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Michael Caine was born as Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in London, to Ellen (née Burchell), a cook, and Maurice Micklewhite Sr., a fish-market porter. He had a younger brother, Stanley Caine, and an older maternal half-brother named David Burchell. He left school at age 15 and took a series of working-class jobs before joining the British army and serving in Korea during the Korean War, where he saw combat. Upon his return to England, he gravitated toward the theater and got a job as an assistant stage manager. He adopted the name of Caine on the advice of his agent, taking it from a marquee that advertised The Caine Mutiny (1954). In the years that followed, he worked in more than 100 television dramas, with repertory companies throughout England and eventually in the stage hit "The Long and the Short and the Tall".

Zulu (1964), the epic retelling of a historic 19th-century battle in South Africa between British soldiers and Zulu warriors, brought Caine to international attention. Instead of being typecast as a low-ranking Cockney soldier, he played a snobbish, aristocratic officer. Although "Zulu" was a major success, it was the role of Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File (1965) and the title role in Alfie (1966) that made Caine a star of the first magnitude. He epitomized the new breed of actor in mid-1960s England, the working-class bloke with glasses and a down-home accent. However, after initially starring in some excellent films, particularly in the 1960s, including Gambit (1966), Funeral in Berlin (1966), Play Dirty (1969), Battle of Britain (1969), Too Late the Hero (1970), The Last Valley (1971) and especially Get Carter (1971), he seemed to take on roles in below-average films, simply for the money he could by then command.

However, there were some gems amongst the dross. He gave a magnificent performance opposite Sean Connery in The Man Who Would Be King (1975) and turned in a solid one as a German colonel in The Eagle Has Landed (1976). Educating Rita (1983), Blame It on Rio (1984) and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) (for which he won his first Oscar) were highlights of the 1980s, while more recently Little Voice (1998), The Cider House Rules (1999) (his second Oscar) and Last Orders (2001) have been widely acclaimed. Caine played Nigel Powers in the parody sequel Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and Alfred Pennyworth in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. He appeared in several other of Nolan's films including The Prestige (2006), Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014). He also appeared as a supporting character in Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men (2006) and Pixar's sequel Cars 2 (2011).

As of 2015, films in which Caine has starred have grossed over $7.4 billion worldwide. He is ranked the ninth highest grossing box office star. Caine is one of several actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting every decade from five consecutive decades (the other being Laurence Olivier and Meryl Streep). He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1992 Birthday Honours, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2000 Birthday Honours in recognition for his contributions to the cinema.

Caine has been married twice. First to actress Patricia Haines from 1954 to 1958. They had a daughter, Dominique, in 1957. A bachelor for some dozen-plus years after the divorce, he was romantically linked to Edina Ronay (for three years), Elizabeth Ercy, Nancy Sinatra, Natalie Wood, Candice Bergen, Bianca Jagger, Françoise Pascal and Jill St. John. In 1971 he met his second wife, fashion model Shakira Caine (née Baksh), and they married in 1973, six months before their daughter Natasha was born. The couple has three grandchildren, and in 2023, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Fred Wood (born 26 October 1922 in Rotherhithe, London) is an English actor and supporting artist who has worked extensively in British films since the late 1940s until 2001 and television since the 1950s.

Despite being based entirely in Britain, Fred has appeared in a large number of American films, due to filming taking place partly, or entirely in, Britain. His film credits include Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), From Russia with Love (1963), 1984 (1984), and Oliver! (1968).

Fred has appeared in a wide range of TV shows including Danger Man (1960), Gideon C.I.D. (1964), The Professionals (1977), The Baron (1966), and Gone to Seed (1992) and also due to his distinctive, emaciated appearance, he has appeared as a character performer of motion pictures also seen on film and television; often seen in horror productions.

Due to his long period in both film and television he has worked at many of Britain's earliest and greatest film studios including Greenpark Productions, Gainsborough, Bray, Denham, Elstree, Shepperton, Ealing, and Pinewood.

Fred along with many of his colleagues past and present also worked with a large number of our greatest directors and leading actors and actresses of the period including Ken Annakin, Alfred Hitchcock, Albert Finney, John Boulting, Michael Winner, Terry Gilliam, George Lucas, Richard Attenborough, and Stanley Kubrick.

Fred is best known as Fred Woods by those who knew and worked with him.

Max Bygraves was born on 16 October 1922 in Rotherhithe, London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Look Who's Talking (1989), Charley Moon (1956) and Spare the Rod (1961). He was married to Blossom Murray. He died on 31 August 2012 in Hope Island, Queensland, Australia.

Carol Raye was born on 17 January 1923 in Rotherhithe, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Mavis Bramston Show (1964), Strawberry Roan (1944) and Waltz Time (1945). She was married to Robert Ayre Smith and Clark Spencer. She died on 19 June 2022 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Alan 'Boots' Holmes was born on 25 April 1940 in Rotherhithe, London, England, UK. He died on 8 January 2022.

Joe Haines was born on 29 January 1928 in Rotherhithe, London, England, UK. He was married to Rene. He died on 19 February 2025 in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, UK.

Isidore Godfrey joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1925, leaving in 1968 by which time he was the company's principal conductor and musical director. He was married to two members of the company. Firstly to soprano chorister Marguerite Kynaston, and later to soprano (later contralto) principal Ann Drummond-Grant. He conducted the orchestras on many Gilbert and Sullivan/D'Oyly Carte recordings for HMV and Decca, many of which are still available on CD.

Dick Sutherd was born on 30 July 1872 in Rotherhithe, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Melody of Death (1922). He died on 14 January 1947 in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK.