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Barbara Speake Stage School
The Barbara Speake Stage School was opened on 10 February 1945 as an independent school, and was initially set up as a dancing school, by the founding principal Miss Barbara Speake, MBE, and was located in East Acton, London. The school was fee-paying but non-selective in its admissions. The school closed in 2020. History In 1961, June Collins (mother of drummer/singer Phil Collins) joined forces with Barbara Speake to become the school's agent. Collins supplied the entertainment industry with children for every major production in the West End, TV and Theatre. Due to the success of both the agency and dancing school, in 1963 the decision was made to turn their successes in to a full-time educational establishment for the performing arts. Collins discovered Jack Wild playing football and decided that he was a child with potential, and persuaded his family to let him attend the full-time school. Wild went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of "The Artful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Independent School
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British English, an independent school usually refers to a school which is endowed, i.e. held by a trust, charity, or foundation, while a private school is one that is privately owned. Independent schools are usually not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowment. They typically have a board of governors who are elected independently of government and have a system of governance that ensures their independent operation. Children who attend such schools may be there because they (or their parents) are dissatisfied with government-funded schools (in UK state schools) in their area. They may be selected for their academic prowess, prowess in other fields, or sometimes their religious background. Private schools r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grange Hill
''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running programmes on British television when it ended on 15 September 2008 after 31 series. It was created by Phil Redmond, who is also responsible for the Channel 4 dramas ''Brookside (television programme), Brookside'' and ''Hollyoaks''; other notable production team members down the years have included Television producer, producer Colin Cant and script editor Anthony Minghella. The show was cancelled in 2008, having run every year for 30 years. It was felt by the BBC that the series had run its course."BBC to shut g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeff Stevenson (comedian)
Jeff Stevenson (born Jeffrey Stevens; 3 March 1961, Hammersmith, England) is an English comedian and actor. Richard Taylor - 2006 - Page 109 Stevenson's career first began when he appeared in the 1976 film '''', playing the part of Fat Sam's Louis. Career Stevenson was born in 1961 in Hammersmith, London. He attended ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Conley
Brian Paul Conley (born 7 August 1961) is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Conley has been the host of ''The Brian Conley Show'', as well as presenting the Royal Variety Performance on eight occasions. In his 40-year television career, he has starred in multiple award-winning television sitcoms including ''Time After Time'' and ''The Grimleys''. In the West End, he has played the lead role in musicals such as '' Me and My Girl'', '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', ''Hairspray'', ''Oliver!'', ''The Music Man'', ''Barnum'' and ''Jolson'' for which he was nominated for a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award. As a musician, he has released five albums, including ''Brian Conley Sings'', ''Let the Good Times Roll'', and ''Stage to Stage''. He has won numerous awards in his career including The National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performer, Best Live Performer in ''Manchester Evening News'' and a British Comedy Award. Since 2021, Conley has appear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stig Of The Dump
''Stig of the Dump'' is a children's novel by Clive King which was first published in the United Kingdom in 1963. It is regarded as a modern children's classic and is often read in schools. It was illustrated by Edward Ardizzone and has been twice adapted for television, in 1981 and in 2002. It was featured in a broadcast as an adaptation on BBC Home Service for schools in November 1964, and later on the BBC series ''Blue Peter''. Plot Barney is a bored young boy staying with his grandparents on the chalk Downs of southern England. One day, he falls over the edge of an old chalk pit close to his grandparents' house, tumbling through the roof of a den. While exploring the den, Barney encounters its owner, Stig, a caveman with shaggy, black hair and bright black eyes. The chalk pit is disused and full of people's dumped rubbish. Barney and Stig quickly become friends. They learn to communicate with each other without language, as Stig speaks no English. Stig's den is a plac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murphy's Mob
''Murphy's Mob'' is a British children's television series, created and written by Brian Finch which was produced and directed by David Foster for Central Independent Television, and screened in the UK on ITV for four series between 1 March 1982 and 19 December 1985. The theme tune was sung by Gary Holton, of ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' fame. Plot The series featured Ken Hutchison as Mac Murphy, who takes charge as manager of a struggling fictional Third Division football club, Dunmore United, and a group of young supporters of the club whose day-to-day troubles included attempts to set up a junior supporter's club and clubhouse within the stadium. Cast * Ken Hutchison as Mac Murphy * Lynda Bellingham as Elaine Murphy * Terence Budd as Rasputin Jones * Milton Johns as Derek Cassidy * Amanda Mealing as Sheila * Tracy Lynn Stephens as Jean * Keith Jayne as Boxer * Lewis Stevens as Wurzel * Chris Gascoyne as Judd * Wayne Norman as Gerry 'Geronimo' Production The drama scenes also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Jayne
Keith Jayne (born 10 December 1960) is a British actor, known for playing the title role in the 1981 television adaptation ''Stig of the Dump''. A slow growth rate, due to a pituitary gland problem, made Keith a target of bullies at grammar school, To escape them, he enrolled with the Barbara Speake Stage School. Early roles were in ''Rumpole of the Bailey'', ''Angels'' and a variety of Children's Film Foundation productions, including ''Robin Hood Junior'' (1975), ''The Glitterball'' (1977) and '' Sammy's Super T-Shirt'' (1978). In 1974, Keith appeared as Wilfred Schoenfeld in an episode of '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', entitled "The Beastly Hun". In 1975, he played Mick in '' Survivors''. However, his big break happened in 1979 when he was cast as Tom Arnold, a cabin boy, in ''The Onedin Line''. This was followed by the lead role in Thames Television’s, BAFTA award nominated, adaptation of ''Stig of the Dump'' - which 'is probably the part I am most remembered for'. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Summers (casting Director)
Mark Summers is a British casting director, working in both North America and Europe. Career Mark Summers began his career as an actor, training at the Barbara Speake Stage School, before moving into casting for adverts, music videos, film and world tours in both Britain and America. He won the British Advertising Craft Award for Best Casting Director in 2003, and has been nominated on six other occasions. Additionally, Summers has been the chairman of the awards for Best Performance. He has over 12,000 casting credits to his name. Performers he has cast can be seen in works such as '' East is East'', ''The Boat That Rocked'' and '' Queer Eye'', and in adverts for, among others, Aussie, Boots, Häagen-Dazs, Macy's and Virgin. Summers has also cast music videos and tours for artists including 50 Cent, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Robert Plant and Metallica. Summers runs a class teaching the do's and dont's of casting. Television Mark Summers and his team (including Associat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Parfitt
David Parfitt (born 8 July 1958) is an English film producer, actor, and co-founder of Trademark Films. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 71st Academy Awards for ''Shakespeare in Love'' (1998). Early life Parfitt was born in Sunderland and educated at the Barbara Speake Stage School, an independent school in London. Career He began his stage career with the Sunderland Empire Theatre Society in 1969 and later gained work on television, including playing Peter Harrison in the sitcoms '' ...And Mother Makes Three'' (1971–1973) and its sequel '' ...And Mother Makes Five'' (1974–1976) and appearing in ''Love in a Cold Climate'' (1980). In the BBC Radio 4 serial ''The Archers'', he was the first actor in the role of Tim Beecham, an old friend of Nigel Pargetter. Work as a producer Parfitt gave up acting in the late 1980s to concentrate on production. He co-founded the Renaissance Theatre Company with Kenneth Branagh in 1987, and was associate producer of Renaissance ... [...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] |
Sylvestra Le Touzel
Sylvestra Le Touzel (born 1958) is a British television, film and stage actor. She was born and raised in Kensington, London, to a prominent family from Saint Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands. She attended school in East Acton. Television Beginning as a child actor, Le Touzel's first television role was in the ''Doctor Who'' story ''The Mind Robber'', playing one of the children who bedevil the Second Doctor and his companions in the Land of Fiction. She co-starred in the BBC Schools "Look and Read" series, playing Helen in their serial ''The Boy from Space'' (1971), which was re-edited with a new introduction in 1980. An early adult role was as Fanny Price in the BBC dramatisation of Jane Austen's ''Mansfield Park'' (1983). Le Touzel has also been seen on television in shows as diverse as ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''The Brontes of Haworth'', '' The Uninvited'', Catherine Cookson's ''The Gambling Man'' as Charlotte Keane (1995),''The Gentle Touch'', '' The Professionals'', ''Love ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sara Sugarman
Sara Sugarman (born 13 October 1962) is a Welsh actress and filmmaker whose work includes Disney's ''Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen'' (2004) and ''Very Annie Mary'' (2001). She has also appeared in films including '' Dealers'' (1989) and '' Those Glory Glory Days'' (1983). Biography Sugarman was born in Rhyl, Denbighshire, Wales, into a Jewish family. As a young teenager, she played in a punk outfit called The Fractures, managed by local musician Mike Peters. During this period, she played the rebellious SAG (School Action Group) leader Jessica Samuels in the children's drama TV series ''Grange Hill'' (1978–1979). In London, Sugarman attended both the Arts Educational School and then Barbara Speake Stage School in Acton. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) from 1986 to 1989, where she won the Best Actress medal. In 1992, she married the actor David Thewlis. They divorced in 1994. In 1994 she won a place at Bournemouth Film School and scripted and di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
