Photo Credit: DAILY EXPRESS/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
Freddie Ross Hancock passed away on December 7th, 2022 at the age of 92. Originally from Britain, Freddie lived in America for 50 years. She is responsible for bringing BAFTA (the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, similar to the USA’s Academy Awards) to New York, and was honored as a Member of the British Empire in 2002.
The wife of Tony Hancock, the two were together for 11 years until Tony’s death at the age of 44. After her husband died in 1968, Freddie published a bestselling memoir in the UK entitled Hancock with theater journalist David Nathan the following year. She never remarried, but instead chose to forge her own path in show business.
Before managing Tony in the 1960’s, she had previously worked at the Holland America Line for two years in public relations. She then went on to work as Assistant Head of Publicity at the UK offices for Universal Pictures. She also started her own PR firm, where she was the primary promoter of foreign films in England.
Upon moving to the US, she began looking into ways for US movie companies to export films to the UK, as well as from the UK to the US. She was a part of many projects as a marketing consultant and a publicist, working with names such as Julie Andrews, Theodore Bikel and Jim Dale, most memorably organizing the 80th birthday party for Alistair Cooke. She was also Vice-Chairman of the US wing of the Royal Television Society, and did additional work with the movie distributor American Video Films as Senior Vice-President of Acquisitions in the 1990s and 2000s.
Through her close work with others, as well as her trailblazing work efforts, Freddie Ross Hancock has left an enduring legacy in the film industry.
