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Bill Fraser
William Simpson Fraser (5 June 1908 – 9 September 1987) was a Scottish actor who appeared on stage, screen and television for many years. In 1986 he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his stage role in the play ''When We Are Married''. Early life Fraser was born in Perth and educated at Strathallan School. He began his career as a clerk in a bank before beginning to act. In the early days when acting work was scarce, Fraser was often penniless, frequently sleeping rough on the Embankment in London. Before the Second World War, he ran the Connaught Theatre in Worthing; when called up he served in a Royal Air Force Special Liaison Unit, reaching the rank of flight lieutenant, where he met and became friends with Eric Sykes. Just after the war a chance meeting in a London street led to Fraser's giving Sykes his first work as a writer for radio comedy and the two friends worked together many times over the following years. Fraser is also credited wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perth, Scotland
Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about 47,430 in 2018. There has been a settlement at Perth since prehistory, prehistoric times. It is a natural mound raised slightly above the flood plain of the Tay, at a place where the river could be crossed on foot at low tide. The area surrounding the modern city is known to have been occupied ever since Mesolithic hunter-gatherers arrived there more than 8,000 years ago. Nearby Neolithic standing stones and circles date from about 4,000 BC, a period that followed the introduction of farming into the area. Close to Perth is Scone Abbey, which formerly housed the Stone of Scone (also known as the Stone of Destiny), on which the King of Scots were traditionally crowned. This enhanced the early importance of the city, and Perth becam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hancock's Half Hour
''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Galton and Simpson, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James, Sidney James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams. The final television series, renamed simply ''Hancock'', starred Hancock alone. Comedian Tony Hancock starred in the show, playing an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in Cheam, East Cheam. The series was influential in the development of the Sitcom, situation comedy, with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development. The radio version was produced by Dennis Main Wilson for most of its run. After Main Wilson departed for his television career, his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Up Pompeii!
''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the second series by Rothwell and Sid Colin. Two later specials were transmitted in 1975 and 1991 and a film adaptation was released in 1971. Background ''Up Pompeii!'' first appeared in the Comedy Playhouse series, after Michael Mills and Tom Sloan from BBC Comedy and Light Entertainment visited the ruins of Pompeii. Since Mills had recently seen Frankie Howerd in the stage musical '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' he casually remarked to Sloan that he half expected Howerd to suddenly appear round the corner. Sloan had replied 'Why not?', and the idea took root. Talbot Rothwell was invited to write a script and the designer Sally Hulke visited Pompeii with a sketch book and camera to ensure realism and authenticity. A slight variation of this is re ... [...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] |
Love Thy Neighbour (1972 TV Series)
''Love Thy Neighbour'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 13 April 1972 until 22 January 1976. The show spanned eight series, lasted for 53 episodes (plus an unaired pilot) and was produced by Thames Television for the ITV network. The principal cast consists of Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Nina Baden-Semper, and Kate Williams. In 1973, the series was adapted into a film of the same name, and a later sequel series was set in Australia. Synopsis The series was created and largely written by Vince Powell and Harry Driver; it was based around a white working class couple (Eddie and Joan Booth) living in Twickenham, in the outer London suburbs, and a black couple (Bill and Barbie Reynolds) as their next-door neighbours. One of the leads, Rudolph Walker, who played Bill Reynolds, wrote in an article for ''The Guardian'' in 2001 that the show is about "a black guy and a white guy being damned stupid". Controversy Since 1972, when ''Love Thy Neighbour'' w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor At Large (film)
''Doctor at Large'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas, the third of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Muriel Pavlow, Donald Sinden and James Robertson Justice. It is based on the 1955 novel of the same title by Richard Gordon. Main cast * Dirk Bogarde as Dr. Simon Sparrow * Muriel Pavlow as Joy Gibson * Donald Sinden as Benskin * James Robertson Justice as Sir Lancelot Spratt * Shirley Eaton as Nurse Nan McPherson * Derek Farr as Dr. Potter-Shine * Michael Medwin as Dr. Charles Bingham * Martin Benson as Maharajah * John Chandos as O'Malley * Edward Chapman as Wilkins * George Coulouris as Pascoe * Judith Furse as Mrs. Digby * Gladys Henson as Mrs. Wilkins * Anne Heywood as Emerald * Ernest Jay as Charles Hopcroft * Lionel Jeffries as Dr. Hatchet * Mervyn Johns as Smith * Geoffrey Keen as Second Examiner * Dilys Laye as Mrs. Jasmine Hatchet * Harry Locke as Porter * Terence Longdon as George - House Surgeon * A. E. Matth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Amorous Milkman
''The Amorous Milkman'' is a 1975 British comedy film directed by Derren Nesbitt and starring Julie Ege, Diana Dors and Brendan Price. The plot is about a young milkman who enjoys a number of adventures with bored women on his round. One version of the poster showed a self-satisfied cat licking its lips above the tagline, "If your pussy could only talk." Plot Randy milkman Davey ends up delivering more than pints of milk to some of the bored housewives on his round. In a short space of time he finds himself engaged to two different women, Janice and Margo, on the receiving end of a bad beating from John, the local gangster, whose girlfriend Diana has been two-timing him with Davey, and finally ending up in court on a rape charge when Gerald, an irate husband, comes home unexpectedly and discovers Davey and his wife Rita in a compromising situation. Cast * Julie Ege as Diana * Diana Dors as Rita * Brendan Price as Davey * Alan Lake as Sandy * Donna Reading as Janice * Nancie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Father, Dear Father
''Father, Dear Father'' is a British television sitcom produced by Thames Television for ITV from 1968 to 1973 starring Patrick Cargill. It was subsequently made into a spin-off film of the same title released in 1973. An Australian sequel series of the same name (though usually referred to as ''Father, Dear Father in Australia'' to distinguish it from the UK original) followed in 1978. The same year a West German adaptation ''Oh, This Father'' starring Willy Millowitsch began, lasting until 1981. Premise The original series focused on divorced British novelist Patrick Glover (Patrick Cargill) and his daughters, Karen (Ann Holloway) and Anna (Natasha Pyne), a couple of lively girls in their teens. The family lives in Hampstead, London. Another member of the household is the girls' Nanny (Noel Dyson). As well as having to deal with his progeny, Patrick also faces frequent hassles with his ex-wife Barbara (Ursula Howells) and her current husband Bill Mossman (played by Patrick Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Corn Is Green
''The Corn Is Green'' is a 1938 semi-autobiographical play by Welsh dramatist and actor Emlyn Williams. The play premiered in London at the Duchess Theatre in September 1938; with Sybil Thorndike as Miss Moffat and Williams himself portraying Morgan Evans, the West End production ran in all for 600 performances. The original Broadway production starred Ethel Barrymore and premiered at the National Theatre in November 1940, running for 477 performances. Plot L.C. Moffat is a strong-willed English school teacher working in a poverty-stricken coal mining village in late 19th century Wales. She struggles to win the local Welsh miners over to her English ways, and an illiterate teenager by the name of Morgan Evans eventually graduates with honours. Background Born in 1905, Emlyn Williams grew up in the impoverished coal-mining town of Mostyn in Flintshire, Wales, and spoke only Welsh until the age of eight. He was barely literate, and later said he would probably have begun worki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Train Now Standing
''The Train Now Standing'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1972 to 1973. Set in a quiet country railway station, the series starred Bill Fraser, known by that point for playing Snudge in the sitcoms ''The Army Game'' and ''Bootsie and Snudge''. It was based on the BBC Radio sitcom '' Parsley Sidings''. Filming The outdoor scenes for ''The Train Now Standing'' were filmed at the then disused Bodiam railway station in East Sussex. Cast *Bill Fraser – Hedley Green * Hugh Walters – Peter Pringle * Pamela Cundell – Rosie ''(series 1)'' *Norman Mitchell – George ''(series 1)'' *Bartlett Mullins – Mr Foskins ''(series 1)'' * Arthur White – Fred ''(series 1)'' * George Waring – Bill ''(series 1)'' *Geoff L'Cise – Charlie ''(series 1)'' *Denis Lill – Mr Potts ''(series 1)'' *Garfield Morgan Thomas Timothy Garfield Morgan (19 April 1931 – 5 December 2009) was an English actor who appeared mostly on television and occasionally in films. Biography Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ripping Yarns
''Ripping Yarns'' is a British television adventure comedy anthology series. It was written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. It was transmitted on BBC 2. Following an initial pilot episode in January 1976, it ran for two series — five episodes in September and October 1977 and three episodes in October 1979. Each episode had a different setting and characters, each looking at a different aspect of British culture and parodying pre-World War II literature aimed at schoolboys. In the title, "ripping" is a chiefly British slang colloquialism for "exciting" or "thrilling", with "yarn" used in the sense of a story. Pilot episode In 1975, the BBC commissioned a pilot episode from Palin and Jones, envisaged to be a light entertainment comedy piece. The result was ''Tomkinson's Schooldays'' (a title loosely inspired by ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' and suggested by BBC director Terry Hughes). Palin and Jones both wrote and starred in multiple roles. Once the series w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾
''The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾'' is the first book in the Adrian Mole series of comedic fiction, written by Sue Townsend. The book is written in a diary style, and focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenager who believes himself to be an intellectual. The story is set in 1981 and 1982, and in the background it refers to some of the historic world events of the time, such as the Falklands War and the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana as well as the birth of Prince William of Wales, Prince William. Mole is a fierce critic of prime minister Margaret Thatcher, listing her as one of his worst enemies. Apart from the humorous events described in the diary, a lot of the book's humour originates from the unreliable narrator, unreliable narration of Mole, who naïvely, yet confidently, misinterprets events around him. The book was first published in hardcover by Methuen & Co. Ltd., Methuen on 7 Oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
