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1-50 of 216
- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Rik Mayall, one of the first and foremost alternative comedians in the UK, was born in Matching Tye, a village just outside Harlow in Essex. His parents, John and Gillian, were both drama teachers. His acting debut was at the age of seven when he appeared in one of his father's stage plays. He met his comedy partner and best friend Adrian "Ade" Edmondson at Manchester University in 1975. Soon, the duo began performing together as a comedy act called "Twentieth Century Coyote" at the now legendary Comedy Store in London. They later moved their act to a venue called "The Comic Strip" and it was there that they were discovered by producer Paul Jackson. Rik and his friends, including Adrian Edmondson, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Alexei Sayle, Peter Richardson, and Nigel Planer were boomed onto television screens with immense success. He wrote The Young Ones (1982) with Ben Elton and Lise Mayer. You loved it or hated it, but you can't deny the impact it had on British sitcoms.
His career was launched, and, aged 24, he became one of the most popular comedians in Britain. He wrote and starred in various other television programmes and films over the years such as The New Statesman (1987); his role in it as Alan B'Stard earned him a BAFTA. He had his brief touch of Hollywood in 1991 when he starred as the title role in Drop Dead Fred (1991), but he soon returned to the British TV screens with Bottom (1991) a show which only ran for 3 seasons from 1991 to 1995 but was so popular that he and "Ade" toured with live shows based on the series around Britain every two years or so up until 2014.
In 1998, he suffered a severe accident and ended up in a coma after he crashed with his quad-bike at his farm in Devon. Luckily, he recovered and starred in films and shows such as Guest House Paradiso (1999) and Day of the Sirens (2002). In 2002, he proved that he was back and ready for action in the comedy series Believe Nothing (2002), which reunited him with Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, the writers of "The New Statesman". In 2003, he toured the UK alongside "Ade" with the fifth Bottom Live show.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Gladys Cooper was the daughter of journalist William Frederick Cooper and his wife Mabel Barnett. As a child she was very striking and was used as a photographic model beginning at six years old. She wanted to become an actress and started on that road in 1905 after being discovered by Seymour Hicks to tour with his company in "Bluebell in Fairyland". She came to the London stage in 1906 in "The Belle of Mayfair", and in 1907 took a departure from the legitimate stage to become a member of Frank Curzon's famous Gaiety Girls chorus entertainments at The Gaiety theater. Her more concerted stage work began in 1911 in a production of Oscar Wilde's comedy "The Importance of Being Earnest" which was followed quickly with other roles. From the craze for post cards with photos of actors - that ensued between about 1890 and 1914 - Cooper became a popular subject of maidenly beauty with scenes as Juliet and many others. During World War I her popularity grew into something of pin-up fad for the British military.
In the meantime she sampled the early British silent film industry starting in 1913 with The Eleventh Commandment (1913). She had roles in a few other movies in 1916 and 1917. But in the latter year she joined Frank Curzon to co-manage the Playhouse Theatre. This was a decidedly new direction for a woman of the period. She took sole control from 1927 until other stage commitments in 1933. She was also doing plays, some producing of her own, and a few more films in the early 1920s. It was actually about this time that she achieved major stage actress success. She appeared in W. Somerset Maugham's "Home and Beauty" in London in 1919 and triumphed in her 1922 appearance in Arthur Wing Pinero's "The Second Mrs. Tanqueray". It was ironic that writer Aldous Huxley criticized her performance in "Home and Beauty" as "too impassive, too statuesque, playing all the time as if she were Galatea, newly unpetrified and still unused to the ways of the living world." On the other hand, Maugham himself applauded her for "turning herself from an indifferent actress (at the start of her career) to an extremely competent one". She also debuted the role of Leslie Crosbie (the Bette Davis role in the 1940 film) in Maugham's "The Letter" in 1927.
In 1934 Cooper made her first sound picture in the UK and came to Broadway with "The Shining Hour" which she had been doing in London. She and it were a success, and she followed it with several plays through 1938, including "Macbeth". About this time Hollywood scouts caught wind of her, and she began her 30 odd years in American film. That first film was also Alfred Hitchcock's first Hollywood directorial effort, Rebecca (1940). Hers was a small and light role as Laurence Olivier's gregarious sister, but she stood out all the same. Two years later she bit into the much more substantial role as Bette Davis' domineering and repressive mother in the classic Now, Voyager (1942) for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress - the first of three. Though aristocratic elderly ladies were roles she revisited in various guises, Cooper was busy through 1940s Hollywood.
She returned to London stage work from 1947 and stayed for some early episodic British TV into 1950 before once again returning to the US, but was busy on both sides of the Atlantic until her death. Through the 1950s and into the 1960s Cooper did a few films but was an especially familiar face on American TV in teleplays, a wide range of prime-time episodic shows, and popular weird/sci-fi series: several Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, and Outer Limits. When Enid Bagnold's "The Chalk Garden" opened in London in 1955, Cooper debuted as Mrs. St. Maugham and brought it to Broadway in October of that year where it ran through March of 1956. Her last major film was My Fair Lady (1964) as Henry Higgins' mother. The year before she had played the part on TV. In the film, the portrait prop of a fine lady over Higgins' fireplace is that of Cooper painted in 1922. She wrote an autobiography (1931) followed by two biographies (1953 and 1979). In 1967 she was honored as a Dame Commander of the Order of British Empire (DBE) for her great accomplishments in furthering acting.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in Finchley, north London, in the United Kingdom, to Lesley Angold (Harrison), a dancer, and Kyriacos Panayiotou, a restaurateur. His father was a Greek Cypriot, and his mother was of English background. He first discovered fame as a musician when he and school friend, Andrew Ridgeley, formed the pop group Wham!. Success came fast and furious with their first album, 'Fantastic' (1983) hitting the UK number one spot. Wham! survived for five years and during that time the group notched up four number one singles and two number one albums. Most of their other releases made top three. George also contributed to the Band Aid Single 'Do They Know It's Christmas' (1984), and scored two further solo number one hits with 'Careless Whisper' and 'A Different Corner'.
Following the break-up of Wham!, George went on to have a hugely successful career as a solo artist, his debut album 'Faith' (1987) - and the single of the same name - both achieving instant and international success. The album has since been certified Diamond.
Over the last four decades George has notched up 8 number one albums in the and 13 number one singles in the UK (including Wham!, Band Aid, and the 'Five Live' EP). In the U.S. he has achieved 2 number one albums and 10 number one singles, with numerous other number one hits throughout the rest of the world.
He has performed duets with artists including Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Queen, and Lisa Stansfield, and actively participates in charitable causes, Live Aid and the Freddie Mercury concert for AIDS being just two of the more prominent examples. According to a BBC documentary, George donated more than five million pounds towards various charities. Whilst with Wham!, he donated all the proceeds of 'Last Christmas' (1984) to charity. The single reached number two in the UK and George also performed simultaneously on the number one charity record 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'.
George released the single 'December Song' in 2008 as a free download: his hope was that purchasers would donate money to charity.
He remained in contact with his Wham! partner and long-time friend Andrew Ridgeley until his death in 2016.- 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
- Soundtrack
Born as George Victor Bishop in 1932. He changed his name to Edward when he became a professional actor, as there was already an actor named George Bishop. Raised in Peekskill, New York through high school. Served in the US Army 1952-1954, worked as a disc jockey on Armed Forces Radio at St Johns' Newfoundland. Planned for a career in Business Administration and went back to school at Boston University. Decided he didn't like Business Administration and enrolled in Boston University Theater Division (1956). Graduated in 1960 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Won a scholarship to study drama at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1960. Started his professional acting career in July 1961. Married his second wife, the economist Hilary Preen at Caxton Hall in 1962. Met Hilary in Trafalgar Square when he was visiting places of interest in London. They had four children, who were born in 1964 (Daniel, who later died in a car crash), 1967 (Georgina), 1968 (Jessica) and 1971 (Serina). They lived in Napton on the Hill, a little village in Warwickshire, where he bought a large old house in 1980. Here he founded Napton Open Air Theatre and Napton Little Theatre, which staged high quality village productions. He later lived with his third wife, Jane Skinner, at East Molesey. Ed became a grandfather in 1994. He was a keen anti-war campaigner, addressing meetings in Manchester and attending demonstrations at arms fairs. He notably crashed one such fair dressed as General Pinochet, along with four other dictators that Britain had supplied arms to - and who had subsequently turned nasty: General Galtieri, Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler and Ivan the Terrible. It made the national news.- John Hollis was born on 12 November 1927 in Fulham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Flash Gordon (1980) and Superman II (1980). He was married to Sheila Forrester and Gabrielle Hamilton. He died on 18 October 2005 in Richmond upon Thames, London, England, UK.
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Gerry Anderson was born on 14 April 1929 in West Hampstead, London, England, UK. He was a writer and producer, known for Joe 90 (1968), Invasion: UFO (1974) and UFO (1970). He was married to Mary Robins, Sylvia Anderson and Betty Wrightman. He died on 26 December 2012 in Henley-on-Thames, England, UK.- Sheila Burrell was born on 9 May 1922 in Blackheath, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Paranoiac (1963) and The Feathered Serpent (1976). She was married to David Sim and Laurence Payne. She died on 19 July 2011 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Roland Culver was born on 21 August 1900 in Crouch End, Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Thunderball (1965), Dead of Night (1945) and To Each His Own (1946). He was married to Nan Hopkins and Daphne Rye. He died on 1 March 1984 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
- Music Artist
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dusty Springfield has been acknowledged around the world as the best female soul singer that Britain ever produced. With her oddly erotic, throaty voice, she racked up a string of hits from the 1960s onwards. Born in London to Irish parents, Dusty grew up in and around London. Her early work included an all-girl trio, "The Lana Sisters" and, then, with her brother Tom Springfield (Dion O'Brien), The Springfields. Inspired by Phil Spector's "wall of sound", Dusty recorded her first pop song "I Only Want to Be with You" in 1963. It reached No. 4 in the charts and was the first song played on the new BBC TV pop show Top of the Pops (1964). The sixties brought a steady succession of top-ten hits and a lifestyle to match. However, Dusty used to campaign to get the little-known American soul singers a better audience in the United Kingdom which led to her own show The Sound of Motown (1965). In 1970, she moved to America and, although she attempted a few come-back tours, they never really worked. However, time in the studio did produce the seminal album, "Dusty in Memphis". A downward spiral of drugs and drink followed for most of the latter seventies but then she overcame these problems and, helped by lifelong fans "The Pet Shop Boys", came back with songs such as "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and the album "Reputation". Cancer was diagnosed in 1994 and, although it was kept at bay for quite a while, it finally got her.- 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.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dubbed "the funniest woman in the world", comedienne Beatrice Lillie was born the daughter of a Canadian government official and grew up in Toronto. She sang in a family trio act with her mother, Lucy, and her piano-playing older sister, Muriel. Times were hard and the ambitious mother eventually took the girls to England to test the waters. In 1914, Bea made her solo debut in London's West End and was an immediate hit with audiences. A valuable marquee player as a droll revue and stage artiste, she skillfully interwove sketches, songs and monologues with parody and witty satire. In 1924, she returned to America and was an instant success on Broadway, thus becoming the toast of two continents. For the next decade, she worked with the top stage headliners of her day, including Gertrude Lawrence, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. Noël Coward and Cole Porter wrote songs and even shows for her. A top radio and comedy recording artist to boot, Bea's success in films was surprisingly limited, although she did achieve some recognition in such productions as Exit Smiling (1926) and Doctor Rhythm (1938). During the Second World War, Bea became a favourite performer with the troops and, in her post-war years, toured with her own show "An Evening with Beatrice Lillie". Her rather eccentric persona worked beautifully on Broadway and, in 1958, she replaced Rosalind Russell in "Auntie Mame". In 1964, she took on the role of "Madame Arcati" in the musical version of "Blithe Spirit", entitled "High Spirits". This was to be her last staged musical. Sadly, her style grew passé and outdated in the Vietnam era, and she quickly faded from view after a movie appearance in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). At this point, she had already begun to show early signs of Alzheimer's disease, although she managed to publish her biography in 1973. A year later, Bea suffered the first of two strokes and lived the next decade and a half in virtual seclusion. She died in 1989 at age 94.- Barbara Mitchell was born on 4 October 1929 in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for For the Love of Ada (1972), The Larkins (1958) and Beryl's Lot (1973). She was married to Rex Graham. She died on 9 December 1977 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- William Dexter was born on 15 November 1927 in Bareilly, India. He was an actor, known for The Knack... and How to Get It (1965), Solo for Canary (1958) and The Big Pull (1962). He was married to Janina Faye. He died on 29 November 1974 in Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Glamour model and actress Debbie Linden was born on February 22, 1961 in Glasgow, Scotland. The daughter of cabaret entertainer Neil Linden and Rosemary Linden, Debbie attended stage school and initially wanted to be a dancer (she studied both tap and ballroom dancing as a means of preparing herself for a career in show business). Linden instead went on to become a topless model and Page 3 girl. Debbie first began acting in both films and TV shows in the late 1970's; she's probably best known for her recurring role as Old Mr. Grace's saucy secretary on the hit comedy series Are You Being Served? (1972). Sadly, Linden had problems with anorexia as well as drug and alcohol addiction which started at age 13 when she began taking slimming pills to control her weight. Debbie died at home at the tragically young age of 36 from a heroin overdose on October 5, 1997. Her boyfriend Russell Ainsworth was acquitted of manslaughter charges, but was still sentenced to two and a half years in prison for supplying the drugs that killed her.
- Alan Rowe was born on 14 December 1926 in Palmerston North, Manawatu, New Zealand. He was an actor, known for Les Misérables (1967), Heil Caesar! (1973) and Morgan's Boy (1984). He died on 21 October 2000 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Director
- Cinematographer
- Producer
Eadweard Muybridge was born in Kingston upon Thames, England, to John and Susanna Muggeridge. At the age of 20 he immigrated to the United States as a bookseller, first to New York City, then to San Francisco. In 1860, he planned a return trip to Europe, but suffered serious head injuries en route in a stagecoach crash in Texas. He spent the next few years recuperating in Kingston upon Thames, where he took up professional photography, learned the wet-plate collodion process, and secured at least two British patents for his inventions. He returned to San Francisco in 1867, a man with a markedly changed personality. In 1868, he exhibited large photographs of Yosemite Valley, and began selling popular stereographs of his work. His great breakthrough came in 1872 when he was hired by wealthy American businessman and former California governor Leland Stanford, who later founded Stanford University. Stanford was interested in whether horses lifted all legs off the ground at once during trotting, and Muybridge was engaged to take photographs to settle the point. Although the experiment proved inconclusive at the time, Muybridge was re-engaged for further photographic studies in 1878. Using a battery of 12 cameras set side by side and a specially marked fence along the racetrack to pinpoint the horse's precise movements, Muybridge effectively created the first true study of motion. By January 1880 he invented zoopraxiscope to project his famous chronophotographic pictures in motion and thus prove that these were authentic. The projector used glass disks onto which Muybridge had an unidentified artist paint the sequences as silhouettes. Later, his more-detailed images were hand-coloured and marketed commercially. A device he developed was later regarded as an early movie projector, and the process was an intermediate stage toward motion pictures or cinematography. From 1883 to 1886, he entered a very productive period at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, producing over 100,000 images of animals and humans in motion. In his later years, Muybridge gave many public lectures and demonstrations of his photography and early motion picture sequences, travelling frequently in England and Europe to publicise his work in cities such as London and Paris. He also edited and published compilations of his work (some of which are still in print today), which greatly influenced visual artists and the developing fields of scientific and industrial photography. He retired to his native England permanently in 1894. In 1904, the year of his death, the Kingston Museum opened in his hometown, and continues to house a substantial collection of his works in a dedicated gallery.- Philip Ray was born on 1 November 1898 in Streatham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Starr and Company (1958), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1960) and Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966). He died on 11 May 1978 in Kingston-upon-Thames, England, UK.
- Ellis Dale was born on 5 May 1930 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Eye of the Needle (1981), Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982) and American Playhouse (1980). He died on 14 October 1991 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Stunts
- Actor
Sean McCabe was born on 13 December 1964. He was an actor, known for Aliens (1986), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Willow (1988). He died on 15 July 2003 in Richmond upon Thames, London, England, UK.- Margaret Johnston was born on 10 August 1918 in Coolangatta, New South Wales, Australia. She was an actress, known for Sebastian (1968), A Man About the House (1947) and Kraft Theatre (1947). She was married to Albert Parker. She died on 29 June 2002 in Kingston upon Thames, England, UK.
- James Garbutt was born in 1925 in Houghton-le-Spring, Durham, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Superman (1978), When the Boat Comes In (1976) and The Onedin Line (1971). He died on 5 April 2020 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Queen Charlotte was born on 19 May 1744 in Mirow, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Holy Roman Empire [now Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany]. She was married to George III. She died on 17 November 1818 in Kew, Richmond upon Thames, London, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Martyn Read was born on 11 November 1944 in Reading, Berkshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Kavanagh QC (1995), The Darling Buds of May (1991) and The Sweeney (1975). He died on 25 September 2022 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK.- Marcus Powell was born on 23 November 1909 in Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Time Bandits (1981), The Elephant Man (1980) and Top Secret! (1984). He died in 1991 in Kingston upon Thames, London, England, UK.
- Roberta Huby was born on 29 September 1913 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Wallet (1952), The Vise (1954) and Thirty-Minute Theatre (1965). She was married to Jack Melford and John Roberts (1916-1972) actor. She died on 19 November 1995 in Kingston-upon-Thames, England, UK.
- Stephanie Bidmead was born on 29 January 1929 in Birmingham, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Doctor Who (1963), Theatre 625 (1964) and BBC Play of the Month (1965). She died on 22 September 1974 in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet, GCB, OBE, AFC (13 April 1892 - 5 April 1984), commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press and often within the RAF as "Butch" Harris,[a] was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) RAF Bomber Command during the height of the Anglo-American strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
- Actress
- Writer
Britain's clown queen of comedy during the 1980s, Marti Caine's brand of humour combined an appealing dizziness with an endearing vunerability. Often compared to America's Phyllis Diller, she paved the way for women working in British light entertainment, both in nightclubs and in television.
Born Lynn Shepherd in Sheffield, Caine attended several schools in Yorkshire before working as a model, croupier and petrol pump attendant. At 18, she made her first professional appearance as a comedienne in a club in Rotheram and spent the next 15 years playing the Northern working men's club circuit.
She became an overnight household name at the age of 30 on the TV talent show, New Faces (1973). Viewers loved her gawky figure and glamorous looks and she went on to star in her own BBC2 TV show, The Marti Caine Show (1979), throughout the eighties.
In 1982, Caine spent 18 months starring in a stage show in South Africa which caused uproar from anti-apartheid demonstrators and, for a time, she was blacklisted by the United Nations.
During the latter part of her career, she combined TV work with stage shows in Britain and, for 3 years from 1986, was a judge on Central TV's New Faces (1973). She was popular in pantomime and made the part of the "Red Queen" in "Snow White and The 7 Dwarfs" her own, playing in Cambridge, Bath, Bournemouth and London.
A gifted and talented comedienne, Caine was an incisive and intelligent performer who often surprised her critics with her depth as an actress.- Nora Gordon was born on 29 November 1893 in West Hartlepool, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Gilbert and Sullivan: The Immortal Jesters (1961), Musical Playhouse (1959) and The Vise (1954). She was married to Leonard Sharp. She died on 11 May 1970 in Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Wallace Bosco was born on 31 January 1880 in Pancras, London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Jungle Jim (1955), Ivanhoe (1913) and Captain Midnight (1954). He died on 17 April 1973 in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, England, UK.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Paddy Ward was born in 1924. He was an actor, known for Waking Ned Devine (1998), Casanova (2005) and Victor/Victoria (1982). He was married to Deddie Davies. He died on 15 January 2011 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.- Kathleen Stuart was born on 9 December 1925 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for William Comes to Town (1948), Dead on Course (1952) and Just William's Luck (1948). She was married to Michael Balfour. She died on 11 May 1972 in Kingston-upon-Thames, England, UK.
- Belle Chrystall was born on 25 April 1910 in Fulwood, Lancashire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Hindle Wakes (1931), Hobson's Choice (1931) and Criminal at Large (1932). She was married to Charles William Roy Procter. She died on 7 June 2003 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Vivienne Burgess was born on 24 April 1914 in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Gazette (1968), Maroc 7 (1967) and Fox Mystery Theater (1984). She was married to Edward Dorian, Stanley Van Beers and Raymond Capel. She died on 26 August 1999 in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Anthony Simmons was born on 16 December 1922 in West Ham, London, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for Four in the Morning (1965), Little Sweetheart (1988) and Black Joy (1977). He was married to Maria St Clare and Sheila Phillips. He died on 22 January 2016 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Writer-director John Paddy Carstairs was born Nelson Keys, the son of actor Nelson Keys and the brother of producer Anthony Nelson Keys, in London, England, in 1910. Beginning his career as an assistant cameraman, he worked his way up to screenwriter and made his directorial debut in 1933. While never at the front rank of British directors, he consistently turned out solid, well-crafted--and, more importantly, successful--films that kept him in the director's chair for the next 29 years. In 1953 he was put at the helm of a Norman Wisdom comedy, Trouble in Store (1953), although he wasn't particularly known as a comedy director. Nevertheless, the film was a huge hit in the UK--Wisdom, like most British comics, never caught on in the US--and Carstairs became known as the go-to director for new screen comedians. He made a string of Wisdom comedies, in addition to films for such up-and-comers as Tommy Steele, Frankie Howerd, Bob Monkhouse and Ronald Shiner. While they may not have achieved critical acclaim, audiences nevertheless liked them and, for the most part, they made a potful of money.
After making The Devil's Agent (1962), a spy thriller, Carstairs left the film industry to pursue his two main passions, writing and painting. He died in London, age 60, in 1970.- Actor
- Writer
John H. Watson was born on 13 November 1922 in Market Harborough, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Potts in Parovia (1956), The Adventures of Ben Gunn (1958) and Potts and the Night Whistlers (1957). He died in December 1996 in Kingston-upon-Thames, England, UK.- Naomi Plaskitt was born on 30 November 1913 in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Wrath of Jealousy (1936), Highland Fling (1936) and Best of British (1998). She was married to Alastair Sim. She died on 3 August 1999 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
- Margot Van der Burgh was born on 14 November 1918 in Lewisham, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Great Expectations (1959), Doctor Who (1963) and Jane Eyre (1956). She died on 14 July 2008 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Alison King was an actress, known for Doctor on the Go (1975), The Lovers (1970) and Eleni (1985). She was married to Peter Gordon. She died on 12 May 2016 in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Leslie Noyes was born on 26 February 1906 in East Ham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Dad's Army (1971), Sykes and a Big Big Show (1971) and The ITV Play (1968). He died in 1975 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Actress
- Producer
Nancy Wake was born in New Zealand but her family moved to Australia when she was 2. She spent her childhood in Sydney and after her studies she traveled to Europe where she worked as a journalist. In 1939 Nancy married French industrialist Henri Fiocca who was killed during the War. Nancy Wake joined the French Resistance with the nickname of "The White Mouse". After having been arrested, she was released but left France for Spain, then England. There, she became a British special agent. On 29th April 1944, Nancy was parachuted into Auvergne (region of France) with the task of helping the resistance to prepare for the armed uprising that was due to coincide with the D-Day landings. She received several medals after the war and worked for the Intelligence Department at the British Air Ministry before coming back to Australia in the 60s after she married John Forward. An English TV movie is based on her story: Nancy Wake (1987).- Harold Coyne was born in 1923 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for The Bride (1985). He was married to Prunella Smith. He died on 24 March 2013 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- David Vine was a multi-purpose sports presenter and commentator for the BBC for 35 years, long associated with snooker and Ski Sunday. Known for his distinctive West Country tones, he always had the assured self-confidence to weather jokes about his middle-of-the-road spectacles and jumpers.
In the 1970s, so often was he targeted that he began to seem like a resident character in Clive James's Observer television column. Once, commenting on the return of one programme with which Vine was instantly identifiable, James wrote: "Back came Ski Sunday, bringing David Vine with it. 'Just watch the way this man has the rhythm through the gates ... ooh, and he's gone! Stenmark has gone!' By now even David must be falling prey to the suspicion that he has the evil eye. All he has to do is start praising a skier for his rhythm and you know the stretcher-bearers are already moving in."
Vine's star status was confirmed when a puppet of the snooker player Steve Davis was seen on Spitting Image boasting: "I'm a mate of David Vine." Later, his popularity led to cameo appearances in French and Saunders (1987) and as a skating commentator alongside the bungling sleuths played by Jasper Carrott and Robert Powell in The Detectives (1993).
Born in Newton Abbot, Devon, Vine was brought up in Barnstaple, where he attended the local grammar school before becoming a reporter on the North Devon Journal Herald. A keen rugby player, he played for South Molton and often covered matches in which he was taking part. After national service in the army's Intelligence Corps, he joined the Western Morning News in Plymouth and rose to be sports editor. Moving to the ITV regional company Westward Television (1962-66), he set up its sports department and was seen on screen as a reporter.
In 1966, the BBC hired Vine as a presenter of the national magazine show Sportscene and he was soon a familiar face in sports coverage on both BBC1 and BBC2. He was a stand-in presenter on the Saturday afternoon programme Grandstand, became a reporter on Rugby Special and hosted the first colour broadcasts from Wimbledon in 1967, remaining presenter of the tennis tournament's highlights programmes until 1982. Any viewers who thought of him as bland had to revise their opinions when he confronted John McEnroe following the US player's "you're the pits" jibe to a Wimbledon umpire in 1981. "What right have you got to call anyone an incompetent fool?" Vine asked McEnroe. "He told me he'd never talk to me again after that," the presenter recalled, "but he did, the following day."
Vine's face was also synonymous with snooker and skiing. Snooker had already built up a television following with Pot Black, which featured the BBC's own knockout snooker competition, when, in 1977, Vine started presenting its coverage of all the major tournaments. Eight years later, 18 million viewers saw Dennis Taylor take the World Championship title with the final black ball of the final frame against the then world No 1, Steve Davis.
"I have been delighted to have been part of one of the most successful and most watched sports on television and to have seen 'unknowns' like Steve Davis, Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry and many others become some of the most famous names in the sport," said Vine after presenting his final tournament in 2000.
Ski Sunday was launched in 1978 after public interest in Franz Klammer's dramatic downhill win at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympic Games, and Vine continued with it for 18 years.
Throughout his time at the BBC, Vine proved adept at hosting sports entertainment programmes. He was a presenter and commentator for the first few years of It's a Knockout (1967-71), whose absurd games between amateur athletics teams in crazy costumes were described by one critic as "a competition to perform the pointless in the quickest possible time".
He will also be remembered by many as the first presenter (1970-78) of the quiz show A Question of Sport, in which two panels of stars - originally captained by the boxer Henry Cooper and the former Welsh rugby international Cliff Morgan - had their sports knowledge put to the test. The busy Vine was succeeded by David Coleman in the chair.
Then came The Superstars (1974-84), in which Vine and Ron Pickering challenged sportsmen and women, past and present, to compete against each other in running, swimming, shooting, canoeing and cycling events, as well as showing their strengths in the gym.
Vine also hosted showjumping events, including The Horse of the Year Show, commentated on bowls and gymnastics, and covered the return to Britain of the round-the-world yachtsman Robin Knox-Johnston. Away from sport, he commentated on the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and, a year later, presented Miss World.
He underwent triple heart bypass surgery in 2001, the year after he retired from the BBC following his final Olympics, in Sydney, as a weightlifting commentator - a specialism he had developed over many games.
Vine's first wife, Shirley May Thorpe, died in 1970; he was survived by his second wife, Mandy (born Joan C Silver), along with their son, Christian, and the son and two daughters of his first marriage, Martin, Kim and Katherine. - Marjorie Mars was born on 31 January 1903 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Brief Encounter (1945), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1947). She was married to Graeme Muir. She died on 22 December 1991 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Music Department
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Vicki Brown was born on 23 August 1940 in Liverpool, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Tommy (1975), Shanghai Surprise (1986) and Not Now Darling (1973). She was married to Joe Brown. She died on 16 June 1991 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.- Writer
- Actor
John Warren was born on 13 November 1916 in England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Up the Creek (1958), Further Up the Creek (1958) and Hell Below Zero (1954). He died in 1977 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England, UK.- Isabelle Lucas was born on 3 December 1927 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was an actress, known for Outland (1981), The Fosters (1976) and The Sender (1982). She was married to Maurice Jennings. She died on 24 February 1997 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England, UK.
- Additional Crew
- Actress
- Production Manager
Kathleen Bidmead was born on 4 July 1927 in Barnet, Middlesex, England, UK. She was an actress and production manager, known for EastEnders (1985), Doctor Who (1963) and The Onedin Line (1971). She was married to Robert Crewdson. She died on 17 January 2004 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.