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David Heneker
David William Heneker (31 March 1906 – 30 January 2001) was a writer and composer of British popular music and musicals, best known for creating the music and lyrics for ''Half a Sixpence''. Life and career Heneker was born in Southsea, England, in March 1906, the eldest son of the Canadian-born Lieutenant Colonel William Heneker, a notable military strategist and tactician, who would later serve with distinction in World War I, rising to the rank of General. Educated at Wellington and Sandhurst, Heneker followed his father into a military career. He served as a cavalry officer in the British Army from 1925 to 1937, and again in the War Office from 1939 to 1948, attaining the rank of Brigadier. He became drawn to a second career in music after becoming familiar with the score of Noël Coward's '' Bitter Sweet'' while recuperating from a riding accident in 1934. His first published song was performed by Merle Oberon in the film '' The Broken Melody''. Among his compositions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's settlements (including Southsea) were incorporated into the boundaries of Portsmouth in 1904. Southsea began as a fashionable 19th-century Victorian seaside resort named ''Croxton Town'', after a Mr Croxton who owned the land. As the resort grew, it adopted the name of nearby Southsea Castle, a seafront fort constructed in 1544 to help defend the Solent and approaches to Portsmouth Harbour. In 1879, South Parade Pier was opened by Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar in Southsea. The pier began operating a passenger steamer service across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. This service gave rise to the idea of linking Southsea and its pier to Portsmouth's railway line, and for tourists to bypass the busy town of Portsmouth and its crowded harb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Broken Melody (1934 Film)
''The Broken Melody'' is a 1934 British musical drama film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring John Garrick, Margot Grahame, Merle Oberon and Austin Trevor. The film was made at Twickenham Studios. The film's sets were designed by the studio's resident art director James A. Carter. Plot A composer kills his wife's lover and, having escaped from the prison on Devil's Island, returns to France and writes an opera about the experience. Cast * John Garrick as Paul Verlaine * Margot Grahame as Simone St. Cloud * Merle Oberon as Germaine Brissard * Austin Trevor as Pierre Falaise * Charles Carson as Colonel Dubonnet * Harry Terry as Henri * Andreas Malandrinos as M. Brissard * Toni Edgar-Bruce as Vera * Conway Dixon as Colonel's Friend * Stella Rho as Lisette as Simone's Maid * Kynaston Reeves Philip Arthur Reeves (29 May 18935 December 1971), known professionally as Kynaston Reeves, was an English character actor who appeared in numerous films and man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Girl
''Charlie Girl'' is a musical comedy which premiered in the West End of London at the Adelphi Theatre on December 15, 1965 and became one of the most successful theatre shows of the day running for 2,202 performances. It closed on 27 March 1971. Productions Original production The original stars were Joe Brown (Joe Studholme), Christine Holmes (Charlie Hadwell), Anna Neagle (Lady Hadwell), Derek Nimmo (Nicholas Wainwright), Hy Hazell (Kay Connor), Jean Lloyd Grant Mostyn and Stuart Damon (Jack Connor). When Joe Brown left the show in 1968, he was replaced by Gerry Marsden (of Gerry & The Pacemakers). Production credits included: * Directed by Wallace Douglas * Choreographed by Alfred Rodriques * Setting by Tod Kingman * Costumes by Cynthia Tingey * Orchestrations by Arthur Wilkinson * Musical Direction by Kenneth Alwyn Neagle took the show to Australia in 1971 where English co-star Derek Nimmo appeared with popstar John Farnham co-starring as Joe Studholme. Revival The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Steele
Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recorded a string of hit singles including "Rock with the Caveman" (1956) and the chart-topper "Singing the Blues" (1957). Steele's rise to fame was dramatised in ''The Tommy Steele Story'' (1957), the soundtrack of which was the first British album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. With collaborators Lionel Bart and Mike Pratt, Steele received the 1958 Ivor Novello Award for Most Outstanding Song of the Year for "A Handful of Songs". He starred in further musical films including '' The Duke Wore Jeans'' (1958) and ''Tommy the Toreador'' (1959), the latter spawning the hit "Little White Bull". Steele shifted away from rock and roll in the 1960s, becoming an all-round entertainer. He originated the part of Kipps in ''Half a Sixpence' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Award For Best Musical
The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical play, musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The award goes to the producers of the winning musical. A musical is eligible for consideration in a given year if it has not previously been produced on Broadway and is not "determined... to be a 'classic' or in the historical or popular repertoire", otherwise it may be considered for Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Revival of a Musical.Staff (undated)"Rules & Voting" tonyawards.com. Retrieved September 13, 2013. Best Musical is the final award presented at the Tony Awards ceremony. Excerpts from the musicals that are nominated for this award are usually performed during the ceremony before this award is presented. This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical. Winners and nominees †indicates th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broadway Theater
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the List of Broadway theaters, 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Theatre'' as the proper noun in their names (12 others used neither), with many performers and trade groups for live dramatic presentations also using the spelling ''theatre''. or Broadway, are the Theatre, theatrical performances presented in the 41 professional Theater (structure), theatres, each with 500 or more seats, located in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District and the Lincoln Center along Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End theatre, West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world. While the thoroughfare is eponymous wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irma La Douce (musical)
''Irma la douce'' (, "Irma the Sweet") is a 1956 French musical with music by Marguerite Monnot and lyrics and book by Alexandre Breffort. The musical premiered in Paris in 1956, and was subsequently produced in the West End in 1958 and on Broadway, by David Merrick, in 1960. The English lyrics and book (1958) are by Julian More, David Heneker, and Monty Norman. Productions The musical premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Gramont in Paris on November 12, 1956, where it ran for four years. It was produced in the West End at the Lyric Theatre, opening on July 17, 1958, running for 1,512 performances, for three years."Sweet Irma in a Wicked World" ''Life Magazine'', November 14, 1960. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marguerite Monnot
Marguerite Monnot (28 May 1903 – 12 October 1961) was a French songwriter and composer best known for having written many of the songs performed by Édith Piaf ("Milord", "Hymne à l'amour") and for the music in the stage musical ''Irma La Douce''. As successful female composer As a female composer of popular music in the first half of the twentieth century, Monnot was a pioneer in her field. Classically trained by her father and at the Paris Conservatory (her teachers included Nadia Boulanger, Vincent d’Indy, and Alfred Cortot), Monnot made the unusual switch to composing popular music after poor health ended her career as a concert pianist when she was eighteen. Soon after writing her first commercially successful song, "L'Étranger", in 1935, she met Édith Piaf, and in 1940 they became the first female songwriting team in France, remaining friends and collaborators throughout most of their lives. Monnot worked with such lyricists as Raymond Asso, Henri Contet, and G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Expresso Bongo
''Expresso Bongo'' is a 1958 West End musical and a satire of the music industry. It was first produced on the stage at the Saville Theatre, London, on 23 April 1958. Its book was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Julian More, with music by David Heneker and Monty Norman, also the co-lyricist with Julian More. The production starred Paul Scofield with Hy Hazell, Millicent Martin and James Kenney. Musical director was Burt Rhodes and director William Chappell. Film version The subsequent ''Expresso Bongo'' 1959 film version was directed by Val Guest and starred Laurence Harvey and Cliff Richard, the latter's second musical film after ''Serious Charge''. Plot Paul Scofield played Johnny, a slimy, small-time music promoter and talent scout who notices teenage girls going crazy for the singing and bongo playing of talentless and seemingly idiotic Herbert Rudge (played by James Kenney). Johnny rechristens Rudge as "Bongo Herbert" and signs him to a contract that gives Johnny ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monty Norman
Monty Norman (''né'' Noserovitch; 4 April 1928 – 11 July 2022) was a British composer, musician and singer. A contributor to West End musicals in the 1950s and 1960s, he is best known for composing the "James Bond Theme", first heard in the 1962 film ''Dr. No''. He was an Ivor Novello Award and Olivier Award winner, and a Tony Award nominee. Early life Norman was born in Stepney in the East End of London on 4 April 1928. His father, Abraham Noserovitch (anglicised to Norman), was a Jewish cabinet maker who immigrated to the United Kingdom from Latvia when he was a child; his mother, Ann (Berlyn), who was also Jewish, worked as a seamstress. He lived with his Jewish immigrant grandparents for the first few years of his life. As a child during World War II, Norman was evacuated to St Albans from London but later returned during the Blitz. His mother gave him his first guitar (a Gibson) when he was sixteen. As a young man he did national service in the Royal Air Force, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolf Mankowitz
Cyril Wolf Mankowitz (7 November 1924 – 20 May 1998) was an English writer, playwright and screenwriter. He is particularly known for three novels— ''Make Me an Offer'' (1952), '' A Kid for Two Farthings'' (1953) and ''My Old Man's a Dustman''—and other plays, historical studies, and the screenplays for many successful films which have received awards including the Oscar, Bafta and the Cannes Grand Prix. Early life Mankowitz was born in Fashion Street in Spitalfields in the East End of London, the heart of London's Jewish community until the 1940s, of Russian-Jewish descent. He was educated at East Ham Grammar School for boys and Downing College, Cambridge.John CaldeObituary: Wolf Mankowitz ''The Independent'', 23 May 1998 Career His background provided Mankowitz with the material for his most successful book '' A Kid for Two Farthings'' (1953). This was adapted as a film by the director Carol Reed in 1955; Mankowitz himself wrote the screenplay. In 1958 he wrote the bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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