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Alan Melville (writer)
Alan Melville (9 April 1910 – 24 December 1983) was an English broadcaster, writer, actor, raconteur, producer, playwright and wit. Biography Born William Melville Caverhill in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, he was educated in his home town and then a boarder at the Edinburgh Academy. Leaving school at 17, he started work in the family timber merchants as an apprentice joiner. At the age of 22, he entered an essay competition in ''John O'Leary's Weekly'' with an essay entitled ''My Perfect Holiday'' and won the first prize; a return trip to Canada (1934). Soon afterwards he sent the BBC North Region six short stories called ''The Adventures of the Pink Knight'' (1934), which were accepted and used on ''Children's Hour''. He was required to read the stories himself, his first professional engagement. He continued to write from the timber yard, his short stories, poems, manuscripts sometimes being accepted by various publishers. He wrote his first novel, a whodunit c ...
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:Template:Infobox Writer/doc
Infobox writer may be used to summarize information about a person who is a writer/author (includes screenwriters). If the writer-specific fields here are not needed, consider using the more general ; other infoboxes there can be found in :People and person infobox templates. This template may also be used as a module (or sub-template) of ; see WikiProject Infoboxes/embed for guidance on such usage. Syntax The infobox may be added by pasting the template as shown below into an article. All fields are optional. Any unused parameter names can be left blank or omitted. Parameters Please remove any parameters from an article's infobox that are unlikely to be used. All parameters are optional. Unless otherwise specified, if a parameter has multiple values, they should be comma-separated using the template: : which produces: : , language= If any of the individual values contain commas already, add to use semi-colons as separators: : which produces: : , ps ...
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Ralph Reader
William Henry Ralph Reader (25 May 1903 – 18 May 1982), known as Ralph Reader, was a British actor, theatrical producer and songwriter, known for staging the original Gang Show, a variety entertainment presented by members of the Scouting movement, and for leading community singing at FA Cup Finals. Childhood Reader was born in Crewkerne, Somerset, England, the son of a Salvation Army bandmaster. He was orphaned by the age of eight and brought up by aunts and uncles. Joining the Scout movement at 11, he put on Scout shows as a patrol leader in the 2nd Denton and South Heighton Troop in Newhaven, Sussex. His first job was as delivery boy for a relative's greengrocer's shop in Seaford. His employer took Reader to Brighton to buy supplies and then visit the Hippodrome theatre, where he saw many music hall stars of the day. At age 14 he became a telegram messenger and, at 15, an office boy at a cement works. From Magheramorne, County Antrim, Ireland, he moved after wh ...
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Saville Theatre
ODEON Covent Garden is a four-screen cinema in the heart of London's West End. Formerly known as The Saville Theatre, a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the London Borough of Camden. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s. In 1970 it became the two cinemas ABC1 Shaftesbury Avenue and ABC2 Shaftesbury Avenue, which in 2001 were converted to the four-screen cinema Odeon Covent Garden. History Theatre years The theatre was designed by the architect Sir Thomas Bennett, in consultation with Bertie Crewe, and opened on 8 October 1931, with a play with music by H.F. Maltby, ''For The Love Of Mike''.Saville Theatre history at Arthur Lloyd
accessed 28 Aug 2008
The theatre benefited from a capacity of 1,426 on three levels and a stage that was wide, with a depth ...
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Palace Theatre, Manchester
The Palace Theatre, Manchester, is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It is situated on Oxford Street, on the north-east corner of the intersection with Whitworth Street. The Palace and its sister theatre the Opera House on Quay Street are operated by the same parent company, Ambassador Theatre Group. The original capacity of 3,675 has been reduced to its current 1,955. History The theatre, originally known as "the Grand Old Lady of Oxford Street", opened on 18 May 1891, having been designed by the architect Alfred Darbyshire at a cost of £40,500. The Palace Theatre was redecorated and altered in 1896 to the designs of the renowned theatre architect Frank Matcham, and he again worked on some improvements to the theatre in 1899, when he was commissioned to put in a pass door so that the manager did not have to go outside in the rain and snow to reach backstage, and at the same time he also proposed to carry out some minor alterations and to redecorate the theatre. ...
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Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical family, and his first successes were as a songwriter. His first big hit was " Keep the Home Fires Burning" (1914), which was enormously popular during the First World War. His 1917 show, ''Theodore & Co'', was a wartime hit. After the war, Novello contributed numbers to several successful musical comedies and was eventually commissioned to write the scores of complete shows. He wrote his musicals in the style of operetta and often composed his music to the libretti of Christopher Hassall. In the 1920s he turned to acting, first in British films and then on stage, with considerable success in both. He starred in two silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock, '' The Lodger'' and ''Downhill'' (both 1927). On stage, he played the title charact ...
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Gay's The Word (musical)
''Gay's the Word'' is a musical with book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Alan Melville. The musical is a backstage comedy that parodies Novello's own swashbuckling Ruritanian romance plots. The story centres on Gay Daventry, a bankrupt operetta producer who opens a drama school at her country house. This also turns out to be unsuccessful, but it leads to a theatrical comeback for Gay. The musical premiered at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, England, on 17 October 1950. It transferred to the Saville Theatre in London, opening there on 16 February 1951, where it ran for 504 performances and starred Cicely Courtneidge as Gay, Lizbeth Webb as Linda, and Thorley Walters. While it embraced the new style of musical theatre from America, it also contained traditional British humour for Courtneidge and glamorous soprano solos for Webb. ''The British Theatre Guide'' concludes: "The musical was never that good and without ourtneidgeit would most certainly have failed. But with h ...
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Simon And Laura
''Simon and Laura'' is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Peter Finch and Kay Kendall. Play Satirising the early days of BBC Television, ''Simon and Laura'' focuses on an argumentative theatrical couple called Simon and Laura Foster; they've been together for some 20 years and are given a new lease of life when playing a faux-harmonious version of 'themselves' in a daily soap opera filmed in their own home. Presented by H M Tennent Ltd, the play began a provincial tour at the Opera House Manchester on 30 August 1954, subsequently opening at the Strand Theatre in London's West End on 25 November. Directed by Murray Macdonald, it starred Roland Culver, Coral Browne, Ian Carmichael, Dora Bryan, Ernest Thesiger and Esma Cannon, with settings designed by Alan Tagg. According to Frances Stephens, editor of ''Theatre World'', "''Simon and Laura'' has as its amusing central theme the guying of television family serials and the author is well served by the ver ...
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Frederick J
Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick II, Duke of Austria (1219–1246), last Duke of Austria from the Babenberg dynasty * Frederick the Fair (Frederick I of Austria (Habsburg), 1286–1330), Duke of Austria and King of the Romans Baden * Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden (1826–1907), Grand Duke of Baden * Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden (1857–1928), Grand Duke of Baden Bohemia * Frederick, Duke of Bohemia (died 1189), Duke of Olomouc and Bohemia Britain * Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707–1751), eldest son of King George II of Great Britain Brandenburg/Prussia * Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg (1371–1440), also known as Frederick VI, Burgrave of Nuremberg * Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg (1413–1470), Margrave of Brandenburg * Frederick William, Elect ...
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Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon
Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon (25 September 1909, Valence, Drôme – 15 April 1985, Montpellier) was a French film director, script-writer, playwright and author. After studying law, he was made chief editor of the daily newspaper ''Sud-Est''. He founded the journal '' Valence-Républicain''. His play "All in the Family", adapted by Victor Wolfson, was given its first performance at the Strand Theatre, London on 17 June 1959. It was directed by Norman Marshall and designed by Paul Mayo. The cast consisted of Maxine Audley, Donald Sinden, Andre Morell, Brian Oulton, Peggy Thorpe-Bates, Michael Logan, Vanda Godsell, Pauline Knight, Virginia Maskell, Mary Powell, Douglas Malcom and Philip Ashley. Plays * 1939 : ''L'Amant de paille'' * 1945 : ''Au petit bonheur'' * 1951 : ''Tapage nocturne'' (''All in the Family'') * 1953 : ''Treize à table'' * 1953 : ''Adorable Julia'', based on Guy Bolton's play ''Theatre'' (1941), based on the novel ''Theatre'' (1937) by W. Somerset Maugham * 19 ...
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Full Circle (Melville Play)
''Full Circle'' (previously ''Dear Charles'') is a play by Alan Melville adapted from "Les Enfants d'Edouard" by Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon and Frederick J. Jackson. It also was produced in 1944 with the title ''Slightly Scandalous'', lasting only one week. The plot focuses on Parisian author Dolores who "decides it is time to legitimize her three grown children so she invites their three fathers to a reunion party to decide which one she ought to marry." Yvonne Arnaud and Tallulah Bankhead appeared in productions of ''Dear Charles'' in 1950s. In 2004 Joan Collins toured the UK with a revival of this play directed by Patrick Garland. Sophie Stewart Sophie Stewart (5 March 1908 – 6 June 1977) was a British actress of stage and screen. Biography She was born as Sophia Lyal Drummond Stewart in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland in March 1908 and died in June 1977 at the age of 69, in Cup ... starred in a version of the play that was performed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1954 ...
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Castle In The Air (play)
''Castle in the Air'' is a comedy play by the British writer Alan Melville, which was originally performed in 1949. It premiered at the Coventry Hippodrome on 20 September 1949 before transferring to London's West End where it ran for 292 performances between 7 December 1949 and 17 August 1950, initially at the Adelphi Theatre before moving to the Savoy. The original London cast featured Jack Buchanan, William Kendall, Ewan Roberts, Coral Browne and Irene Manning. It was directed by Roy Rich. In 1952 it was adapted into a British film of the same title directed by Henry Cass and starring David Tomlinson, Helen Cherry and Margaret Rutherford Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford, (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, television and film. She came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's '' Blithe Spirit'', and Osca ....Goble p.321 References Bibliography * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary ...
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Charles Zwar
Charles Zwar (10 April 1911 – 2 December 1989) was an Australian songwriter, composer, lyricist, pianist and music director who was largely associated with the British revue and musical comedy industries between the late-1930s and 1960s. Life and work Early life The youngest son of Mr and Mrs Charles Zwar of Broadford, Victoria (Australia), Charles Zwar (Jnr) was born on 10 April 1911. He was later educated in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown, attending North Williamstown State Primary and Williamstown High School. During his childhood Zwar developed a passion for music, and is reported to have been a student of Mr G. W. McKeown. After completing his education at North Williamstown State Primary and Williamstown High he undertook a degree in Law and Arts at the University of Melbourne, where he was in residence at Trinity College from 1928 to 1932. He was frequently found at the piano in the student common room, making up topical songs and mixing the latest jazz tunes with ...
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