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Dogberry
Dogberry is a character created by William Shakespeare for his play ''Much Ado About Nothing''. He is described by ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia'' as a "self-satisfied night constable" with an inflated view of his own importance as the leader of a group of comically bumbling police watchmen. Dogberry is notable for his numerous malapropisms, which sometimes are referred to as "dogberryisms" or "dogberrys" after him. The Dogberry character was created for William Kempe, who played comic roles in Shakespeare's theatre company the Lord Chamberlain's Men. In the play In the play, Dogberry is the chief of the citizen-police in Messina. He is first seen instructing his constables on their duties. He tells them that it is perfectly fine to sleep on duty, and that if they see a thief, they should not touch him, to avoid becoming defiled by association with crime. During their watch the constables overhear a conversation between two characters, Boraccio and Conrade, one of whom has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Much Ado About Nothing
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play was included in the ''First Folio'', published in 1623. The play is set in Messina and revolves around two romantic pairings that emerge when a group of soldiers arrive in the town. The first, between Claudio and Hero, is nearly altered by the accusations of the villain, Don John. The second romance, between Claudio's friend Benedick and Hero's cousin Beatrice, takes centre stage as the play goes on, with both characters' wit and banter providing much of the humour. Through "noting" (sounding like "nothing", and meaning gossip, rumour, overhearing), Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into believing that Hero is not a maiden (virgin). The title's play on words references t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malapropism
A malapropism (also called a malaprop, acyrologia, or Dogberryism) is the mistaken use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, sometimes humorous utterance. An example is the statement attributed to baseball player Yogi Berra, regarding switchhitters, "He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious." Malapropisms often occur as errors in natural speech and are sometimes the subject of media attention, especially when made by politicians or other prominent individuals. Philosopher Donald Davidson has said that malapropisms show the complex process through which the brain translates thoughts into language. Humorous malapropisms are the type that attract the most attention and commentary, but bland malapropisms are common in speech and writing. Etymology The word "malapropism" (and its earlier form, "malaprop") comes from a character named "Mrs. Malaprop" in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 play ''The Rivals''. Mrs. Malapro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as John Nolan on '' The Rookie''. Fillion has acted in traditionally distributed films like '' Slither'' and ''Trucker'', Internet-distributed films like '' Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'', television soap operas, sitcoms and theater. His voice is also featured in animation and video games, such as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern in various DC Comics projects, the Bungie games ''Halo 3'', '' Halo 3: ODST'', '' Halo: Reach'', ''Destiny'' and ''Destiny 2'', along with the 343 Industries game '' Halo 5: Guardians'', and Wonder Man in Marvel's '' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' (2017) and '' M.O.D.O.K.'' (2021). Fillion first gained recognition for his work on '' One Life to Live'' in the contract role of Joey Buchanan, for which he was nominated for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Johnson (comedian)
Samuel Johnson (1830–15 February 1900) was an actor-manager and Shakespearean actor of the 19th century and a member of Henry Irving's Company at the Lyceum Theatre, for which he played the comedic roles. Early career Born in Ayrshire, Sam Johnson was one of at least seven children born to the actor Samuel Johnson and Isabella (née Elliott). Most of his siblings were actors, while one brother was a scene painter. He first appeared on stage at the Maryport Theatre in Cumberland in 1844 as Bartolo in ''The Wife''.John M Clarke, ''London's Necropolis: A Guide to Brookwood Cemetery'', Sutton Publishing (2004) p213 In 1845 he and his two sisters went to Belfast and joined Cunningham's company at the Theatre Royal. In 1846 he and his sister, the actress Barbara Johnson, were appearing in Belfast. In December 1846 Barbara Johnson married the actor John W. Anson. The three, together with two others from the Belfast company, moved to Scotland where they formed a new company, of which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Woodvine
John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles. Early life Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, the son of Rose (née Kelly) and John Woodvine. He was educated at Lord Williams's School, Thame, Oxfordshire and trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1953. Career Woodvine worked with the Old Vic company in the 1950s. In 1957, along with Russell Napier, John Carlisle and Edgar Lustgarten, Woodvine appeared in an installment of the ''Scotland Yard'' film series ("The Silent Weapon", 1961). Woodvine also had a long career with the Royal Shakespeare Company, having appeared in 1976 opposite Ian McKellen and Judi Dench as Banquo in the acclaimed Trevor Nunn production of ''Macbeth'', which was later recorded for television. He also appeared in the RSC's 1980 landmark production of ''The Life and Adve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Elphick
Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series ''Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1983 film '' Gorky Park''. In his prime, Elphick always looked older than he was, and with his gruff Sussex accent and lip-curling sneer he often played menacing hard men. Elphick struggled with a highly publicised addiction to alcohol; at the height of his problem he admitted to consuming two litres of spirits a day, which contributed to his death from a heart attack in 2002. Early life Elphick grew up in Chichester, Sussex, where his family had a butcher's shop. He was educated at Lancastrian Secondary Modern Boys School in Chichester, where he took part in several school productions including ''Noah'' and ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. He initially considered joinin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Finlay
Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English stage, film and television actor, Oscar-nominated for a supporting role as Iago in Laurence Olivier's 1965 film adaptation of ''Othello''. In 1983, Finlay was directed by Italian filmmaker Tinto Brass in the erotic classic '' The Key'', with Stefania Sandrelli. His first leading television role came in 1971 in ''Casanova''. This led to appearances on '' The Morecambe and Wise Show''. He also appeared in the drama ''Bouquet of Barbed Wire''. Early life Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Josiah Finlay, and Margaret Finlay. He was educated at St Gregory the Great School, but left at 14 to train as a butcher at Toppings, gaining a City and Guilds Diploma in the trade. Stage career Finlay made his first stage appearances at the local Farnworth Little Theatre, in plays that included Peter Blackmore's ''Miranda'' in 1951. The current Little Theatre president, also in the cast of that ''Miranda'' pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barnard Hughes
Bernard Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006), known professionally as Barnard Hughes, was an American actor of television, theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder. Personal life Hughes was born in Bedford Hills, New York, the son of Irish immigrants Marcella "Madge" (née Kiernan) and Owen Hughes. He attended La Salle Academy and Manhattan College in New York City. Hughes served in the United States Army during World War II. Hughes was married to actress Helen Stenborg. They married on April 19, 1950, and remained married until his death. Hughes was five days shy of his 91st birthday when he died. The Hugheses had two children, the theatre director Doug Hughes, and a daughter, Laura. Hughes and his wife are interred at Church of the Transfiguration, Episcopal (Manhattan) in New York City. Career Hughes changed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), the DC Comics superhero Batman / Bruce Wayne in ''Batman'' (1989) and ''Batman Returns'' (1992), and the Marvel Comics supervillain Vulture / Adrian Toomes in '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'' (2017). His breakout role was as fast-talking schemer Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski in the 1982 film '' Night Shift''. He later appeared in a variety of films ranging from dramas and romantic comedies to thriller and action films, such as ''Clean and Sober'' (1988), ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993), '' The Paper'' (1994), ''Multiplicity'' (1996), ''Jackie Brown'' (1997), '' Herbie: Fully Loaded'' (2005), ''The Other Guys'' (2010), '' RoboCop'' (2014), ''Need for Speed'' (2015), ''Spotlight'' (2015), ''The Founder'' (2016), ''Dumbo'' (2019), '' Worth'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the " Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. He remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Kempe
William Kempe (c. 1560–c. 1603), commonly referred to as Will Kemp, was an English actor and dancer specialising in comic roles and best known for having been one of the original players in early dramas by William Shakespeare. Roles associated with his name may include the great comic creation, Falstaff, and his contemporaries considered him the successor to the great clown of the previous generation, Richard Tarlton. Kempe's success and influence was such that in December 1598 he was one of a core of five actor-shareholders in the Lord Chamberlain's Men alongside Shakespeare and Richard Burbage, but in a short time (possibly after a disagreement among the members of the troupe) he parted company with the group. Despite his fame as a performer and subsequent intent to continue his career, he appears to have died unregarded and in poverty circa 1603. Life In a 1615 lawsuit brought by Thomasina (née Heminges) Ostler, widow of William Ostler, against her father, John Heminges, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Stacy Marks
Henry Stacy Marks (13 September 1829 – 9 January 1898) was a British artist who took a particular interest in Shakespearean and medieval themes in his early career and later in decorative art depicting birds and ornithologists as well as landscapes. Most of his early works were oils but he also worked on murals and with watercolours. He was a founding member of the St John's Wood Clique and was well known for his humorous performances. Life and work Marks was the fourth child of John Isaac Marks and Elizabeth (née Pally). His father was a solicitor who later became a coach builder. One of his brothers was the writer John George Marks. Henry studied in small schools near Regent's Park and at Eythorne, Kent where he learned to paint heraldry symbols so as to assist his father in his carriage making business. In 1845 he worked for a friend of his father as a clerk in a warehouse. He later went to work with his father and around 1846 he attended evening classes at James Mathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
