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John Levene
John Levene (born John Anthony Woods; 24 December 1941) is an English actor, producer, entertainer and singer. Although he has appeared in a large number of films and television series, Levene's best-known role is that of Sergeant Benton, of UNIT in the science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', a role he played from 1968 to 1975. Early life Levene was born as John Anthony Woods in Salisbury, Wiltshire on Christmas Eve 1941, the eldest child of Austin and Vera Woods (née Blake); he has a younger brother called Michael. Levene was born breeched, jaundiced and was dead for the first couple of minutes of his life after he suffocated from a piece of afterbirth being stuck in his airways and his heart stopped beating for two minutes until the doctor removed the blockage. Levene's father was a sergeant in the army and was on board the SS Empire Baffin; upon his return he was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal by King George VI. Shortly after being temporarily blinded in o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wiltshire, near the edge of Salisbury Plain. Salisbury Cathedral was formerly north of the city at Old Sarum. The cathedral was relocated and a settlement grew up around it, which received a city charter in 1227 as . This continued to be its official name until 2009, when Salisbury City Council was established. Salisbury railway station is an interchange between the West of England Main Line and the Wessex Main Line. Stonehenge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is northwest of Salisbury. Name The name ''Salisbury'', which is first recorded around the year 900 as ''Searoburg'' ( dative ''Searobyrig''), is a partial translation of the Roman Celtic name ''Sorbiodūnum''. The Brittonic suffix ''-dūnon'', meaning "fortress" (in reference ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boscombe Down
MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The base was originally conceived, constructed, and operated as Royal Air Force Boscombe Down, more commonly known as RAF Boscombe Down, and since 1939, has evaluated aircraft for use by the British Armed Forces. The airfield has two runways, one in length, and the second . The airfield's evaluation centre is currently home to Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron (RWTS), Fast Jet Test Squadron (FJTS), Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS), Handling Squadron, and the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS). History First World War An aerodrome opened at the Boscombe Down site in October 1917 and operated as a Royal Flying Corps Training Depot Station. Kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UFO (TV Series)
''UFO'' is a 1970 British science fiction television series about the covert efforts of a government defence organisation to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. It was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 for Grade's ITC Entertainment company. A single series of 26 episodes (including the pilot) was filmed over the course of more than a year; a five-month production break was caused by the closure of MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood, where the show was initially made. Production then moved to Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. ''UFO'' was first broadcast in the UK and Canada in 1970, and in the US syndication over the next two years. It also has been rerun on UKTV channel Drama. The Andersons' live-action science fiction movie ''Doppelgänger'' (also known as ''Journey to the Far Side of the Sun'') is considered an immediate precursor to ''UFO'', which was their first entirely live-action T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Newcomers (TV Series)
''The Newcomers'' was a late 1960s BBC soap opera which dealt with the subject of a London family, the Coopers, who moved to a housing estate in the fictional country town of Angleton. It was broadcast in bi-weekly half-hour episodes from October 1965 until November 1969. It was initially produced by Verity Lambert. Series outline A fictional light industrial manufacturing company called Eden Brothers decides to relocate to the rural location. There are conflicts with the older members of the existing community, as well as some lighter moments as urbanites encounter "country characters". Many of the relocated workers have trouble living outside the city. As the series progresses, problems on the factory floor spill over into the community. Throughout this the Coopers strive to raise their daughter and two sons, who are having their own issues. The Cooper and Harker families were the initial focus of the series. The on-screen sudden death of the character of Ellis Cooper led ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas Camfield
Douglas Gaston Sydney Camfield (8 May 1931 – 27 January 1984) was a British television director, active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Early life Camfield studied at the York School of Art and aimed to work for The Walt Disney Company. He was commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps in 1951 during his national service. Later that year, he transferred to the West Yorkshire Regiment ( Territorial Army). He was promoted to lieutenant in 1952 and was training to be in the Special Air Service, but due to an injury he pulled out of the application process. It has often been noted by those who worked with him that Camfield always retained an affection for the army and brought military standards of organisation to the programmes he subsequently directed. Career His directing credits included ''Doctor Who,'' ''Z-Cars'', ''Paul Temple'', ''Public Eye'', '' The Lotus Eaters'', ''Van der Valk'', ''The Sweeney'', ''The Onedin Line'', ''Blake's 7'', '' Shoestring'', '' The Professional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Z Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978. The series differed sharply from earlier police procedurals. With its less-usual Northern England setting, it injected a new element of harsh realism into the image of the police, which some found unwelcome. ''Z-Cars'' ran for 801 episodes, of which fewer than half have survived. Regular stars included: Stratford Johns (Detective Inspector Barlow), Frank Windsor (Det. Sgt. Watt), James Ellis (Bert Lynch) and Brian Blessed ("Fancy" Smith). Barlow and Watt were later spun into a separate series '' Softly, Softly''. Origin of the title The title comes from the radio call signs allocated by Lancashire Constabulary. Lancashire police divisions were lettered from north to the south: "A" Division ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adam Adamant Lives!
''Adam Adamant Lives!'' is a British adventure television series that ran from 1966 to 1967 on BBC 1, starring Gerald Harper in the title role. The series was created and produced by several alumni from ''Doctor Who''. Proposing that an adventurer born in 1867 had been revived from hibernation in 1966, ''Adam Adamant Lives!'' was a satirical look at life in the 1960s through the eyes of an Edwardian (Adamant vanished in 1902, when Edward VII had been on the throne just one year). In 2020, Big Finish Productions reimagined the series as an audio drama. Main character The main character originally went through a number of possible names: "Cornelius Chance", "Rupert De'Ath", "Dick Daring", "Dexter Noble", "Aurelian Winton", "Magnus Hawke" and even "Darius Crud" before Sydney Newman settled on Adam Adamant, named after the generic mineral term adamantine which, since medieval times, has commonly referred to diamond. In the opening episode, "A Vintage Year for Scoundrels", Adam Llewe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stage Name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individual's birth name. Though uncommon, some performers choose to adopt their stage name as a legal name. Nicknames and maiden names are sometimes used in a person's professional name. Reasons for using a stage name A performer will often take a stage name because their real name is considered unattractive, dull, or unintentionally amusing; projects an undesired image; is difficult to pronounce or spell; or is already being used by another notable individual, including names that are not exactly the same but still too similar. An example of this is pop singer Katy Perry, whose real name is Katheryn "Katy" Hudson, which would have caused confusion with the actress Kate Hudson. Sometimes a performer adopts a name that is unusual or outlandish t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Actors' Equity Association
Equity, formerly officially titled the British Actors' Equity Association, is the trade union for the performing arts and entertainment industries. Formed by a group of West End performers in 1930, the union grew to include performers and stage management nationwide, as well as gaining recognition in audio, film, and television. Equity incorporated the Variety Artistes' Federation in 1967, and now represents most professionals whose work is presented on stage or screen. As of 2021, it had just over 46,000 members, including actors, singers, dancers, variety artistes and other performers, models, theatre directors, choreographers, designers, and stage management. Equity requires its members to have unique professional names to avoid confusion with other artists and entertainers. History Equity was created in 1930 by a group of West End performers, including Godfrey Tearle, May Whitty and Ben Webster. They were advised by Robert Young, the "Actors' MP". Like many other Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Dirty Dozen
''The Dirty Dozen'' is a 1967 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Ralph Meeker, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker and Robert Webber. Set in 1944 during the Second World War, it was filmed in England at MGM-British Studios and released by MGM. The film was a box office success and won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing at the 40th Academy Awards in 1968. In 2001, the American Film Institute placed it at number 65 on their 100 Years... 100 Thrills list. The screenplay is based on the 1965 bestseller by E. M. Nathanson which was inspired by a real-life WWII unit of behind-the-lines demolition specialists from the 101st Airborne Division named the "Filthy Thirteen". Another possible inspiration was the public offer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt by 44 prisoners serving life senten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on the crime drama series ''Kojak'' (1973–1978) and James Bond archvillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the film '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969). Savalas' other roles include ''Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962), ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965), ''Battle of the Bulge'' (1965), ''The Dirty Dozen'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes'' (1970), ''Horror Express'' (1972), ''Lisa and the Devil'' (1974) and ''Escape to Athena'' (1979). For ''Birdman of Alcatraz'', he was nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. As a singer, Savalas released a cover of the Bread song " If", which became a UK No. 1 single in 1975. The song also peaked at number 12 in Australia. Early life Aristotelis Savalas was born in Garden Ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regent Street
Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place in St James's at the southern end, through Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus, to All Souls Church. From there Langham Place and Portland Place continue the route to Regent's Park. The street's layout was completed in 1825 and was an early example of town planning in England, replacing earlier roads including Swallow Street. Nash and Burton's street layout has survived, although all the original buildings except All Souls Church have been replaced following reconstruction in the late 19th century. The street is known for its flagship retail stores, including Liberty, Hamleys, Jaeger and the Apple Store. The Royal Polytechnic Institution, now the University of Westminster, has been based on Regent Street since 1838. Route Regent Str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
