Biographie
The tale of Freddie Starr is a long twisting turning plot of "rags to riches" fame, ending in near destitution and self destruction.
In the end his immense success led to absolute failure. If things had developed a little more slowly for him this unique talent could have been one of the true heroes of British comedy...
By far the most outrageous mainstream UK comedian of his generation Fredie Starr was (and to a degree still is) a unique comedy talent of unequalled popularity.
Reknowned for being a loose canon, audiences could never predict what madcap stunt Starr would pull off next. Invariably audiences were the target of his trademark uncouth or simply outrageous stunts.
But while some comedians would have been heckled or derided for such stunts Starr always got away with it. And that was part of his appeal, he was a good looking, charming, lovable rogue with a twinkle in his eyes and audiences loved him!
The story starts in the 1970s when Starr began his short-lived television career on the ITV show Who Do You Do (1972) as an impressionist. At this time he was also a highly popular stand up comedian and variety act on the comedy club circuit. His TV exposure meant more and more people got to know about him and naturally this lead to larger audiences buying tickets to see his variety shows.
The variety acts he performed showcased his stand-up prowess, and no-one could touch him. He had that rare ability to just walk on stage and make people laugh without even saying a word.
Variety was his forte and as well as great stand-up, he was a highly accomplished singer. A most animated and energetic man, Starr was both a visual spectacle and a skillful wordsmith.
By the mid 1970s Freddie became a Superstar in the UK. His handsome good looks coupled with an amazing singing voice won him the adoration of thousands of loyal fans. His popularity acquired him a small fortune and he found himself working flat out 50 weeks of the year to sell-out audiences.
During the mid to late seventies he continued working hard, keeping to punishing and relentless performance schedules. His popularity never wavered, but his enthusiasm did. His workload had taken its toll - he wasn't used to all the fame and fortune and he quickly grew tired and fatigued. His personal life began to suffer, too, and this is where his career took a dramatic downward turn.
By the early eighties he had lost that certain spark he once had. Television work started to become less frequent because his outrageous stunts concerned many television producers who thought he was just too much of a loose cannon to show to a British family audience.
Luckily his popularity never dwindled on the comedy circuit and his loyal fan base continued to pack out theaters and clubs around the UK to support him despite his 'lack of of sparkle'.
But it wasn't over yet. By the mid-eighties Freddie made a great comeback! A clever publicity stunt which received masses of media attention helped to kick him back into he public eye.
On 13 March 1986, The Sun tabloid newspaper published one of its most famous front-page headlines "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster". Lea La Salle, a model, claimed that he had put her live hamster (called "Supersonic") in between two pieces of bread and eaten it after he arrived home and asked her to cook him supper. This was, of course, a complete fallacy, concocted by publicist Max Clifford to promote Starr's forthcoming tour, but nevertheless it caused outrage - something Freddie does best - and amazingly instead of decreasing his popularity it raised his profile and he was soon guesting on talk show after talk show and more and more people packed into clubs and theaters to watch him perform on stage. In his autobiography Unwrapped (2001) he denied the hamster incident, pointing out that he had been vegetarian since he was a child.
Freddie was then once again offered his own TV show, another great chance to get back into the limelight but alas his antics were again just too much for TV producers and after one series he was axed.
In the 90s he was offered the chance to do An Audience with Freddie Starr (1996) on ITV. And what a good move it was - Freddie turned in an amazing 'tour de force' performance - 12 million viewers tuned in to watch. Critics loved it. In fact, it was so popular that ITV asked him to do another "Audience With" which he duly accepted.
But his second show was very poor, after halfway through the show he abandoned his script written by top comedians especially for him and just regurgitated old material he'd been doing years before. As a result the audience cringed with embarrassment. He just wasn't funny!
In 1996 Starr was again given his own TV show, but it just wasn't modern enough. The material featured just didn't appeal to a now younger audience and after one series the programme was axed.
TV work since dried up but he was still a very popular comedian on the comedy circuit. He divided his time between the UK and Spain where he owned a large villa.
With an internal self-destruct button which seems to be pressed just when things are going great, Starr always seems to somehow close the door on good opportunities that come his way and that's a terrible shame.
His comic genius was brilliant but it could have been legendary, and perhaps if things were different he could have been something much much greater than he is today. Then again the brightest "stars" shine for the shortest time and who knows maybe just maybe he will make a comeback!
He was found dead in his Spanish house on 9 May 2019.
