre – Howes sang "So in Love" from "Kiss Me Kate" – 12 April 1987
"An Evening With Alan Jay Lerner" – Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. (Recorded Live – recordings available). – 7 June 1987 (Sunday)
"An Evening With Alan Jay Lerner" – Opera House, Manchester – 27 March 1988
Being Alive – A Celebration of the Genius of Stephen Sondheim – at the Drury Lane Theatre, on 4 June 1989, 7:00 pm
"Let's Do it" – all star celebration of Noël Coward/Cole Porter – 1 night event at Barbican Centre Concert Hall – 19 October 1989
"Kids at Heart" – at the London Palladium – a fundraising evening for Medical Aid for Free Romania. – 20 January 1991
"A Glamorous Night with Evelyn Laye and Friends" – one-night gala at the London Palladium – Sunday, 26 July 1992
"A Time To Start Living" – A Celebration of the great Elizabeth Welch – Shaftsbury Lyric Theatre – A World Aid's Day Gala, a fundraising event for Crusaid – 6 December 1992
"Jack in Review" – charity gala concert in tribute toJack Tinker, the theatre critic with theDaily Mail newspaper. London Palladium, London. Friday, 28 February 1997, 2:30 pm. Howes sang "Alice Blue Gown."
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."
"A Cultural Affair" – New York Pops Gala, A Cultural Affair honours New York City Commissioners of Cultural Affairs Schuyler Chapin – 15 May 2000
Broadway Honours BMI Composer Lehman Engel – Merkin Concert Hall – hosted by Sally Ann Howes. 2 April 2001
The 12th Annual New York Cabaret Convention – "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" – 24 October 2001 – was booked for but cancelled due to the events of 9/11.
Lansing Town Hall Celebrity Lecture Series – guest lecturer in "The Best of Broadway" – Lansing, Michigan – Monday, 20 May 2002
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. – 17 March 2003 (Monday)
Town Hall Celebrity Lecture Series, 11:30 am, Michigan League Ballroom (University of Michigan) – guest lecturer in "The Best of Broadway" – Wednesday, 15 October 2003
Port Huron Town Hall – guest lecturer in "The Best of Broadway" – Monday, 8 December 2003
The 16th Annual New York Cabaret Convention – Mabel Mercer Foundation – "Music From the Movies" – 20 October 2005
23rd Annual S.T.A.G.E. event –Side by Side by Side by Side by Sondheim – 10 & 11 March 2007, Wilshire Theatre, Los Angeles.
"I'd Like To Teach The World to Sing" – charity gala concert in tribute to vocal coach Ian Adam at Her Majesty's Theatre London, 24 February 2008. Howes sang "Send In The Clowns."[18]
She can also be found on the albumsThe Best of the Telephone Hour,Cole Porter: A Remembrance (1965),An Evening With Alan Jay Lerner (1987), and the three Christmas songs she recorded,Toyland,It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, andO 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, calledMary Lea, Songs My Sister Loved & Sang (1998) for which she held the production rights and copyright.
She did some modelling in the 1950s and early 1960s, and can be found in the following publications:
Weldons Knitting Booklet No. 319 (c. 1953) — the ad includes a photo of Sally Ann Howes modelling a jersey and mentions she starred in the new Jack Hylton musicalPaint Your Wagon.
TV Guide ( 13–19 October 1962) – "Sally Ann Howes With Fall Fashions" (pages 22–24)[19]
The following publications feature portions about her career and life. For magazine articles and covers, see her biography on the Internet Movie Database:Sally Ann Howes atIMDb.
^Answers, H. D. (1 May 1954). "Sally's a Big Girl Now: Once she was known only as Bobby Howes' daughter, but...".The London Magazine. Vol. 125, no. 3235. p. 5.
^"The Life Story of Sally Ann Howes".Picture Show. Vol. 69, no. 1792. 3 August 1957. p. 12.
