Frederick Howard Wright (September 30, 1896 – July 2, 1990), credited variously as Fred Howard (for his writing, and for all stage and radio performances), Howard Wright (for his later film and TV work), and, more recently still, Fred Howard Wright, was an American songwriter, vaudeville performer, and character actor of theatre, radio, film and television,Shelton, Robert; Goldblatt, Burt (1966). The Country Music Story: A Picture History of Country and Western Music. Secaucus, NJ: Castle Books. . pp. 194-195. "A song writer and lyricist team that moved back and forth from Tin Pan Alley to Tin Pan Valley were Nat Vincent and Fred Howard, old-timers who call themselves the Happy Chappies. The pair have worked together since 1926. [...] After working on radio in Des Moines, the two split up for a time. Howard was a member of the cast of the “Ma Perkins” radio soap-opera for a dozen years. and Vincent was a divisional manager in California for Ralph Peer’s Southern Music, later directing the company's activities in Nashville. Howard, under the stage name Howard Wright, subsequently appeared in films and on TV." Grunwald, Edgar A., ed. (1940). Variety Radio Directory. New York: Variety, Inc. p. 964. . "Howard, Fred (Fred Howard Wright). Actor, singer. Born San Diego, Calif. Sept. 30, 1896: Ht. 5 ft. 10 in.; w. 135; brown hair and eyes; e. University of California; m. Theo Howard; two daughters, Jo Anne, 19, actress, and Patsy-Zo, 3. First commercial radio appearance in 1929 via KRFC, San Francisco. Previously actor in dramatic and musical stock, producer of musical comedies. Songwriter (When the Bloom Is on the Sage, My Pretty Quadroon, It's Time to Say Aloha, Rock Me to Sleep in My Rocky Mountain Home, and others); writer of column, Grandpa Reads the News in Des Moines Register and Tribune. Second Lt., First U.S. Cavalry." best remembered as one half—along with fellow songwriter Nat Vincent—of the popular vaudeville, radio, recording, and songwriting duo, The Happy Chappies.
Early life and career Born Frederick Howard Wright in San Diego, California on September 30, 1896,"United States, Census, 1910", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVLT-ZS6 : Thu Mar 07 06:29:39 UTC 2024), Entry for William S Wright and Lucy W Wright, 1910."United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WQVS-5GW2 : Sat Apr 26 02:12:17 UTC 2025), Entry for Frederick Howard Wright, 30 Aug 1920.Johnson, David E. (2001). From Day to Day : A Calendar of Notable Birthdays and Events. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press. p. 274. "September 30 – Birthdays [...]1892 – George Bancroft, American stage and motion-picture actor; 1896 – Fred Howard Wright, American composer, author, and singer, noted for songs such as “The Strawberry Roan” and “My Pretty Quadroon”; 1905 – Michael Powell, English motion-picture director and screenwriter with a 50-year career". Wright was the middle child of five, born to Lucy Simonds (née Wheeler) and William Sherman Wright."United States, Census, 1900", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M95Q-JV6 : Fri Jan 17 23:29:39 UTC 2025), Entry for William Wright and Lousie W Wright, 1900."United States, Census, 1910", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVLT-ZS6 : Thu Mar 07 06:29:39 UTC 2024), Entry for William S Wright and Lucy W Wright, 1910. He first performed in public at age 9, when, as a reward for having sold the most tickets to a high school operetta, he was tasked not merely with formally presenting the frieze purchased by proceeds from the production, but also asked to sing at the ceremony."Dial Lines". The Des Moines Register. August 29, 1936. p. 4. "When Fred Howard was 9 years old he made his first bow before the public. He sold the most tickets for a high school operetta and as a reward was honored by being allowed to present the frieze which the money from the operetta purchased. Fred, who is now one of the Happy Chappies, also sang on the show. Chappies now sing at 7:45 a. m. over KRNT." After attending the University of California, San Diego, Wright joined the US Army, serving in 1st Cavalry Regiment, with whom he took part in the unsuccessful Pancho Villa Expedition."Baker Actor Tried to Catch Villa". The Oregon Daily Journal. April 19, 1925. Sec. 5, p. 4. Eventually rising to the rank of Second Lieutenant, Wright received his discharge in 1920."United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WQVS-5GW2 : Sat Apr 26 02:12:17 UTC 2025), Entry for Frederick Howard Wright, 30 Aug 1920.
Over the next decade, Wright—as Fred Howard—established himself as a successful stage performer, writer, producer, and director, specializing in musical comedy."Fred Howard Talented; Entertainer in Musical Comedy Never Fails to Amuse". The Oregonian. November 5, 1924. p. 15. "Howard is cast as a Parisian count direct from the Champ d'Elysees. Frivolous, gay and earnest as is the amazing heritage of the French, he enacts the temperamental role with rare discrimination. He froths, bubbles, and boils over in glee and amorous situations and romps away with a lion's share of the laughs with which Al Franks, director, has crammed the revue. Howard sings, too. As a member of the Harmony Three and the center man at that, he holds down the pivot point with sure-fire certainty."H., R. G. (December 29, 1924). "Fred Howard Shines as Play Writer in Offering at Baker". The Oregon Daily Journal. p. 17."Fred Howard Puts Pep in Baker Revues". The Oregon Daily Journal. February 8, 1925. Sec. 5, p. 2. "FRED HOWARD, director at the Baker theatre, who is winning many admirers by the way he is handling famous musical comedies.""Season Ends Tonight: Final Performance Sees Close of 38 Weeks of Revues". The Oregonian. May 22, 1925. p. 8. "The efforts of the company have been most favorably received by the Portland show-going public. Proof of this is seen in the unusual length of season, of which the present is the 38th week. Thirty-seven revues have been offered. The only repetition is the farewell show tonight. Individually and collectively the company, under Fred Howard's direction for the last 27 weeks, has attained standards seldom approached in the city before."Banks, Charles Eugene (March 3, 1927). "Melody Players Coming to the States Theater". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 4. "The men are Ben Dix, Richard Reid, Fred Howard, Walter Bunker, Jr., Walter Smith, and manager Eddie Mitchel." His singing was showcased in the trio, Harmony Three.Baer, Leone Cass (December 21, 1924). "The Stage: Harmony Three at The Baker". The Sunday Oregonian. Sec. 4, p. 4.
By February 1929, Wright—who, as a solo act, had previously appeared in at least one revue also featuring his soon-to-be partner's recently formed duo"State: Starts Today". The Times Standard. July 13, 1928. p. 2.—had officially become one half of the Happy Chappies,"Ex-Service Men to Have Hi-Jinks". The San Francisco Examiner. February 18, 1929. p. 9. "Former navy officers and sailors from all over San Francisco and the bay region will gather in Native Sons' hall here tonight for stag high jinks. The affair is being held as an Inaugural event for the membership drive for the C. C. Thomas Navy Post of the American Legion. [...] [E]ntertainers include dancers and singers from the Mandarin Cabaret and Nate Vincent and Fred Howard, the Happy Chappies of Radio KFRC." replacing pianist Nat Vincent's previous partner, tenor Harry Morton,Doyle, J. E. (February 24, 1930). "Pinza Talkie Stars on Radio; Around the Dial". The Oakland Post Enquirer. p. 8. "Harry Morton has signed with KFOX of Long Beach and his former partner of the Happy Chappies, Nat Vincent, is writing songs in Hollywood with Fred Howard." while also facilitating Wright's radio debut on San Francisco's KFRC. They continued together—having reportedly co-authored "486 popular songs" as of December 1935Nicholson, Frank (December 1, 1935). "Duplication Is Song Writer's Headache". The Des Moines Register. Sec. 10, p. 4. "It is difficult for one to appreciate the complications of the song-smith trade until he delves into its intricacies with two veteran song writers such as Nat Vincent and Fred Howard, who have written and published 486 popular songs that range from "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" to "Strawberry Roan," and who are now staff artists on radio. Nat Vincent and Fred Howard, song writers, will be interviewed over KRNT at 9:40 this morning by the author of this article, and will demonstrate with music many of the song similarities mentioned in this story."—at least as late as the summer of 1937."Airglances: Stars Tell How They Keep Cool". The Des Moines Register. July 3, 1937. p. 10. "Happy Chappies .... are singing a 'Stump Me' program over KSO at 9:15 P.M. [...] Fred Howard claims he curls up in his sponsor's product and sleeps."
In April 1938, Wright appeared at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in the Lambs Club's annual Spring Gambol, co-starring with Walter Woolf King and Gene Wolf in the brief operetta, Tempest in a Teapot, with words and music by Wright.
As a radio actor, some of Wright's more notable roles were C. Pemberton Tooley in Ma Perkins, Mr. Pringle—father of Oogie—in A Date with Judy, and Pa Buskirk on The Opie Cates ShowTerrace, Vincent (). Radio's Golden Years : The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs, 1930-1960. New York: A. S. Barnes & Company. p. 167. .
From 1949 through 1952, Wright was the principal writer on The Ruggles, the Charlie Ruggles sitcom created by Irving Phillips."News of Radio Writers". Writer's Digest. December 1949. p. 64. "Also on ABC’s video network, “Perchance To Dream,” an original short story by Michael Joyce, was adapted for the Boris Karloff show by David Shaw. The script for ABC’s new feature, The Ruggles, starring actor Charles Ruggles, is by Fred Howard." See also: "Situation Comedy". Ross Reports on Television Programming. June 18, 1950. p. 10. "THE RUGGLES - from WJZ-TV to 6 sta E&MW Nets & 5 kine; 10-10 :30pm Sundays; on film; kine at KECA-TV Hollywood.; comedy series of family life with Charles Ruggles, Irene Tedrow, Tommy Bernard, Judy Nugent, Jimmy Hawkins & Margaret Kerry; SUSTAINING; PRODUCER - Robert Raisbeck; DIRECTOR - George Cahan; WRITER - Fred Howard". Free the Kinescopes! (December 23, 2019). "The Ruggles: The Punishment (Oct. 4, 1951, ABC)". YouTube. Free the Kinescopes! (December 23, 2019). "The Ruggles: Perfect Strangers (4-10-52, ABC)". YouTube.
From Fred Howard to Howard Wright In March 1949, Wright—still billed as "Fred Howard"—made his TV debut, starring alongside K. T. Stevens, Marc Lawrence, in the Don Lee Television Workshop episode, "Shoes and Souls". One additional "Fred Howard" credit, for a 1951 appearance on Racket Squad, preceded the actor's unnoticed—and, accordingly, never explained—1953 professional transition to "Howard Wright" on The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok.
Among Wright's more notable television credits are two The Twilight Zone episodes, as "Judge Hardy" in the Season Three episode, "The Jungle (The Twilight Zone)" and an unnamed judge in the previous season's What's in the Box.Zicree, Marc Scott (1982). The Twilight Zone Companion. Toronto: Bantam Books. pp. 237, 421. . He also appeared on numerous episodes of the westerns, Bonanza and Death Valley Days.Leiby, Bruce; Leiby, Linda (2001). A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. pp. 53, 59, 71, 95, 103, 116. ."Talent Showsheet: Wednesday September 19". Ross Reports on Television. June 16, 1956. p. B. "'Halfway Girl: with Barbara Bestar, Steven Clark, Bill Kennedy, Howard Wright, Hank Patterson, Hal Smith, Harry Harvey, Glen Kilburn'"