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John Barrard
John Barrard (12 September 1924 – 13 October 2013) was a British people, British character actor who had a career spanning five decades and who perhaps is best known for playing Dooley, Santa's No. 2, in ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985). Barrard's television appearances includes the Concierge in ''The Count of Monte Cristo (1956 TV series), The Count of Monte Cristo'' (1956), Gatekeeper in an episode of ''Armchair Theatre'' (1956), George in ''The Larkins (1958 TV series), The Larkins'' (1958), Napoleon in ''The Army Game'' (1960), Carlos the Pedlar in ''The Saint (TV series), The Saint'' (1962), Mr Craddock in ''Crossroads (soap opera), Crossroads'' (1964), the Shopkeeper in the Doctor Who story ''The Reign of Terror (Doctor Who), The Reign of Terror'' (1964) and two roles in ''Coronation Street''; Harry Mascall in 1972 and as Sidney Wilson in 1974. Before these roles he appeared in the ''Coronation Street'' spin-off ''Pardon the Expression'' (1965). Other appearances in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keeping Up Appearances
''Keeping Up Appearances'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. It originally aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995 with two specials airing in 1997 and 2008 on PBS. The central character is an eccentric and snobbish middle class social climber, Hyacinth Bucket (Patricia Routledge), who insists that her surname is pronounced "Bouquet". The show comprised five series and 44 episodes, four of which are Christmas specials. Production ended in 1995 after Routledge decided to move on to other projects. All episodes and the specials have since been released on DVD. The sitcom follows Hyacinth in her attempts to prove her social superiority, and to gain standing with those she considers upper class. Her attempts are constantly hampered by her lower class extended family, whom she is desperate to hide. Much of the humour comes from the conflict between Hyacinth's vision of herself and the reality of her underclass background. In each episode, she lands in a farcical situati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Avengers (TV Series)
''The Avengers'' is a British Spy fiction, espionage television series, created in 1961, that ran for 161 episodes until 1969. It initially focused on David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). Dresses and suits for the series were made by Pierre Cardin. The series ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The pilot episode, "Hot Snow (The Avengers), Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 17 May 1969 in the United Kingdom. ''The Avengers'' was produced by ABC Weekend TV, a contractor within the ITV (TV network), ITV network. After a merger with Rediffusion London in July 1968 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oliver Twist (1982 TV Film)
''Oliver Twist'' is a 1982 American-British made-for-television film adaptation of the 1838 Charles Dickens classic of the same name, premiering on the CBS television network as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Stars include George C. Scott, Tim Curry, Cherie Lunghi, and Richard Charles as Oliver, in his first major film role. Plot A young woman dies in childbirth. Witnessing the woman's birth is Mr. Bumble, a hard-nosed man in charge of the local orphans workhouse. With no information on the mother's identity, he gives the boy the name Oliver Twist. Like the other boys in the workhouse, Oliver lives a hard life of endless labour and schooling, with only a bowl of gruel for supper. After seeing his friend Dick devour his bowl and still wanting more, Oliver offers the lad his own, then goes up to Bumble and asks for more. His request angers Bumble, who hires him out to work for Mr Sowerberry, a local undertaker. Oliver's situation is not much different than the workhouse, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Professionals (TV Series)
''The Professionals'' is a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mark1 Productions for London Weekend Television (LWT) that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon Jackson as agents of the fictional "CI5" (Criminal Intelligence 5, alluding to the real-life MI5 and CID). ''The Professionals'' was created by Brian Clemens, who had been one of the driving forces behind '' The Avengers''. The show was originally to have been called ''The A-Squad''. Clemens and Albert Fennell were executive producers, with business partner Laurie Johnson providing the theme music. Sidney Hayers produced the first series in 1977, and Raymond Menmuir the remainder. Outline CI5 - or Criminal Intelligence 5, is a British law enforcement department, instructed by the Home Secretary to use any means to deal with crimes of a serious nature that go beyond the cap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Turpin (TV Series)
''Dick Turpin'' is a British television drama series starring Richard O'Sullivan and Michael Deeks. It was created by Richard Carpenter, Paul Knight and Sydney Cole and written by Richard Carpenter, John Kane, Charles Crichton and Paul Wheeler. It was made by Gatetarn, Seacastle productions in-association with London Weekend Television between 1979 and 1982. 26 half-hour episodes and one feature-length episode were filmed on location at Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. The series is loosely based on the adventures of the real 18th century highwayman Dick Turpin. Reference to the series appears at the end of the Robin's Nest Series 5 episode Never Look A Gift Horse in which Richard O'Sullivan was also appearing at the time when Robin climbs on to the rocking horse and says "Well, which way now Bess?" Synopsis The series takes place in 18th century England. After Dick Turpin, the son of a farmer, returns to England after three years military service in the Mediterranean, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Survivors (1975 TV Series)
''Survivors'' is a British post-apocalyptic fiction drama television series created by Terry Nation and produced by Terence Dudley at the BBC, that broadcast from 1975 to 1977. It concerns the plight of a group of people who have survived an apocalyptic plague pandemic, which was accidentally released by a Chinese scientist and quickly spread across the world via air travel. Referred to as "The Death", the plague kills approximately 4,999 out of every 5,000 human beings on the planet within a matter of weeks of being released. Production History The programme ran for three series and 38 episodes (series 1 and 2 comprised 13 episodes each, the third series just 12; budget cuts and technical problems reduced the planned last double episode to a single, as some scenes were lost during shooting). All series were broadcast on Wednesday evenings on BBC 1, from April 1975 to June 1977. Popular writer Terry Nation (whose work included many scripts for ''Doctor Who'') created the ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sweeney
''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as his partner, Detective Sergeant George Carter. It was produced by the Thames Television subsidiary Euston Films for broadcast on the ITV network in the UK between 2 January 1975 and 28 December 1978. The programme's title comes from the real-world Cockney rhyming slang nickname "Sweeney Todd" used to refer to the Flying Squad by London's criminal fraternity in the mid 20th Century. The popularity of the series in the UK led to two feature films, '' Sweeney!'' (1977) and ''Sweeney 2'' (1978), both starring Thaw and Waterman, and a later film, '' The Sweeney'' (2012), starring Ray Winstone as Regan and Ben Drew as Carter. Background ''The Sweeney'' was developed from a one-off TV drama entitled ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosie (TV Series)
''Rosie'' is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast between 1977 and 1981. It was set in the fictitious Yorkshire town of Ravensbay, a name most probably derived from a combination of Ravenscar, North Yorkshire, Ravenscar and Robin Hood's Bay, seaside villages near the seaside town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire where the series was filmed. The central character was PC Penrose ("Rosie"), a young and inexperienced police officer, played by Paul Greenwood. The titular character is a nod towards Charles Penrose (entertainer), Charles Penrose, who famously recorded the comedy song "The Laughing Policeman (song), The Laughing Policeman". ''Rosie'' was preceded by an earlier series of seven episodes, broadcast in 1975, called ''The Growing Pains of PC Penrose'' which was set in the fictitious Yorkshire town of Slagcaster and filmed in Clarke's native South Yorkshire, with the majority of the opening scenes of series one filmed in the village of New Rossington, al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Follyfoot
''Follyfoot'' is a children's television series co-produced by the majority-partner British television company Yorkshire Television (for transmission on ITV) and the independent West German company ''TV München'' (for transmission on the ZDF channel). It aired in the United Kingdom between 1971 and 1973, repeated for two years after that and again in the late 1980s. The series starred Gillian Blake in the lead role. Notable people connected with the series were actors Desmond Llewelyn and Arthur English and directors Jack Cardiff, Stephen Frears, Michael Apted and David Hemmings. It was originally inspired by Monica Dickens' 1963 novel ''Cobbler's Dream'' (republished in 1995 as ''New Arrival at Follyfoot''); she later wrote four further books in conjunction with the series—''Follyfoot'' in 1971, ''Dora at Follyfoot'' in 1972, ''The Horses of Follyfoot'' in 1975, and ''Stranger at Follyfoot'' in 1976. Background and production The series, which was filmed on the Harewoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Protectors
''The Protectors'' is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series to exclusively use live actors as opposed to marionettes (following ''UFO''), and his second to be firmly set in contemporary times (following ''The Secret Service''). It was also the only Gerry Anderson–produced television series that was not of the fantasy or science fiction genres. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, ''The Protectors'' became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second series. A third series was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor, Brut, ended its funding and thus forced the series' cancellation. ''The Protectors'' was first broadcast in 1972 and 1973, and ran to 52 episodes over two series, each 25 minutes long—making it one of the last series of this type to be prod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fenn Street Gang
''The Fenn Street Gang'' is a British television sitcom which ran for three seasons between 1971 and 1973. Created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, it was a spin-off from their popular ''Please Sir!'' series. Synopsis The series follows the lives of many of the pupils from Fenn Street School as they enter the world of work. Some episodes were written by Geoff Rowley and Andy Baker, as well as David Barry and Tony Bilbow. The series' stars were Peter Cleall, Carol Hawkins (who also replaced Penny Spencer as Sharon in the 1971 ''Please Sir!'' film), David Barry, Peter Denyer and Liz Gebhardt. Leon Vitali replaced Malcolm McFee as Peter Craven during the first series, although Malcolm took this role back for the second and third series'. Peter Denyer (Dennis Dunstable) and Liz Gebhardt (Maureen Bullock) were absent from the third (and final) series. John Alderton (Mr Hedges, their form-master in ''Please Sir!'') guest-appeared in three episodes of the first series of ''The Fenn S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Budgie (TV Series)
''Budgie'' is a British television series starring popstar Adam Faith which was produced by ITV company London Weekend Television and broadcast on the ITV network between 1971 and 1972. The series was created by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall. The show was produced by Verity Lambert with Rex Firkin as Executive Producer. In an interview for the 2006 DVD release, Lambert stated that the series was originally going to be called ''The Loser'' but this was rejected by the TV Network. The show had two theme songs: the first was "The Loner" by The Milton Hunter Orchestra, and the second was "Nobody's Fool" written by Ray Davies and performed by Cold Turkey. Series plot The series consisted of a sequence of stories – sometimes spread across two episodes – depicting Budgie's involvement in some hare-brained scheme to make money, usually somewhere on the wrong side of legality, and invariably for the local boss, Mr Endell. He often failed in his aim, being continually the victim of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
