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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] |
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] |
Val Guest
Val Guest (born Valmond Maurice Grossman; 11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer, for whom he directed 14 films, and science fiction films. He enjoyed a long career in the film industry from the early 1930s until the early 1980s. Reprinted from ''Reference Guide to British and Irish Film Directors'' Early life and career Guest was born to John Simon Grossman and Julia Ann Gladys Emanuel in Maida Vale, London. He later changed his name to Val Guest (officially in 1939). His father was a jute broker, and the family spent some of Guest's childhood in India before returning to England. His parents divorced when he was young, but this information was kept from him. Instead he was told that his mother had died. He was educated at Seaford College in Sussex, but left in 1927 and worked for a time as a bookkeeper. Guest's initial career was as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1958 Musicals
Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third overland journey to the South Pole, the first to use powered vehicles. ** Sputnik 1 (launched on October 4, 1957) falls to Earth from its orbit, and burns up. * January 13 – Battle of Edchera: The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol. * January 27 – A Soviet-American executive agreement on cultural, educational and scientific exchanges, also known as the "Lacy-Zarubin Agreement, Lacy–Zarubin Agreement", is signed in Washington, D.C. * January 31 – The first successful American satellite, Explorer 1, is launched into orbit. February * February 1 – Egypt and Syria unite, to form the United Arab Republic. * February 6 – Seven Manchester United F.C., Manchester United footballers are among the 21 people killed i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lerner And Loewe
Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-Loewe.” ''Notes'', vol. 25, no. 2, 1968, p. 245., doi:10.2307/894002. Spanning three decades and nine musicals from 1942 to 1960 and again from 1970 to 1972, the pair are known for being behind the creation of critical on stage successes such as ''My Fair Lady'', ''Brigadoon'', and ''Camelot'' along with the musical film '' Gigi''. Background and previous work Growing up in Austria, Frederick or "Fritz" Loewe was a child prodigy concert pianist and son to a Viennese Operetta star, Edmond Loewe. After moving to New York City, he worked as a pianist in German clubs and was accompanist for silent films but never had a partnership before working with Lerner.Lees, Gene. ''Inventing Champagne: the Worlds of Lerner and Loewe.'' St. Martin's Press ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Fair Lady (musical)
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phonetician, so that she may pass as a lady. Despite his cynical nature and difficulty understanding women, Higgins grows attached to her. The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a notable critical and popular success, winning six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It set a record for the longest run of any musical on Broadway up to that time and was followed by a hit London production. Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews starred in both productions. Many revivals have followed, and the 1964 film version won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Plot Act I In Edwardian London, Eliza Doolittle is a flower girl with a thick Cockney accent. The noted phonetician Professor Henry Higgins encounters Eliza at Covent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise"."Noel Coward at 70" ''Time'', 26 December 1969, p. 46 Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as '' |
James Kenney (actor)
James Kenney may refer to: * Jim Kenney (born 1958), Philadelphia mayor * James J. Kenney (1869–1916), fire chief in Berkeley, California * James FitzGerald-Kenney (1878–1956), senior Irish politician * James Kenney (dramatist) (1780–1849), British dramatist * James Kenney (actor) (1930–1987), British actor in ''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 Davi ...'' * James A. Kenney III (born 1937), Maryland state court judge See also * James Kenny (other) {{hndis, Kenney, James ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serious Charge
''Serious Charge'' (also known in US release as ''A Touch of Hell'') is a 1959 British film, directed by Terence Young, produced and co-written by Mickey Delamar (with Guy Elmes). It was adapted from a stage play written by Philip King. The film is notable for the screen acting debut of pop singer Cliff Richard in a minor supporting role. Plot An unmarried vicar, the Reverend Howard Phillips (Anthony Quayle), newly arrived in the parish, attempts to get local 19-year-old thug and petty criminal Larry Thompson ( Andrew Ray) to face up to his responsibilities to Mary Williams ( Leigh Madison), the naive young girl he has made pregnant. When Howard threatens to tell his coffee-bar friends, Larry trashes the room and fakes a struggle. As a dishevelled Larry leaves, Hester Peters ( Sarah Churchill) arrives, and he tells her that Howard "interfered" with him. Hester is the daughter of the parish’s previous clergyman and has become infatuated with the athletic and handsome new vic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley. Richard was originally marketed as a rebellious rock and roll singer in the style of Presley and Little Richard. With his backing group, the Shadows, he dominated the British popular music scene in the pre-Beatles period of the late 1950s to early 1960s. His 1958 hit single "Move It" is often described as Britain's first authentic rock and roll song. In the early 1960s, he had a prosperous screen career with films including '' The Young Ones'', '' Summer Holiday'' and '' Wonderful Life'' and his own television show at the BBC. Increased focus on his Christian faith and subsequent softening of his music led t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in the United Kingdom after World War II. In a career that spanned a quarter of a century, Harvey appeared in stage, film and television productions primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States.Laurence Harvey, Stage, Film Actor By Jean R. Hailey. ''The Washington Post and Times-Herald'' 27 November 1973: C10. Harvey was known for his clipped, refined accent and cool, debonair screen persona. His performance in '' Room at the Top'' (1959)Obituary ''Variety'', 28 November 1973, p. 62. resulted in an Academy Award nomination. That success was followed by the roles of William Barret Travis in '' The Alamo'' and Weston Liggett in ''Butterfield 8'', both films released in the autumn of 1960. He also appeared as the brainwashed Sergeant Raym ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Expresso Bongo (film)
''Expresso Bongo'' is a 1959 British Drama (film and television), drama musical film directed by Val Guest, shot in uncredited black & white Dyaliscope and starring Laurence Harvey, Cliff Richard, and Yolande Donlan. It is adapted from the Expresso Bongo, stage musical of the same name, which was first produced on the stage at the Saville Theatre, London, on 23 April 1958. In the film, Cliff Richard and the Shadows made their second screen appearance in a film released during 1959, the first being the much darker ''Serious Charge''. The later film was made at Shepperton Studios, near London, with certain scenes shot on location in London's Soho district. Plot Laurence Harvey plays sleazy hustler Johnny Jackson, who is always on the lookout for fresh talent to exploit, while managing his hectic life with his stripper girlfriend, Maisie King. Maisie is looking to find a better life in singing. Jackson discovers a teenage singer named Bert Rudge, played by Cliff Richard, in an espre ... [...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] |
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