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Kevin Laffan
Kevin Barry Laffan (24 May 1922 – 11 March 2003) was a British playwright, screenwriter, author, actor and stage director. Laffan is best known for creating the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale Farm'', now titled ''Emmerdale''. Raised in a family of fourteen children, Laffan's Catholic upbringing formed the inspiration for many of his plays. Laffan's theatrical career began with a position as a call boy at the Theatre Royal in Bilston, and would eventually lead to him founding a repertory company in Reading. In later life, Laffan also branched out into fiction, publishing his début novel, ''Virgins are in Short Supply'', in 2001. Early life and theatre career Laffan was the third of fourteen children of a disabled Irish photographer. The family moved to Walsall while he was a child. When he was twelve, they were sent to the workhouse and he claimed to have escaped by jumping off the lorry as it drove through the gates. An elderly actress allowed him to sleep in her kitchen and ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east of Swindon, south of Oxford, west of London and north of Basingstoke. Reading is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance. It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley with its shopping centre, the The Oracle, Reading, Oracle. It is home to the University of Reading. Every year it hosts the Reading and Leeds Festivals, Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music festivals. Reading has a professional association football team, Reading F.C., and participates in many other sports. Reading dates from the 8th century. It was an important trading and ecclesiastical centre in the Middle Ages, the site of Reading Abbey, one of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beryl's Lot
''Beryl's Lot'' is a British comedy drama about a woman approaching middle-age and embarking on a programme of personal development. It was written by Kevin Laffan (who also created Emmerdale), produced by David Cunliffe and Peter Willes, and directed by Derek Bennett and David Reynolds for Yorkshire Television and broadcast on ITV between 1973 and 1977. ''Beryl's Lot'' ran for 3 series and 52 episodes in total before its cancellation. The first two series each consisted of 13 one-hour-long episodes, the third series of 26 episodes of 30 minutes. Plot The series focused on Beryl Humphries, a Battersea milkman's wife and mother of three, who decided as her 40th birthday approached that she needed to broaden her horizons, which she accomplished by enrolling on a philosophy course at night school. The series dealt with how Beryl's new ideas, attitudes and outlook affected her family, friends and neighbours. ''Beryl's Lot'' was inspired by the story of Margaret Powell (1907-1984), a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime, and was head of state of 15 realms at the time of her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female monarch in history. Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother). Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, making the ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth the heir presumptive. She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Best Pair Of Legs In The Business
''The Best Pair of Legs in the Business'' is a 1973 Cinema of the United Kingdom, British comedy film, comedy-drama film directed by Christopher Hodson starring Reg Varney, Diana Coupland and Lee Montague. A comic/female impersonator at a holiday camp is concerned about the future. However he manages to secure both a job and a wife. The film is a cinematic version of an episode of ''ITV Playhouse'' (Yorkshire Television) by the same writer and director and also starring Reg Varney, transmitted on 28 December 1968. Plot Sherry Sheridan's career is dying. He is tolerated rather than valued at the holiday camp. His wife Mary is having an affair with the outgoing camp manager who tries to persuade her to leave with him. Every time she is about to, something happens to prevent it. Sherry's agent drops him. He drinks heavily. The only people who show him any form of affection are two girls who prefer him to two randy boys. His estranged son Alan turns up in an attempt to heal relati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reg Varney
Reginald Alfred Varney (11 July 1916 – 16 November 2008) was an English actor, entertainer and comedian. He is best remembered for having played the lead role of bus driver Stan Butler in the LWT sitcom ''On the Buses'' (1969–73) and its three spin-off feature films. Having performed as a music hall entertainer, Varney first came to national recognition as factory foreman Reg Turner in the BBC sitcom ''The Rag Trade'' (1961–63). He appeared in further sitcoms including '' Beggar My Neighbour'' (1966–1968) and ''On the Buses'' stardom facililated overseas cabaret tours. Early life Varney was born in Canning Town, Essex (but now part of London), to Sidney Thomas Varney and his wife Annie (née Needham). His father worked in a rubber factory in Silvertown and he was one of five children who grew up in Addington Road, Canning Town. He was educated at the nearby Star Lane Primary School in West Ham and after leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy and a page boy a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolades throughout his career, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, a British Academy Television Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award. He has also received an honorary Golden Globe Award and the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 1993, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the arts, and in 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his achievements in the motion picture industry. After graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 1957, Hopkins trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He was then spotted by Laurence Olivier who invited him to join the Royal Natio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Jones (actor)
Peter Geoffrey Francis Jones (12 June 1920 – 10 April 2000) was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster. Early life and early career Peter Jones, born in Wem, Shropshire, was educated at Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College, making his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory theatre in East Anglia. In 1942 he acted on the West End stage in '' The Doctor's Dilemma'' and in 1942 he made an uncredited film appearance in '' Fanny by Gaslight''. An early film credit was as a Xenobian trade delegate in '' Chance of a Lifetime'' (1950). He appeared in the 1949 comedy ''Love in Albania'' by Eric Linklater. He co-wrote the 1954 play ''The Party Spirit'' which ran in the West End with Ralph Lynn and Robertson Hare. Radio Between 1952 and 1955 Jones starred alongside Peter Ustinov in the BBC radio comedy ''In All Directions''. The show featured Jones and Ustinov as themselves in a car in London perpetually searching fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jill Summers
Jill Summers (born Honor Margaret Rozelle Santoi Fuller; 10 December 1910 – 11 January 1997) was an English music hall performer, actor and comedian. Her career in entertainment lasted eighty years and in 1982 she achieved stardom as Phyllis Pearce, in Granada Television's long-running soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She made her last appearance in May 1996, and died eight months later. Early life Summers was born in Eccles, Lancashire, one of four sisters and a brother, to father Alf Rozelle, a circus tightrope walker, and mother Mary Fuller (stage name Marie Santoi), a famous revue artist. Born into a theatrical family, her grandmother was a well-known bare-back rider, and her uncle, Johnny Fuller, known as "The Famous Cat", frequently acted alongside Fay Compton in the pantomime ''Dick Whittington''. Career She first performed on stage aged six. Her childhood was mostly unhappy, with her touring parents often leaving her with foster families. When Summers was 13 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kathy Staff
Kathy Staff (born Minnie Higginbottom; 12 July 1928 – 13 December 2008) was an English actress known for her work on British television. She is best known for her portrayal of Nora Batty in ''Last of the Summer Wine'', the longest running sitcom in the world. Career Early career She began her acting career with touring repertory companies in 1946, changing her name to Katherine Brant. After she married John Staff in 1951, she adopted the surname as her stage name, hence Kathy Staff. She retired from the stage at this point to raise her family, but started working as an extra for Granada Television in Manchester in the 1960s. In her autobiography, Staff revealed herself to be a Conservative, and noted that she had once stood as an election candidate for the party. This appears to have been in 1971, when a Ms. M. Staff contested the Central ward in the Municipal Borough of Dukinfield. The seat was comfortably held by Labour, with the Liberals beating all three Conservative can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Barraclough
Roy Senior Barraclough (12 July 1935 – 1 June 2017) was an English comic actor. He was best known for his role as Alec Gilroy, the devious, mournful landlord of the Rovers Return in the long-running British TV soap '' Coronation Street'', and for the double-act Cissie and Ada with comedian Les Dawson. Career Roy Barraclough began his career as a draughtsman, taking time off to work as an entertainer in a holiday camp on the Isle of Wight. Combining his day job with local amateur theatre for several years, he was eventually offered a full-time acting contract by repertory theatre producer Nita Valerie with her company in Huddersfield. Barraclough regularly appeared on stage and at times played piano in the pit, including for comedienne Hylda Baker. Barraclough later joined the repertory company at Stoke (appearing alongside Ben Kingsley) and then Oldham in 1966, appearing alongside Barbara Knox and Anne Kirkbride, who later both became colleagues on ''Coronation Street''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castle Haven (TV Series)
''Castle Haven'' was a British soap opera, set around the residents of two Victorian seaside house that had been converted into a series of flats and bedsits. It was first broadcast on 4 April 1969, but cancelled just under a year later on 26 March 1970. 100 episodes were produced, but it is believed that only fifteen minutes of the series is still in existence; the rest were wiped after transmission, as per the (then commonplace) procedure of wiping videotape. Main cast * Sally James as Jo Mercer * Roy Barraclough as Harry Everitt * Jack Carr as Philip Mercer * Kathy Staff as Lorna Everitt * Gretchen Franklin as Sarah Meeks * Jill Summers as Delilah Hilldrup * Sharon Campbell as Sylvia Everitt * Alan Guy as Dickie Everitt * George Waring as Tom Meeks * Sidonie Bond as Fiona Morris * Robin Ford as Eric Waters * Lala Lloyd as Mabel Waters * Colin Rix as Ivor Davies * Ann Way as Alice Davies * John Comer John Comer (1 March 1924 – 11 February 1984) was a British comic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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