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Jeffrey Holland (actor)
Jeffrey Holland (born Jeffrey Michael Parkes, 17 July 1946) is a British actor who is well known for roles in television sitcoms, playing comic Spike Dixon at the Maplin's holiday camp in ''Hi-de-Hi!'', as well as BBC Radio comedy, including ''Week Ending''. He also played leading roles in the sitcoms '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!''. Early life Born in Walsall, Staffordshire, he was educated at Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall. Holland joined an amateur theatre company and soon found that he had a talent for comedy, but despite this he could not pursue a career in comedy until after he left home. He has said that "my father died when I was 14, so right after leaving school at 16 I secured a job to earn money to help my mother. I worked at a wine merchant's and an office in Walsall, where I was brought up". After leaving home Holland trained at Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art and became a professional actor. His first stage appeara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Walsall. It was transferred from Staffordshire to the newly created West Midlands County in 1974. At the 2011 census, the town's built-up area had a population of 67,594, with the wider borough having a List of English districts by population, population of 269,323. Neighbouring settlements in the borough include Darlaston, Brownhills, Pelsall, Willenhall, Bloxwich and Aldridge. History Early settlement The name Walsall is derived from "Walhaz, Walh halh", meaning "valley of the Welsh", referring to the Celtic Britons, British who first lived in the area. However, it is believed that a manor was held here by William Fitz-An ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Croft (TV Producer)
Major David John Croft, (born David John Andrew Sharland; 7 September 1922 – 27 September 2011) was an English television comedy screenwriter, producer and director. He produced and wrote a string of BBC sitcoms with partners Jimmy Perry and Jeremy Lloyd, including ''Dad's Army'', ''Are You Being Served?'', ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'', ''Hi-de-Hi!'' and '' 'Allo 'Allo!'' Early life Croft was born into a show business family: his father, Reginald Sharland (1886–1944), had a successful career as a radio actor in Hollywood, and his mother, Annie Croft (1896–1959), was a famous stage actress who had starred in the 1927 silent film ''On With The Dance,'' she was also the first woman to own a West End theatre company. His first public appearance was at the age of seven, when he was seen in a commercial which aired in cinemas. After that, his acting career in films "began and ended" with his uncredited appearance as Perkins in the film ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939). Croft w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, which spans roughly 40% of the continent's landmass while accounting for approximately 15% of its total population."The Balkans" , ''Global Perspectives: A Remote Sensing and World Issues Site''. Wheeling Jesuit University/Center for Educational Technologies, 1999–2002. It represents a significant part of Culture of Europe, European culture; the main socio-cultural characteristics of Eastern Europe have historically been defined by the traditions of Slavs and Greeks, as well as by the influence of Eastern Christianity as it developed through t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Su Pollard
Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English actress and singer. Her career has spanned over 45 years; she is most famous for her role in the sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!''. She also appeared in '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!''. Pollard has appeared in over 35 stage plays and musicals, as well as over 40 pantomimes. As a singer, she scored a UK number-two hit with the song "Starting Together" in 1986 and also released an album. Early life and education Pollard was born in Nottingham, the eldest daughter of Don and Hilda Pollard. Her interest in acting began at the age of six when she played an angel in a school nativity play. She attended Berridge Road School, Hyson Green and Peveril Bilateral School, Robin's Wood Road (now Nottingham Girls' Academy). After leaving school at the age of 16, she got a job at the Tennant Rubber Company in Carlton as a shorthand typist [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Shane
Paul Shane (born George Frederick Speight; 19 June 1940 – 16 May 2013) was a British actor and comedian. He was known for his television work, in particular playing Ted Bovis in ''Hi-de-Hi!'', a 1980s BBC sitcom. Early life Shane was born on 19 June 1940 in Thrybergh, near Rotherham, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After leaving school in 1955, he was a miner at Silverwood Colliery until he suffered double herniated discs after slipping on soap in the pithead baths in 1967, being pensioned from the coal mines as a result. Two years later he became a professional entertainer. He already had ten years' experience as a part-time entertainer in pubs and clubs in south Yorkshire. Career Shane's first appearance, as a singer, was at the Grafton pub — now demolished — in St Ann's Road, Rotherham. His first club booking was at St Ann's Club in Rotherham, for 30 shillings. His transformation from singer to comedian was gradual, starting with his version of "Green, Green Grass of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Russ Abbot Show
''The Russ Abbot Show'' is a British television sketch comedy series which stars Russ Abbot and ran for 16 years on television before moving over to Radio 2 for a further five years. History The series originated as ''The Freddie Starr Variety Madhouse''; with Russ Abbot, Mike Newman, Toni Palmer, Norman Collier and Bella Emberg. After one series in 1979, Freddie Starr left and the show was repackaged as "Russ Abbot's Madhouse" premiering on 12 April 1980, with Liz Smith, Dustin Gee, Nicky Croydon and Billy Hartman joining the cast. From the 1981 series there was a major cast upheaval, with many of the cast being replaced, with the new lineup being Dustin Gee, Bella Emberg, Susie Blake, Sherrie Hewson, Jeffrey Holland, Patti Gold, and Michael Barrymore. Les Dennis joined in Series 3 and Michael Barrymore left in Series 4. In 1986 the series was transferred over to the BBC, where it was renamed ''The Russ Abbot Show'', and featured Dennis, Emberg, Hewson, Holland, Suzi A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russ Abbot
Russ Abbot (born Russell Allan Roberts; 18 September 1947) is an English musician, comedian and actor. Born in Chester, he first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with British comedy showband the Black Abbots, later forging a prominent solo career as a television comedian with his own weekly show on British television. Continuing his musical career as a solo artist, Abbot released several charting singles and albums. His career has continued with a shift into more mainstream serious acting in television shows, series, and stage productions. Career As a drummer/backing singer, Abbot joined the Black Abbots (founded by Robert Turner) in Chester during the mid-1960s and they released several singles to modest chart success on minor labels in the early 1970s. The band only signed their first major recording contract in 1977, putting out a series of comedy singles and one live album (Abbot now taking lead vocals) before disbanding in 1980. Subsequentl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holiday Camp
A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with terms such as holiday park, resort, holiday village and holiday centre replacing it. As distinct from camping, accommodation typically consisted of chalets, accommodation buildings arranged individually or in blocks. From the 1960s onward, many camps also added static caravan accommodation, and today, many static caravans are also termed holiday camps. History Cunningham's Young Men's Holiday Camp at Douglas on the Isle of Man is sometimes regarded as the first holiday camp, but it differed from the definition (above), especially as accommodation was still in tents. Cunningham's was still open by the time Billy Butlin opened his first camp in 1936 (and still averaged 60,000 campers on a good year). Ward, Hardy 1987, p. 22. Opened in 1906 by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crossroads (soap Opera)
''Crossroads'' (later known as ''Crossroads Motel'' and ''Crossroads King's Oak'') is a British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ... soap opera that ran on ITV (TV network), ITV over two periods – the original 1964 to 1988 run, followed by a short revival from 2001 to 2003. Set in a fictional motel (hotel in the revival) in the Midlands, ''Crossroads'' became a byword for cheap production values, particularly in the 1970s and early 1980s. Despite this, the series regularly attracted huge audiences during this time, with ratings as high as 15 million viewers. It was created by Hazel Adair (actress and screenwriter), Hazel Adair and Peter Ling and produced by Associated TeleVision, ATV (until the end of 1981) and then by ATV's successor, ITV Central, Ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It Ain't Half Hot Mum
''It Ain't Half Hot, Mum'' is a BBC television sitcom about a Royal Artillery concert party based in Deolali in British India and the fictional village of Tin Min in Burma, during the last months of the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had both served in similar roles in India during that war. Fifty-six episodes were broadcast across eight series on BBC1 between 1974 and 1981. Each episode ran for thirty minutes. The title comes from the first episode, in which young Gunner Parkin ( Christopher Mitchell) writes home to his mother in England. In 1975, a recording of "Whispering Grass" performed by Don Estelle and Windsor Davies in character as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden and Sergeant Major Williams, reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and remained there for three weeks. The series, which attracted up to seventeen million viewers in its heyday, has been accused of racism, homophobia and a pro-imperialist attitude. One specific criticism has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dad's Army
''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC One, BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total; a Dad's Army (1971 film), feature film released in 1971, a stage show and a radio version based on the television scripts were also produced. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still shown internationally. The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either because of age (hence the title ''Dad's Army''), medical reasons or by being in Reserved occupation, professions exempt from conscription. Most of the platoon members in ''Dad's Army'' are over military age and the series stars several older British actors, including Arnold Ridley, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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