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Ballard Berkeley
Ballard Blascheck (6 August 1904 – 16 January 1988), known professionally as Ballard Berkeley, was an English actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for playing Major Gowen in the British television sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''. Life and career The son of Joseph and Beatrice Blascheck, he was born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. He married Dorothy Long in 1929. During the 1930s he performed regularly in the so-called "quota quickies". One of his earliest roles was as the heroic lead in the 1937 film ''The Last Adventurers''. He served as a special constable with the Metropolitan Police during the Second World War, witnessing the Blitz at first hand, including the bombing of the Café de Paris nightclub. For his service he received the Defence Medal and the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal. He appeared in the film ''In Which We Serve'' (1942) and in the Hitchcock film ''Stage Fright'' (1950). He featured as Detective Inspector Berkeley in two episodes of Edgar ... [...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] |
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films, many of which are still widely watched and studied today. Known as the "Master of Suspense", he became as well known as any of his actors thanks to his many interviews, his cameo roles in most of his films, and his hosting and producing the television anthology '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' (1955–65). His films garnered 46 Academy Award nominations, including six wins, although he never won the award for Best Director despite five nominations. Hitchcock initially trained as a technical clerk and copy writer before entering the film industry in 1919 as a title card designer. His directorial debut was the British-German silent film '' The Pleasure Garden'' (1925). His first successful film, '' The Lodger: A Story of the London F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bless This House (British TV Series)
''Bless This House'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 2 February 1971 to 22 April 1976. Starring Sid James and Diana Coupland, it was created by Vince Powell and Harry Driver, but mainly written by other hands including Dave Freeman and Carla Lane. It was made for the ITV network by Thames Television. In 2004, ''Bless This House'' was ranked by a BBC poll as the 67th Best British Sitcom. Synopsis ''Bless This House'' centres on life in Howard Road, New Malden, where travelling stationery salesman Sid Abbott and his wife Jean live with their teenagers: Mike is fresh from art college and more pre-occupied with protests than finding a job; and trendy schoolgirl Sally. Mike is 18 and Sally is 16, at the series' start. Sid and Jean constantly battle to comprehend the new generation's permissive ways and are usually out-of-touch. Their neighbours and best friends are Trevor Lewis and his wife Betty. A total of 65 episodes of ''Bless This House'' were produced between 197 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Lord Fauntleroy
''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was published as a serial in '' St. Nicholas Magazine'' from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's (the publisher of ''St. Nicholas'') in 1886. The illustrations by Reginald B. Birch set fashion trends and the novel set a precedent in copyright law when Burnett won a lawsuit in 1888 against E. V. Seebohm over the rights to theatrical adaptations of the work.Rutherford Etymology The titular surname ''Fauntleroy'' is an Anglo-French term ultimately derived from ''Le enfant le roy'' ("child of the king"), evoking the image of being pampered and spoiled. More proximally, it is from a Middle English variant ''faunt'' from ''enfaunt'', meaning child or infant. It is attested as a real surname since the 13th Century. Plot In a shabby New York City side street in the mid-1880s, young Cedric Errol lives with his mother (known to him as "Dearest") in genteel poverty after the death of his father, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Citizen Smith
''Citizen Smith'' is a British television sitcom written by John Sullivan, first broadcast from 1977 to 1980. It starred Robert Lindsay as Walter Henry "Wolfie" Smith, a young Marxist "urban guerrilla" in Tooting, south London, who is attempting to emulate his hero Che Guevara. Wolfie is a reference to the Irish revolutionary Wolfe Tone, who used the pseudonym "Citizen Smith" in order to evade capture by the British. Wolfie is the self-proclaimed leader of the revolutionary Tooting Popular Front (the TPF, merely a small bunch of his friends), the goals of which are "Power to the People" and "Freedom for Tooting". Wolfie dresses in a stereotypical fashion for rebellious students of the period: logoed T-shirt, denim jeans and Afghan coat. He supports Fulham F. C. and occasionally wears a Fulham scarf. He rides a scooter and spends most of the time at his girlfriend's house, which means he constantly clashes with her parents. Cast * Robert Lindsay as Walter Henry "Wolfie" Smith ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry And June
''Terry and June'' is a BBC television sitcom, which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The show was largely a reworking of '' Happy Ever After'', and starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-aged, middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford, who live in Purley. Most of the 65 episodes were written by John Kane, with seven other writers also contributing some episodes. The theme tune, Bell Hop by John Shakespeare, was also used for the radio series Never Too Late which starred Dame Thora Hird and Joe Gladwin and ran for two series (1981 and 1982). Production Terry Scott and June Whitfield began their television partnership in '' Scott On'' in 1968. On 7 May 1974, a ''Comedy Playhouse'' pilot called "Happy Ever After" aired on BBC1 with Scott and Whitfield playing Terry and June Fletcher, a middle-class couple whose grown-up children have just left home. This was commissioned into a series of the same name, and five series and two Christmas specials w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
To The Manor Born
''To the Manor Born'' is a BBC television sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special one-off episode was produced in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence, the creator, while the final episode in 1981 was written by script associate Christopher Bond. The title is a play on the phrase "to the manner born," from Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' ("Though I am a native here and to the manner born, it is a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance".) In ''To the Manor Born'', Penelope Keith (who was previously best known for her role as Margo Leadbetter in the suburban sitcom '' The Good Life''), plays upper-class Audrey fforbes-Hamilton. Upon the death of her husband, Audrey is forced to sell her vast country estate, Grantleigh Manor. However, she then moves into the estate's small, modest lodge house (where she can keep an eye on the estate's new owner) and manages to keep h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fresh Fields
''Fresh Fields'' is a British sitcom starring Julia McKenzie and Anton Rodgers. A ratings success at the time, it was written by John Chapman and produced by Thames Television for ITV, running for four series between 7 March 1984 and 23 October 1986. Premise and series history Hester and William Fields (McKenzie and Rodgers) are a devoted middle-aged, middle-class couple living an idyllic suburban lifestyle in Barnes, London. William works as an accountant while Hester is a housewife who works part-time in local restaurant Lucy's Kitchen. The title's meaning, and crux of the show, is that Hester combats empty-nest syndrome by livening up her life with new interests and hobbies, to the exasperation of her hard-working husband who just wants a quiet life.Series 1, episode 5, stated by Hester The show's opening credits, featuring silhouettes of the characters, reflect this: Hester rides an exercise bike and plays a drumkit while William relaxes in a rocking chair. The family ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Shelley
Norman Shelley (16 February 1903 – 21 August 1980) was a British actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's '' Children's Hour''. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera ''The Archers''. Perhaps Shelley's single best-known role was as Winnie-the-Pooh in ''Children's Hour'' adaptations of A.A. Milne's stories; for many British people of the mid-20th century, his is the definitive voice of Pooh. Other roles for ''Children's Hour'' included Dr. Watson (opposite Carleton Hobbs as Holmes) in the 1952–1969 Sherlock Holmes radio series; Toad in Kenneth Grahame's ''The Wind in the Willows''; and the roles of The Magician and Captain Higgins in the specially written ''Toytown'' series. Shelley also played the parts of Gandalf and Tom Bombadil in the 1955-6 radio adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. In the 1973 BBC television series ''Jack the Ripper'' Shelley played Detective Constable Walt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural setting". Having aired over 19,500 episodes, it is the world's longest-running drama by number of episodes. Five pilot episodes were aired in 1950, and the first episode was broadcast nationally on New Year's Day 1951. A significant show in British popular culture, and with over five million listeners, it is Radio 4's most listened-to non-news programme, and with over one million listeners via the internet, the programme holds the record for BBC Radio online listening figures. In February 2019, a panel of 46 broadcasting industry experts, of which 42 had a professional connection to the BBC, listed ''The Archers'' as the second-greatest radio programme of all time. Partly established with the aim towards educating farmers following World War II, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Main Chance
''The Main Chance'' is a British television series first aired on ITV in four series between 1969 and 1975. It is a drama series that depicts the sudden transformation in the life of a solicitor, David Main (played by John Stride), after he moves from London to Leeds. It was created by Edmund Ward and John Malcolm; the latter was a pseudonym for John Batt who was a practising solicitor. Batt also composed the theme music. Episodes In all, 45 episodes were aired, each around 45 to 50 minutes long and divided into three parts. The first series, shown in 1969, was in black and white. From then on the show went out in colour. The first series consisted of six episodes, while subsequent series contained thirteen episodes each. The three later series were transmitted in 1970, 1972 and 1975. Cast * John Stride – David Main * Kate O'Mara – Julia Main (Series 1) * Margaret Ashcroft – Margaret Castleton * John Wentworth – Henry Castleton * Anna Palk – Sarah Courtney ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
