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Allan Cuthbertson
Allan Darling Cuthbertson (7 April 1920 – 8 February 1988) was an Australian-born British actor. He was best known for playing stern-faced military officers in British films of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Cuthbertson was born in Perth, Western Australia, son of Ernest and Isobel Ferguson (Darling) Cuthbertson. He performed on stage and radio from an early age. During the Second World War he served as a flight lieutenant with the RAAF from 6 December 1941 to 1 July 1947, including service with 111 Air Sea Rescue Flight. Career Cuthbertson arrived in Britain in 1947, and appeared shortly thereafter as Romeo in ''Romeo and Juliet'' at the Boltons. In London's West End, he appeared as Laertes in ''Hamlet'', Aimwell in ''The Beaux Stratagem'', and Octavius Robinson in ''Man and Superman'', among many other roles. He was often cast in military roles, which was quite common in actors of his generation, especially those with a military air about them. He was Captain Eric Simps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Avengers (TV Series)
''The Avengers'' is a British Spy fiction, espionage television series, created in 1961, that ran for 161 episodes until 1969. It initially focused on David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). Dresses and suits for the series were made by Pierre Cardin. The series ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The pilot episode, "Hot Snow (The Avengers), Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 17 May 1969 in the United Kingdom. ''The Avengers'' was produced by ABC Weekend TV, a contractor within the ITV (TV network), ITV network. After a merger with Rediffusion London in July 1968 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ice Cold In Alex
''Ice Cold in Alex'' is a 1958 British war film set during the Western Desert campaign of World War II based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Landon. Directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring John Mills, the film was a prizewinner at the 8th Berlin International Film Festival. Under the title ''Desert Attack'', a shortened, 79-minute version of the film was released in the United States in 1961. Film critic Craig Butler later referred to the shortened versions as nonsensical. This review states the length of ''Desert Attack'' as 64 minutes. Later reviews indicate a length of 79 minutes. Plot Captain Anson, the officer commanding a British RASC Motor Ambulance Company in Tobruk, is suffering from battle fatigue and alcoholism. With the city about to be besieged by the German Afrika Korps, Anson and most of his unit are ordered to evacuate to Alexandria. During the evacuation, Anson, MSM Tom Pugh and two nurses, Sister Diana Murdoch and Sister Denise Norton, become ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Square Triangle
"The Square Triangle" is the tenth episode aired of the first series of ''UFO'' - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Alan Pattillo and the director was David Lane. The episode was filmed between 3 September and 15 September 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 9 December 1970. Though shown as the ninth episode, it was actually the eleventh to have been filmed. The series was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company. Story Straker allows a UFO to land in Southern England in an attempt to capture the craft, and its alien crew, by sending out a fleet of SHADO mobiles. After the UFO lands safely, a lone alien survivor has a fight with a game warden and his dog, causing the alien's uniform to rip and his helmet to shatter. The alien kills the human with a machine gun-style weapon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UFO (TV Series)
''UFO'' is a 1970 British science fiction television series about the covert efforts of a government defence organisation to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. It was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 for Grade's ITC Entertainment company. A single series of 26 episodes (including the pilot) was filmed over the course of more than a year; a five-month production break was caused by the closure of MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood, where the show was initially made. Production then moved to Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. ''UFO'' was first broadcast in the UK and Canada in 1970, and in the US syndication over the next two years. It also has been rerun on UKTV channel Drama. The Andersons' live-action science fiction movie ''Doppelgänger'' (also known as ''Journey to the Far Side of the Sun'') is considered an immediate precursor to ''UFO'', which was their first entirely live-action T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danger Man
''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. ''Danger Man'' was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. Series development The idea for ''Danger Man'' originated with Ralph Smart an associate of Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment. Grade was looking for formats that could be exported. Ian Fleming was brought in to collaborate on series development, but left before development was complete. Like James Bond, the main character is a globetrotting British spy (although one who works for NATO rather than MI6), who cleverly extricates himself from life-threatening situations and introduces himself as "Drake...John Drake." Fleming w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Champions
''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ITV during 1968–1969. The series was broadcast in the US on NBC, starting in summer 1968. Plot Agents Craig Stirling, Sharron Macready and Richard Barrett work for a United Nations law enforcement organization called 'Nemesis', based in Geneva. Barrett is a codebreaker, Stirling a pilot, and Macready a recently widowed scientist and doctor. In the pilot episode, the team is escaping by air from a spying mission in China. Their stolen plane, damaged by gunfire during the getaway, crashes in the Himalayas. They are rescued by an advanced civilization living secretly in the mountains of Tibet, who save their lives, granting them enhanced abilities, including extrasensory powers to communicate with one another over distances (telepathy) and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gideons Way
''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series made by ITC Entertainment and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, based on novels by John Creasey (writing as 'J. J. Marric'). The series was made at Elstree Studios in twin production with ''The Saint'' television series, which was likewise produced by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman. The show did not acknowledge any help from Scotland Yard or any other police force or advisor. Synopsis Daphne Anderson starred as Gideon's wife, Kate; their three children were played by Giles Watling as younger son Malcolm, Richard James as elder son Matthew (who seemed to have a lot of new girlfriends), and Andrea Allan as daughter Pru. Unusually for police stories, Gideon was shown as a family man at home—though urgent phone calls from his bosses tend to disrupt family plans too often. However, he did admit in "State Visit" that his wife had walked out on him for a while years ago, when he put the job first and her second. They live in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Gas And Gaiters
''All Gas and Gaiters'' is a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of John Wraith when writing the pilot. ''All Gas and Gaiters'' was also broadcast on BBC Radio from 1971 to 1972. Cast *William MervynThe Rt Revd Dr Cuthbert Hever, DD, Bishop of St Ogg's *Robertson HareThe Ven Henry Blunt, the archdeacon *Derek NimmoThe Revd Mervyn Noote, the Bishop's chaplain * John BarronThe Very Revd Lionel Pugh-Critchley, Dean of St Ogg's (pilot, series 1, 4 and 5) *Ernest ClarkThe Very Revd Lionel Pugh-Critchley, Dean of St Ogg's (1968 special, series 2 and 3) *Ruth KettlewellMrs Grace Pugh-Critchley, the Dean's wife (1967–1969) *Joan SandersonMrs Grace Pugh-Critchley, the Dean's wife (1970–1971) Plot ''All Gas and Gaiters'', predominantly farcical in nature, was set in the close of the fictional St Ogg's Cathedral and concerned intrigues and rival ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Death Index: 1916–2005 and Edith Florence Howard (née Morrison, 1888–1962), at the City Hospital in York, England, in 1917 (not 1922 as he later claimed). His mother worked at the Rowntree's chocolate factory. For his first two and a half years, Howerd lived in a terraced house at 53, Hartoft Street. He described it as "a poorish area of the city near the River Ouse". He later said he had only one memory of living in York and that was of falling down the stairs, an experience which left him with a life-long dread of heights. He returned to York on many occasions for family holidays, however, and later in life spoke of his fondness for the city. His family moved to Eltham, London when he was a young child, and he was educated at Shooter' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Emery
Richard Gilbert Emery (19 February 19152 January 1983) was an English comedian and actor. His broadcasting career began on radio in the 1950s, and his self-titled television series ran from 1963 to 1981. Life and career Richard Gilbert Emery was born 19 February 1915, in University College Hospital, Bloomsbury, London. His parents were the comedy double act Callan and Emery. They took him on tour when he was only three weeks old and gave him the occasional turn on the stage during his childhood, which was always on the move and disrupted, creating problems for the future but setting the scene for eventually going into showbusiness himself. His parents split up when he was eight and he chose to stay with his mother, who gave up showbusiness. He tried a variety of jobs before the stage: mechanic, office boy, farm hand and driving instructor. During the Second World War he was called up to the RAF and rose to the rank of corporal. However, because of family problems, he returned to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Cooper
Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a Welsh prop comedian and magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at , and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He served in the British Army for seven years, before developing his conjuring skills and becoming a member of The Magic Circle. Although he spent time on tour performing his magical act, which specialised on magic tricks that appeared to fail, he rose to international prominence when his career moved into television, with programmes for London Weekend Television and Thames Television. By the end of the 1970s, Cooper was smoking and drinking heavily, which affected his career and his health, effectively ending offers to front new programmes and relegating him to performing as a guest star on other entertainment shows. On 15 April 1984, Cooper died at the age of 63 after suffering a heart attack live on television. Early life Thomas Frederick Cooper was born on 19 Marc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fawlty Towers
''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000 and, in 2019, it was named the greatest ever British TV sitcom by a panel of comedy experts compiled by the ''Radio Times''.Mattha Busby, 9 April 2019"Fawlty Towers named greatest ever British TV sitcom" ''The Guardian'', Retrieved 24 May 2019 The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay on the English Riviera. The plots centre on the tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty (Cleese), his bossy wife Sybil (Prunella Scales), the sensible chambermaid Polly (Booth) who often is the peacemaker and voice of reason, and the hapless and English-challenged Spanish waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs). They show their attempts to run the hotel amidst far ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
