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Bill Waddington
William Joseph Waddington (10 June 1916 – 9 September 2000) was an English actor, comedian and co-author who was born in Oldham, Lancashire. In later life he achieved stardom as the pompous ex-serviceman Percy Sugden in Granada Television's long-running soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Biography Waddington was born on Saturday 10 June 1916 in Oldham, Lancashire. His parents William and Epsie ran the Clarence Hotel, a public house in Oldham. He was the couple's fourth child, having lost twins the year before. Waddington, and his sister Connie, were brought up by family friends as their father fought in the First World War, and their mother worked all hours to keep the children fed. The family moved house frequently and Waddington attended many different schools in Oldham. It was at school he took to the stage, and during one performance he was spotted by the choirmaster of the Oldham parish church, and persuaded to join. However, he was expelled from the choir for stealing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, which had a population of 237,110 in 2019. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, and with little early history to speak of, Oldham rose to prominence in the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and among the first ever industrialised towns, rapidly becoming "one of the most important centres of cotton and textile industries in England." At its zenith, it was the most productive cotton spinning mill town in the world,. producing more cotton than France and Germany combined. Oldham's textile industry fell into decline in the mid-20th century; the town's last mill closed in 1998. The demise of textile processing in Oldham depressed and heavily ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jill Summers
Jill Summers (born Honor Margaret Rozelle Santoi Fuller; 10 December 1910 – 11 January 1997) was an English music hall performer, actor and comedian. Her career in entertainment lasted eighty years and in 1982 she achieved stardom as Phyllis Pearce, in Granada Television's long-running soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She made her last appearance in May 1996, and died eight months later. Early life Summers was born in Eccles, Lancashire, one of four sisters and a brother, to father Alf Rozelle, a circus tightrope walker, and mother Mary Fuller (stage name Marie Santoi), a famous revue artist. Born into a theatrical family, her grandmother was a well-known bare-back rider, and her uncle, Johnny Fuller, known as "The Famous Cat", frequently acted alongside Fay Compton in the pantomime ''Dick Whittington''. Career She first performed on stage aged six. Her childhood was mostly unhappy, with her touring parents often leaving her with foster families. When Summers was 13 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Britain between bold and scandalous ''Music Hall'' and subsequent, more respectable ''Variety'' differ. Music hall involved a mixture of popular songs, comedy, speciality acts, and variety entertainment. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place. In North America vaudeville was in some ways analogous to British music hall, featuring rousing songs and comic acts. Originating in saloon bars within public houses during the 1830s, music hall entertainment became increasingly popular with audiences. So much so, that during the 1850s some public houses were demolished, and specialised music hall theatres developed in their place. These theatres were designed chiefly so that people could consume food ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talent (1978 Play)
''Talent'' is a play written by Victoria Wood, first performed in 1978. It centres on two friends, one of whom is about to enter a talent contest in a run down nightclub. Commissioned for the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, it received much acclaim and transferred to a London run in 1979. That same year a television adaptation was broadcast. It was the first time Victoria Wood and Julie Walters appeared together on TV. A mixture of dialogue and music, one of its tunes inspired The Smiths song ''Rusholme Ruffians''. The script was published by Methuen in 1988, along with another play by Wood, '' Good Fun''. Origins After receiving much acclaim for her writing and performance in a 1978 revue at The Bush Theatre titled '' In at the Death'', Wood was commissioned by then theatre director David Leland to write a play for Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. The initial commission was for Wood to co-write, with fellow revue writer Ron Hutchinson, a play about strippers. According to Wood: "The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades and her live comedy act was interspersed with her own compositions which she performed at the piano. Much of her humour was grounded in everyday life and included references to activities, attitudes and products that are considered to exemplify Britain. She was noted for her skills in observational comedy and in satirising aspects of social class. Wood started her career in 1974 by appearing on, and winning, the ATV talent show ''New Faces''. She established herself as a comedy star in the 1980s, winning a BAFTA TV Award in 1986 for the sketch series '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' (1985–87), and became one of Britain's most popular stand-up comics, winning a second BAFTA for '' An Audience with Victoria Wood'' (1988). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Stevenson (writer)
John "Steve" Stevenson (10 July 1930 – 27 November 2017) was a British writer who, under the pen name Marcus van Heller, wrote erotic fiction for the ''Traveller's Companion'' series of Olympia Press publisher (1955–1961). Later he also wrote under the pen name Stephen John. Career In 1954, at the age of 23, John Stevenson arrived for a sojourn in Paris, where he socialised with the expatriate community behind the modernist literary magazine '' Merlin''. He soon became the business manager for Merlin. As the magazine was not well known to the public, the job consisted mostly of selling copies on the street. Marcus van Heller pen name The main editor of ''Merlin'', Alexander Trocchi, used to write erotic fiction for Olympia Press publisher to supplement his meagre income and suggested to Stevenson to do the same. Olympia Press specialised in books which could not be published (without legal action) in the English-speaking world, making use of the fact that the French wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sid James
Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a middle-class Jewish family in South Africa, James started his career in his native country before finding his greatest success in the UK. Beginning his screen career playing bit parts in films from 1947, he was cast in numerous small and supporting roles into the 1950s. He appeared in the film ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' in 1951, starring Alec Guinness. His profile was raised as Tony Hancock's co-star in ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first in the radio series and later when it was adapted for television and ran from 1954 to 1960. Afterwards, he became known as a regular performer in the Carry On films, appearing in 19 films of the series, with the top billing roles in 17 (in the other two he was cast below Frankie Howerd). His starring roles in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Lockwood
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich'' (1940), ''The Man in Grey'' (1943), and ''The Wicked Lady'' (1945). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress for the 1955 film ''Cast a Dark Shadow''. She also starred in the television series ''Justice'' (1971–74). Early life Lockwood was born on 15 September 1916 in Karachi, British India, to Henry Francis Lockwood, an English administrator of a railway company, and his third wife, Scottish-born Margaret Eveline Waugh. She returned to England in 1920 with her mother, brother 'Lyn' and half-brother Frank, and a further half-sister 'Fay' joined them the following year, but her father remained in Karachi, visiting them infrequently. She also had another half-brother, John, from her father's first marriage, brought ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 when, in partnership, he successfully bid for franchises in the newly created ITV network, which led to the creation of Associated Television (ATV). Having worked for a time in the United States, he was aware of the potential for the sale of television programming to American networks. The Incorporated Television Company (ITC; commonly known as ITC Entertainment) was formed with this specific objective in mind. Grade had some success in this field with such series as Gerry Anderson's many Supermarionation series such as '' Thunderbirds'', Patrick McGoohan's ''The Prisoner'', and Jim Henson's ''The Muppet Show''. Later, Grade invested in feature film production, but several expensive box-office failures caused him to lose control of ITC, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Lamour began her career in the 1930s as a big band singer. In 1936, she moved to Hollywood, where she signed with Paramount Pictures. Her appearance as Ulah in ''The Jungle Princess'' (1936) brought her fame and marked the beginning of her image as the "Sarong Queen". In 1940, Lamour made her first ''Road series'' comedy film ''Road to Singapore''. The ''Road series'' films were popular during the 1940s. The sixth film in the series, ''Road to Bali'', was released in 1952. By this time, Lamour's screen career began to wane, and she focused on stage and television work. In 1961, Crosby and Hope teamed for ''The Road to Hong Kong'', but actress Joan Collins was cast as the female lead. Lamour made a brief appearance a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Daniels
William Boone Daniels (September 12, 1915 – October 7, 1988) was an American singer active in the United States and Europe from the mid-1930s to 1988, notable for his hit recording of "That Old Black Magic" and his pioneering performances on early 1950s television. He was one of the first African-American entertainers to cross over into the mainstream. Daniels was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1977. Life and career Early life Daniels was born in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. where his father was a postmaster and notary. His mother was a schoolteacher and organist. Daniels had a heritage of Portuguese sailor, Native American (Choctaw), African American, and frontiersman Daniel Boone. Early career In 1935, Daniels moved from Jacksonville to New York to attend Columbia University. He planned to become a lawyer, but he was sidetracked during the Depression. His grandmother was a seamstress in Harlem for the ''Ziegfeld Follies'', and she encourag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood. Horne advocated for human rights and took part in the March on Washington in August 1963. Later she returned to her roots as a nightclub performer and continued to work on television while releasing well-received record albums. She announced her retirement in March 1980, but the next year starred in a one-woman show, '' Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music'', which ran for more than 300 performances on Broadway. She then toured the country in the show, earning numerous awards and accolades. Horne continued recording and performing sporadically into the 1990s, retreating from the public eye in 2000. Early life Lena Horne was born in Bedford–S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
