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Lizbeth Webb
Betty Ethel Holton (30 January 1926 – 17 January 2013), better known by her stage name, Lizbeth Webb, was an English soprano and stage actress. Known as "the champagne soprano", she is remembered partly for originating the song "This Is My Lovely Day". After performing as a dance band vocalist and entertaining British troops during World War II, Webb pursued a career in West End musicals, becoming known for her vivaciousness in playing such roles as Lucy Willow in '' Bless the Bride'', Linda in Ivor Novello's '' Gay's the Word'' and Sarah Brown in ''Guys and Dolls''. She married Colonel Guy Campbell, the heir to a baronetcy, and left the stage in the late 1950s, bringing up two sons but returning for a last engagement in the title role of ''The Merry Widow'' in 1969. Early life and career Webb was born in Reading, Berkshire, the last of three children of Frederick Holton, a locomotive engine driver, and his wife Ethel, ''née'' Strutt (1895–1926). Webb's mother died in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bless The Bride
''Bless the Bride'' is a musical with music by Vivian Ellis and a book and lyrics by A. P. Herbert, the third of five musicals they wrote together. The story is about an English girl who elopes with a debonair French actor; he goes off to serve in the Franco-Prussian War, and his friend, who bears a grudge against the English, tells his bride that he has been killed in action. The musical is remembered as Ellis's best work and for the recordings of "This is my lovely day" and "I was never kissed before", with the original stars Lizbeth Webb and Georges Guétary. The original production opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 26 April 1947 and ran for 886 performances. A revival was presented in London as Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1987. Original production The show was Charles B. Cochran's 125th production. Cochran had signed 19-year-old Adele Leigh as the lead, but the next day the new Royal Opera offered her principal roles. After much negotiation, Cochran released her from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Hall (bandleader)
Henry Robert Hall, CBE (2 May 1898 – 28 October 1989) was an English bandleader who performed regularly on BBC Radio during the British dance band era of the 1920s and 1930s, through to the 1960s. Early life and career Henry Hall was born in Peckham, South London, England. He won a scholarship to Trinity College of Music where he studied trumpet, piano, harmony and counterpoint. His first job was as copyist at the head office of the Salvation Army for which he wrote several marches. During World War I, Hall served with the Royal Field Artillery, and played trumpet and piano in the regimental band. Hall's musical career was slow to start but eventually he was engaged by the London Midland and Scottish Railway to take charge of music throughout their then large chain of hotels, including Gleneagles Hotel, where he had previously led the band. Hall describes in his autobiography, ''Here's to the Next Time'', that on a Thursday in October 1923 he met a young woman, Margery Hark ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mantovani
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980) was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' stated that he was "Britain's most successful album act before the Beatles ... the first act to sell over one million stereo albums and avesix albums simultaneously in the US Top 30 in 1959". Biography Mantovani was born in Venice, Italy, into a musical family. His father, Benedetto Paolo "Bismarck" Mantovani, was a violinist and served as the concertmaster of La Scala opera house's orchestra in Milan, under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. The family moved to England in 1912, where young Annunzio studied at Trinity College of Music in London. After graduation, he formed his own orchestra, which played in and around Birmingham. He married Winifred Moss in 1934, having two children: Kenneth (born 12 July 1935) and Paula Irene (born 11 April 1939) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), as well as the life president of Chelsea FC. He joined the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and served in the film unit, going on several bombing raids over Europe and filming the action from the rear gunner's position. He was the older brother of broadcaster Sir David Attenborough and motor executive John Attenborough. He was married to actress Sheila Sim from 1945 until his death. As an actor, he is best remembered for his film roles in '' Brighton Rock'' (1948), ''I'm All Right Jack'' (1959), '' The Great Escape'' (1963), ''The Sand Pebbles'' (1966), ''Doctor Dolittle'' (1967), '' 10 Rillington Place'' (1971), '' Jurassic Park'' (1993), and ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1994). In 1952 he appeared on the West En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermione Gingold
Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold (; 9 December 189724 May 1987) was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and early 1930s. After a successful career as a child actress, she established herself on the stage as an adult, playing in comedy, drama and experimental theatre, and radio broadcasting. She found her milieu in revue, which she played from the 1930s to the 1950s, co-starring several times with the English actress Hermione Baddeley. Later she played formidable elderly characters in such films and stage musicals as '' Gigi'' (1958), ''Bell, Book and Candle'' (1958), ''The Music Man'' (1962) and ''A Little Night Music'' (1973). From the early 1950s Gingold lived and made her career mostly in the U.S. Her American stage work ranged from ''John Murray Anderson's Almanac'' (1953) to ''Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonnie Hale
John Robert Hale-Monro (1 May 1902 – 9 June 1959), known as Sonnie Hale, was an English actor, screenwriter, and director. Early life John Robert Hale-Monro was born in Kensington, London, the son of Belle Reynolds and actor Robert Hale. His sister, Binnie Hale, was also an actress. Hale was educated at Beaumont College."Mr. Sonnie Hale." Times ondon, England10 June 1959: 14. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 August 2016. Career He worked chiefly in musical and revue theatre, but also acted in several films with occasional screenwriting or directing credits. He first performed on stage at the London Pavilion in 1921 in the chorus of the revue ''Fun of the Fayre''. A major personal investment in a show to tour the country planned for late 1939 proved financially ruinous due to the outbreak of war and the subsequent closure of most theatres. His slight acquaintance Evelyn Waugh advised him against such an investment. His reply was reported to be the sardonic "War is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', ''Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout''''. Early life and career Monkhouse was born on 1 June 1928 at 168 Bromley Road, Beckenham, Kent, the son of chartered accountant Wilfred Adrian Monkhouse (1894–1957) and Dorothy Muriel Monkhouse (''née'' Hansard, 1895–1971). Monkhouse had an elder brother, John, who was born in 1922. Monkhouse's grandfather John Monkhouse (1862–1938) was a prosperous Methodist businessman who co-founded Monk and Glass, which made custard powder and jelly. In a 2015 documentary, it was revealed that Monkhouse and his older brother suffered from physical and verbal abuse by their mother. Bob Monkhouse was educated at Goring Hall School in Worthing, Sussex, and Dulwich College in south London, from which he was expelled for climbing the clock tower. While st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Buchanan
Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by ''The Times'' as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in America for his role in the classic Hollywood musical ''The Band Wagon'' in 1953. Biography Buchanan was born in Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, the son of Walter John Buchanan Sr (1865–1902), auctioneer, and his wife, Patricia, ''née'' McWatt (1860–1936).Spicer, Andrew H"Buchanan, Walter John (1890–1957)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, January 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2008 He was educated at the Glasgow Academy. Early career After a brief attempt to follow his late father's profession and a failure at acting in Glasgow, he became a music hall comedian u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diana Dors
Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was promoted by her first husband, Dennis Hamilton, mostly in sex film-comedies and risqué modelling. After it was revealed that Hamilton had been defrauding her, she continued to play up to her established image, and she made tabloid headlines with the parties reportedly held at her house. Later, she showed talent as a performer on TV, in recordings, and in cabaret, and gained new public popularity as a regular chat-show guest. She also gave well-regarded film performances at different points in her career. According to David Thomson, "Dors represented that period between the end of the war and the coming of Lady Chatterley in paperback, a time when sexuality was naughty, repressed and fit to burst." Early life Diana Mary Fluck was born in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety Bandbox
''Variety Bandbox'' is a BBC Radio variety show transmitted initially in the General Forces Programme and then the Light Programme. Featuring a mixture of comic performances and music, the show helped to launch the careers of a number of leading British performers. Presented by Philip Slessor, it became a feature of Sunday evenings for more than eight years between February 1944 and September 1952. Hosting duties would later be taken over by Derek Roy. Amongst those who launched their careers on the show was Frankie Howerd, who first appeared on ''Variety Bandbox'' in 1947 following a provincial tour. Howerd was to become a fixture of the show and honed his catch phrase-driven comedic style in these appearances. Tony Hancock also featured on the show early in his career. March 1950 saw the debut of a fortnightly series within the show called ''Blessem Hall'' which featured several characters voiced by a young Peter Sellers in one of his earliest performances, alongside Miriam K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaleidoscope (British TV Series)
''Kaleidoscope'' was a British television programme, transmitted on BBC Television Service from 1946 until 1953. A light entertainment show, it was one of the most popular programmes of the immediate post-war era. The first episode was transmitted on 22 November 1946; thereafter, it was usually transmitted at 8:30pm on Friday evenings. Initially, it was a thirty-minute broadcast airing every other week, alternating with the early sitcom ''Pinwright's Progress'', but later in its run, the episodes increased to one hour. The programme had a variety of different features, including 'Collector's Corner,' in which antiques expert Iris Brooke would show various items of interest; 'Word Play,' a charades game performed by young actors and actresses from the Rank Organisation's "Company of Youth," also known as the "Charm School;" the 'Memory Man' ( Leslie Welch) and 'Be Your Own Detective,' a series of short thrillers designed to test the viewers' powers of observation, written by Mile ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
