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Ella Retford
Elinor Maud Dawe ( Flanagan, 2 July 1885 – 29 June 1962), who used the stage name Ella Retford, was an English music hall comedian, singer and dancer, and later a stage and film actress. Biography She was born in Sunderland (not Ireland, as some sources suggest), and around 1900 moved to London where she performed in music hall shows, initially as a dancer. By 1906, she was established as a performer in revues and pantomimes, often playing the part of principal boy. Theatre historian W. J. MacQueen-Pope called her "probably the best 'Aladdin' ever seen in pantomime... She was sparkle and grace personified and her dancing was a joy..". "Ella Retford (1886–1962)", ''Fred Godfrey Songs'' Retrieved 20 July 2020 The '' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on the River Wear's mouth to the North Sea. The river also flows through Durham, England, Durham roughly south-west of Sunderland City Centre. It is the only other city in the county and the second largest settlement in the North East England, North East after Newcastle upon Tyne. Locals from the city are sometimes known as Mackems. The term originated as recently as the early 1980s; its use and acceptance by residents, particularly among the older generations, is not universal. At one time, ships built on the Wear were called "Jamies", in contrast with those Tyneside, from the Tyne, which were known as "Geordies", although in the case of "Jamie" it is not known whether this was ever extended to people. There were three original settlements ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Character Actress
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be almost unrecognizable from part to part, and yet play many, many roles convincingly and memorably. .." The term, often contrasted with that of leading actor, is somewhat abstract and open to interpretation. In a literal sense, all actors can be considered character actors since they all play "characters", but the term more commonly refers to an actor who frequently plays a distinctive and important supporting role. Character actors are generally well-known and recognizable by the audience (by appearance if not by name), even if they play different types of roles in different movies. A character actor may play characters who are very different from the actor's off-screen real-life personality, while in another sense a character actor may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Hall Performers
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect of all human societies, a cultural universal. While scholars agree that music is defined by a few specific elements, there is no consensus on their precise definitions. The creation of music is commonly divided into musical composition, musical improvisation, and musical performance, though the topic itself extends into academic disciplines, criticism, philosophy, and psychology. Music may be performed or improvised using a vast range of instruments, including the human voice. In some musical contexts, a performance or composition may be to some extent improvised. For instance, in Hindustani classical music, the performer plays spontaneously while following a partially defined structure and using characteristic motifs. In modal jazz the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1962 Deaths
Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 196 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus attempts to assassinate Clodius Albinus but fails, causing Albinus to retaliate militarily. * Emperor Septimius Severus captures and sacks Byzantium; the city is rebuilt and regains its previous prosperity. * In order to assure the support of the Roman legion in Germany on his march to Rome, Clodius Albinus is declared Augustus by his army while crossing Gaul. * Hadrian's wall in Britain is partially destroyed. China * First year of the '' Jian'an era of the Chinese Han Dynasty. * Emperor Xian of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1885 Births
Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – The first successful appendectomy is performed by Dr. William W. Grant, on Mary Gartside. * January 17 – Mahdist War in Sudan – Battle of Abu Klea: British troops defeat Mahdist forces. * January 20 – American inventor LaMarcus Adna Thompson patents a roller coaster. * January 24 – Irish rebels damage Westminster Hall and the Tower of London with dynamite. * January 26 – Mahdist War in Sudan: Troops loyal to Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad conquer Khartoum; British commander Charles George Gordon is killed. * February 5 – King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State, as a personal possession. * February 9 – The first Japanese arrive in Hawaii. * February 16 – Charles Dow publishes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Portrait Gallery, London
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it opened in 1856. The gallery moved in 1896 to its current site at St Martin's Place, off Trafalgar Square, and adjoining the National Gallery (London), National Gallery. It has been expanded twice since then. The National Portrait Gallery also has regional outposts at Beningbrough Hall in Yorkshire and Montacute House in Somerset. It is unconnected to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, with which its remit overlaps. The gallery is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Collection The gallery houses portraits of historically important and famous British people, selected on the basis of the significance of the sitter, not that of the artist. The collection includes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Bassano
Alexander Bassano (10 May 1829 – 21 October 1913) was an English photographer who was a leading royal and high society portrait photographer in Victorian London. He is known for his photo of the Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Earl Kitchener in the ''Lord Kitchener Wants You'' army recruitment poster during the First World War and his photographs of Queen Victoria. Biography Alessandro Bassano was the second youngest child of Italian Clemente Bassano, originally a fishmonger of Cranbourne Street, later an oilman and warehouseman of Jermyn Street, London, and his English wife, Elizabeth Browne. He later anglicised his first name to Alexander. Bassano received early artistic training with artists Augustus Egg and William Beverley. He opened his first studio in 1850 in Regent Street. The studio then moved to Piccadilly 1859–1863, to Pall Mall, London, Pall Mall and then to 25 Old Bond Street in 1877. There was also a Bassano branch studio at 132 King's Road, Brighto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Karno
Frederick John Westcott (26 March 1866 – 17 September 1941), best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was an English theatre impresario of the British music hall. As a comedian of slapstick he is credited with popularising the custard-pie-in-the-face gag. During the 1890s, in order to circumvent stage censorship, Karno developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue. Cheeky authority-defying playlets such as ''Jail Birds'' (1895) in which prisoners play tricks on warders and ''Early Birds'' (1899), showing the poverty and realities for the poor of London's East End, can be seen as precursors of movie silent comedy. Many of his comics subsequently worked in film and used Karno material throughout their work. Film producer Hal Roach stated: "Fred Karno is not only a genius, he is the man who originated slapstick comedy. We in Hollywood owe much to him." Among the music hall comedians who worked for him were Charlie Chaplin and his understudy, Arthur Stanley Jefferson, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top Town (British Television)
Top Town was a New Zealand game show series where teams from different towns in New Zealand competed in various obstacle challenges against each other, along the lines of the earlier British series ''It's a Knockout''. The show first ran in New Zealand between 1976 and 1990 and made a return in a slightly different form in 2009. The new format has similarities to '' Wipeout''. Top Town first screened on New Zealand television in 1976, the original Top Town competition took place at a different town each week with all competitions taking place on a local sports field. The show made a return in 2009 but due to health and safety regulations the new competition had to take on water with all teams now competing at Jellie Park in Christchurch. 2009 teams In each of the first five weeks, three teams competed, with the five winning teams and a wild card team going onto the semi-finals. The winning teams from the two semi finals then competed for the title of Top Town in the grand fin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 1932, although the start of its regular service of television broadcasts is dated to 2 November 1936. The BBC's domestic television channels have no commercial advertising and collectively they accounted for more than 30% of all UK viewing in 2013. The services are funded by a television licence. As a result of the 2016 Licence Fee settlement, the BBC Television division was split, with in-house television production being separated into a new division called BBC Studios and the remaining parts of television (channels and genre commissioning, BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer) being renamed as BBC Content. History of BBC Television The BBC operates several television networks, television stations (although there is generally very little distincti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shadow Of The Past
''Shadow of the Past'' is a 1950 British crime film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Joyce Howard, Terence Morgan, and Michael Medwin. The screenplay involves a man who catches sight of a woman believed by everyone to be dead. Cast * Joyce Howard as Lady in Black * Terence Morgan as John Harding * Michael Medwin as Dick Stevens * Andrew Osborn as George Bentley * Wylie Watson as Caretaker * Marie Ney as Mrs. Bentley * Ella Retford as Daily Help * Ronald Adam as Solicitor * Louise Gainsborough as Susie * Ian Fleming as Doctor Critical reception ''TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...'' gave the film two out of four stars and described it as a "modest murder mystery...Tightly paced with several highly tense sequences." References External links ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paper Orchid
''Paper Orchid'' is a 1949 British crime film directed by Roy Ward Baker, with a script written by Val Guest. It featured Hugh Williams, Hy Hazell and Garry Marsh, and was based on the 1948 novel of the same title by Arthur La Bern. It featured an early film appearance by Sid James, who later found success through the Carry On series. It was shot at the Walton Studios just outside London. The film's sets were designed by the art director Bernard Robinson. Plot Despite feeling that women are unsuited to journalism, Fleet Street newspaper editor Frank McSweeney hires Stella Mason as a reporter at the ''Daily National''. Stella starts a hugely popular gossip column, gaining the nickname 'Paper Orchid'. When her husband dies, Lady Croup becomes the new proprietor of the ''Daily National''. She fires Frank and another journalist, 'Johnny' Johnson - both of whom join rival newspaper the ''World Record''. After offending Lady Croup, Stella also loses her job. When Stella's tena ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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