Veteran Trouper

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 787, 20 August 1954, Page 25

Veteran Trouper

nN \V HEN Count Von Luckner was in Auckland in 1928 he had afternoon tea one day with Mr. and Mrs. Frank Broad, of Takapuna, The courteous note of thanks he wrote afterwards has been preserved by Frank Broad in his scrapbook: "By Joe, I shall never forget your marvellous scones. Many thanks, dear Mrs. Broad. — The Pirate. Felix Count Luckner. 29.4.28." Frank Broad is proud of his scrapbook, which dates back to the days when he toured the Stoll Circuit in England with Charlie Chaplin (although they were in different acts). And it bears out his claim to be one of New Zealand’s most versatile veterans of show business. Although he is nearly 70, he is still an active entertainer and broadcaster. As an entrepreneur and concert artists’ agent he is ready to produce at any time "single turns or complete concert parties for town or country." He is well-known in Auckland for ‘his work in organising community sings for the troops during the war with Mrs. Barrington Snow. As a survivor of the Gallipoli campaign, where he was seriously wounded, he has always been keen to help the troops, and in 1937 he inaugurated the first tadio "Diggers’ Session," which was later taken over by Rod Talbot. He was a programme organiser at 1ZB in the old days, and still conducts talent quests and other radio shows. For a while he ran from 1ZB a hand-reading (chirognomy he prefers to call it) session, called Your Hands Give You Away. He also compéred the popular Veteran of Variety programme. Another of Frank Broad’s,. claims to fame is that he witnessed the famous 1905 defeat of the All Blacks by Wales when he was living in Cardiff as a

youngster. Ivor Novello was a pupil at the school he went to there, although it wasn’t Novello who brought Frank into show business. He was more or less born to it, for his father was a scene-painter at the old Lyceum Theatre in London when it was run by Sir Henry Irving. Frank came to New Zealand with a travelling show 45 years ago, and decided to stay. He can entertain you for hours with his tales about Lily Langtry, George Robey and other famous oldtimers. He also writes about them for such periodicals as the Australian Showman, for which he is the New Zealand representative, and he is much in demand as a public speaker in Auckland for his talks on the old days of theatre, variety and vaudeville.