Framing The Funny
Photographer Andy Hollingworth has launched a fascinating exhibition covering 29 years of capturing some of the world’s funniest people, as Alma Stewart discovers
Considering he has captured some of the planet’s comics on film, Andy, originally from Holmfirth, Yorkshire, is very serene: “I’ve just been extremely lucky,” he says.
The impressive list of candidly captured comics includes Steve Martin, Rowan Atkinson, Ken Dodd, Sarah Millican, Romesh Ranganathan… each portrait capturing more than just a funny face – the viewer gets a glimpse beyond the entertaining exterior and into the soul within.
The foundation for this staggering collection began 50 or so years ago when a young Andy discovered his beloved grandad, not known for his cheerfulness, would howl with laughter at the Yorkshire comedian Charlie Williams on the TV. Andy wrote to Charlie, who replied, and the exchange resulted in the young man taking a photograph of Charlie’s hands, as a souvenir. A seed had been sown.
Following his grandad’s lead, Andy became a comedy fan: “I would pore over the shows of the time like Steptoe and Son and Dad’s Army. When ‘The Young Ones’ kicked in the door of comedy, I was absolutely hooked and I could never have dreamed that in the future I’d be photographing Rik Mayall, Alexei Sayle and Ade Edmondson.”
Andy took up photography in 1986 while still at college in London but at first, his shyness meant that approaching people for portraits held him back. Instead, he spent his time photographing stray dogs around Whitehaven, the town where he lived at the time. The meeting with Charlie Williams boosted his confidence and soon Andy began visiting comedy clubs, getting a feeling for the emerging comedy talent: “Many of my images were taken at small gigs watching early performances. It was evident who had the skills to become successful – they just had something about them. I was approached to be a comedy agent, but this side of the industry has never really interested me – I was happy to document what was going on in stand-up and was happy to leave the business side to others,” he said.
A couple of years into his photographic journey, Off The Kerb, a major comedy management agency, invited Andy to take some photos in a studio and slowly commissions grew. “After spending a couple of years and a steady start, once I got going, my reputation grew by word of mouth and I have had huge slices of luck,” he explains. “To be the only photographer allowed in London’s Royal Festival Hall to take photos of Steve Martin performing was a huge moment for me. He was so patient and an absolute delight.”
The process of creating such stunning portraits is simple to Andy: “I get inspiration from all over the place – films, music, poetry and even radio shows. I have notebooks full of sketches and ideas. I didn’t have any formal photography training, but it did take me around 10 years to become adept in the studio. I think it’s very much about directing – something I didn’t do early on – and about creating a relationship with the subject. Some comics are pretty quiet in normal life but when they walk on stage a switch flicks and suddenly they are ‘on’. Certain people have such a powerful stage presence – I have been lucky enough to capture both of these personas. There is no magic secret to my work, just hard graft but I do like to stretch myself otherwise, there is no point.”
There have been some comics that sadly, Andy has not been able to capture: “I missed that chance to capture Robin Williams by a matter of weeks and was due to photograph Caroline Aherne, but illness prevented the meeting. On the day and at their agent’s office, Craig Cash, Caroline’s co-star and friend, suggested I photograph him instead, which I did. Years later, I ran into Craig when he was performing in ‘Early Doors’ at the Lowry (my favourite sitcom) and asked if he remembered the last time I photographed him. He did, and as he was thinking about Caroline, I managed to capture him reminiscing and the love for his co-star and creative partner really shines through.”
When asked if there are still people left who Andy would like to photograph, he said that Whoopi Goldberg has always been high on his list.
Alongside his astounding images in the exhibition at the Showtown Museum, Andy is also displaying a wide collection of comedy memorabilia which he avidly compiles: “Over the years, I have come across some really special bits and pieces,” says Andy. “We’re showing a number of rare comedy tickets dating back to 1900, a huge collection of badges and programmes plus Maxine Peake’s costume from Victoria Wood’s iconic sitcom, dinnerladies.”
Andy has a fascinating story to tell about Laurel and Hardy’s secret sailing trip to Cobh, Ireland. The ship’s passenger list found itself in the hands of the locals with the town’s school children begging their teachers to let them go to the port to get a glimpse of their cinematic heroes. As word spread, hundreds of people gathered to watch the little tender bring the pair to shore and as the duo came into view, the bells of the cathedral rang their theme tune and Laurel and Hardy burst into tears. By this time in the 1950s, they were convinced that the world had forgotten them so this outpouring of public emotion resonated so much with the pair that Stan Laurel would go on to call it the greatest day of his life.
One of the 10 year-old boys (now 80 years-old) who had begged the teacher to go to the dock, became the bell ringer at the cathedral and Andy went to extraordinary lengths to recreate elements of that day along with Stan’s famous bowler borrowed from the Laurel and Hardy Museum at Ulverston. This has since been made into a charming documentary film ‘Last Dance Of The Cuckoos’ which will be screened as part of the exhibition’s events programme. With a host of international exhibitions under his belt and an extensive body of work behind him, are there any goals left to achieve? “I’d love to do a book,” he muses. And what an incredible book that would be.
I Photograph Comedians runs until 23rd February 2025 at Showtown, Blackpool.
There are a number of special events linked to the show including gallery tours with Andy on the 30th November (alongside a rare screening of his Laurel and Hardy film) and 15th February and a Q&A session based around Britain’s black comedy heroes with Che Burnley on 24th October.
More details and booking links can be found at: showtownblackpool.co.uk.
