About eight years ago I picked up a copy of a film called ‘MUMSY, NANNY, SONNY AND GIRLY’ (1968), a curious horror comedy about a dysfunctional family with a penchant for macabre games. Although she didn’t receive top billing the undoubted star was the pretty, vivacious young actress playing the eponymous Girly. Her name was Vanessa Howard and she looked like a star. I know nothing about Vanessa Howard’s earlier life aside from the fact she was born in 1948 and began appearing on the cast lists of West End productions from around 1966. A role opposite Cliff Richard in a 1967 tv musical of Aladdin was the first of around a dozen screen performances over the next six years. Most of these were in obscure films; creaky horrors such as ‘THE BLOOD BEAST TERROR’ (1968) alongside Peter Cushing, or as Peter Cook’s wife in the political satire ‘THE RISE AND RISE OF MICHAEL RIMMER’ (1970). Some of these have since acquired cult status, others which one could argue justly remain forgotten. So what is it about Vanessa Howard in particular that distinguishes her from a superfluity of pretty young actresses who were trying to make a living in the floundering British film scene of the late 60‘s and early 70’s? Perhaps because there’s an archness to her best performances; a subversive mischief that draws attention to itself. Unlike some of her contemporaries with similarly ephemeral careers Howard doesn’t seem content to simply gaze, pout and draw attention to her charms. Watch her in the two black comedies that could be considered her two signature parts - the aforesaid ‘... GIRLY’ and ‘WHAT BECAME OF JACK AND JILL?’ (1972) - and there’s an awareness that it’s all just a game. A bit like the young Malcolm McDowell during the same period, Howard walks the fine line between stylised acting and hammy excess. Sadly however Howard didn’t enjoy enormous popular and critical acclaim, nor the patronage of high-profile directors. Some of this can be attributed to plain bad luck; as the British film industry nosedived several of her more noteworthy films received little to no distribution. Given these frustrations, and her marriage to Hollywood producer Robert Chartoff, perhaps it’s understandable that by 1973 she decided to cut her losses and retire from acting. Understandable but also sad, because there are enough glimpses in her handful of roles to suggest she still had so much more to offer. After that her life, for me, becomes a mystery. The last image I’ve seen of Vanessa Chartoff, as she now was, is at the 49th Academy Awards in 1977, where she can briefly be glimpsed celebrating with her husband as he (and Irwin Winkler) won the Best Picture Oscar for ROCKY. In later years, following her separation from Chartoff, Wikipedia suggests she became involved in programs to help divorced homemakers back into the workplace, but it’s difficult to establish anything further. I’d always hoped, given the minor cult status of her films, that a latter-day interview with Vanessa might surface someday but must confess to not giving it much further thought. That was until last year when re-watching her early role as the quirky Audrey in HERE WE GO ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH I happened to search her name on Google and learnt that she’d died in 2010, aged just 62. Hearing of any death can be a sobering experience but what really struck me in the days and months that followed was that Vanessa Howard, or Vanessa Chartoff, or however you wish to define her, remained such an enigma to me. I’d love to write a proper tribute to a woman whose acting work merits greater consideration than it’s previously received, but it’s impossible to get the full measure with so little information. Where did she come from? What was she like? What did she do after her acting career ended? So far all of my enquiries have largely drawn a blank. If you knew Vanessa Howard, either here in the UK in the earlier part of her life, or later after she settled in California, I’m very keen to hear your recollections if you’re willing to share. You can do so either by posting on this page or by messaging me. Thanks for your time.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:17:14 +0000
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