Obituaries

Frank Twomey obituary: Much-loved actor, comedian and musician

The iconic puppet Bosco was the perfect foil for Twomey, a gifted host who could move effortlessly from droll and humorous to kindly and empathic

Actor Frank Twomey: he was also a successful theatre actor, sharing the stage with Liam Neeson, Ray McAnally and fellow Corkonian Joe Lynch
Sat Dec 23 2023 - 00:15

Born: September 29th, 1955

Died: December 11th, 2023

Frank Twomey, who has died aged 68, was a much-loved actor, comedian and musician. He will be particularly remembered for children’s television show Bosco, which ran from 1979 to 1987 and on which he was one of the lead presenters for many years.

The iconic puppet was the perfect foil for Twomey, a gifted host who could move effortlessly from droll and humorous to kindly and empathic. Whether sharing his dry humour with the eponymous red-haired puppet or knocking on the famous magic door, Twomey became a favourite with generations of young viewers who knew him simply as “Frank”.

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After Bosco ended in 1987 he went on to perform sketches on Nighthawks, Shay Healy’s topical comedy show on RTÉ 2. He was also a successful theatre actor, sharing the stage with Liam Neeson, Ray McAnally and fellow Corkonian Joe Lynch. In later life he was a regular on the Funny Friday segment of Joe Duffy’s Liveline, where he impersonated public figures such as Fianna Fáil politician Mary O’Rourke. He also helped organise the annual Christmas experience at Fota House in Cork and cameoed in a seasonal special of Cork-set comedy The Young Offenders.

“He had that ability to light up any room. To lift any occasion,” recalled the comedian Packie O’Callaghan, who collaborated with Twomey on the Santa Ponsa trilogy of stage comedies. “He was such a generous actor. He never ever sought the limelight or seemed to hog situations.”

Frank Twomey spoke to Bosco as though to a real person, and while there was always a hint of mischief in his presenting style he never talked down to the children watching

Twomey was gay in an age when homosexuality was taboo in Ireland. His sexuality was no secret to the people in his life. But, such were the times, he recalled having to be “discreet” about it during his years on RTÉ.

“Ireland is a very small place and everybody knows an aul’ queen. There’s one in every neighbourhood and people love them as people,” he would later say. “They knew. I was freaked out about it because it was a different era. We’re talking the 80s, and it had yet to be legalised let alone same-sex marriage.”

He never stopped working and, upon returning to Cork, became a familiar face in local dramatic circles. He appeared for many years as a pantomime dame at the Everyman Theatre. He was a skilled impressionist too, and in that capacity returned to RTÉ for the satirical comedy Bull Island, where he debuted his fond take on Mary O’Rourke.

Born in 1955, Twomey grew up on School Place, off Cathedral Road, in the shadow of Cork’s famous St Anne’s Church at Shandon. He attended North Monastery secondary school and studied acting at Cork’s Montford College of Performing Arts. He had no experience of children’s TV when he applied for the Bosco job. The show’s producer, puppeteer Paula Lambert (who helped operate Bosco with her sister Miriam), immediately recognised his gift for communicating. Twomey, though, was less sure if he wanted to appear opposite a puppet.

“I was out of work. I was very friendly with Mark Cagney who was working in RTÉ at the time,” Twomey would recall. “He told me there were auditions. I saw Bosco listed in the papers: I thought it was Bosco Hogan the actor. I had no idea it was a puppet or anything like that. Off I went to the scouts hall in Donnybrook. Paula Lambert came out and introduced herself. Paula and me hit it off immediately. She told me what was going to be happening, took Bosco out of her bag and introduced me to ‘it’. I thought, ‘Oh God, this is a mistake’. In we went. We did the rehearsal. Because I was so laid back in so far I thought, ‘I’m not going to get this’… I was laid back to a fault. I got the job.”

Twomey usually appeared on Bosco with co-host Gráinne Uí Mhaitiú. He spoke to Bosco as though to a real person – and while there was always a hint of mischief in his presenting style, he never talked down to the children watching. He was wry and witty yet sincere in his desire to connect with those tuning in at home.

“When he got the job he was so funny,” Lambert remembered. “He was funnier off the screen than on-screen. One of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life. It was quite magical.”

“[Bosco] was something he lived with happily a lot of the time,” Packie O’Callaghan told Joe Duffy’s Liveline. “To a certain extent it dogged him too. With consummate ease he had this ability to bring a script from the mundane to the magical.”

Those close to Twomey remembered his talent and versatility. “He had this wonderful ability to communicate with people. He was a tremendous actor,” said RTÉ Cork’s Alf McCarthy. “He did everything. He did pantomime. He did straight drama, musicals.”

Frank Twomey died at Cork University Hospital on December 11th, 2023. His funeral was at Cork’s North Cathedral, followed by burial at St Finbarr’s Cemetery, Glasheen Road. He is survived by siblings Maurice and Denis and predeceased by his parents Frank and Kitty and his sisters Mar and Christie.