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Why is it, that the name Fanny, short for Frances, is found so amusing?
I had an Auntie Frances, although it was shortened to Auntie Fran rather than Auntie Fanny! There have been quite a few famous ladies called Fanny.
First off there was Fanny Brice (1891-1951).
She was a popular and influential American comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances but is best remembered, although not by me, as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show.
Secondly, there was someone I do remember….Fanny Cradock.
I didn’t know that was not her real name.
It was Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey (born Feb. 1909, died Dec. 1994).
She was an English restaurant critic, television cook and writer who mostly worked with John "Johnnie" Cradock, whose surname she adopted long before they married.
In earlier years her husky voice and larger-than-life personality lent itself to mimicry: most famously, on the 1960s BBC radio comedy shows, Beyond Our Ken and Round the Horne, where Betty Marsden could regularly be heard in the guise of "Fanny Haddock".
She and Johnnie would be parodied by The Two Ronnies, Benny Hill (with Benny as Fanny and Bob Todd as an invariably drunken Johnnie).
Fanny's life has also been the subject of two biopic dramas;
“Doughnuts like Fanny's” written by Julia Darling and “Fear of Fanny” written by Brian Fillis.
The former of the two was later renamed “Fanny Cradock - The Life and Loves of a Kitchen Devil”.
What has this all got to do with music, I hear someone ask?
Not a lot….but just a little.
I have a song by Paddy Roberts which goes:-
Sweet Fanny Adams, was beautiful, blithe and gay,
She carved her name on the trunk of an apple tree, one, fine day.
A Woodpecker soon got busy, and pecked all those letters away.
Now all that is left of our Sweet Fanny Adams is sweet, F A.
Now unfortunately I do not have the sheet music for this one........
.........so I'll remind you that we should not only keep our blogs clean
.....but also Britain!
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Sorry if this is a bit lengthy, Bernard. My father's step-sister was called Fanny, which was strange; he was called Francis, and she, Frances. To make matters worse Auntie Fanny was a bit simple-minded and people who knew no better would laugh at her.
ReplyDeleteAs children, when there were very few cars on the road, we used to play a game called 'Aunties and Uncles'. We stood at the edge of the pavement and the person in charge of the 'game' would ask if anyone had an Auntie/Uncle called ????? If anyone had, they took a step forward for each Auntie or Uncle with that name. The aim of the game was that the first person to get to the other side (across the road) was the winner, then they were in charge of the next game. They then had the chance to pick Aunties/Uncles that hadn't been played before.
All my friends knew I had an Auntie Fanny and whenever the question was asked, which it ALWAYS was, all the boys would go into fits of laughter whenever I moved forward. I was so innocent I thought they were laughing because she was a little bit simple! I think I was the one who was a little bit simple!
Thanks for the memories. xx
Ah yes the Cradocks, still have a book of theirs.The first cooking show and it seems they were always a bit sozzled!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful little story, Mrs S, I never played that as a child. I think a lot of games were regional.
ReplyDeleteUncle Bernard, I was hoping you were going to explain, who was Fanny by Gaslight?
Thanks Mrs S, that was more interesting than my post.
ReplyDeleteChildren just love 'naughty' words don't they. I expect the girls laughed just as much at the thought of 'Uncle Willy'.
Hi Liz, Johnny seemed to like the bottle but I can't remember her being sozzled. I used to enjoy all the programs that took the 'Micky', like Round the Horne.
Kath: I haven't a clue. Who was Fanny by Gaslight?
Thank God for laughter!
ReplyDelete"Laugh and the World laughs with you, weep and you weep alone".
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it.
Around 1970, to enable their son to escape the Vietnam war, my Mother's cousin and family retruned to England to live near us. Robert,the son in question and an American born, came to see me whilst my Mun was watching Bonaza. She (my Mum) being of an excitable nature leapt from the sofa just as Hoss had been shot, my cousin many times removed saw Mum leap up and told her to sit on her fanny.
ReplyDeleteWhen he left I got a rocketing (god knows why) and had to explain the different layer of meaning from an American 'fanny'to the the English fanny.
Hey ho!
Over the years I have heard many references to Fanny by Gaslight. I presumed her origins were in an old music hall song? However, according to Wikipedia, "Fanny by Gaslight (US title - Man of Evil) was a 1944 film melodrama, produced by Gainsborough Pictures, set in the 1870s and adapted from a novel by Michael Sadleir (also adapted as a 1981 mini-series). It was one of its famous period-set "Gainsborough melodramas". Its US release was delayed for its breaking the Hays Purity Code, and 17 minutes were removed for this release."
ReplyDeleteCJ: I was waiting for some comments from either of the two ladies in America....but I expect they are too busy or too polite. I was aware of the difference, as you hear of boys being spanked on their fanny's!
ReplyDeleteNew to me Kath: But thanks for the research. I was getting her mixed up with "Fan-light Fanny"! Do you remember that song?