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Larry Grayson (TV Series)
Larry Grayson (31 August 1923 – 7 January 1995), born William Sulley White, was an English comedian and television presenter. He hosted the BBC's Saturday-night peak-time TV game show '' The Generation Game'' in the late 1970s and early 1980s, employing his high- camp, English music hall humour. His camp stand-up act consisted mainly of anecdotes about a cast of imaginary friends including Everard, Apricot Lil and Slack Alice. A museum in his home town Nuneaton documents his life and work, and a memorial has been established. Biography Grayson was born William Sulley White in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in 1923. His parents were unmarried and he never met his father. When Grayson was ten days old, his mother, Ethel White, arranged for him to be fostered by Alice and Jim Hammonds in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. He had two foster sisters, Flo and Mary. His foster mother Alice died when he was six years old, and he was brought up by his elder foster sister, Flo, with whom he lived for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banbury
Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire and southern parts of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire which are predominantly rural. Banbury's main industries are motorsport, car components, electrical goods, plastics, food processing and printing. Banbury is home to the world's largest coffee-processing facility (Jacobs Douwe Egberts), built in 1964. The town is famed for Banbury cakes, a spiced sweet pastry dish. Banbury is located north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham, south-east of Coventry and north-west of Oxford. History Toponymy The name Banbury may derive from "Banna", a Saxon chieftain said to have built a stockade there in the 6th century (or possibly a byname from ang, bana meaning ''felon'', ''murderer''), and / meaning ''settlement''. In Anglo Saxon i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Metropolitan Theatre
The Metropolitan Theatre was a London music hall and theatre in Edgware Road, Paddington. Its origins were in an old inn on the site where entertainments became increasingly prominent by the early 19th century. A new theatre was built there in 1836, replaced in 1897 by a new building designed by the theatre architect Frank Matcham. The Metropolitan was a leading theatre for music hall and variety, but with the decline of the latter in the mid-20th century it struggled to survive, and was demolished in 1964 to make way for a road-widening scheme. Early years From the 16th century the village of Padynton, about a mile north-west along the road to Edgware from Tyburn had contained a well known inn, the White Lion, whose licence was believed to date back to 1524. It was rebuilt in 1836, when a hall or concert room was added to the premises. Performances there began to take the form later recognised as early music-hall; the rooms became known as Turnham's after the owner and license ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Game For A Laugh
''Game for a Laugh'' was a British light entertainment programme which ran for 56 editions and four specials between 26 September 1981 and 23 November 1985, made by LWT for the ITV network. Description The show revolved around a variety of practical jokes, either in game-type formats played out within the studio or as often elaborate set-ups on unsuspecting members of the public, either studio-based or shot on location. Studio games included the Dunk Tank (the victim would be lowered into a tank of water) and Pie Chair (a volunteer would be pied when answering a question wrong.) Other games would involve couples from the audience and climaxed with the woman throwing a custard pie at her husband or boyfriend, giggling mischievously at her handiwork and being allowed to escape without even the suggestion of payback. Each segment would end with the victim being made aware of the joke by a presenter, who would then announce that the person had proved to be "game for a laugh". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isla St Clair
Isla St Clair (born 2 May 1952 as Isabella Margaret Dyce) is a Scotland, Scottish singer. Life Isla St Clair was born in Grangemouth, central Scotland, in 1952; her mother was Zetta Sinclair. Her family came from northeast Scotland and it was here that she spent her early years. It was in Findochty that she gave her first stage performances, aged three years, at her mother's Brownie concertsSt Clair, Isla & Turnbull, David (1981) ''The Song and the Story''. London: Pelham Books ; p. 6 and with the local Salvation Army. In 1955 the family moved to Minshull Vernon, Bradfield Green, near Crewe in Cheshire, before moving back to Scotland in 1960. Zetta Sinclair, Isla's mother, was a talented songwriter and poet, and became a founding member of the Aberdeen Folk Club. The young Isla accompanied her mother to the club where they would both sing. At the club she came to the attention of a BBC producer. She was twelve years old when she sang on her first television programme ''Talk of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium''. He went on to host several game shows, including ''The Generation Game'', ''Play Your Cards Right'', ''The Price Is Right'' and ''You Bet!''. He co-presented ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2013. In 2012, ''Guinness World Records'' recognised Forsyth as having the longest television career for a male entertainer. Early life Forsyth was born on Victoria Road in Edmonton, Middlesex on 22 February 1928, the son of Florence Ada (''née'' Pocknell) and John Thomas Forsyth-Johnson. His family owned a car repair garage and, as members of the Salvation Army, his parents played brass instruments; his mother was a singer. His great-grandfather Joseph Forsyth Johnson (1840–1906) was a landscape architect who work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crossroads Motel
''Crossroads'' (later known as ''Crossroads Motel'' and ''Crossroads King's Oak'') is a British television 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, Central Independent Television until 1988. The series was revived by Carlton Television in 2001; however, due to low ratings it was cancelled again in 2003. Storylines 1964–1988 The original premise of ''Crossroads'' is based around two feuding sisters, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. They are split into the West Midlands and East Midlands. The region's biggest city, Birmingham often considered the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands, is the second-largest city and metropolitan area in the United Kingdom. Symbolism A saltire (diagonal cross) may have been used as a symbol of Mercia as early as the reign of Offa. By the 13th century, the saltire had become the attributed arms of the Kingdom of Mercia. The arms are blazoned ''Azure, a saltire Or'', meaning a gold (or yellow) saltire on a blue field. The saltire is used as both a flag and a coat of arms. As a flag, it is flown from Tamworth Castle, the ancient seat of the Mercian Kings, to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979). The label changed its name to PRT Records (distributing as Precision Records & Tapes) in 1980, before being briefly reactivated as Pye Records in 2006. History The Pye Company originally manufactured televisions and radios. Its main plant was situated off what used to be Haig Road, in Cambridge, and it entered the record business when it bought Nixa Records in 1953. In 1955, the company acquired Polygon Records, a label that had been established by Leslie Clark and Alan A. Freeman to control distribution of the recordings of the former's daughter, Petula Clark. Pye merged it with Nixa Records to form Pye Nixa Records. Pye International In 1958, Pye International Records was established. The company licensed record ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shut That Door!
''Shut That Door!'' is a British comedy talk show hosted by Larry Grayson. Produced from 1972 to 1977, it aired on ATV and was seen in many ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ... regions, though only one episode is known to survive. References External links * British English-language television shows ITV talk shows ITV comedy 1972 British television series debuts 1977 British television series endings 1970s British comedy television series Television series by ITV Studios 1970s British television talk shows {{UK-comedy-tv-prog-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 when, in partnership, he successfully bid for franchises in the newly created ITV network, which led to the creation of Associated Television (ATV). Having worked for a time in the United States, he was aware of the potential for the sale of television programming to American networks. The Incorporated Television Company (ITC; commonly known as ITC Entertainment) was formed with this specific objective in mind. Grade had some success in this field with such series as Gerry Anderson's many Supermarionation series such as '' Thunderbirds'', Patrick McGoohan's ''The Prisoner'', and Jim Henson's ''The Muppet Show''. Later, Grade invested in feature film production, but several expensive box-office failures caused him to lose control of ITC, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Associated Television
Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and to the Midlands all week from 1968 to 1982. It was one of the " Big Four" until 1968, and the "Big Five" after 1968, that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes. In 1982, ATV was restructured and rebranded as Central Independent Television, under which name it continued to provide the service for the Midlands. ATV was awarded its first franchise by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide the Independent Television service at weekends for the London region. This service started on Saturday, 24 September 1955, the second ITA franchise to go on air, and was extended until Sunday, 28 July 1968. ATV was also awarded the franchise to provide the weekdays Independent Television service for the Midlands region ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1988–1997), Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC (2004–2006), and executive chairman of ITV plc (2007–2009). Since 2011, he has been a Conservative Party life peer in the House of Lords. In April 2022, it was announced by the Government that Grade would take up his four year appointment as Chairman of Ofcom from May 2022 and would move to the crossbenches in the House of Lords at the earliest practical opportunity. Early life Grade was born into a Jewish show business family originally called Winogradsky; his father was the theatrical agent Leslie Grade and his uncles were the impresarios Lew Grade and Bernard Delfont. When he was three years old his mother Lynn Smith left the family to conduct a relationship with wrestlin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
