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Billy Russell (comedian)
Adam George Brown (16 July 1893 – 25 November 1971), who used the stage name Billy Russell, was a British comedian and character actor. Biography He was born in Birmingham, and first appeared on stage at the age of seven in 1900 in a theatrical show in Gloucester. He also worked in funfairs, and before the First World War as a child actor in the north of England, the Midlands and Wales, sometimes as part of a duo. He learned stagecraft from actors and music hall performers such as Bransby Williams and George Robey. A skilled visual artist, he sometimes appeared as "Baroni the Ambidextrous Cartoonist". He served in the South Staffordshire Regiment during the war, and entertained the troops as "The Trench Philosopher", performing monologues in the style of the character "Old Bill" devised by cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county, and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area. It is the largest UK metropolitan area outside of London. Birmingham is known as the second city of the United Kingdom. Located in the West Midlands region of England, approximately from London, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately west of the city centre. Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the Midla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For government statistical purposes, it forms part of the East of England region. Hertfordshire covers . It derives its name – via the name of the county town of Hertford – from a hart (stag) and a ford, as represented on the county's coat of arms and on the flag. Hertfordshire County Council is based in Hertford, once the main market town and the current county town. The largest settlement is Watford. Since 1903 Letchworth has served as the prototype garden city; Stevenage became the first town to expand under post-war Britain's New Towns Act of 1946. In 2013 Hertfordshire had a population of about 1,140,700, with Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage, Watford and St Albans (the county's only ''city'') each having between 50,000 and 100,000 r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judgment Deferred
''Judgment Deferred'' is a 1952 British drama film directed by John Baxter and starring Joan Collins, Hugh Sinclair, Helen Shingler and Abraham Sofaer. The film is a remake of the director's earlier film, ''Doss House'' (1933). Production The film was shot at Southall Studios with sets designed by the art director Don Russell. It was the first production from Group 3 Films, a company formed to encourage new young British film-makers (which later produced ''The Brave Don't Cry'', ''Conflict of Wings'', ''The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp'' and several other low-budget features). Plot With the assistance of a journalist a group of refugees and down and outs try and unmask the criminal who has framed one of their number as a drug dealer. Selected cast * Hugh Sinclair as David Kennedy * Helen Shingler as Kay Kennedy * Abraham Sofaer as Chancellor * Leslie Dwyer as Flowers * Joan Collins as Lil Carter * Harry Locke as Bert * Elwyn Brook-Jones as Coxon * Marcel Poncin as Stran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Man In The White Suit
''The Man in the White Suit'' is a 1951 British satirical science fiction comedy film made by Ealing Studios. It stars Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing (Screenplay) for Roger MacDougall, John Dighton and Alexander Mackendrick. It followed a common Ealing Studios theme of the "common man" against the Establishment. In this instance the hero falls foul of both trade unions and the wealthy mill owners who attempt to suppress his invention. Mandy Miller (aged only 6) made her first film appearance in this film. Plot Sidney Stratton, a brilliant young research chemist and former Cambridge scholarship recipient, has been dismissed from jobs at several textile mills in the north of England because of his demands for expensive facilities and his obsession with inventing an everlasting fibre. Whilst working as a labourer at the Birnley Mills, he accidentally becomes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Night Train To Munich
''Night Train to Munich'' is a 1940 British-American thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1939 short story ''Report on a Fugitive'' by Gordon Wellesley, the film is about an inventor and his daughter who are kidnapped by the Gestapo after the Nazis march into Prague in the prelude to the Second World War. A British secret service agent follows them, disguised as a senior German army officer pretending to woo the daughter over to the Nazi cause. Plot As German forces take over Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Axel Bomasch, a Czechoslovak scientist working on a new type of armour-plating, is flown to Britain. Bomasch's daughter, Anna, is arrested before she can reach the airport and sent to a concentration camp, where she is interrogated by Nazis who are pursuing her father. Anna refuses to cooperate. Soon she is befriended by a fellow prisoner named Karl Marsen, who says he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of in 1934. During his dictatorship, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust: the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims. Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna later in the first decade of the 1900s and moved to Germany in 1913. He was decorated during his service in the German Army in World War I. In 1919, he joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), the precursor of the Nazi Party, and was appointed leader of the Nazi Party in 1921. In 1923, he attempted to seize governmental ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regal Zonophone Records
Regal Zonophone Records was a British record label formed in 1932, through a merger of the Regal and Zonophone labels. This followed the merger of those labels' respective parent companies – the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company – to form EMI. At the merger, those records from the Regal Records catalogue were prefixed 'MR' and those from the Zonophone Records catalogue were prefixed 'T'. Record releases after the merger continued using only the 'MR' prefix.Arthur Badrock and Frank Andrews: ''Regal Records 1914 to 1932'' 2nd Edition published June 2009 by The City of London Phonographic and Gramophone Society. Originally Regal Zonophone handled American releases from Okeh Records, Victor Records and Columbia Records, as well as offering home-grown recordings by artists such as Gracie Fields and George Formby. The label is also known for its releases of Salvation Army (particularly brass band) music. In the 1950s the Australian division of Regal Zonop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 88,818. Birkenhead Priory and the Mersey Ferry were established in the 12th century. In the 19th century, Birkenhead expanded greatly as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution. Birkenhead Park and Hamilton Square were laid out as well as the first street tramway in Britain. The Mersey Railway connected Birkenhead and Liverpool with the world's first tunnel beneath a tidal estuary; the shipbuilding firm Cammell Laird and a seaport were established. In the second half of the 20th century, the town suffered a significant period of decline, with containerisation causing a reduction in port activity. The Wirral Waters development is planned to regenerate much of the dockland. Toponymy The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argyle Theatre
The Argyle Theatre was a theatre in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It was opened in December 1868, initially as the Argyle Music Hall. The theatre had seating for about 800, with pillars in the auditorium and long, narrow galleries running down either side. Its name was changed in 1876 to the Prince Of Wales Theatre and for several years plays were performed, before the name "''Argyle''" was eventually restored. The owner and manager between 1888 and 1934 was Dennis J. Clarke, a local councillor, shrewd businessman and entrepreneur, with a keen eye for talent. He was both popular and well respected and was responsible for helping launch numerous showbusiness careers. Established artistes such as W.C. Fields, Dan Leno and Marie Lloyd performed during the early years of the theatre's life. Stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Bud Flanagan & Chesney Allen, Harry Lauder, Stan Laurel, George Formby (Senior) and Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise performed at the Argyle Theat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Variety Performance
The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal family. The evening's performance is presented as a live variety show, usually from a theatre in London and consists of family entertainment that includes comedy, music, dance, magic and other speciality acts. The ''Royal Variety Performance'' traditionally begins with the entrance of the members of the royal family followed by singing of the national anthem, God Save the King, which was also performed by the participating acts as a traditional end to Royal Variety Performances; with the exception of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, as a result of which, As If We Never Said Goodbye opened that year's show instead, sung by that year's host, Jason Manford. Background and founding The first performance, on 1 July 1912, was called the Roy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mother-in-law Joke
Humour and jokes about one's mother-in-law (the mother of one's spouse) are a mainstay of comedy. The humour is based on the premise that the average mother-in-law often considers her son-in-law to be unsuitable for her daughter (or daughter-in-law unsuitable for her son), and usually includes the stereotype that mothers-in-law are generally overbearing, obnoxious, or unattractive. This has commonly been referred to as the "battle." British comedians such as Les Dawson and Jim Davidson have often used them, and many television sitcoms have featured stereotypical mothers-in-law. There is evidence that this joke dates back to Roman times: ''Satire VI'' by Juvenal says that one cannot be happy while one's mother-in-law is still alive. Most of the mother-in-law jokes are easily translatable to other languages and are easily understandable in most European cultures. In a book on cartooning written by Dave Breger, the author lists a series of "tired gags", and gives a suggestion on ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
