Recommendations of the Editorial team
“Dinner For One” is what is commonly called a comedy classic: an indestructible humor program that has now been repeated countless times on New Year’s Eve. The sketch, also known as “The 90th Birthday”, starring Freddie Frinton and May Warden, was recorded for television in 1963 – restored, colored and parodic versions have since been added.
Although “Dinner For One” is seen by an audience of millions every year, there are still some secrets to be discovered. ROLLING STONE has listed 10 little-known facts.
1. “Dinner For One” has barely been shown
The British Music Hall sketch filmed by NDR (written by Lauri Wylie and premiered in 1948 at the Duke of York’s Theater in London) was initially only used as a gap filler on television. Presenter Peter Frankenfeld and his producer Heinz Dunkhase had previously discovered him during a visit to the island. Between 1963 and 1972, “Dinner For One” was only broadcast four times. It was only from 1972 that a cult of its own developed around the format and the annual presentation, later with several repetitions in almost all third parties.
2. When were the most broadcasts?
The record dates back to 2013. This year, “Dinner For One” was shown a total of 19 times in Germany on New Year’s Eve.
3. Isn’t that record-breaking?
Yes, it is. But not because of a specific year, but because of the total broadcasts (which, of course, no one can count anymore). “Dinner For One” has also secured an entry in the “Guinness Book of Records” – for a single program with the most repeats.
4. Did Freddie Frinton aka Butler James really hate “Dinner For One”?
Freddie Frinton originally didn’t like the sketch at all. He almost refused to slip into the role of the odd butler James. After several viewings of the piece, he agreed.
5. When was “Dinner For One” recorded?
The production of the already frequently performed piece followed on July 8, 1963 in the Hamburg Theater am Besenbinderhof.
6. Why is “Dinner For One” only available in English?
The sketch was recorded in English because Freddie Frinton refused to perform it in German. The actor was a fixture in his home country and he always admitted that he didn’t like the German language because he hated the country because of its Nazi crimes in World War II.
His dislike of Germany is also reflected in the production. As Admiral von Schneider, he uses the Scandinavian “Skol!” instead of the German “Prost!” to. This is also why he always asks Miss Sophie (May Warden) “Must I?” (Do I really have to?) when asked to impersonate the Admiral.
To this day, the original English version is still shown in Germany out of respect for Freddie Frinton. This makes it one of the few programs (if not the only one) that is presented in this way on German television.
7. What about the tiger carpet?
One of the funniest scenes is of course the tiger carpet, which the butler James trips over several times. What hardly anyone knows: The animal that was killed was hardly planned for the performance. But it was added at the request of a local mayor in a city where the show also played.
The stumbling was also not planned for. But when Freddie Frinton accidentally almost fell over it during a performance, the audience couldn’t stop laughing. And so the tiger carpet became an integral part of the program. The producers actually wanted a polar bear for the TV broadcast – but Frinton brought his own tiger rug. It was so battered that it had to be fluffed up with leopard skin (!).
8. Is “Dinner For One” also running in other countries?
Yes, the film is also popular among other nations. It can be seen in Switzerland, Austria, Finland, Denmark and Sweden, among others. In Norway the program runs regularly in black and white on December 23rd. A colorful broadcast on New Year’s Day was accompanied by so many protests that it remained a one-off event. New Year’s Day is also reserved for jokes in Australia.
In Great Britain, however, people have always been amazed at the success of the sketch, which many purists of British humor consider to be clumsy. “Dinner For One” was only recently shown there for the first time in 2018.
9. “Dinner For One” was banned elsewhere?!?
No joke: The collection of jokes caused so much alcohol consumption in Sweden when it was first broadcast that the station decided not to show “Dinner For One” for the time being. The “ban” was in effect until 1969.
10. Does the NDR not speak English?
Until 1988, the original NDR version contained a grammatical error in the somewhat moody introduction by speaker Heinz Piper. He quoted Frinton as saying “Same procedure than last year?” and Warden with “Same procedure than every year!”. It was eventually replaced with the correct “Same procedure as every year” from another test recording after numerous English teachers pointed out the error.
Bonus: How often does James really drink alcohol?
The butler, who is ultimately completely drunk, takes a drink a total of 18 times (not counting the sip from a flower vase during which he murmurs “I’ll kill that cat!”).