Dad's Army (stage Show)
''Dad's Army: A Nostalgic Music and Laughter Show of Britain's Finest Hour'' was a 1975 stage adaptation of the BBC sitcom ''Dad's Army''. Following the success of the television programme, the stage show was commissioned by Bernard Delfont in the spring of 1975. Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Croft adapted material from the original scripts, making changes to allow for the absence of location filming. The show was in the style of a revue, with songs, familiar scenes from the show, and individual turns for cast members. It was produced by Roger Redfarn, who shared the same agent as the writers. Cast Jeffrey Holland (actor), Jeffrey Holland, who would frequently collaborate with Croft in the future, portrayed multiple roles whereas Richard Matthews was cast as the only 2 female roles in the 2007 tour. Croft was particularly pleased with the casting of Jack Haig as Lcpl. Jack Jones as Haig was Croft's 1st choice for the role when they cast the television serie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leslie Grantham
Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor, best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West German taxi driver, and had significant press coverage resulting from an online sex scandal in 2004. Early and personal life Grantham was born in Camberwell, London, the son of Adelaide (''née'' Flinders) and Walter William Grantham (1915–1998). He enlisted in the Royal Fusiliers regiment of the British Army in 1965, at the age of 18. Grantham married Australian Jane Laurie in 1981. The couple had three sons and divorced in 2013. His son Daniel Laurie is also an actor, and plays Reggie Jackson in ''Call the Midwife.'' Murder conviction Having joined the Army (The Royal Fusiliers), Grantham was soon posted to West Germany, where he quickly found himself in debt to army colleagues. He resorted to criminal activities in his attempt to clea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chesney Allen
William Ernest Chesney Allen (5 April 1894 – 13 November 1982) was a popular English entertainer of the Second World War period. He is best remembered for his double act with Bud Flanagan, Flanagan and Allen. Life and career Allen was born in Brighton, Sussex, in 1894, married Aleta Cosette Turner in Leeds in 1926 and died in Midhurst, West Sussex, in 1982. He began his career in straight acting, making his debut in stock at the Wimbledon Theatre, London, in 1912. Serving in Flanders in the First World War, he made friends with Bud Flanagan, and but they did not work together until 1926, touring with a Florrie Forde show called "Here's to You". As music hall comedians they would often feature a mixture of comedy and music in their act and this led to a successful recording career and roles in film and television. Flanagan and Allen were also members of the Crazy Gang and worked together in that team for many years. Flanagan and Allen's songs featured the same, usually ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shaftesbury Theatre
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was designed for the Melville Brothers by Bertie Crewe and opened on 26 December 1911 with a production of ''The Three Musketeers''. It was originally named the New Prince's Theatre, becoming the Prince's Theatre in 1914. The original capacity of the auditorium is unknown, but with standing room in the Stalls it is possible that over 3000 people were able to attend performances. The current capacity is between 1300 and 1400. The Prince's was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue, and is located on the junction between Shaftesbury Avenue and High Holborn. During the First World War, the Prince's advertised itself as ‘The Laughter House where you can forget the War.’ In September 1919, the theatre had considerable success with ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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West End Theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage. There are a total of 39 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London. The Savoy Theatre – built as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan – was entirely lit by electricity in 1881. Opening in October 2022, @sohoplace is the first new West End theatre in 50 years. The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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County Durham, England
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East England. Retrieved 30 November 2007. The ceremonial county spawned from the historic County Palatine of Durham in 1853. In 1996, the county gained part of the abolished ceremonial county of Cleveland.Lieutenancies Act 1997 . Retrieved 27 October 2014. The is the of [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Billingham
Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed its own borough but was overshadowed by its neighbour. The town had a population of 35,165 at the 2011 Census. The town was founded circa. 650 by a group of Angles known as Billa's people,This is Billingham which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated. In modern history, the , and in particular the company IC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jeffrey Holland (actor)
Jeffrey Holland (born Jeffrey Michael Parkes, 17 July 1946) is a British actor who is well known for roles in television sitcoms, playing comic Spike Dixon at the Maplin's holiday camp in ''Hi-de-Hi!'', as well as BBC Radio comedy, including ''Week Ending''. He also played leading roles in the sitcoms '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!''. Early life Born in Walsall, Staffordshire, he was educated at Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall. Holland joined an amateur theatre company and soon found that he had a talent for comedy, but despite this he could not pursue a career in comedy until after he left home. He has said that "my father died when I was 14, so right after leaving school at 16 I secured a job to earn money to help my mother. I worked at a wine merchant's and an office in Walsall, where I was brought up". After leaving home Holland trained at Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art and became a professional actor. His first stage appeara ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Norman Macleod (musician)
Norman Macleod is a British musician and songwriter. He was a member of the 1950s group The Maple Leaf Four with his brother, the songwriter John Macleod. He took additional stage role "Private Maple" in the early performances of the Dad's Army stage show ''Dad's Army: A Nostalgic Music and Laughter Show of Britain's Finest Hour'' was a 1975 stage adaptation of the BBC sitcom '' Dad's Army''. Following the success of the television programme, the stage show was commissioned by Bernard Delfont i ... "Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler" in 1975, and EMI released the Dad's Army stage show single "Get Out And Get Under The Moon" sung with actor Bill Pertwee (aka ARP Warden Hodges).Plays and Players - Issue 23 - Page 28 Discography With The Maple Leaf Four *"Old Shep" B-side "The Clock On The Wall" 1959 *Smokey Mountain Round-Up EP 1960 : "Mule Train", "Call Of The Canyon", "(Roll Along) Wagon Train", "Old Shep" With the cast of Dad's Army stage show *"Get Out And Get Un ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arnold Ridley
William Arnold Ridley, OBE (7 January 1896 – 12 March 1984) was an English playwright and actor, earlier in his career known for writing the play '' The Ghost Train'' and later in life in the British TV sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977) as the elderly bumbling Private Godfrey, as well as in spin-offs including the feature film version and the stage production. He is the great-uncle of actress Daisy Ridley. Early life William Arnold Ridley was born in Walcot, Bath, Somerset, England, the son of Rosa Caroline (née Morrish, 1870–1956) and William Robert Ridley (1871–1931). His father was a gymnastics instructor and ran a boot and shoe shop. He attended the Clarendon School and the Bath City Secondary School where he was a keen sportsman. A graduate of the University of Bristol, he studied at the Education Department, and played Hamlet in a student production. Ridley undertook teaching practice at an Elementary School in Bristol. Military service Ridley was a student ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Private Charles Godfrey
Private Charles Godfrey MM is a fictional Home Guard platoon member, first portrayed by Arnold Ridley in the BBC television sitcom '' Dad's Army''. and in the 1971 ''Dad's Army'' film. He is retired and was previously a tailor for the Civil Service Stores or the Army & Navy Stores. Godfrey was a conscientious objector during the First World War, yet he did work as a stretcher bearer with the Royal Army Medical Corps and earned a Military Medal for taking the wounded off the battle field at the Battle of the Somme. This has earned him great respect among the platoon members and resulted in him being appointed as the First Aid supervisor. Ridley himself fought at the Battle of the Somme during the First World War. Personality Godfrey was born in 1871, and is a gentle, mild-mannered and kindly old gentleman, though more complex than at first evident. He is the only member of the platoon who has retired. In the episode " Branded" it is revealed that he was a conscientio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Laurie
John Paton Laurie (25 March 1897 – 23 June 1980) was a Scottish actor. In the course of his career, Laurie performed on the stage and in films as well as television. He is perhaps best remembered for his role in the sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (1968-1977) as Private Frazer, a member of the Home Guard. Laurie appeared in scores of feature films with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, and Laurence Olivier, generally playing memorable small or supporting roles rather than leading ones. As a stage actor, he was cast in Shakespearean roles and was a speaker of verse, especially of Robert Burns. Early life John Paton Laurie was born on 25 March 1897 in Dumfries, Dumfriesshire to William Laurie (1856–1903), a clerk in a tweed mill and later a hatter and hosier, and Jessie Ann Laurie (''née'' Brown; 1858–1935). Laurie attended Dumfries Academy (a grammar school at the time), before abandoning a career in architecture to serve in the First World War as a member of th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |