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Bulman
''Bulman'' is a British television crime drama series, principally written and created by Murray Smith. It was first broadcast on ITV on 5 June 1985. The series, featuring retired ex-cop George Bulman (Don Henderson) and his assistant Lucy McGinty (Siobhan Redmond), was a spin-off from the 1978 TV series '' Strangers'', itself a spin-off of the 1976 TV series ''The XYY Man'', which was adapted from the novels of Kenneth Royce. Produced by Granada Television, ''Bulman'' ran for two series, with the final episode broadcast on 8 August 1987. In this incarnation, Don Henderson once again stars as former Detective Chief Inspector George Bulman, who is ostensibly retired from police work and now spends his spare time repairing old clocks. However, aside from fixing clocks, Bulman is also working as a private investigator, and even has an assistant, Lucy McGinty. Aside from a number of private clients, Bulman and Lucy are frequently drawn into the clandestine world of the secret se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strangers (1978 TV Series)
''Strangers'' is a British television crime drama series, principally written and created by Murray Smith, and first broadcast on ITV on 5 June 1978. The series, featuring the characters of Detective Sergeant George Bulman (Don Henderson) and his assistant Detective Constable Derek Willis (Dennis Blanch), was a spin-off from the 1976 TV series ''The XYY Man'', adapted from the novels of Kenneth Royce. The series was first suggested by Granada Television executives, who in 1977, outlined their plan to devise a new series to feature the regular characters of Bulman and Willis. "... I was sent here to be a stranger in town, a face they didn't recognise ..." - George Bulman The series began life as a fairly standard police drama, with Bulman positioned as its eccentric lead. The series' premise centred around a group of police officers, including Bulman and Willis, known as 'Unit 23', who are brought together from different parts of the country to Manchester to infiltrate area ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Bulman (fictional Character)
Detective Sergeant George Bulman was a fictional detective created by Kenneth Royce in his series of books about The XYY Man (semi-reformed cat burglar Spider Scott), where the character's name was initially Alf Bulman. Here Bulman is presented as a 'bent copper', though the only examples of his corruption given are that he gained promotion to sergeant by persuading down-and-outs to confess to unsolved robberies, in return for a prison sentence which would put them inside during the coldest months of winter. These books were turned into a Granada Television, Granada TV series in the mid-1970s, with actor Don Henderson playing Bulman, Scott's nemesis. Bulman lives only for the day that he can put Scott (played on TV by Stephen Yardley) back behind bars, but he and his sidekick Detective Constable Derek Willis (Dennis Blanch) are thwarted every time, even gaining some slight sympathy and respect for Scott as they discover how he and they have been used by the secret service. Bulman w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Henderson
Donald Francis Henderson (10 November 1931 – 22 June 1997)Ancestry/Find My Past (his birth was registered in the December 1931 quarter) was an English actor. He was known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remembered for his portrayal of detective George Bulman between 1976 and 1987 in the popular Granada Television police drama series ''The XYY Man'', '' Strangers'', and '' Bulman'', as priest Frank Kane in BBC drama ''The Paradise Club'' (1989–90), and as General Tagge in the first ''Star Wars'' film (1977). This last role also brought him attention from science fiction fans, and he later appeared in cult science fiction television series '' Red Dwarf'' and '' Doctor Who''. Biography He lived in his adopted home town of Stratford-upon-Avon for many years, where he was a familiar face to locals. He also had several minor roles at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in the town. Prior to becoming an actor, Henderson was a dental technician in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The XYY Man
''The XYY Man'' began as a series of novels by Kenneth Royce, featuring the character of William (or Willie) 'Spider' Scott, a one-time cat-burglar who leaves prison aiming to go straight but finds his talents still to be very much in demand by both the criminal underworld and the British secret service. Scott has an extra Y chromosome that supposedly gives him a criminal predisposition – although he tries to go straight, he is genetically incapable of doing so. Royce's original books were: ''The XYY Man'' (1970); ''Concrete Boot'' (1971); ''The Miniatures Frame'' (1972); ''Spider Underground (The Masterpiece Affair)'' (1973) and ''Trap Spider'' (1974), though he returned to the character in the 80s with ''The Crypto Man'' (1984) and ''The Mosley Receipt'' (1985). Regular characters included Scott's long-suffering girlfriend Maggie Parsons; British secret service head codenamed Fairfax (the character's real name is Sir Stuart Halliman. In one episode, Fairfax identifies hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Royce
Kenneth Royce Gandley (1920–1997) was an English thriller writer who also wrote under name Ken Royce, and the pseudonym Oliver Jacks. Early life Royce was born in Croydon, UK in 1920, and began writing at school. He would buy cheap exercise books and sell them fully illustrated for twice the price. During the Second World War he served with "various regiments" and reached the rank of captain. He ran his own travel business, and made full use of it to gather background for his books. Career Royce wrote 36 thriller novels between 1959 and 1997 under his own name (including ''The Third Arm'', ''The Stalin Account'', ''Fall-Out'', ''10,000 Days'' and ''Channel Assault''), and three as Jacks. His best-known works were his novels featuring semi-reformed cat burglar William 'Spider' Scott, an XYY man, whose extra 'Y' chromosome (in the erroneous-but-conventional wisdom of the time) gave him a pre-disposition towards criminality. After attempting to 'go straight', he finds his talent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murray Smith (writer)
Murray Smith (14 June 1940 – 28 December 2003) was a British television writer and producer. He was associated with many British films and TV shows, including the ITV series ''The XYY Man'', ''Strangers'' and ''Bulman'', all featuring actor Don Henderson in the role of George Bulman. Smith also wrote scripts for such series as ''The Sweeney'', ''Minder'', and '' Dempsey and Makepeace'', and also wrote several novels. He also wrote five screenplays for British exploitation director Pete Walker. These included ''Die Screaming, Marianne ''Die Screaming, Marianne'' (also ''Die, Beautiful Marianne'') is a 1971 British thriller film produced and directed by Pete Walker. Although Walker's films were mostly in the horror or sexploitation genres, this is a straight thriller, with mi ...'' and '' The Comeback''. Filmography Television References External links * 1940 births 2003 deaths British television writers British television producers 20th-century screenwri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siobhan Redmond
Siobhan Redmond, ( ; born 27 July 1959) is a Scottish actress, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and known for various stage, audio and television roles. Early life Siobhan Redmond was born on 27 July 1959 in the Tollcross area of Glasgow as the second-eldest of three children to Charlotte Redmond, a drama teacher, and John Redmond, a university lecturer. She attended the Sunshine School of Dance and Park School for Girls in Glasgow's West End. Redmond studied at the University of St Andrews, where she earned a Master of Arts in English. At St Andrews University, she has said to have been 'discovered' by playwright Liz Lochhead while performing in a student Mermaids society production written by Marcella Evaristi. Redmond also did a course in massage and did a postgraduate year at the Bristol Old Vic. Career Her first television appearances were in the early 1980s, the first of these being in 1982 in the sketch show '' There's Nothing To Worry About!'' After app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark McManus
Mark McManus (21 February 1935 – 6 June 1994) was a Scottish actor. He has played roles in British television series '' Sam,'' '' Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers,'' and ''Dramarama'' and starred in the feature film '' 2000 Weeks''. He was best known for playing the tough Glaswegian Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart in the long-running STV television series ''Taggart'' from 1983 until his death in 1994. Career McManus was born in Hamilton, Scotland, and moved to Hillingdon in London, England when he was three years old, until he moved again at the age of 16 to Australia, where he performed in amateur theatre groups that led him to becoming a professional actor. He appeared in the children's TV series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' and had a guest appearance in the long-running Australian police drama '' Homicide''. He also starred in Tim Burstall's feature film '' 2000 Weeks'' (1969), which was the first full-length Australian-produced feature made in Australia since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Livings
Henry Livings (20 September 1929 – 20 February 1998) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television and theatre from the 1960s to the 1990s. Early life and career Livings was born in Prestwich, Lancashire, England. He won a scholarship from the Stand Grammar School in Whitefield to the University of Liverpool but attended for only two years, leaving in 1950 without graduating. He went on to serve in the Royal Air Force (1950–52), became an expert cook, and held a number of jobs before going into the theatre. He trained as an actor at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, which he joined in 1956. Livings appeared in the first of the Carry On films, ''Carry on Sergeant'' (1958) and as Wilf Haddon, Martha Longhurst's son-in-law, on '' Coronation Street'' in May 1964. His first stage play, ''Stop It, Whoever You Are'', about a washroom attendant in a factory, was performed in 1961. The Evening Standard Awards for 1961 named Livin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Tucker
Roger Tucker (born 13 May 1945) is a British television and film director. Since 1972 he has directed over 40 television series, miniseries, and television films, including many dramas, thrillers, and action series. Career Roger Tucker was born in Bristol, England. He made his first film, ''Karst'', at the age of 18, and it was screened at the 1965 British Film Institute's Young Film-makers' Competition and awarded the Senior Trophy. The film was also screened at the London Film Festival and at Expo 67.Noble, Peter (ed). ''International Film and TV Yearbook'', Volume 35. Screen International, King Publications Ltd., 1980. p. 698. Tucker was president of the film society at Sussex University, which he attended 1964–1967, and he received a BA in psychology and philosophy. On the strength of his film ''Karst'', after graduation he was hired at Granada Television, and directed in current affairs, documentaries, arts features, and drama. While at Granada, he directed the young Ian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Gilmour (director)
Bill Gilmour is a Scots television director. He was born on 17 March 1939 in the small town of Peebles in the Tweed Valley of the Scottish Borders. He went to Ealing Art College in West London, where he specialised in photography, while attending Frank Auerbach's drawing classes. He joined Scottish Television in 1960 as a camera operator, moving after four years to floor managing, before joining Granada Television in 1967. Gilmour began directing in 1972. Gilmour directed the plays ''Happy Returns'' by Brian Clarke, ''Some Enchanted Evening'' by C. P. Taylor, and ''The Game'' by Paul Pender. He directed episodes of the off-beat detective television series '' Strangers'' and the 'spin off' series, ''Bulman'' by writers Murray Smith, Paul Wheeler and Eddie Boyd. He directed many episodes of '' Sam'', '' The Spoils of War (TV series)'' and '' This Year Next Year'', series written by John Finch, which were shot in studio and on location in the Lake District and the Yorkshire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Grieve
Kenneth Alan Grieve (17 March 1942 – 15 November 2016) was a Scottish television director. Originally a cameraman, he moved into directing and began his career with '' Coronation Street''. Early life and education Grieve was born and brought up in Edinburgh, the son of Henry Grieve, a plant manager at British Aluminium, and his wife, Lesley, a seamstress. He also had an older brother named Robin. He attended the Edinburgh Academy, where he excelled in geography and history, and won a scholarship to Bryanston School in Dorset. Career His first job was as a trainee studio cameraman with Granada Television. He became one of its elite crew, strong and skilled enough to manoeuvre the huge cameras on live pop shows. He later further trained as a director of dramas and documentaries, working on ''Coronation Street'' and '' Crown Court'' in the mid-1970s. He subsequently directed the 1979 '' Doctor Who'' serial ''Destiny of the Daleks'' for the BBC, and episodes of ''The Bill'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |