“Dinner for One” has a birthday – Butler James has been making cups since 1963
Published: Sunday, Dec 31st 2023, 07:20
Updated At: Sunday, Dec 31st 2023, 07:20
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A birthday party without guests, a more or less hard-drinking butler and an unfortunately placed tiger skin - these are the ingredients for the success of the TV classic "Dinner for One". The 15-minute cult show has been flickering across televisions for 60 years.
In Switzerland, too, broadcasting the classic is part of the New Year's Eve tradition (this Sunday at 19:05 on SRF 1). You can't start the New Year without "Dinner for One" - true to the now famous motto "The Same Procedure as Every Year". However, the sketch didn't even have its German TV premiere on New Year's Eve. But in March.
The black-and-white production with the two actors Freddie Frinton and May Warden was first broadcast on the German program "Guten Abend, Peter Frankenfeld" on March 8, 1963. The likeable butler James and his mistress Miss Sophie were so well received by German audiences that "Dinner for One or The 90th Birthday" was recorded in English by NDR in Hamburg a few weeks later. Frinton had already been performing the sketch in England for more than ten years with changing partners.
The mini play found more and more fans over the years. However, "Dinner for One" was not established as a permanent New Year's Eve tradition until 1972. Since then, it has been shown exclusively at the turn of the year and no longer just to fill gaps in German-language television programs. The sketch then also had fans in many other countries - only in Frinton's home country did the performance remain unknown for decades.
Toast with fantasy guests
The story: Miss Sophie wants to celebrate her 90th birthday in the old tradition with her friends. All men. But they have long since passed away. No reason to cancel the party. So the butler - as every year - takes on the roles of Sir Toby, Admiral von Schneider, Mr. Pommeroy and Mr. Winterbottom at the festively laid table. However, he only steps in to toast the fantasy guests. Stomach-filling food - namely soup, haddock, chicken and fruit - is only served to Miss Sophie. James is correspondingly buzzed after the second, third and fourth rounds - no wonder after four glasses of sherry, white wine, champagne and port each.
So he stumbles unerringly - eleven times in total - over the tiger skin lying in the way, cracks his heels during Admiral von Schneider's military salute and even drinks from the flower vase at one point. At the same time, his ability to speak and his dignified demeanor diminish noticeably.
The sketch did not make the famous duo rich. According to NDR, they were paid 4150 marks (2120 euros at today's exchange rate) for it.
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