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- Audrey Long was born on 14 April 1922 in Orlando, Florida, USA. She was an actress, known for Born to Kill (1947), Pan-Americana (1945) and A Night of Adventure (1944). She was married to Leslie Charteris and Edward Rubin. She died on 19 September 2014 in Virginia Water, Surrey, England, UK.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
One of Britain's finest products of the stage, film and TV, actor Frank Finlay, he with the dark and handsomely serious-to-mordant looks, was born on August 6, 1926, in Farnworth, England, the son of Josiah, a butcher, and Margaret Finlay. Of English, Irish and Scottish descent, Frank attended St. Gregory the Great School and then was actually training to follow in his father's footsteps as a butcher himself when his side interest in acting eventually won out. He became a member of the Farnworth Little Theatre and met his future wife, Doreen Shepherd, a fellow member at the same time. They married in 1954, had three children (two sons, one daughter) and were married for over 50 years until her death in 2005.
Finlay began his professional career on the repertory stage with roles in The Guilford Theatre Company's 1957 productions of "Jessica" and "The Telescope". Graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he built up a strong and sturdy theatrical reputation at the Royal Court Theatre between 1958 and 1960 where he was seen to good advantage in such plays as "Chicken Soup and Barley", "Sugar in the Morning", "Sergeant Musgrave's Dance", "Roots", "I'm Talking About Jerusalem", "The Happy Haven" and "Platonov". Making his Broadway debut in "The Epitaph of George Dillon" in 1959, he also sparked a noteworthy professional association with Laurence Olivier at the National Theatre, the highlight being his intense but subtle portrayal of "Iago" to Olivier's "Othello" in 1964.
Marking his film debut in a bit role in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), Finlay sandwiched in a steady stream of British film parts (including Private Potter (1963), Doctor in Distress (1963), Agent 8 3/4 (1964), The Comedy Man (1964), A Study in Terror (1965) (as "Jack the Ripper" Inspector Lestrade), The Jokers (1967), The Deadly Bees (1966) and Robbery (1967)) in between theatre assignments. His greatest film opportunity occurred when he was given the right by Olivier to recreate his Iago role opposite the legendary actor in the masterful film adaptation of Othello (1965). Finlay, Maggie Smith (as "Desdemona") and Joyce Redman (as "Emilia") all received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for their illustrious "supporting" work of Olivier (who was also Oscar nominated). Frank went on to nab a "Most Promising Newcomer" nomination from the BAFTA committee as well. To date, this has been the actor's only Oscar recognition.
Frank, who had a dashing role as "Porthos" for director Richard Lester in the ripe Dumas adaptation of The Three Musketeers (1973) (and its sequels The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989)), has had primarily an international cinematic career. Films include The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), Cromwell (1970), The Molly Maguires (1970), Shaft in Africa (1973), The Wild Geese (1978), Murder by Decree (1979) (again as "Inspector Lestrade"), The Return of the Soldier (1982), The Key (1983) [The Key], Lifeforce (1985), La montagna dei diamanti (1991), So This Is Romance? (1997), Silent Cry (2002) and, most notably, the Oscar-winning WWII picture The Pianist (2002), directed by Roman Polanski, in which he portrayed the patriarch of a displaced Jewish family that included "Best Actor" son Adrien Brody.
Classical television notice came in middle age with Frank's strong performances as "Jean Valjean" in the British TV mini-series Les Misérables (1967) and the title role in Casanova (1971). He also went on to win stellar praise and a BAFTA award for his chilling portrayal of "Adolf Hitler" in The Death of Adolf Hitler (1973). Finlay and Susan Penhaligon courted controversy in the drama series Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1976) and were reunited in further controversy the following year with its follow-up Another Bouquet (1977). More plentiful and prestigious BBC-TV work came with his roles as Shakespeare's "Brutus" and "Shylock", not to mention his award-winning performances as "Voltaire" and "Sancho Panza".
In Count Dracula (1977), Finlay played "Van Helsing" to nemesis Louis Jourdan's velvety-voiced vampire; in A Christmas Carol (1984), he was the dour, shackled "Jacob Marley", who pays a ghostly visit to George C. Scott's crusty "Ebenezer Scrooge"; and in Eroica (2003), he portrayed composer "Franz Josef Haydn" alongside Ian Hart's "Beethoven" in the mini-series Eroica (2003). Frank ended his on-camera career gracing such programs as the mini-series Johnny and the Bomb (2006), Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act (2006) and Four Seasons (2008) and the TV series Life Begins (2004).
Throughout his prolific career on TV and film, Frank has maintained on the stage giving sterling performances in classic and contemporary plays as in with "Much Ado About Nothing (as "Dogberry"), "The Crucible", "Saturday Sunday Monday", "Filumena", "Amadeus" (a most affecting Salieri), "Mutiny" (as "Captain Bligh"), "Beyond Reasonable Doubt" and as the rigid father in the 1992 period production of "The Heiress." On January 30, 2016, Finlay died of heart failure in Surrey, England, at the age of 89.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
One of Britain's most beloved eccentric comedians, the irrepressible, gap-toothed Terry-Thomas was born Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens in Lichfield Grove, Finchley. He was the son of Ellen Elizabeth (Hoar) and Ernest Frederick Stevens, a fairly well-to-do London businessman. He was afforded a private education at Ardingly College in Sussex, with the understanding that this was to lead him towards a prosperous future in the world of commerce. Ironically, deemed to have no acting talent and thus spurned by his school's dramatic society, young Thomas took to music and soon fronted his own jazz band, "The Rhythm Maniacs", in which he also played ukulele. His initial experience in the work force was, at best humdrum, at worst traumatic. He started as a transport clerk with the Union Cold Storage Company, went on selling meat at the Smithfield Markets and then peddled insurance policies for Norwich Union. By both choice and inclination, he didn't fit into any of these jobs, was often bullied and consequently adopted as his life-long mantra the motto "I Shall Not Be Cowed".
Trying everything to break out of what he perceived as lower middle class mediocrity, he first changed his accent from North London to the posh upper-crust tones of then-matinee idol Owen Nares. He turned to professional ballroom dancing, found work in films as an extra and performed comedy monologues, as well as impersonations in night clubs and cabaret. He also tried several variations for a stage name people would remember, including a reversed spelling of Tom Stevens: 'Mot Snevets'. Not surprisingly, this didn't catch on, and so he eventually settled on 'Terry Thomas', later adding the hyphen, which he likened to the gap between his teeth.
His theatrical debut at the Tivoli Theatre in Hull did not eventuate until he was twenty-eight. The onset of World War II put his burgeoning career on hold. He enlisted in the Army Signals Corps and, somehow, rose to the rank of sergeant. Between 1940 and 1942, Terry participated in the ENSA program, staging his own shows "Cabaret Parade" and "Stars in Battledress". It was at this time, that he first adopted the affected mannerisms, which later became his stock-in-trade. He also demonstrated an amazing repertoire for imitating popular vocalists and for recreating all types of sound effects with his voice.
In July 1946, Terry joined the cast of the revue "Piccadilly Hayride" and suddenly became the comic discovery of the year, which ended with a Royal Variety Performance in front of King and Queen. His proper breakthrough, though, came via his radio show "To Town with Terry" (and its sequel), aired on the BBC Home Service from October 1948. This opened many doors, including Terry getting his own TV series, How Do You View? (1949). He was invited to a cabaret gig at New York's Waldorf Astoria in 1951. Terry was featured on the inaugural cover of TV Mirror, even before the part of his career for which he is primarily remembered had begun in earnest.
After a brace of nondescript roles, he was finally cast as the effete, derisive Major Hitchcock in the first of several films produced by the Boulting brothers, Private's Progress (1956). For several years after, Terry's popularity flourished with similar films taking a jaundiced view of British institutions. Following his overbearing Bertrand Welch in Lucky Jim (1957), he starred as the titular Man in a Cocked Hat (1959), a satire paralleling the Suez Affair, which turned out to be one of his best roles. Terry played an inept, blundering diplomat appointed as 'special ambassador' to sort out the political quagmire of an obscure former colony, overrun by foreign agents and on the verge of an uprising. For this assignment, his character has little more to draw upon, other than his knowledge of Debrett's Peerage and Sporting Life. This film, established the dandified "jolly good show"-type Terry-Thomas screen personae once and for all.
After Carleton-Browne, came I'm All Right Jack (1959) (in which he recreated his Major Hitchcock character as a representative of management vis-à-vis labour) and School for Scoundrels (1960), in which he was perfectly cast a first-class bounder. Alternating dastardly, moustache-twirling comic villains (Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965)) with sophisticated, rakish bon vivants and impeccably British chauffeurs (Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966) or butlers (How to Murder Your Wife (1965), popularised Terry on both sides of the Atlantic. Mostly, he came to epitomise the archetypal British 'silly ass' -- an instantly recognisable figure replete with RAF-style moustache, cheeky gap-toothed grin, mobile eyebrows, flashy waistcoats, button-hole carnation, suede shoes and enormous cigarette holders (including one studded with 42 diamonds!). Life imitated art, when it came to womanising, clothing and accessories. Terry, a founding member of the London Waistcoat Club, ended up owning more than 150 of these garments, in addition to 80 Savile Row bespoke suits.
In the late 1960's, Terry settled on the island of Ibiza with his twenty-six year old second wife. However, by 1984, his prior extravagant lifestyle and the exorbitant costs associated with the treatment of Parkinson's disease, with which he had been diagnosed in 1971, forced the couple to sell the villa and move back to a sparse flat in Britain. Almost destitute, his remaining days were made easier by his numerous friends in show business who managed to raise 51,000 pounds for him at a London benefit. Terry-Thomas died at a high care nursing home in Godalming, Surrey, in January 1990 at the age of 78.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
'Eric Sykes' started as a radio scriptwriter but he soon found he could perform as well as write. The slight handicap of being very hard of hearing doesn't interfere with his wonderful comic timing. The spectacles he wears have no lenses but contain a bone conducting hearing aid.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Best remembered as 'Mrs. Slocombe' on the British comedy "Are You Being Served?" Mollie Sugden was born in Keighley, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. She attended Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Her first television role came in 1962 with the series "Hugh and I," which ran for four seasons. In 1972, she won the role of the head of the ladies department at Grace Brothers Department Store, 'Mrs. Betty Slocombe,' on "Are You Being Served." Her character was known for her change in hair color, as well as her affection for her cat. The series ran between 1972 and 1985. She reprised the role in the 1990s for the short live revival, "Grace & Favour." After the initial run of "Are You Being Served" ended in 1985 she continued to work on television including the series "My Husband and I," in which she starred with real-life husband, William Moore. In 2002, she was honoured on her 80th birthday with the "Celebrating Mollie Sugden: An Are You Being Served? Special" Mollie Sugden died after a long illness at age 86, just months after her "Are You Being Served? co-star Wendy Richard.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Trevor Bannister was born on 14 August 1934 in Durrington, Wiltshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Are You Being Served? (1972), Are You Being Served? (1977) and The Tomorrow People (1973). He was married to Pam Carson and Kathleen Cravos. He died on 14 April 2011 in Thames Ditton, Surrey, England, UK.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Sometime in the early 1930s, Denny was between scenes on a movie set when he met a neighborhood boy who was trying to fly a bulky gas-powered model plane. When he tried to help by making an adjustment on the machine, Denny succeeded only in wrecking it. But this launched his infatuation with model aviation, and his new hobby grew into Reginald Denny Industries, maker of model plane kits.
When the U.S. Army began hunting for a better and safer way to train anti-aircraft gunners than using targets towed by piloted planes, Denny and his associates Walter Righter and Paul Whittier began work on a radio-controlled target drone, and their third prototype won them an Army contract. Radioplane was formed in 1940, and during WWII produced nearly 15,000 target drones (the RP-5A) for the Army. Radioplane was later purchased by Northrop in 1952.- John Barry Foster's acting career began and ended on the stage. At the age of 20 he won a scholarship to the Central School of Speech and Drama where he befriended future playwright Harold Pinter. After two years training, Barry went on tour with Andrew McMaster and fellow actors Patrick Magee and Kenneth Haigh through the Republic of Ireland. Their repertoire included thirteen plays (mostly Shakespearean but also included J.B. Priestley's 'An Inspector Calls'). Barry's first role was as Lorenzo in 'The Merchant of Venice'.
In 1955, he hit the lights of London with 'The Night of the Ball' at the New Theatre and six years later had his first starring role as Cornelius Christian in 'Fairy Tales of New York'. During the remainder of the decade, Barry played through an immensely varied array of characters ranging from Adhemar in the French comedy 'Let's Get a Divorce' to King John and Macbeth at the Nottingham Playhouse. He appeared with Dame Wendy Hiller in 'Driving Miss Daisy' and with Lotte Lenya in 'Brecht on Brecht' at The Royal Court. His portfolio also included two Pinter plays, 'The Basement' and 'The Tea Party'. In 1963, he also acted on Broadway, San Francisco and Los Angeles in a double bill: 'The Private Ear' and 'The Public Eye' by Peter Shaffer. Time Magazine (October 18,1963) described his performance as Cristoforou as "a remarkable and indefinable creation" and "the most antic and mythic embodiment of Life Force since Zorba the Greek danced off the pages of Nikos Kazantzakis novel".
While he had appeared in film roles since the mid-1950's, it was on the small screen where Barry Foster had his greatest success, specifically as the trench-coated Dutch detective Van der Valk (1972). Introduced by the catchy theme song 'Eye Level' (a British chart topper in 1973), this 1970s TV series was filmed on location in Amsterdam and featured a rather off-beat type of detective: introspective, often rash and moody, at times anti-establishmentarian, yet with great compassion, wit and intelligence. Barry Foster himself remarked about the popular Van der Valk: "He is understanding and does not disapprove. That isn't his job, anyway. He's a lovely guy to play, a thoughtful, unorthodox cop with a touch of the private eye" (The Independent, 13/2/2002).
Other notable television roles followed. Among the best of them was as Kaiser Wilhelm in BBC's excellent miniseries Fall of Eagles (1974). He was again perfectly cast as eccentric spook Saul Enderby, one of Smiley's People (1982), played with typical aplomb and dry humour. In 1978, Barry lent his voice to an impersonation of the great detective Sherlock Holmes in a 13-part BBC radio series. In films, Barry will be best remembered as the serial killing grocer Bob Rusk in Hitchcock's thriller Frenzy (1972). From the 1980s, Barry Foster concentrated once again on the theatre. In 1995, he toured Australia with Priestley's 'An Inspector Calls' (playing the part of Inspector Goole), directed by Stephen Daldry. Five years later, he starred as Prospero in 'The Tempest' and, just prior to his untimely death, appeared with Nigel Havers and Roger Lloyd Pack in the play 'Art' at the London Whitehall theatre. Barry Foster was a singularly accomplished and likeable actor who once explained his versatility thus: "I'm neither very tall nor very short. You can't look at my face and say 'he's the killer', or 'the guy next door' or 'the mad scientist'. All I've got is my curly hair - which everyone thinks is a wig anyway" (The Telegraph, 12/2/2002). - Actor
- Soundtrack
Anthony Valentine was born on 17 August 1939 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Scobie in September (1969), The Fifth Corner (1992) and Callan (1967). He was married to Susan Valentine. He died on 2 December 2015 in Guildford, Surrey, England, UK.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
She became an actress because her mother had been stage struck so attended RADA and won a gold medal but despite that she was out of work for a year. An early success was as Ruby in Getting Married at St Martins Theatre in 1938, Probably best remembered for her role as Edna the Inebriated Woman for which she won the Television Actress of the ~Year Award in 1972. As a small child she was sent to an acting teacher who taught her to recite The Murder of Nancy Drew by Charles Dickens and used to recite it in childrens competitions and win prizes- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
A brilliant comic actor Terry Scott was one of the most familiar faces on British television in the 1960s and 70s. At the height of his popularity his classic comedy series, Terry and June, (in which he co-starred with June Whitfield) was watched by 15 million viewers weekly.
Born Owen John Scott in Watford he began his theatrical career in his teens at the Watford Amateur Dramatic Society playing small comic roles. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Navy and in 1945 he used his demobilisation gratuity to enter show-business as a manager of seaside shows around Britain.
In 1949 he was contracted by the BBC to appear on a radio show with comic Bob Monkhouse which was not successful. Later he teamed up with another comic Bill Maynard which led to the popular TV series Great Scott, It's Maynard.
On stage in the late 50s he worked in farces with comedians such as Brian Rix before going on to star in another popular TV comedy Hugh and I (with Hugh Lloyd) which regularly topped the ratings during the 60s. In 1969 he joined up with comic actress June Whitfield in the series Happy Ever After which later evolved into Terry and June and ran for a record breaking 14 years. In 1978 the Scott and Whitfield were named by the Variety Club of Great Britain as Join Personalities of the Year.
On the London stage he starred he proved hugely popular in shows such as A Bed Full of Foreigners, The Mating Game and Run For Your Wife which he also toured in the Middle East. He was also one of Britain's most famous pantomime 'dames'.
Scott was dogged by ill-health for many years and in 1979 his life was saved by a four hour brain operation after a haemorrage. By 1985 he was suffering from creeping paralysis and often had to wear a neck brace on stage and TV. When his TV series Terry and June was axed in 1988 he suffered a nervous breakdown partly brought on by his public confession that he had indulged in a series of affairs during his marriage to former dancer Margaret Peden (whom he wed in 1957) and that he was suffering from cancer.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Genial Manchester-born comic actor Sam Kelly had a considerable gift for timing and observation. His special forte was playing decrepit, rheumy characters of more advanced years than his own actual age. Among the many endearing impressions he made on the small screen, he is probably best remembered as the illiterate crook 'Bunny' Warren in Porridge (1974) and as the inept German officer Hans Geering in 'Allo 'Allo! (1982), forever abbreviating the Nazi salute to a shout of "Tler!" (which to many ears sounded like 'klop' or 'club'). His other sitcom credits include Norman Elston in Now and Then (1983), the servant Nathaniel Grunge in the Georgian period romp Haggard (1990) and the chauffeur Sam Jones in On the Up (1990). Kelly's expressive features also splendidly suited a varied gallery of Dickensian characters: the timid Mr. Snagsby (Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House (1985); the undertaker Mr. Mould (Martin Chuzzlewit (1994); the kindly manservant Giles (Oliver Twist (1999); and the grocer Cudlipp (in John Sullivan's ITV adaptation Micawber (2001)).
By his own admission, Kelly might have been content running a village post office. He began his working life as a clerk in the Liverpool civil service before enrolling at the London Academy of Dramatic Arts at the age of twenty. He graduated in 1967 and then acted in regional repertory theatre for five years. In the course of his subsequent career, he made frequent appearances at London's West End, at the Old Vic and at the Royal Court in plays ranging from "The Odd Couple" and "HMS Pinafore" to "War and Peace". The stage was to remain his preferred medium, allowing him to occasionally branch out into serious roles (while regular television work necessarily paid the bills). His dramatic performance as a sorrowful bachelor facing retirement in "Grief" (2011) at the National Theatre was said to have been his best.
In 1977, Kelly co-founded the Croydon Warehouse Theatre, which operated until its closure due to financial and structural problems in 2012.- Actor
- Additional Crew
The British character actor Edward Judd was born to British parents in 1932 in Shanghai, China, where he began acting on stage as a teenager. Before he was 16, he was in England making his film debut in The Hideout (1948), closely followed by Maniacs on Wheels (1949) and The Outsider (1948). During the 1950s, Judd achieved modest fame on the English stage and continued his film career. By the 1960s, he had become associated mostly with science fiction films, e.g., X the Unknown (1956), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), First Men in the Moon (1964), Island of Terror (1966) and Invasion (1965). Judd made sporadic appearances, mostly in television, until the early 1990s.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
He made his film debut in The Conspirator in 1949 and went on to starring roles in such as Geordie and The Bridal Path, He's probably better known though for the animal films which he made with his actress wife Virginia McKenna such as Born Free, An Elephant Called Slowly and Ring of Bright Water, His sister was the actress Linden Travers and his niece is the actress Penelope Wilton- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Gareth Hunt was born on 7 February 1943 in Battersea, London, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for Fierce Creatures (1997), Undercover Lover (1979) and The New Avengers (1976). He was married to Amanda, Annette Walter-Lax and Carol. He died on 14 March 2007 in Redhill, Surrey, England, UK.- Nicholas Smith was born on 5 March 1934 in Banstead, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), Are You Being Served? (1972) and Are You Being Served? (1977). He was married to Mary Wall. He died on 6 December 2015 in Sutton, Surrey, England, UK.
- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
He was one of the funniest guys in British television, much acclaimed for his dry wit and deadpan delivery, both on and off the set. Sean Lock was a genuine comedic original. His screen persona has been described as "studiedly obtuse". Either as host or panellist, he knew how to have audiences in stitches with his unique blend of darkly absurdist humour, his material ranging from the everyday commonplace to the wholly bizarre. Lock was perhaps best known for his frequent guest appearances on Stephen Fry's QI (2003), and, more so, as a regular team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats (2005) and its sequel 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (2012) (a collective tenure which spanned almost sixteen years). Between 2007 and 2010 he was voted in a public poll conducted by Channel 4, respectively, 55th and 19th in the all-time greatest ever list of stand-up comics.
The son of Sidney Lock, a worker in the construction business, and Mary (nee McCreesh), Sean grew up in Surrey. After leaving school, his father got him a job as a labourer. For seven years, he worked on high scaffolds, stripping concrete panels from buildings. Exposed to the sun and having unwisely eschewed sunscreens, he developed a malignant melanoma at 27 which was successfully treated. Lock then tried his hand at other short-term pursuits, including as a goat herder, toilet cleaner and social security office worker. He eventually undertook studies at the Drama Centre in London, hoping to become an actor. While this did not pan out, he discovered, through frequent visits to comedy clubs studying different techniques, that humour was more his forte. He has cited Dave Allen and Alexei Sayle, among others, as having been a "massive influence". In 1988, Lock had his first 20 minute gig at a pub in Stoke Newington in north-east London which resulted in a £15 paycheque and confirmed the future course of his career.
Lock began on television in 1991. By 1998, he had his own radio sitcom, 15 Minutes of Misery, in which he starred as a resident in a high-rise tower block, eavesdropping on neighbours via hidden microphones installed by his plumber "Hot Bob". This spawned a 12-part TV series, 15 Storeys High (2002), which he also primarily scripted. In 2000, Lock was voted Best Live Comic at the British Comedy Awards (that same year, Rob Brydon was voted Best Newcomer). As a writer, Lock also regularly contributed additional material to comedy shows featuring Bill Bailey, Lee Evans, Phill Jupitus and Alan Davies. Between 2006 and 2007, he hosted and produced a panel show, TV Heaven, Telly Hell (2006), in which celebs were asked to recount and discuss their likes and dislikes in television history. In 2012, he was nominated for a Perrier Award as Best Male Television Comic.
Sean Lock once said: "I go to my office nearly every day, and I'll sit there for six or seven hours and come up with ideas, and that's the only way I can justify turning up on stage" and "the thing about comedy, there's something utterly delightful and slightly pure about a really good joke, and to create one is a great pleasure". His untimely passing at the age of 58 in August 2021 is much to be lamented.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Dame Anna Neagle, the endearingly popular British star during WWII, was born Florence Marjorie Robertson and began dancing as a professional in chorus lines at age 14. She starred with actor Jack Buchanan in the musical "Stand Up and Sing" in the West End and earned her big break when producer/director Herbert Wilcox, who had caught the show purposely to consider Buchanan for an upcoming film, was also taken (and smitten) by Anna, casting her as well in the process. Thus began one of the most exclusive and successful partnerships in the British cinema.
Under Wilcox's guidance (they married in 1943), Anna became one of the biggest and brightest celebrities of her time. Always considered an actress of limited abilities, the lovely Anna nevertheless would prove to be a sensational box-office commodity for nearly two decades. She added glamour and sophistication for war-torn London audiences and her lightweight musicals, comedies and even costumed historical dramas provided a nicely balanced escape route. The tasteful, ladylike heroines she portrayed included nurses Edith Cavell and Florence Nightingale, flyer Amy Johnson and undercover spy Odette; Nell Gwyn and Queen Victoria also fell within her grasp. She appeared in a number of frothy post-war retreads co-starring Michael Wilding that the critics turned their noses on but the audiences ate up - including They Met at Midnight (1946), Katy's Love Affair (1947), Spring in Park Lane (1948) and The Lady with a Lamp (1951). She tried to extend her fame to Hollywood and briefly appeared there in three musicals in the early 40s, but failed to make a dent. Anna's appeal faded somewhat in the late 50s and, after producing a few film efforts, retired altogether from the screen.
She returned to her theatre roots, which culminated in the long-running "Charlie Girl", a 1965 production that ran with Anna for nearly six years. She was bestowed with the honor of Dame of the British Empire in 1969 for her contributions to the theatre. Anna continued to perform after her husband's death in 1977, later developing Parkinson's disease in her final years. She died in 1986 of complications.- Marjie Lawrence was born on 21 January 1932 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for All the Fun of the Fair (1979), The Rainbow (1988) and Dixon of Dock Green (1955). She was married to Howard Greene. She died on 16 June 2010 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.
- Robert Lang was born on 24 September 1934 in Bristol, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The Dance of Death (1969) and 1990 (1977). He was married to Ann Bell. He died on 6 November 2004 in Sutton, Surrey, England, UK.
- Phyllis Hannah Bickle was born in Chelsea in 1915 and studied dancing at the Margaret Morris school of dance, until an injury forced her to give up dancing and turn instead to acting. Her 70 year film career began with a bit part in The Arcadians (1927) when she was just 12 years old. Along with over 40 movies, she had a successful stage career, spanning 1925 ('Crossings' with Ellen Terry) to 1994 ('Bed') - appearing in such works as 'Blithe Spirit', 'The Heiress' and 'Peter Pan', as the title role of the boy who never grew up.
Phyllis' film breakthrough came in 1941 in the adaptation of the HG Wells story, The Remarkable Mr. Kipps (1941) in which she was cast as the servant girl, a part which had originally been turned down by Margaret Lockwood. In her next film, she was starring opposite international star Robert Donat, a far cry from the music hall comedians (George Formby, Arthur Askey) she had been acting with only a few years earlier. The Man in Grey (1943) truly catapulted her to stardom and from then on there was no looking back. Phyllis Calvert became one of the names most associated with the Gainsborough costume melodramas of the 1940s, usually as the sweet heroine, or the steadfast non-nonsense leader.
After a small trip to Hollywood in the late 1940s, Phyllis returned to England and earned her one BAFTA nomination for the role of the mother of a deaf girl in Crash of Silence (1952) but after that her film career slowed down, with family taking precedence. While shooting Indiscreet (1958), Phyllis was struck a cruel blow when her husband of 16 years, Peter Murray-Hill, passed away. Her stage career picked up markedly in the 1960s when she began taking more and more roles to better raise their two children solely. She gracefully slid into a niche of character roles, usually the kindly mother or aunt, and in 1970, had her own TV series, Kate (1970). In the 1980s she concentrated more on television, only appearing twice on stage. Her final play was in 1994, film in 1997, and TV appearance in 2000. - Actor
- Writer
- Director
Bryan Forbes was born on July 22, 1926 in Stratford, London, England as John Theobald Clarke. He was an actor, writer, and director, known for The Guns of Navarone (1961), The Whisperers (1967) and Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964). He was married to Nanette Newman and Constance Smith. He died on May 8, 2013 in Virginia Water, Surrey, England.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Grandiose Irish stage, film and television character player Max Adrian, a noted classical performer and musical comedy revue star with a highly distinctive voice and "old school" acting style, was born Guy Thornton Bor on November 1, 1903, in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland. The son of Edward Norman Cavendish Bor and wife Mabel Lloyd Thornton, Max studied at the Portora Royal School and showed early interest in the performing arts. An intermission singer/dancer at a silent film theatre, he made his stage debut in the chorus in 1925 and proceeded to gain experience on the West End.
Following extensive repertory experience, Adrian (who was occasionally billed as Max Cavendish) enjoyed his first transcontinental stage hit with "First Episode", which toured throughout England and later transferred to Broadway in 1934. He went on to find wide personal success with his roles in "Troilus and Cressida" and "The Doctor's Dilemma" toward the end of the decade. Joining the Old Vic company in 1939, he scored as "The Dauphin" in "Saint Joan", then continued supremely with John Gielgud's company at the Haymarket Theatre in the mid-1940s as "Puck" in "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Osric" in "Hamlet" and "Tattle" in "Love for Love".
A founding member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and, much later, Laurence Olivier's National Theatre, Adrian earned widespread admiration for his work on the lighter side as a singer/comedian on the post-WWII musical revue stage. Many were produced by his long-time companion Laurier Lister (1907-1986). He also later performed eloquently, if outrageously, in one-man shows about George Bernard Shaw and the lesser successful "Gilbert and Sullivan".
Following his revue success, the often-bespectacled actor traveled to America in 1956 to appear in Leonard Bernstein's operetta, "Candide", on Broadway. Adrian stayed and pursued a career working in such summer stock productions of "Pygmalion" as Alfred as Doolittle, "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme" as "Jourdain", "The Merchant of Venice" as "Shylock", and "The School for Scandal" as "Sir Peter Teazle", but never established a strong footing. He returned to London in 1959 to appear in Noël Coward "Look After Lulu!", which later was taken to Broadway.
In the early 1960s, Adrian became a member of Peter Hall's nascent Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford-upon-Avon, wherein he appeared in "As You Like It", "Twelfth Night" and "Troilus and Cressida", as well as the non-Bard productions of "The Duchess of Malfi", "The Devils" and "The Hollow Crown". He also was a founding member of Olivier's National Theatre Company at the Old Vic from 1963, wherein he supported Peter O'Toole "Hamlet" as "Polonius". He also went on to appear in "Saint Joan", "Uncle Vanya", "The Recruiting Officer" and "The Master Builder".
Less renowned for his work on film, Adrian's made his debut in 1934 with two films: The Primrose Path (1934) and Eight Cylinder Love (1934). Film highlights during this earlier period came with his roles in the historical pieces The Remarkable Mr. Kipps (1941) and Courageous Mr. Penn (1942) and as "The Dauphin" in Olivier's classical masterpiece, Henry V (1944) (aka Henry V). Post-war films included lesser parts in The Taming of Dorothy (1950), Pool of London (1951) and The Pickwick Papers (1952). In later years, he showed some minor flash in Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) and The Deadly Affair (1967), and capped his cinematic career as a favorite actor of visionary director Ken Russell and his mesmerizingly bizarre films The Music Lovers (1971), The Boy Friend (1971) and The Devils (1971). He fared much better on TV with several Shakespearean and other classical roles, notably as a delightful "Fagin" in "Oliver Twist", impressive Benjamin Disraeli in "Victoria Regina", and as composer "Fredrick Delius" in "Song of Summer".
Dying of a heart attack in 1973, the prolific stage actor, survived by his partner, was paid tribute by such luminaries as Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness and revue co-star Joyce Grenfell.- Actor
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Dermot went to University College Dublin, where he studied English and Philosopy. In 1974 he took up a teaching post, but left 2 years later to persue the comedy career that he had started at university. In 1979 his first introduction to TV came with an appearance on "Live Mike" on RTE television as Fr. Trendy, a catholic priest who was religiously hip. He became a regular for the next 4 years. His career took a slump in the mid-eighties, when his humour didn't fit in with the views of RTE who controlled the media in Ireland at the time. In 1988 he set up his own production company, Cue Productions and began work on a radio show called "Scrap Saturday". This show lampooned Irish politicians, and allowed him to use his wonderful talent for mimicry. In 1991, at the height of it's success the show was cancelled by RTE. He remained angry about the cancellation of the show for many years. He returned to doing stand up comedy. In 1995 he started his most popular show, "Father Ted" which won him several awards. He had just completed the third series of "Father Ted" when he died.- Actress
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June Brown served in the Wrens and was classically trained at the Old Vic Drama School. She enjoyed a long career in the theatre, television and the cinema. The actor Nigel Hawthorne described her as "one of the most beautiful creatures I've seen on stage" after seeing her performance as Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler." Aside from her EastEnders (1985) fame as Dot Cotton, she appeared as "Lady Macbeth" opposite Albert Finney and directed "Double D" at the 1993 Edinburgh Festival.- Frederick Treves was born on March 29, 1925 in Cliftonville, Margate, Kent, England as Frederick William Treves. He was an actor, known for The Big Pull (1962) (1962), The Elephant Man (1980) (1980), St. Ives (1960) (1960) and the TV adaptation of Len Deighton's Game, Set, and Match (1988) (1988). He was married to Margaret Jean Stott. He died on January 30, 2012 in Mitcham, Surrey, England.
- Bruce Boa was born on 10 July 1930 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He was an actor, known for Full Metal Jacket (1987), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Octopussy (1983). He was married to Cherry. He died on 17 April 2004 in Surrey, England, UK.
- Heather Sears was born on 28 September 1935 in Whitechapel, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Story of Esther Costello (1957), Room at the Top (1958) and The Phantom of the Opera (1962). She was married to Anthony Masters. She died on 3 January 1994 in Hinchley Wood, Esher, Surrey, England, UK.
- Ben Aris was born on 16 March 1937 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Get Carter (1971), The Three Musketeers (1973) and Royal Flash (1975). He was married to Yemaiel Oved. He died on 4 September 2003 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.
- Rita Davies was born on 24 February 1933 in Hertfordshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Children of Men (2006) and The Best Offer (2013). She was married to Ian MacNaughton. She died on 19 January 2016 in Princess Alice Hospice, Esher, Surrey, England, UK.
- Michael Robbins (14 November 1930 - 11 December 1992) was an English actor and comedian best known for his on-going role as Arthur Rudge in the TV sitcom and film versions of On the Buses (1969-72).
Born in London, Robbins was a bank clerk who became an actor after appearing in amateur dramatic performances in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, where he and his family lived at the time. Robbins made his television debut as the cockney soldier in Roll-on Bloomin' Death. Primarily a comedy actor, he is best remembered for the role of Arthur Rudge, the persistently sarcastic husband of Olive (Anna Karen), in the popular sitcom On the Buses (1969-73). Robbins and Karen provided the secondary comic storyline to Reg Varney's comedy capers at the bus depot. Robbins also appeared in the series film spin-offs, On the Buses, Mutiny on the Buses, and Holiday on the Buses. His other comedy credits include non-recurring roles in Man About the House, The Good Life, One Foot in the Grave, The New Statesman, George and Mildred, Hi-de-Hi! and You Rang, M'Lord?. He appeared as a rather humorously portrayed police sergeant in the TV adaptation of Brendon Chase.
As well as these comic roles, he assumed various straight roles in some of the major British television shows of the 1960s and 1970s: including Minder, The Sweeney, Z-Cars, Return of the Saint, Murder Most English, The Avengers, Dixon of Dock Green, The Bill and the 1982 Doctor Who story The Visitation.
Robbins's film credits included The Whisperers, Up The Junction, The Looking Glass War, Zeppelin and Blake Edwards' films The Pink Panther Strikes Again and Victor/Victoria'. He also had an extensive career as a radio actor, including a role in the soap opera Waggoner's Walk and the satirical 1970s show Life is What Yer Make It.
Robbins was an indefatigable worker for charity and the Catholic Stage Guild; and received a Papal Award for his services in 1987. In one of his last television appearances, in A Little Bit of Heaven Robbins recalled his childhood visits to Norfolk and spoke of his faith and love of the Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham.
In the mid-1970s he also directed a film: How Are You?
Robbins was married to actress Hal Dyer from 1960 until he died from cancer in Caterham, Surrey, in late 1992 aged 62. Robbins was survived by his two children and four grandchildren. Hal Dyer almost 20 years later died in 2011 from a brain hemorrhage. - Actor
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One of Britain's great variety comedians Arthur English was known as 'The Prince of the Wide Boys', a cockney 'spiv' character outrageously dressed on stage and wearing a huge kipper tie.
Born in Aldershot, Hants English started his career at an early age appearing in amateur shows but did not become a professional performer until he was 30. He served in the Army during World War Two and after being demobbed worked as a painter and decorator.
In 1949 he auditioned at the famous Windmill Theatre in London and he was put under contract for several seasons as a principal comic. His catchphrases became legendary: "They're laughin' at me Mum", "Sharpen up there, the quick stuff's coming" and his famous exit line "Play the music - open the cage!".
On radio he starred in BBC's Variety Bandbox alongside comics such as Reg Dixon and Mrs Shufflewick (Rex Jameson) and he also appeared in numerous summer shows, pantomimes and clubs throughout the UK.
English turned to straight acting in the early 1970s both on stage, screen and on television. He starred in a variety of comic cockney parts on television in the Comedy Playhouse series and Hugh and I (1962). In 1987 he joined fellow veterans Irene Handl and Charlie Chester in Never Say Die (1987), a comedy series set in an old people's home. His greatest success on tv was as the janitor Mr Harman in the cult series Are You Being Served? (1972).- British character actor Felix Aylmer was educated at Oxford and later studied drama, making his stage debut at the London Coliseum in 1911. During World War I he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and resumed his stage career after the war ended. He entered films in 1930 and stayed in them for the next 40 years, specializing in elderly, doddering characters (often clerics). Arguably his most memorable film appearance is that of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944). He is also well-known for his portrayal of Father Anselm in the television series Oh Brother! (1968).
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Veteran entertainer Sir Bruce Forsyth had a career spanning eight decades, in which he went from struggling variety performer to Saturday night TV stardom. On the way, he became one of the most recognisable entertainers in the business, driven by what appeared to be inexhaustible energy. He became synonymous with the plethora of game shows that seemed to dominate television light entertainment in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, although he often felt he had become typecast as the genial quizmaster. And at an age when most performers would have put their feet up, his career enjoyed a huge revival with the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing (2004). Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson was born in Edmonton, north London, on 22 February 1928. His father owned a local garage and both his parents were Salvation Army members who sang and played music at home.
Bruce was a direct descendant of William Forsyth, a founder of the Royal Horticultural Society, whose name was given to the plant forsythia. His interest in showbusiness was kindled at the age of eight and he was reportedly found tap-dancing on the flat roof after watching his first Fred Astaire film.
He made his stage debut at the age of 14 as Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom, appearing bottom of the bill at the Theatre Royal, Bilston. Live entertainment was a way of escaping the pressures and dangers of wartime Britain, and there was a huge demand for acts, no matter how bad they were.
But there was to be no fast track to success. For the next 16 years he performed in church halls and theatres across the country, sleeping in train luggage racks and waiting for the big break. It came in 1958, at a time when he had been unemployed for more than three months and was seriously considering giving up on showbusiness. He was asked to present Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium (1955), a televised variety show, made by Lord Grade's ATV company for the ITV network. He'd finally found the fame he had always craved, appearing not in front of a couple of hundred people in a theatre, but the more than 10 million who regularly tuned in to the show.
Originally booked for two weeks, he stayed five years, by which time he was Britain's highest-paid entertainer, earning £1,000 a week (£18,700 in today's money). But he continued touring with his variety show and the strain of combining this with his Palladium appearances took a toll on his private life. He divorced his first wife, Penny Calvert, a dancer he'd met in the theatre, and she wrote an account of her husband's perpetual absence, called Darling, Your Dinner's in the Dustbin. A popular element in his Palladium show was a feature called Beat the Clock, in which contestants, egged on by Forsyth, had to complete quirky tasks as a huge clock ticked down.
The segment gave a hint of his future television role and he went on to host some of the most popular television game shows of the 1970s and 80s. With his catchphrases of "Nice to see you, to see you nice" and "Didn't he do well?" he reigned supreme at the helm of the BBC's Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game (1971) for six years from 1971, and again at the beginning of the 1990s. At its peak, the programme attracted 20 million viewers, who tuned in to watch Forsyth seemingly having more fun than the competitors, enthusing over the mundane prizes on the conveyor belt. The presenter argued with his BBC managers about the show's early evening timeslot but he eventually accepted his role as the "warm-up man" for Saturday night television.
His co-host on the show, Anthea Redfern, was each week encouraged to "give us a twirl". The couple married in 1973 but divorced six years later. It was on Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game (1971) that he introduced his famous "thinker" pose, appearing in silhouette at the beginning of each show. The idea came from the classic circus strongman pose, something he'd perfected during his days in variety. He repeated his success on ITV's Play Your Cards Right (1980), where the audience joined in the cries of "higher" or "lower" as the contestants tried to guess the value of a series of playing cards.
In 1995, a year after his final Generation Game appearance, he received a lifetime achievement award for variety at the British Comedy Awards and began hosting ITV's The Price is Right (1972). The entertainer was, by this time, a Rolls-Royce-driving multimillionaire and married since 1983 to Wilnelia Merced, a former Miss World. He later claimed that he regretted becoming so associated with game shows and wished he'd done more variety work on TV.
Play Your Cards Right (1980) was axed in 1999 and, with changing tastes in entertainment, his TV career began to slide. He returned to the theatre - but experienced an unexpected revival after his wife watched an edition of the satirical quiz, Have I Got News For You, and suggested he could present the programme. After calling show regular Paul Merton, he landed the gig and offered to be "a little bit deadpan". "But the team said, 'No, be Bruce Forsyth,'" he said. He used the occasion to parody some of his old game shows, much to the ill-disguised disgust of team captain Ian Hislop. But the appearance led to Forsyth, an accomplished tap dancer, being offered the job of hosting Strictly Come Dancing (2004), which began a year later. Viewed with scepticism when it launched, the celebrity dance show became one of the most-watched programmes on TV by the time it reached its fifth series in 2007. He brought his own brand of avuncular good humour to the proceedings - reassuring many of the contestants with the phrase "you're my favourites".
After missing a handful of episodes because of illness, he decided to "step down from the rigours" of presenting Strictly in 2014.
He continued to host the Christmas and charity editions of Strictly until 2014 - all of which were taped, as opposed to live broadcasts. Away from entertainment, Forsyth's biggest passion was golf and he took part in many pro-celebrity tournaments. His house was next to the course at Wentworth, where he played with many of the world's best players, practising in the bunker in his own back garden.
During his career, Forsyth's multiple talents and years of application sparked an enduring appeal. In 2011 he was knighted after years of campaigning by his fans and a parliamentary Early Day Motion signed by 73 MPs. But he suffered from ill health towards the end of his life, and in 2016 his wife revealed he still had "a bit of a problem moving", following major surgery a year earlier. Sir Bruce was one of the last entertainers from the tradition of music hall to be working on British television. In many ways his act barely changed. The same corny gags, the same toothy smile and, above all, the same manic enthusiasm. He is particularly remembered for his ability to transform run-of-the-mill party games into glorious moments of mayhem that enthralled contestants and audiences alike.
He died in August 2017 at his home in Virginia Water, Surrey, England, UK following a period of ill health. He was 89. He was survived by his third wife.- Actor
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Joseph Bennett was born on 28 March 1968 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Howards End (1992), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992) and The Last Minute (2001). He was married to Julie Graham. He died on 13 April 2015 in Richmond, Surrey, England, UK.- Born near Mumbai, 19-year-old Maple Batalia was an aspiring actress and attending Simon Fraser University in Surrey (B.C. Canada) when she was shot and killed as she walked to her car in the parkade at SFU Surrey Campus. She had previously graduated from Enver Creek Secondary and was hoping to be a doctor.
A documentary, named "Maple", was made shortly after which followed the events before and after her death.
Her father (Harkirat Batalia) chose her unusual name of Maple when he had visited the U.S. in the autumn, and fell in love with the maple leaf. When his daughter was born, he and his wife, Sarbjit, agreed to call her 'Maple.'
Maple had just been named a finalist in the Central City Model Search, and was to attend auditions in Alberta, at the time of her demise. - Actress
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Mary Millington had trained to become a veterinary nurse, but a chance meeting with infamous London photographer John Lindsay changed her life. Under Lindsay's influence, Mary started to pose nude in dozens of photo spreads in British glamor magazines. From this she progressed into illegally made hardcore porn films. In 1974 she met up-and-coming publisher and film producer David Sullivan, and very soon she became the most recognizable nude model in the UK. Sullivan relentlessly promoted her through his magazines and starred her in his 1977 movie Come Play with Me (1977). The film ran for 201 weeks at one London cinema and broke box office records throughout the country. Other movies followed, but "Come Play with Me" still stands as the longest-running film in British movie history. Unfortunately, as Mary's fame increased so did her reliance on drugs. Hounded by the police and becoming more and more paranoid about her looks, Mary tragically committed suicide on 19th August 1979.- Actor
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David Buck (17 October 1936 - 27 January 1989) was an English actor.
He starred in many television productions from 1959 until 1989. One of his earlier roles was that of Horatio Hornblower in an episode entitled "Hornblower" (1963), in the Alcoa Premiere TV series. He played Winston Smith in Theatre 625: The World of George Orwell: 1984 (1965), a remake of Nigel Kneale's adaptation of the novel. In the first two series of the ITV horror and supernatural anthology series Mystery and Imagination (1966-68) he played the series narrator Richard Beckett (from Sheridan Le Fanu's story "The Flying Dragon") whose character also became involved in some of the other stories adapted.[2] His film career included roles in Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow (1963), The Sandwich Man (1966), the Hammer film The Mummy's Shroud (1967), Deadfall (1968) and Taste of Excitement (1970). He also had a role as Royal Air Force Squadron Leader David "Scotty" Scott in the film Mosquito Squadron (1969), with David McCallum, in which his character is shot down during a low-level bombing raid over Northern France in 1944 and assumed killed.
Later, he was a voice actor for the films The Lord of the Rings (1978), for which he provided the voice of Gimli, and The Dark Crystal (1982).
Buck died of cancer in 1989. At the time of his death, he was married to the actress Madeline Smith, who featured in the film version of Up Pompeii (1971) and numerous comedy programmes in the 1970s.- Actor
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Derek Benfield was born on 11 March 1926 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Lifeforce (1985), Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996) and The Brothers (1972). He was married to Susan Lyall Grant. He died on 10 March 2009 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.- Robert Swann was born on 18 March 1945 in New Forest, Hampshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for If.... (1968), The Madness of King George (1994) and Anna Karenina (1977). He was married to Susan Brodrick. He died on 17 April 2006 in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Angela Browne was infatuated with cinema from early childhood, imagining herself in the the part of the screen heroine during her frequent visits to the pictures. Aged thirteen, she left her Catholic convent school to study at the Cone-Ripman Drama Academy in London. After four years, she earned herself a scholarship to RADA. She then joined repertory companies in Worthing, York and Scarborough, eventually making her West End debut as an uninhibited Swedish girl in the 1959 comedy, "The Marriage Go-Round", alongside John Clements and Kay Hammond. She was serious enough about her newly acquired craft to study the films of Ingmar Bergman in order to appear as 'authentically Swedish' as possible. By 1960, after further theatrical success in both comedy and drama, Angela came to be regarded as one of the most promising up-and-coming actresses of the stage.
A vivacious blonde of uncommon and exquisite beauty, Angela inevitably attracted the attention of television producers. After a few early bit parts she co-starred with Patrick McGoohan as the titular "Girl in Pink Pajamas" in the The Girl in Pink Pajamas (1960) episode of the cult series, Danger Man (1960). She got on extremely well with McGoohan who proved very supportive on the set. Years later, Angela jumped at the chance -- when offered -- to appear with him again in the aptly-titled A Change of Mind (1967) episode of The Prisoner (1967). Her role as "No. 86", a mind-control specialist tasked with 'rehabilitating' "No. 6" (McGoohan) by means of a pre-frontal lobotomy, has become the one for which she is best-remembered. In a later interview, Angela confessed that she never quite understood the intricacies of the plot and simply 'got on with it' by following an old axiom she had learned from Noël Coward: "learn your lines and don't bump into the furniture".
Gainfully employed within Britain's ITV network, Angela had a recurring part in the crime series Ghost Squad (1961) and made appearances in The Saint (1962) and The Avengers (1961). She was also the obligatory romantic interest in the Norman Wisdom farce Press for Time (1966), a rare role in a feature film. Guesting on television -- which meant a less rigorous schedule than either films or the stage -- became, for several years, her preferred means of deriving a living from her profession. After her marriage to actor Francis Matthews (best known as the urbane lead of Paul Temple (1969)), Angela took a step back from performing to raise a family, in essence eschewing any further chance of stardom. By the early 1970s, she had eased into character roles, turning up at auditions in deliberately un-glamorous attire in order to snare more interesting assignments. While her screen appearances became fewer, she remained active on the stage in plays by Noël Coward, Henrik Ibsen and Alan Ayckbourn. She retired from acting altogether in 1990 and devoted her sadly few remaining years to her family and to charity work. - Actor
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Terence Plummer was born on 31 August 1936 in Pancras, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Batman (1989), Willow (1988) and Rob Roy (1995). He died on 15 July 2011 in Surrey, England, UK.- Actor
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Ceylon-born Colin Gordon began acting on the West End stage as the hind legs of a horse in 'Toad of Toad Hall' in 1934. After wartime service, he returned to the stage, appearing in such plays as 'The White Carnation' and 'The Little Hut' (both 1953), 'Misery Me!' (1955) and 'The Touch of Fear' (1956). His award-winning stage role of teacher Rupert Billings in 'The Happiest Days of Your Life' was recreated for the film version by another bespectacled actor, Richard Wattis. From 1957, Colin worked as actor-director with the Guildford Repertory Theatre. Though he is usually described as a 'light comedy actor', Colin made his mark in the acting profession as much by playing countless supercilious or sneering bureaucrats, lawyers or haughty military types. His stock-in-trade became his ever-present horn-rimmed glasses, combined with a cynical or asinine manner and a precisely modulated voice. His best performances might include pompous BBC announcer Reginald Willoughby-Cruft in The Green Man (1956) and his bank manager, locked up in the Strongroom (1962) of his own bank during a robbery. He is likely best remembered for being a particularly sinister Number 2 to Patrick McGoohan in TV's The Prisoner (1967) - twice.- Actor
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Richard Morant was born on 30 October 1945 in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Last Place on Earth (1985), Poldark (1975) and Jack the Ripper (1988). He was married to Valerie Buchanan and Melissa Louise Fairbanks. He died on 9 November 2011 in Richmond, Surrey, England, UK.- Edward Jewesbury was born on 6 August 1917 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Richard III (1995), Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and Henry V (1989). He was married to Christine Roberts. He died on 31 March 2001 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.
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Harry Secombe was one of Britain's best loved comic entertainers. Born in Swansea, South Wales he began singing as a child in local church choirs. His first job was as a clerk although he had considered a career in opera. During World War Two he served in the Army in North Africa and Italy. He met the comedian Spike Milligan while on duty in the Western desert and their common bond was a unique brand of humour. Secombe appeared in many troop concerts where he was known for his trademark high pitched laugh and blowing raspberries. After the war he appeared as a comic at London's famous Windmill Theatre and in 1945 became one of the stalwarts of the hugely successful radio series Educating Archie. His greatest popularity began in 1951 with the birth of radio's Crazy People, later to be renamed The Goon Show. One of the most famous radio comedy programmes of all time it helped launch the careers of Secombe, Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine.
Whilst the Goon Show was in its prime the comedy team made several films associated with the series including Down Among the Z Men (1952) and in 1955 Secombe had his own TV show, The Harry Secombe Show. His other popular TV shows, often written by Marty Feldman and Barry Cryer, included Secombe and Friends (1966) and Have a Harry Christmas (1977). On stage he had a long running success with Leslie Bricusse's Pickwick (1963) and he revived the show in the 1980s.
His most notable film work began with Davy (1957) in which he played a music hall performer who auditions for an opera at Convent Garden. It was meant as a star vehicle for him but was not a box office success. International audiences became familiar with him when he played Mr Bumble, the beadle in Oliver! (1968) and films such as The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971) and Starstruck (1972).
Knighted in 1981 and much slimmed down after a serious attack of peritonitis, he continued to appear in concerts and on television as well as writing several volumes of autobiography. He toured Australia and in 1983 became the host of Highway, a weekly TV religious programme. This was Secombe toned down, far from his rollicking past and with no jokes, but it gave him a chance to sing seriously. The show ran for nearly ten years.
Ill health continually dogged the comedian in his final years and he battled with cancer and a severe stroke. He continued to appear on television, notably narrating D Day - The Official Story (1994) and presenting Top Ten Comedy Records (2000).- Actor
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Good-natured British actor Jimmy Hanley was groomed by the Rank Studio system during his teen years and earned stardom as the "boy next door" type in exuberant musicals and likeable comedies. He married actress Dinah Sheridan in 1942 and they appeared together in a number of featherweight war-era films, including Salute John Citizen (1942) and For You Alone (1945). When Jimmy grew up he tried everything from Henry V (1944) with Laurence Olivier to The Huggetts film series. But radio and TV were his forte and it was those two mediums which revived his star in the late 50s, becoming a familiar face on a number of TV series, notably "Jim's Inn" co-starring second wife Maggie Hanley, which ran from 1957-1963. Jimmy died of cancer in 1970.- Bob the Cat was born in 2006. He was an actor, known for A Street Cat Named Bob (2016), The Adventures of Scribbles & Pearl (2020) and A Christmas Gift from Bob (2020). He died on 13 June 2020 in Surrey, England, UK.
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Vincent Winter was born on 29 December 1947 in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK. He was an assistant director and actor, known for Superman (1978), The Little Kidnappers (1953) and Superman III (1983). He died on 2 November 1998 in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK.- Ewen Solon was born on 7 September 1917 in Auckland, New Zealand. He was an actor, known for The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), The Message (1976) and The Message (1976). He was married to Vicki Woolf. He died on 7 July 1985 in Addlestone, Surrey, England, UK.