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- Writer
- Actor
- Music Department
He was born Alfred Hawthorn Hill. It was his grandfather who introduced him to Burlesque Shows and the theatre from where the young Benny Hill was to draw much of his comic inspiration. After his national service with the army during WW2, Benny came to London, adopted the stage name Benny Hill (in homage to his all time favourite comedian Jack Benny) and began appearing in variety shows. He briefly formed a double act with Reg Varney and did radio shows. But it was his talent for impressions and comic timing that were to give him his first big break on TV with the show "Hi There" in 1949. The Benny Hill Show (1955) began in 1955. Its pioneering combination of cheeky humour, songs and impressions were to make it a hit for the next 40 years.
Benny also broadened his career with cameo appearances in films such as The Italian Job (1969), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965). He also had a hit record in 1971 with "Ernie The Fastest Milkman In The West". In 1979 The Benny Hill Show (1955) was shown in America for the first time and Benny went on to become one of the biggest stars on US TV. The show itself has been seen in 109 countries and won a BAFTA as well as Golden Rose Of Montreaux Award. Benny Hill's TV career came to an end in 1989, when his show was dropped, but his popularity continued and he completed a US TV special, Benny Hill's World Tour: New York! (1991) shortly before his death in 1992.- Actor
- Soundtrack
The son of a naval officer who ran what were called "concert parties", Kenneth Connor made his stage debut at age two, and by 11 was performing in both a solo act and a doubles act with his brother in various revue shows. He later decided to become a serious actor rather than just a revue performer, and attended a professional music and drama school. After a six-year stint in the army, he returned to the theater as an actor, and secured quite a few roles on the stage. For all his training, though, he found his greatest success doing voice characterizations on radio comedy shows. His success there led to his being cast in the first "Carry On" film, and he went on to become one of the regulars in the long-running series. After it ended Connor did a lot of television work, and achieved another round of success as the undertaker Alphonse in the popular TV series, 'Allo 'Allo! (1982). He died of cancer in 1993.- In a career than spanned eight decades, Thora Hird was widely-regarded as one of Britain's finest character actresses. She made over 100 films as well as starring in a host of TV comedies and, as a straight actress, excelled in the works of playwright Alan Bennett. Even in her 90s, she was working almost daily.
Born in Morecambe, Lancashire, the daughter of the manager of the local Royalty Theatre, she was carried on to the stage in a melodrama at the age of eight weeks. When old enough, she joined the Royalty's theatre company, although she kept a day job as a cashier in a grocery store. "I spent 10 years working in that grocery store", she recalled, "and I've played nearly all the customers I used to serve - maids, landladies, cleaners, forthright parents. When I'm acting, I'll do some little thing I've remembered, so simple". At the theatre, she appeared in over 500 plays and, in 1941, the comedian George Formby, on a visit to the theatre, recommended her to Michael Balcon at Ealing Film Studios. Put under contract, she first appeared in Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942) with Will Hay and a string of comedy films and dramas followed. In the same vein as the saucy seaside postcards of her Morecambe birth, Hird was usually cast as the all-seeing boarding house landlady, a gossiping neighbour or a sharp tongued mother-in-law.
In the 1950s, Hird was under contract to the Rank Organisation and was established as a major character actress. She worked with some of Britain's finest directors, including Herbert Wilcox, Lewis Gilbert and John Schlesinger but, by her own account, was not easily awed. "I've appeared in hundreds of films and television things and, in some cases, I literally mean 'appeared' around the door, that was all. Like anybody earning a living, I took most of the work that came along". She gave outstanding performances in Simon and Laura (1955) and The Entertainer (1960), opposite Laurence Olivier, but one of her best- remembered roles was that of the monstrous TV-addicted mother in A Kind of Loving (1962).
As her career progressed, she frequently returned to the stage, often in comedies, with comedians such as Arthur Askey and Harry Secombe, and, in 1964, she was memorably team with the comedian Freddie Frinton in the TV series, Meet the Wife (1963). She starred in a succession of hit TV comedies throughout the 70s and 80s but proof of her talent as a straight actress came in 1987, when she starred in Alan Bennett's Talking Heads monologue, A Creamcracker under the Settee for which she won a BAFTA award. She wrote several volumes of autobiography, including "Scene and Hird" and "Not in the Diary" and, in 1995, was the subject of a South Bank Show (ITV) monograph. One of the show's contributors, the actor Alan Bates, said of her, "Thora always had a grasp of her character immediately. She didn't have to work herself into a state to get it right. She is a naturally funny woman whose comedy is on the edge of tragedy. It's instinctive and very understanding of life itself". - Director
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
During his last years at school he spent most of his time writing a thesis on 'the future of film' On leaving school he joined Gaumont British Studios at Lime Grove as an apprentice to a stills photographer for a year. He claimed this taught him more about the art of photography than any other form of training could. He then became a clapper boy at B.I.P. Studios at Elstree then moved to British Dominion where he became a a camera assistant. Next was a move to Pinewood and his call up for war duty much of which was spent as a one man film unit based at Aldershot where he learnt more about his craft than about soldering.. After the war he returned to Shepperton Studios to work for Alexander Korda and Powell and Pressburger. He also worked for John Huston on 'Moby Dick' for which he was responsible for all the second unit photography and special effects.- George Murcell was born on 30 October 1925 in Naples, Campania, Italy. He was an actor, known for Cutthroat Island (1995), Hell Drivers (1957) and The Possessed (1969). He was married to Elvi Hale and Josephine Tweedy. He died on 3 December 1998 in Isleworth, Middlesex, England, UK.
- The lovely blonde actress, Susan Shaw, was groomed by the Rank Organisation in England for a career in film in the 40s and 50s. She was born on August 29, 1929 in West Norwood, England. Susan was at her best when cast in a role as a pretty young slip of a girl with her nose in the air. After a marriage to actor Albert Lieven, with whom she had a daughter, Susan married the American actor Bonar Colleano, known for his roles as the wisecracking Yank in British films. The two made a handsome couple, Susan with her petite blondeness and Bonar with his loud mouth and dark good looks. They had a child together, actor Mark Colleano, in 1955, before her husband suddenly died in a tragic road accident in 1958. After Bonar died, she was never the same and spent most of her life battling a drinking problem until her death in 1978. Her husband's mother became the legal guardian of her little boy and groomed him for an acting career. As a child star, Mark went on to star opposite Rock Hudson in "Hornets' Nest", as a 14-year-old Italian youth.
- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Gerard Kelly was born on 27 May 1959 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He was an actor and director, known for Going Out (1981), The Camerons (1979) and Brat Farrar (1986). He died on 28 October 2010 in Isleworth, Middlesex, England, UK.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Born to a huge, poor family in Soho in London's West End, Jessie Matthews became a big stage star in the late 1920s and 1930s, enjoying some crossover success in musical films. Her career never quite relaunched after the war, though, but she staged a comeback when she replaced the lead actress in the radio soap "Mrs Dale's Diary" in the 1960s. Her life was blighted by breakdowns of relationships and her own struggles with bad health and insecurity, and she wound up, amazingly, buried in an unmarked grave (only rectified after a TV documentary in the late 1980s brought this to light--beg, steal or borrow a copy of BBC's Timewatch (1982) documentary series episode "Catch A Fallen Star"). An amazing life.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Charles Simon was born on 4 February 1909 in Tettenhall Wood, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Topsy-Turvy (1999), 102 Dalmatians (2000) and The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997). He was married to Sheila Eves and Nancy McDermid. He died on 16 May 2002 in Harrow, Middlesex, England, UK.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Harold Goodwin (22 October 1917 - 3 June 2004) was an English actor born in Wombwell, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England.
Goodwin trained at RADA and was a stage actor at Liverpool repertory theatre for 3 years. He appeared in numerous British films of the 1950s and 1960s, usually playing 'flat cap' wearing working class characters from Northern England or low ranks in the military.
He had significant parts in the war films The Dam Busters (playing Guy Gibson's batman, 'Crosby'), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and The Longest Day. He can also be seen in films such as The Ladykillers, Sea of Sand, Angels One Five and The Cruel Sea (in which he was the ASDIC operator).
He also made hundreds of British TV appearances in programmes such as Minder (as Dunning, episode Get Daley!, 1984) and a notable role in All Creatures Great and Small. Goodwin was a 'staple' of the popular 1980s sitcom, That's My Boy. His last major television appearance was playing the part of Joss Shackleton, father to Vera Duckworth, in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (1960) in the early 1990s.
He also appeared in an episode of One Foot in the Grave (1990) as a window cleaner.- Colin McCormack was born on December 2, 1941, in Cardiff, Wales. His father was a railway worker. He was educated at King's College in Cardiff, then studied at the Cardiff Art College before training at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. There, he met his future wife, the actress Wendy Allnutt.
Mc Cormack began his professional career with the Bristol Old Vic and went on to perform in many of Britain's theatres. From 1967-2004, he was most closely associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He played many roles for the RSC, appearing in productions ranging from a 1967 Peter Hall production of "Macbeth" to Edward Hall's production of "Julius Ceasar". He was also a Royal Court stalwart, where he was known for his performances in more modern plays. His fellow professionals admired his striking presence and clarity on stage. He also tutored at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and his students included Ewan McGregor, Alistair McGowan, Damian Lewis, Joseph Fiennes, and Daniel Craig, among others.
His television career began in 1971, with his appearance in the Trial (1971) TV series, and included appearances in Martin Chuzzlewit (1994), Inspector Morse (1987) and other popular TV-series. He died of cancer on June 19, 2004, in Middlesex, England. He was survived by his wife, Wendy Allnutt, and their children Katherine McCormack Wherry and Andrew McCormack. - Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles Beeson was born on 10 May 1957 in Isle of Wight, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Revolution (2012), The Whispers (2015) and Timeless (2016). He died on 24 April 2021 in Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK.- Mela White was born on 28 March 1931 in Woodford, Essex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Bergerac (1981), Fog for a Killer (1962) and Blind Man's Bluff (1977). She was married to Ronald Lacey and Roger Brompton. She died on 24 December 2017 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom.
- Ronald Leigh-Hunt trained for acting at the Italia Conti School. He made his debut in regional repertory theatre. In films from 1950, he was rarely out of work, usually cast in subtle authoritarian or aristocratic roles. Cultured and dapper, latterly white-haired, he was particularly noted for his resonant voice (outside of acting, he sidelined in training business leaders in public speaking), impeccable manner and stylish attire.
Though very often only in small supporting roles, Leigh-Hunt was seen in several big budget features, ranging from Khartoum (1966) to The Omen (1976). He also played Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., opposite Barbra Streisand, in the West End production of 'Funny Girl' in 1966. On the small screen, he was a popular guest star in just about every major British television series, frequently popping up on Z Cars (1962) and Doctor Who (1963). He also had a recurring role, starring as Colonel Buchan, in the children's TV series Freewheelers (1968). Ronald was a cousin of the actress Barbara Leigh-Hunt. - Michael Segal was born on 1 November 1924 in Willesden, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Return to the Lost Planet (1955), Man About the House (1973) and I, Claudius (1976). He died in 1996 in Hendon, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Henry McGee specialized in comedy and was best known for his 20 year-long association with Benny Hill, on whose show he appeared as announcer and straight man. The son of a Rolls-Royce engineer, McGee was educated at Stonyhurst. After National Service in the Royal Navy, he joined the Italia Conti Stage Academy for two years, then acted with repertory companies in England and Australia.
He returned to England in the 1960's and enjoyed a prolific career on television, especially in comedies. His appearance as an upmarket conman who takes in Leonard Rossiter's Rigsby in The Perfect Gentleman (1975) was considered one of the highlights of the popular ITV sitcom, so much so that the storyline was recycled for the film version, Rising Damp (1980), when McGee's role was taken by Denholm Elliott.
McGee was also recognized for being in the 'Sugar Puffs' breakfast cereal commercials on television alongside The Honey Monster. His hobbies were gliding and collecting old engravings. He left a million pounds in his will.- Writer
- Additional Crew
Husband and wife writing team Pip and Jane Baker have enjoyed an extensive career as novelists, playwrights and film and television writers since the early sixties. The first film they worked on was "The Alibi" (1961) and from there they wrote episodes of a British-based American series called "The Pursuers" (1961-62). Other films they worked on included "The Break" (1962), "The Painted Smile", (1962) "Night of the Big Heat," (1967) and "Captain Nemo and the Underwater City" (1970). On television they have written for "The Expert" (1976), "Z Cars, Detective" (1968) and "Space: 1999 (1976) as well as three stories for DOCTOR WHO. They later worked on "Watt On Earth (1991-1992) and a German production called "Ruby."- Pauline Letts was born on 1 May 1917 in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Antony and Cleopatra (1951), Gawain and the Green Knight (1973) and Nicholas Nickleby (1977). She died on 25 June 2001 in Isleworth, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Derek Seaton was born on 1 October 1943 in Wokingham, Berkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), Troilus and Cressida (1966) and Softly Softly (1966). He was married to Paula Wilcox. He died on 2 September 1979 in Brent, Middlesex, England, UK.- Actor
- Writer
Robert James was a Scottish actor whose gift for subtle characterisation meant that he was rarely out of work in a career on stage, television and in film which spanned over five decades. He was recognisable stalwart of British television drama, a prolific "I know the face, but" performer of intelligence, authority and a distinctive countenance: large, beguiling eyes, pronounced cheekbones and latterly, a mighty shock of white hair, augmented by a slightly lisped diction. Held in high esteem by fellow members of the profession, he always gave good value: lending sharpness to the judiciary, geniality to the clergy or eccentricity to the scientist. He was born in Paisley, and despite his father's determination that he should be a lawyer (he was academically bright and even started working for a solicitor's firm after graduating from university) his love for theatre led to a zest for amateur dramatics and he was spotted by a director from The Wilson Barrett Company. They gave him his first professional role, and he quit the day job, ultimately appearing in over 100 productions for them at The Glasgow Alhambra during the late 40's/early 50's. Despite being extremely busy in television, he continued treading the boards for forty years, loving being a company man whether it be at The Liverpool Playhouse (where he met his wife) or The Almeida. His film appearances, initially as a bit player, included the Titanic film "A Night To Remember" (1958) in which he was among an illustrious bevy of British talent giving uncredited cameos (Norman Rossington, Desmond Llewellyn, Stratford Johns and Derren Nesbitt were literally in the same boat). James played the engine room officer, giving a touching performance that embodied the moving stoicism of the picture. In "Doctor Who", his affecting performance as conscience stricken scientist slowly losing his mind in "The Power Of The Daleks" (1966) is considered among the best performances given by a guest actor in the show. In person a witty, unassuming and modest man, he also lent his experience and encouragement to the Hadleigh Amateur Dramatic Society for whom he was a valued chairman.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Terence Conoley was born on 15 July 1919 in Colchester, Essex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Fierce Creatures (1997), Crossbow (1987) and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976). He was married to Roberta Kanal. He died on 7 April 2016 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.- Frieda Knorr was born on 9 December 1934 in Guiseley, West Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Avengers (1961), Blake's 7 (1978) and Kadoyng (1973). She was married to Ian Shand. She died on 7 April 2015 in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Charlie Drake was born on 19 June 1925 in Elephant and Castle, London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Cracksman (1963), Sinderella Live (1995) and Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House (1985). He was married to Elaine Bird and Heather Barnes. He died on 23 December 2006 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Gustav Holst was born on 21 September 1874 in Pittville, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Knowing (2009), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) and The Vast of Night (2019). He was married to Isobel Harrison. He died on 25 May 1934 in Ealing, Middlesex, London, England, UK.- Actress
- Writer
Molly Weir was born on 17 March 1910 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Family Affair (1954), Suspense (1962) and The Lyons Abroad (1955). She was married to Sandy Hamilton. She died on 28 November 2004 in Pinner, Middlesex, England, UK.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Producer
Born in France to British parents, William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson stayed in that country until age 19, when he, his mother and sisters (their father had died sometime before) returned to Great Britain. Once there, Dickson--in an early indication of his lifelong fascination with science and mechanics--began a correspondence with Thomas A. Edison in the US, asking for employment, but was turned down. Eventually Dickson's family moved to the US, and several years afterward Dickson actually did land a job with Edison, and soon proved to be a trusted and valuable associate. He worked closely with Edison on the development of both the phonograph and, closer to Dickson's heart, the motion picture (it was Dickson who eventually decided that motion picture film should be 35mm wide; he also developed the emulsion process used in the film).
In 1889, while Edison was on a trip to Europe, Dickson set up a building in which to conduct his "photographic experiments", the forerunner of the first motion picture studio. In 1890 he and his chief mechanical assistant, Eugène Lauste, showed the results of their experiments, produced on a cylindrical system called the Kinetoscope: a short film called Monkeyshines, No. 1 (1890), featuring one of his assistants. Improvements on this system continued, and in 1891 patents were filed on an improved camera called the Kinetograph. Edison's plans to exhibit the new system at the Chicago World Exposition necessitated not only the production of many new machines but also films that could be shown on them, and the result was the building of a film studio at Edison's laboratory in West Orange, NJ, which was nicknamed "The Black Maria" because it was constructed of wood covered with tar-paper, resembling the police wagons of that era which were known by that nickname.
However, even with Dickson's perfecting of a new version of the Kinetograph camera, not enough films were completed to be shown at Edison's planned exhibition. Dickson, however, did manage to persuade many stage and vaudeville stars to appear in films shot at the West Orange studio, and in the following years the studio was a beehive of activity, with some of the biggest names of the era making short films there. However, friction between Dickson and an executive appointed to oversee Edison's businesses soon broke into open conflict, resulting in Dickson's angrily leaving Edison's employ in 1895. He then joined forces with two businessmen in the development of a way to exhibit films differently than Edison's peepshow-style Kinetoscope. The system eventually developed into what was called the Mutoscope, and the camera that was developed to take pictures for the Mutoscope was called the Biograph. This in turn developed into a filming and projection system that retained the Biograph name.
In 1896 Dickson and three partners began the American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. (often referred to as just "Biograph", and generally considered to be the first major American motion picture studio) to produce and distribute films. Dickson produced and directed many of Biograph's early films, but by the turn of the century he had taken over management of the company's European branch, headquartered in England. He died there in 1935.- Margery Withers was born on 23 October 1905 in Patagonia, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Onegin (1999), Secrets & Lies (1996) and Festival (1960). She died on 6 September 1999 in Pinner, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Actor
- Producer
Alan Freeman was born on 6 July 1927 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor and producer, known for Absolute Beginners (1986), The Young Ones (1982) and Sebastian (1968). He died on 27 November 2006 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.- Barry Linehan was born on 23 September 1925 in Romford, Essex, England. He was an actor, known for The Andromeda Breakthrough (1962), Big Breadwinner Hog (1969) and Clochemerle (1972). He died on 8 June 1996 in St John's Wood, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Sheila Dunn was born on 11 April 1940 in Wandsworth, Surrey, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Doctor Who (1963), R3 (1964) and The Fast Kill (1972). She was married to Douglas Camfield. She died on 3 March 2004 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Maggie Rennie was born on 11 February 1919 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Intent to Kill (1958), Fox Mystery Theater (1984) and Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964). She was married to Michael Rennie. She died on 5 August 2017 in Brinsworth House, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Robert Banks Stewart had an incredible career in British television drama, becoming one of its greatest ever writers, story editors and producers. He started writing in primary school, winning a Burns essay prize and contributing stories to local newspapers. At age 15, he left school to become an office boy at the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch. He did his National Service with Field Marshal Montgomery's peacetime staff. He then worked as a newspaper editor. By this time he had written several plays and done a stint as a radio commentator. He eventually left Scotland for a post as foreign corespondent for Illustrated magazine. When that publication folded, he joined the Rank Organisation, providing rewrites and producing movie and TV scripts.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Leslie Henson, comedian born in London in 1891. Famous for his bulging eyes, malleable face and raspy voice. He studied with 'the Cairns James School of Musical and Dramatic Art as a child, he was writing and producing theatrical pieces while still at school. Became popular in Music Hall from 1910, his first West End role in 1912 was 'Nicely, Thanks!' and became a over-night star, also in 'Tonight's the Night' which became a smash-hit in 1915 followed by starring in several hit West End musical comedies including 'Yes, Uncle! in 1917. Served in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, after the war he returned to the West End playing in 'Kissing Time in 1919 and a series of musical comedies and farces throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Leslie starred in at least 15 movies, the first of which was 'The Lifeguardsman' for the British Actors Film Company in 1916, most notable was 'Alf's Button' co-starring Alma Taylor in 1920 and 'Tons of Money' in 1924, also starred in a number of talkies, best known 'A Warm Corner' in 1930 and It's a Boy' in 1934, last seen on T.V. in the late 1950s. Co-founder of ENSA. Died in London in 1957 age 66.- Bill Reimbold was born on 12 March 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Fifth Element (1997) and Superman III (1983). He died on 8 August 2014 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Kevin Lindsay was born on 17 April 1924 in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), War & Peace (1972) and Coronation Street (1960). He died on 26 April 1975 in Enfield, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Desmond Rayner was born on 31 October 1928 in Hackney, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Stolen Assignment (1955), Hancock's Half Hour (1956) and Screen One (1985). He was married to Claire Rayner. He died on 20 April 2014 in Harrow, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Graydon Gould was born on 3 April 1937 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was an actor, known for Mission: Impossible (1996), Executive Action (1973) and Supercar (1961). He was married to Carol Hoehler and Judy Poppy . He died on 25 February 2020 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Director
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Douglas Camfield was born on 8 May 1931 in England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for Doctor Who Lost in Time (1969), Danger UXB (1979) and Blake's 7 (1978). He was married to Sheila Dunn. He died on 28 January 1984 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.- Actor
- Additional Crew
British bit player Walter Henry was born Israel W. Nagelkop on October 24, 1921 in Hammersmith, London, England. Henry initially worked as a film publicist prior to embarking on a career as an extra in the late 1940's. A brawny man with a rugged face, close-cropped hair, and a strong build, Walter could be often spotted in various movies and TV shows as thugs, soldiers, or police officers. Henry died at age 83 on February 21, 2005 in Edgware, Middlesex, England.- Writer
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Gerald Savory was born on 17 November 1909 in London, England, UK. He was a writer and producer, known for Young and Innocent (1937), Robert Montgomery Presents (1950) and Romance (1977). He was married to Sheila Brennan, Annette Carell, Althea Murphy and Teo Dunbar. He died on 6 February 1996 in Middlesex, England, UK.- Penelope Bartley was born on 22 December 1925 in Hendon, Middlesex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for ITV Play of the Week (1955), Quinneys (1948) and The Big Chance (1957). She was married to Leslie Phillips. She died on 24 June 1981 in Hendon, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Avice Landone was born on 1 September 1908 in Madras, India. She was an actress, known for The Franchise Affair (1951), An Alligator Named Daisy (1955) and Pride and Prejudice (1952). She was married to Bruno Barnabe. She died on 12 June 1976 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Ken Barker was born on 19 June 1928 in Edmonton, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Willow (1988) and Superman III (1983). He was married to Barbara Ashcroft. He died on 24 June 1998 in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Anthony Dutton was born on 4 June 1934 in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Avengers (1961), Department S (1969) and EastEnders (1985). He died on 30 November 2013 in Brinsworth House, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Evelyn Hall was born on 24 December 1884 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Captain of the Guard (1930), The Divine Lady (1928) and The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930). She was married to Claude King and Harry Douglas Greet (actor, b.1883-d.1922). She died on 22 August 1968 in Harrow, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Writer
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
William Schwenck Gilbert was born in London on November 18, 1836, to William Gilbert, a retired naval surgeon, and his wife Anne. The Gilberts would add three younger girls to the brood: Jane, Maud and Florence. His parents were cold and distant, with prickly characters. Stern and unyielding, they did not show affection for their son, who absorbed their inflexibility and emotional frigidity. His parents' relationship was strained, and they separated in 1876. Gilbert cared more for his father than his mother, but his biographers are mute on his feelings towards his father's death, or indeed, about his relations with his parents at all . Gilbert remained detached from life, regarding its triumphs and defeats with a reserve, a sense of atomization likely inherited from his parents.
Young William spent his formative years touring Europe with his parents before they returned to London in 1847. He was sent to the Great Ealing School and completed his education at King's College, London. He did not go on to Oxford as he was determined to join the Army to fight in Crimea. He failed to obtain a commission, and turned his attention towards making a career as a government clerk and barrister in the years 1857-66.
His interest in the theater seems to have come to him at an early age. Circa 1861, he began making submissions of prose, verse and drawings to the comic magazine "Fun," writing "The Bab Ballads" for the wag rag. He turned to playwriting, and his first legitimate production, "Uncle Baby," debuted at London's Royal Lyceum Theatre ion the October 31, 1863. The play ran seven weeks, but he was not produced again until 1866, when his pantomime "Hush-a-Bye Baby" and his burlesque "Dulcamara" were produced in December. He continued to work in burlesques for the next three years , making a reputation for himself as a tasteful and intelligent writer. Burlesque in the 19th century was akin to vaudeville, with star turns, ballet, and spectacle. Gilbert had no control over his work as in burlesque, as the stars were the thing, a position of powerlessness he resented.
Gilbert married Lucy Agnes Turner on of August 6, 1867. Little is known of her, although most biographers speculated that her personality was soothing and conciliatory, a fitting counterpoint to Gilbert's own abrasive and confrontational personality. She likely dominated her household, and Gilbert even may have been afraid of her anger lest he trespass her in her domestic fiefdom.
Gilbert's last burlesque, "The Pretty Druidess," debuted on June 19, 1869. He had already began writing for the Gallery of Illustration, a small, sophisticated theater that produced his "No Cards" on March 29th, earlier that year. Freed from the interference of stage-managers of the more vulgar, commercial theater, Gilbert was able to develop his personal style while writing for the Gallery. The Gallery presented six Gilbert musicals in which his unique tone of voice began to emerge.
Adopting a more restrained style, he produced "fairy comedies" in blank verse for the Haymarket Theatre. The fairy comedies presented a more tasteful and popular entertainment than the farce and burlesque that dominated the theater. He became a theatrical director in this period, and began directing his own plays so as to exert artistic control over them and fully realize their potential. In 1867, he directed the Liverpool production of "La Vivandiere" and the London production of "Thespis" in 1871, a year that saw six other Gilbert productions on the boards. As a director, he aimed to introduce subtlety into the English theater. "Thespis," though not a hit, is significant in that it is his first collaboration with Arthur Sullivan. Their first hit would come with their second collaboration, four years later, with "Trial by Jury."
His output for the theater included farces, operetta librettos, adaptations of novels such as Dickens' "Great Expectations," and translations of French drama. He even dabbled in writing serious drama, though he was not notably successful in that genre. The strain of so much work led to his leaving "Fun."
Gilbert's reputation was waxing, and he was positioning himself as one of the major forces on the English stage. He collaborated with Gilbert a Beckett on the political satire "The Happy Land" in 1873. The play, which lampooned prime minister Gladstone and two of his ministers, was banned briefly. This was the beginning of Gilbert pushing the parameters of what could be presented on the English stage. While Gilbert did tend to be iconoclastic, he worked in the popular theater and needed success to continue to work. Drama was then the least respected of the literary professions, and in his career, he attempted to make it more respectable, succeeding to the degree that the next generation's leading lights, Oscar Wilde and Bernard Shaw, were able to tackle more sensitive subjects while being respected as major authors.
Up until Gilbert decided to publish his oeuvre, plays were published very cheaply, as pamphlets for the use of actors rather than readers. Gilbert wanted his plays published as real books, proofread and attractive so they could find a place in the home libraries of gentlemen. The first volume of Gilbert's plays was published in 1875 by the respectable house Chatto and Windus in a an attractively-bound, well-printed volume that eliminated stage jargon intended for actors. Such a well-published book was unheard of for a new, relatively controversial dramatist like Gilbert, as it typically was the province of older, for long-established dramatists to be published in respectable volumes. Gilbert eventually published three more volumes of his original plays, and his popularity was such that he even made a profit from them.
After the success of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Trial by Jury," Richard D'Oyly Carte became the duo's producer. The third Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, "The Sorcerer," was presented in 1877, as was his masterpiece "Engaged," a cynical and ironic work that was very funny. Critics attacked the play as debasing the human spirit. However, critics and audiences eventually would accept Gilbert's cynicism when he wrote in tandem with Sullivan due to the ameliorating affect of the latter's music. The audience also began to get used to Gilbert's cynical voice.
"The Sorcerer" was a success, but their next production, "H.M.S. Pinafore" (1878) was a blockbuster hit that engendered multiple pirate productions in the United States. The next year, they had an equivalent hit with their "The Pirates of Penzance." To stymie the American pirates, D'Oyly Carte presented its own "H.M.S. Pinafore" production in New York City in 1879, then introduced Gilbert and Sullivan's as-yet-unpirated "Pirates of Penzance" to the New York audience.
Gilbert continued to write plays without the participation of Sullivan, but they were not successes. His serious drama "The Ne'er-Do-Weel" (1878) flopped after opening to awful reviews, and the rewritten version, "The Vagabond," also proved a flop. Gilbert's blank-verse tragedy "Gretchen" (1879) lasted but three weeks on the boards, as did his farce "Foggerty's Fairy" (1881). The 1881, Gilbert and Sullivan's satire on Oscar Wilde and his circle, "Patience" was a success. ("Patience" eventually was transferred to the new Savoy Theatre, which Gilbert's personal company also made its home.) Coming after the failure of "Foggerty's Fairy," Gilbert decided to focus his writing to his collaboration with Sullivan. His production slowed down, partly due to his economic success obviating a need to continually turn out new plays like clockwork, but mostly due to the new careful and systematic writing methods he adopted.
In an 1885 interview, he admitted to laboriously developing his plots, in consultation with Sullivan in multiple drafts. He would create a skeleton libretto using the fewest words possible to sketch out the actions of the piece. Songs and dialog would be slowly developed and polished. This new process was time-intensive, and produced but one operetta per year, and while it produced many masterpieces, it took the risk out of Gilbert's work. He started settling into formula, which betrayed his iconoclastic nature.
For the rest of the decade, Gilbert-and-Sullivan produced "Iolanthe" (1882), "Princess Ida" (1884), "The Mikado" (1885), "Ruddigore" (1887) and "The Yeomen of the Guard" (1888). Despite its success, the collaboration became tenuous, and after "Princess Ida," Sullivan refused to write anything more for D'Oyly Carte's theater, The Savoy, and departed for a five-week-long European. When he returned to London, both Gilbert and D'Oyly Carte tried to persuade him to continue the collaboration, but Sullivan was tired of the contrived plots and balked at Gilbert's insistence that the plot of their next work involve a magic pill. Finally, Sullivan relented when Gilbert, aware of the vogue for Japanese culture then current in Europe, developed the plot for what became "The Mikado."
After "The Gondoliers," the Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration broke up permanently. The split-up was triggered by the expenses incurred by the Savoy Theater, which were shared equally by Gilbert, Sullivan and D'Oyly Carte. Gilbert objected when D'Oyly Carte bought a very expensive carpet for the theater. Sullivan tried to remain neutral in the feud between Gilbert and D'Oyly Carte, but when he came down on the side of the latter, Gilbert bolted the partnership, though he remained friends with his collaborator. Neither Gilbert or Sullivan would prove as successful as when they collaborated, and Sir Arthur Sullivan eventually would become a morphine addict due to his attempts to assuage the pain from his declining health. He died on November 22, 1900 in London. D'Oyly Carte joined him in death a few months later.
There were many reasons for the break-up of the collaboration other than the expensive carpet. By the time of the premiere of "The Gondoliers" (1889), Gilbert's creative powers were in decline. His wit, once so concise, was replaced by a verbosity, which became more pronounced with "Utopia, Limited" (1893) and "The Grand Duke" (1896). The audiences demanded that Gilbert hew to the formula that had made him a huge success, but he had grown weary of it. "The Grand Duke" is a tired riff on the old formula, so much so that it is almost a parody.
Gilbert went into semi-retirement at his home in Grim's Dyke Harrow Weald after "The Grand Duke," where he played the country squire. He continued to write and finished four more plays in his lifetime. He turned out the serious melodrama "The Fortune Hunter" (1897) but returned to his lighter style with "The Fairy's Dilemma" (1904). After being knighted in 1907, he rewrote "The Wicked World" as "Fallen Fairies" (1909), with music provided by Edward German. His last produced work was the short piece "The Hooligan" (1911), which hit the boards four months before his death. "The Hooligan" represented a departure for Gilbert into serious drama, and might have been the direction his career would have taken had he lived.
Sir William S. Gilbert died on of May 29, 1911, while teaching two young women how to swim in his lake at Grim's Dyke. One the women, out of her depth, called out for help and Gilbert tried to rescue her. Accounts are conflicting, and he died of heart failure either in the middle of the lake during the attempted rescue or shortly thereafter.
One of his epigrams could serve as his epitaph, tongue-in-cheek: "Did nothing in particular, and did it very well."- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Frank Atkinson was born on 19 March 1890 in Oldham, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Great Expectations (1946), Sherlock Holmes (1932) and The Green Cockatoo (1937). He was married to Jeanne d'Arcy. He died on 23 February 1963 in Pinner, Middlesex, England, UK.- Eva Rowland was born on 12 May 1888 in Christchurch, New Zealand. She was an actress, known for The Lifeguardsman (1916), A Sailor's Bride (1911) and Ha'penny Breeze (1950). She was married to Gerald Malvern. She died on 14 February 1976 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Director
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