Gerard Parkes
   HOME
*





Gerard Parkes
Gerard Parkes (October 16, 1924 – October 19, 2014) was an Irish-Canadian actor. He was born in Dublin, and moved to Toronto in 1956. He is known for playing "Doc" on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television series ''Fraggle Rock'' and the bartender in the film ''The Boondock Saints'' and its sequel '' The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day''. Career His acting career spanned film, radio, television, and the stage. Parkes worked often on CBC radio, beginning in 1959, and shifted into television and film, acting in such diverse series as the 1960s' ecological adventure series '' The Forest Rangers'', children's show ''The Littlest Hobo'', and the detective series ''Cagney and Lacey''. In 1968, Parkes won the first Canadian film award (then called the Etrog and now known as the Gemini) for his portrayal of Uncle Matthew in the movie ''Isabel''. He received the Andrew Allan Award in 1983 for Best Radio Actor, and in 1999, he won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding P ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 census of Ireland, 2016 census it had a population of 1,173,179, while the preliminary results of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census recorded that County Dublin as a whole had a population of 1,450,701, and that the population of the Greater Dublin Area was over 2 million, or roughly 40% of the Republic of Ireland's total population. A settlement was established in the area by the Gaels during or before the 7th century, followed by the Vikings. As the Kings of Dublin, Kingdom of Dublin grew, it became Ireland's principal settlement by the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest in the British Empire and sixt ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Arthur Lowe
Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 – 15 April 1982) was an English actor. His acting career spanned 36 years, including starring roles in numerous theatre and television productions. He played Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom ''Dad's Army'' from 1968 until 1977, was nominated for seven BAFTAs and became one of the most recognised faces on UK television. Lowe began acting professionally in England in 1945, after army service in the Second World War. He worked in theatre, film and television throughout the 1950s but it was not until he landed the part of Leonard Swindley in the television soap ''Coronation Street'' in 1960 that he came to national attention. He played the character until 1966, while continuing theatre and other acting work. In 1968 he took on his role in ''Dad's Army'', written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. The profile he gained from the role led to further character roles. Despite increasingly poor health in his final years, he maintained a busy p ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Noddy (TV Series)
''Noddy'', also known as ''Noddy in Toyland'', and ''The Noddy Shop'' colloquially, was a live-action/animated children's television series based on Enid Blyton's children's book series of the same name featuring the animated episodes from ''Noddy's Toyland Adventures'' that aired from September 7, 1998 to October 8, 1999 on TVOntario and CBC Television in Canada and PBS in the United States. Following its cancellation, reruns were aired until September 13, 2002. The series was produced by BBC Worldwide, Catalyst Entertainment and Enid Blyton Ltd. It was shown in many countries around the world, including the United Kingdom (the BBC), United Arab Emirates (Dubai 33), Guam (KGTF), Malaysia ( TV3), France (Europe 2 TV), Poland (TVP 1) and Australia (ABC). Plot The show starred Sean McCann as Noah Tomten, a former old salt, who now runs an antique shop in Littleton Falls, the NODDY Shop (this stood for "Notions, Oddities, Doodads & Delights of Yesterday"). His catchphrases included ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Handel's Last Chance
''Handel's Last Chance'' is a 1996 television film created by David Devine and Richard Mozer for HBO Original Films of New York and directed by Milan Cheylov. A Canadian-Slovakian co-production, it stars Leon Pownall, Tod Fennell, Gerard Parkes, and Seana McKenna. It follows the fictional background of the premiere performance of George Frideric Handel's ''Messiah'' in 1742, where a Dublin street boy aids the composer with his singing talent, and the composer in turn changes the boy's life by bringing out his conscience and self-confidence. The film is the last instalment in Devine Entertainment's six-film series ''The Composers' Specials'', after ''Bizet's Dream'', ''Bach's Fight for Freedom'', ''Strauss: The King of 3/4 Time'', ''Liszt's Rhapsody'', and ''Rossini's Ghost''. Plot In 1742, Handel is heading to Dublin for the premiere of his new oratorio ''Messiah''. Meanwhile, 10-year-old Jamie O'Flaherty is singing for money on the street. Also, Hugh was playing the Flute/R ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean (Christianity), Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, hence his common sobriquet, "Dean Swift". Swift is remembered for works such as ''A Tale of a Tub'' (1704), ''An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity'' (1712), ''Gulliver's Travels'' (1726), and ''A Modest Proposal'' (1729). He is regarded by the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and is less well known for his poetry. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M. B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Satire#Classifications, Horatian and Juvenalian styles. His deadpan, ironic writing style, partic ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


It Takes Two (1995 Film)
''It Takes Two'' is a 1995 American romantic comedy film starring Kirstie Alley, Steve Guttenberg, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The title is taken from the song of the same name by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, which is played in the closing credits. The storyline is similar to the 1881 novel, ''The Prince and the Pauper'' by Mark Twain, which in turn helped inspire the 1949 book ''Lisa and Lottie'' by Erich Kästner. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. through their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label. Plot Amanda Lemmon is a nine-year-old orphan who is being sought after by the Butkises, a reclusive, secretive family known to "collect" kids via adoption. She actually wants the likeable warm-hearted Diane Barrows, her social worker, to adopt her instead. Diane would like to do so, but authorities will not let her because of her low salary, unmarried status, and social worker position. While at summer camp, Amanda meets a rich girl named Alyssa Callaway, who looks jus ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




The Last Winter (1989 Film)
''The Last Winter'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by Aaron Kim Johnston and released in 1989. The film stars Joshua Murray as William Jamison, a young boy in smalltown Manitoba whose close relationship with his grandfather Jack (Gerard Parkes) is threatened when his parents Ross ( David Ferry) and Audrey (Wanda Cannon) announce that they will be leaving Jack's farm to live in the city. The cast also includes Kate Murray as William's younger sister Winnie. The film was shot primarily around Oak Lake, Manitoba, Johnston's hometown, and was semi-autobiographical based on his own childhood. The film premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 1989. It screened at numerous film festivals, but had trouble receiving widespread theatrical distribution; at least one commercial distributor told Johnston that while the film was excellent it simply wasn't sellable to English Canadian or American audiences, and would have been a much bigger hit if he had filmed it in Frenc ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Short Circuit 2
''Short Circuit 2'' is a 1988 American science fiction comedy film, the sequel to the 1986 film ''Short Circuit''. It was directed by Kenneth Johnson and starred Fisher Stevens as Ben Jahveri, Michael McKean as Fred Ritter, Cynthia Gibb as Sandy Banatoni, and Tim Blaney as the voice of Johnny 5 (the main character – a friendly, naive, self-aware robot). Plot After being fired from Nova Robotics over the events of the first movie, Benjamin Jahveri (nee Jabituya) starts up his own business, "Titanic Toy Corporation", which specializes in making sophisticated toy robots that he builds by hand from the back of his truck. For two days, Ben has been in an unspecified U.S. metropolis peddling his toy robots on the street corners. One robot wanders away from his stand and makes its way into the office of Sandy Banatoni, an assistant buyer for Simpsons' toy department. Sandy tracks Ben down and orders 1,000 of his toys. Overhearing this offer is con artist Fred Ritter, who smooth-t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Shining Time Station
''Shining Time Station'' is an American children's television series jointly created by British television producer Britt Allcroft and American television producer Rick Siggelkow. The series was produced by Quality Family Entertainment (the American branch of The Britt Allcroft Company), in association with Catalyst Entertainment in seasons 2 and 3, for New York City's PBS station WNET, and was originally taped in New York City during its first season and in Toronto during the rest of its run. It incorporated sequences from the British television show ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'', which was in turn based on the books of ''The Railway Series'' written by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry. The series aired on PBS from January 29, 1989, until June 11, 1993, with four hour-long "Family Specials" premiering in primetime throughout 1995. Reruns continued to air on PBS until June 11, 1998. It aired on Fox Family from 1998 to 1999. Reruns of the show aired on Nick Jr. to promote the t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Today's Special
''Today's Special'' is a Canadian children's television program produced by Clive VanderBurgh at TVOntario, originally broadcasting 120 episodes from 1981 to 1987. Much of the series was set in a department store, based on Simpson's then-flagship location in Toronto. Some store sequences were shot at the Queen Street West and Yonge Street store after hours. The show ran on TVOntario in Canada as well as Nickelodeon in the United States. Premise In the children's department of a major department store, each night when Jodie arrives for work, she carries a mannequin (Jeff) upstairs, where Muffy says the magic words "hocus pocus alimagocus!" This brings him to life. Many early episodes focused on a tangible object as a subject, such as hats or costumes, with the show revolving around teaching about it. Later episodes dealt with more complicated ones, such as the episode "Wishes" dealing with sacrificing one thing for another, "Butterflies", which deals with death, or "Phil's ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

TVOntario
TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority (OECA), a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario. It operates flagship station CICA-DT (channel 19) in Toronto, which also relays programming across portions of Ontario through eight rebroadcast stations. All pay television (cable, satellite, IPTV) providers throughout Ontario are required to carry TVO on their basic tier, and programming can be streamed for free online within Canada. Governance, funding and other responsibilities TVO is governed by a volunteer board of directors, and supported by a network of regional councillors from across the province. TVO also reports to the Ontario legislature through the Minister of Education, in accordance with the Ontario Educational Commun ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Nina Keogh
Nina Keogh ( ) is a Canadian puppet builder, voice actress and puppeteer. She is a former member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Canadian Actors' Equity Association, UDA, and is an ACTRA member since 1968. She was on the board of directors for ACTRA and the Children's Broadcast Institute. She has worked for TVO and CBC Television. She is best-known for playing the role of Muffy the Mouse in TVO's 1981-87 TV series ''Today's Special'', which was shown worldwide including on Nickelodeon in the United States. Her father, John Keogh, played Howard the Turtle in ''Razzle Dazzle''. Keogh retired from the television business in 1999 to become a professional painter. She is a former instructor at Fleming College (Haliburton School of the Arts) in Haliburton. Works * '' Drop-In'' 1970 and 1971 host * ''Polka Dot Door'' 1971 and 1972 host * ''TVO's. Whatever Turns You On'' 1973 host * '' Readalong'' 1976 * ''Today's Special'' 1981-87 (Muffy) * ''The Friendly Giant'' 1982 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]