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Nicholas Smith (actor)
Nicholas John Smith (5 March 1934 – 6 December 2015) was an English comedian and actor. He appeared in the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'', playing original character Mr (Cuthbert) Rumbold, the manager of the fictional Grace Brothers department store. Early life Smith, the son of a chartered surveyor, attended a preparatory school and St John's School, Leatherhead. He learned to play musical instruments, studied singing and trained as an actor at RADA. He then appeared in repertory theatres, on the West End stage, at the Bristol Old Vic and on Broadway. Roles Smith's earliest TV roles were as a non-speaking extra in various ITV programmes. He had his first speaking role in the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' (1964). Smith persuaded the serial's director, Richard Martin, to expand the role so that his character, Wells, appeared in three of the serial's six episodes instead of only one or two as originally scripted. This was followed by small rol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banstead
Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main compass points separated from other settlements by open area buffers with Metropolitan Green Belt status. Banstead Downs, although a fragment of its larger historic area and spread between newer developments, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). One of the Banstead wards is "Banstead Village". The civil parish was abolished when Banstead Urban District was created. Both included many outlying parts as well as the main settlement. The contiguous ward of Nork, which contains Banstead station, shares in many amenities of Banstead and is included in county-level population analyses of Banstead but not the central-government-drawn Banstead Built-up Area. The latter takes in Burgh Heath and held 15,469 residents as at the 2011 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ace Of Wands (TV Series)
''Ace of Wands'' is a British fantasy children's television show broadcast on ITV between 1970 and 1972. It was created by Trevor Preston and Pamela Lonsdale and produced by Thames Television. It ran for two seasons of thirteen episodes, and a third season of twenty. Premise The title, taken from the name of a tarot card, describes the principal character, called Tarot (played by Michael MacKenzie), who combined stage magic with real supernatural powers and fought various evildoers. Tarot owned a pet owl named Ozymandias played by Fred Owl. Plot In the first two series, Tarot is assisted by Sam Maxstead (Tony Selby), a reformed convict, and by the orphan Lillian "Lulli" Palmer (Judy Loe). Lulli shares a telepathic link with Tarot, which enables them to communicate over great distances. After having to leave the programme because of prior commitments, in the final series, this pair were replaced by brother and sister Chas (Roy Holder), a photographer, and Mikki (Petra Markham), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Twelve Chairs (1970 Film)
''The Twelve Chairs'' is a 1970 American comedy film directed and written by Mel Brooks and starring Frank Langella, Ron Moody, and Dom DeLuise. The film was one of at least 18 film adaptations of the Russian 1928 novel ''The Twelve Chairs'' by Ilf and Petrov. Plot In the Soviet Union in 1927, Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, an impoverished aristocrat from Imperial Russia now working as a local village bureaucrat, is summoned to the deathbed of his mother-in-law. She reveals before dying that a fortune in jewels had been hidden from the Bolsheviks by being sewn into the seat cushion of one of the twelve chairs from the family's dining room set. After hearing the dying woman's confession, the Russian Orthodox priest Father Fyodor, who had arrived to administer the last rites, decides to abandon the Church and attempt to steal the treasure for himself. Shortly afterwards in the town of Stargorod, where Vorobyaninov's former mansion is located, a homeless con-artist, Ostap Bender ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Walk With Love And Death
''A Walk with Love and Death'' is a 1969 American adventure drama historical romance war film directed by John Huston and starring Anjelica Huston and Assi Dayan. Plot The story is based on the 1961 novel by Hans Koningsberger, set at the time of the 1358 uprising of the peasants of northern France known as the Jacquerie. Heron of Fois (Assi Dayan), a student from Paris, crosses territory devastated by the upheaval and the ferocious reprisals of the nobility. He meets with Claudia (Anjelica Huston), the aristocratic daughter of a royal official killed by the peasants, and they attempt to reach Calais. In the novel Heron's intended final destination is Oxford University while in the film "the sea" less specifically comes to represent an abstract freedom. While differing in their views of the ''Jacquerie''—Heron sympathises with the exploited peasantry while Claudia sees their rising as mindless savagery—the young couple become lovers. In the end they fail to escape the chaotic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salt And Pepper (film)
''Salt and Pepper'' is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Richard Donner and starring Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Michael Bates, Ilona Rodgers and John Le Mesurier. It was shot at Shepperton Studios and on location in London and at Elvetham Hall in Hampshire. The film's sets were designed by the art director Don Mingaye. It was followed by a 1970 sequel '' One More Time'' directed by Jerry Lewis. Plot Chris Pepper (Lawford) and Charlie Salt (Davis) own a nightclub in Swinging London, operating under the suspicious eye of the intrepid Inspector Crabbe. One night, Pepper finds an Asian girl on the floor of the club. Assuming she's drunk or high, he makes a date with her and thinks she responds. It turns out the girl is dying, and her death sets off a chain of events that puts the unlucky Salt and Pepper onto a plot to overthrow the British government, with the girl's dying words the key. Cast * Sammy Davis Jr. as Charles Salt * Peter Lawford as Christopher Pepper * ... [...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 (actor), James Ellis (Bert Lynch) and Brian Blessed ("Fancy" Smith). Barlow and Watt were later spun into a separate series ''Softly, Softly (TV series), Softly, Softly''. Origin of the title The title comes from the radio call signs allocated by Lancashire Constabulary. Lancashire police divisions were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trevor Bannister
Trevor Gordon Bannister (14 August 193414 April 2011) was an English actor best known for having played the womanising junior salesman Mr Lucas in the sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1979, and for his role as Toby Mulberry Smith in the long-running sitcom ''Last of the Summer Wine'', from 2003 until it ended its run in 2010. Career In 1960, Bannister appeared on stage at the Cambridge Theatre in London in ''Billy Liar'', which starred Albert Finney. He starred as Darkie Pilbeam, a wartime spiv, in the 1968 television series '' The War of Darkie Pilbeam;'' from 1969 to 1970, he appeared as "Heavy Breathing" in Jack Rosenthal's sitcom, ''The Dustbinmen''. Shortly afterwards, he was asked to play Mr. Lucas in a ''Comedy Playhouse'' pilot called ''Are You Being Served?'' and took the part in the series. It was originally intended as a vehicle for him as the average man caught up in the store full of odd characters and baroque customs and, for the first four series, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Berry (actor)
Mike Berry (born Michael Hubert Bourne, 24 September 1942) is an English singer and actor. He is known for his top ten hits "Don't You Think It's Time" (1963) and "The Sunshine of Your Smile" (1980) in a singing career spanning nearly 60 years. He became an actor in the 1970s, and was best known for his appearances as Mr. Spooner on the British sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' in the early 1980s. Early life Berry was born in Northampton. His parents grew up in Rhodesia but met in England and his mother was an amateur actress and singer. Six months after his birth his mother moved with him to North Wales for two years. The family then moved to Stoke Newington where he attended William Pattern Primary School and passed his eleven plus exam, winning a scholarship to Hackney Downs Grocers' School. He left the school aged 16 without qualifications to become an apprentice compositor. Singer Berry was a fan of skiffle and rock and roll music as a teenager and he formed his own ski ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers politics, business, entertainment, environment, technology, popular media, lifestyle, culture, comedy, healthy living, women's interests, and local news featuring columnists. It was created to provide a progressive alternative to the conservative news websites such as the Drudge Report. The site offers content posted directly on the site as well as user-generated content via video blogging, audio, and photo. In 2012, the website became the first commercially run United States digital media enterprise to win a Pulitzer Prize. Founded by Andrew Breitbart, Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, the site was launched on May 9, 2005 as a counterpart to the Drudge Report. In March 2011, it was acquired by AOL for US$315&n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Thornton
Frank Thornton Ball (15 January 192116 March 2013), professionally known as Frank Thornton, was an English actor. He was known for playing Captain Peacock in ''Are You Being Served?'' and its sequel ''Grace & Favour'' (''Are You Being Served? Again!'') and as Herbert "Truly" Truelove in ''Last of the Summer Wine''. Early life Frank Thornton Ball was born in Dulwich, London, the son of Rosina Mary ( née Thornton) and William Ernest Ball. His father was an organist at St Stephen's Church, Sydenham Hill, where Frank learned to play the organ for a short while. Music proved too difficult for him, however, and he wanted to act from an early age. His father, who worked in a bank, wanted him to get a "proper" job, so he began working in insurance after leaving Alleyn's School. He soon enrolled at a small acting school, the London School of Dramatic Art, and took evening classes. After two years working at the insurance company, he was invited to become a day student at the acting sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grace & Favour
''Grace & Favour'' (American title: ''Are You Being Served? Again!'') is a British sitcom and a spin-off of ''Are You Being Served?'' that aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993. It was written by ''Are You Being Served?'' creators and writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft (TV producer), David Croft. History The idea of a spin-off was suggested by the cast of ''Are You Being Served?'' almost immediately after the original series ended in 1985. Lloyd and Croft liked the idea, but agreed that the department store format was exhausted and that any spin-off would require a change of location. Despite the enthusiasm of the original cast, it was almost seven years before Lloyd and Croft brought them back to television. The plot line that brought the cast from the store to the manor was considered remarkably topical, since it aired just a few months after the death of British publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, who was revealed to have borrowed heavily against his own employees' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Are You Being Served? (film)
''Are You Being Served?'' is a 1977 British comedy film based on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' (1972–1985), which follows the staff of the men's and women's clothing departments of the London Grace Brothers department store. The story is an adaptation of the successful stage version of the show, which played at Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The film was directed by Bob Kellett and the screenplay was by series creators and writers David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. The film also featured the performers from the television series, including Mollie Sugden, John Inman, Frank Thornton, Trevor Bannister, Arthur Brough, Wendy Richard and Nicholas Smith. Plot Mr Humphries is taking advantage of a staff discount on a blue rinse in the hairdressing dept. Mr Harman is demonstrating a new inflatable bikini to Miss Brahms and Mrs Slocombe. Mr Lucas is chastised by Captain Peacock for being late again. As Grace Brothers is being redecorated, the management sends the staff on a paid hol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
