Pieces Of Eight (1959 Revue)
''Pieces of Eight'' was a British musical comedy revue with sketches written by Peter Cook, music by Laurie Johnson and starring Kenneth Williams and Fenella Fielding. The revue premiered at the Apollo Theatre, 23 September 1959 directed by Paddy Stone. Sets and costumes were designed by Tony Walton, lighting by Richard Pilbrow. Additional music was supplied by Sandy Wilson. The show also featured sketches written by Harold Pinter (unconnected to Pinter's later one-act play for a compendium of 8 plays by 8 playwrights also called ''Pieces of Eight'' which played in the US in 1982-1983), John Law and Lance Mulcahy.Plays and Players - Volume 7 1959 From the Apollo to the Fireside Pieces of Eight. An intimate revue with sketches by Peter Cook and additional material by Harold Pinter, Sandy Wilson, John Law and Lance Mulcahy. Directed by Paddy Stone. The full cast included Myra de Groot, Peter Reeves, Josephine Blake, Terence Theobald, Valerie Walsh, Peter Brett and the Frank Horrox Qu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pieces Of Eight (1959 Revue)
''Pieces of Eight'' was a British musical comedy revue with sketches written by Peter Cook, music by Laurie Johnson and starring Kenneth Williams and Fenella Fielding. The revue premiered at the Apollo Theatre, 23 September 1959 directed by Paddy Stone. Sets and costumes were designed by Tony Walton, lighting by Richard Pilbrow. Additional music was supplied by Sandy Wilson. The show also featured sketches written by Harold Pinter (unconnected to Pinter's later one-act play for a compendium of 8 plays by 8 playwrights also called ''Pieces of Eight'' which played in the US in 1982-1983), John Law and Lance Mulcahy.Plays and Players - Volume 7 1959 From the Apollo to the Fireside Pieces of Eight. An intimate revue with sketches by Peter Cook and additional material by Harold Pinter, Sandy Wilson, John Law and Lance Mulcahy. Directed by Paddy Stone. The full cast included Myra de Groot, Peter Reeves, Josephine Blake, Terence Theobald, Valerie Walsh, Peter Brett and the Frank Horrox Qu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishment comedic movement that emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s. Born in Torquay, he was educated at the University of Cambridge. There he became involved with the Footlights Club, of which he later became president. After graduating he created the comedy stage revue '' Beyond the Fringe'', beginning a long-running partnership with Dudley Moore. In 1961, Cook opened the comedy club The Establishment in Soho, Central London. In 1965, Cook and Moore began a television career, beginning with '' Not Only... But Also''. Cook’s deadpan monologues contrasted with Moore’s buffoonery. They received the 1966 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance. Following the success of the show, the duo appeared together ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Laurie Johnson
Laurence Reginald Ward Johnson, (born 7 February 1927) is an English composer and bandleader who has written scores for dozens of film and television series and has been one of the most highly regarded arrangers of instrumental pop and swing music since the 1950s with works often serving as stock production music. Career Johnson was born in Hampstead, England, and studied at the Royal College of Music in London, and spent four years in the Coldstream Guards before moving to the entertainment industry in the 1950s. One of his first major projects was as composer and music director in a musical adaptation of Henry Fielding's ''Rape Upon Rape'', entitled '' Lock Up Your Daughters'' (1959), which opened in Bernard Miles' Mermaid Theatre. The score, with lyrics by Lionel Bart, won an Ivor Novello Award. Johnson's stage work included music for the Peter Cook revue, ''Pieces of Eight'' (1959), and '' The Four Musketeers'' (1967), starring Harry Secombe. In 1961, Johnson entered the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films, and appeared in many British television programmes and radio comedies, including series with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne, as well as being a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's comedy panel show ''Just a Minute'' from its second series in 1968 until his death 20 years later. Williams grew up in Central London in a working-class family; he claimed his father spoke cockney. He served in the Royal Engineers during World War II, where he first became interested in becoming an entertainer. After a short spell in repertory theatre as a serious actor, he turned to comedy and achieved national fame in ''Hancock's Half Hour''. He sustained continued success throughout the 1960s and 1970s with his regular app ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fenella Fielding
Fenella Fielding, OBE (born Fenella Marion Feldman; 17 November 1927 – 11 September 2018) was an English stage, film and television actress who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, and was often referred to as "England's first lady of the double entendre". She was known for her seductive image and distinctively husky voice. Fielding appeared in two ''Carry On'' films, '' Carry On Regardless'' (1961) and ''Carry On Screaming!'' (1966). Early life and education Fenella Marion Feldman was born on 17 November 1927 in Hackney, London, to a Romanian Jewish mother, Tilly (' Katz; 1902–1977), and a Lithuanian Jewish father, Philip Feldman. She was the younger sister of Basil, later Baron Feldman. She grew up in Lower Clapton and later Edgware where she attended North London Collegiate School. Her father at one time managed a cinema in Silvertown, east London. She later resided in Chiswick, west London. Career Fielding began her acting career in 1952, concentrating on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.English Heritage listing accessed 28 April 2007 Designed by the architect Lewin Sharp for owner , it became the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street when it opened its doors on 21 February 1901, with the American '' [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tony Walton
Anthony John Walton (24 October 1934 – 2 March 2022) was a British set and costume designer. He won three Tony Awards for his work on ''Pippin'' (1973), ''House of Blue Leaves'' (1986), and ''Guys and Dolls'' (1992). For his work in movies he won an Oscar, for '' All That Jazz'' (1979), and for his work in television he won an Emmy, for the 1985 TV version of ''Death of a Salesman''. In addition he received three more Academy Award nominations for his work in ''Mary Poppins'' (1964), ''Murder on the Orient Express'' (1974), and ''The Wiz'' (1978). Early life Walton was born in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on 24 October 1934. His father, Lancelot, was an orthopedic surgeon and his mother, Hilda, was a homemaker. He fell in love with the theatre as child when on a family trip to a pantomime. At the age of 12, he met Julie Andrews after he had watched her in a performance of Humpty Dumpty in the West End. She was 11 at the time. He found her number in the telephone book ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sandy Wilson
Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953). Biography Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Harrow School. In 1942 he won a State Scholarship for a wartime course at SOAS and was assigned to study Japanese. He was thus one of the so-called 'Dulwich Boys' who studied at SOAS and boarded at Dulwich College. While there he put together a satirical review titled 'A Matter of Course' based on his experiences on the Japanese course. He was one of the few not to complete the course and he subsequently served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in Great Britain, Egypt and Iraq. After the war he went to Oriel College, Oxford and while a student wrote revues for the Oxford University Experimental Theatre Club and then attended the Old Vic Theatre School on a production course. Most of his work for the stage was material for revues, such as Hermione ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include '' The Birthday Party'' (1957), ''The Homecoming'' (1964) and ''Betrayal'' (1978), each of which he adapted for the screen. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include ''The Servant'' (1963), ''The Go-Between'' (1971), ''The French Lieutenant's Woman'' (1981), ''The Trial'' (1993) and ''Sleuth'' (2007). He also directed or acted in radio, stage, television and film productions of his own and others' works. Pinter was born and raised in Hackney, east London, and educated at Hackney Downs School. He was a sprinter and a keen cricket player, acting in school plays and writing poetry. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but did not complete the course. He was fined for refus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Law (writer)
John Law (11 November 1929 – 5 January 1970) was a British comedy writer for television, who created the Class sketch for ''The Frost Report''. Life Law was born 11 November 1929, in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. He married Beryl Kaye (1919–2010) a dancer and choreographer, and died 5 January 1970, aged 40. Work He wrote for many TV comedy series, including ''It's a Square World'' and ''The Frost Report'', working with Michael Bentine and Marty Feldman. He also worked on the screenplay for the James Bond spoof film ''Casino Royale (1967 film), Casino Royale'', having been recruited for this project by Peter Sellers. References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Law, John 1929 births 1970 deaths Writers from Paisley, Renfrewshire Scottish comedy writers Scottish television writers 20th-century screenwriters ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lance Mulcahy
Lance Mulcahy (17 April 1931 – 26 January 1995) was an Australian-born composer of musicals and revue. Biography Mulcahy began his career in the 1950s writing for intimate revue, notably for the Phillip Street Theatre in Sydney. In the UK, he contributed to the West End revues ''Pieces of Eight'' (1959), ''On The Brighter Side'' (1961) and ''One Over The Eight'' (1961). He composed the chamber musical ''Park'' with book and lyrics by Paul Cherry, which played on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre in April 1970. His revue ''Shakespeare's Cabaret'', which he conceived of and composed to words of Shakespeare, was performed at the off-Broadway Colonnades Theatre and transferred to the Bijou Theatre on Broadway in early 1981. Mulcahy was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Original Score The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical or play in that year. The score consists of music ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Myra De Groot
Myra Tania De Groot (4 July 1937 – 4 April 1988) was a British-born theatre and television actress, and agent. She performed in the United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand and Australia. Professional career De Groot was born in Westminster, London, England, and performed as a child, from everything from a magician's assistant to a dancer, eventually appearing in West End comedy. Arriving in America from Britain in 1958 she appeared in roles for most of the 1960s there, appearing on TV series including ''Bewitched'', ''The Monkees'', ''Perry Mason'', and ''Here Come the Brides''. She performed at the noted New York cabaret "Upstairs at The Downstairs" in ''Ben Bagleys last review (''Seven Come Eleven'') in 1962 with Hal Buckley, Nancy Preiser and Cy Young. She left America and then resided in New Zealand between 1972–1980, where she appeared in many theatre roles and the 1978 film ''Angel Mine''. She also directed stage plays. Her latter career was based in Australia, afte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |