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Relative Values (play)
''Relative Values'' is a three-act comedy by Noël Coward. A satire of snobbery in all its guises, it deals with the clash of cultures between Hollywood stars and the English aristocracy, and with "the ancient and inaccurate assumption that, as we are equal in the eyes of God, we should be equal in the eyes of our fellow creatures." It was first produced in London in 1951 with success, enjoyed several revivals and was made into a film in 2000. Background Coward had been entertaining the troops and the home front during World War II, and since '' Blithe Spirit'' in 1941 he had not written any comedies (other than musicals). It seemed, after the war, that his idiom of "gay insouciance" was out of fashion. ''Relative Values'' marked his return to comic playwriting.Orman, Tony"About Noël Coward" Bournemouth Little Theatre News, 13 May 1999 It also came as Coward was just beginning a new career, for it opened just a few days after his personal triumph in his first "cabaret" show a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise"."Noel Coward at 70" ''Time'', 26 December 1969, p. 46 Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as '' |
Patricia Hodge
Patricia Ann Hodge, OBE (born 29 September 1946) is an English actor. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in ''Jemima Shore Investigates'' (1983), Penny in '' Miranda'' (2009–2015) and Mrs Pumphrey in '' All Creatures Great and Small'' (2021–present). Hodge made her West End debut in 1972 and the next year starred in the West End production of ''Pippin'' directed by Bob Fosse. Hodge has received two nominations for the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and in 2000, she won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the play ''Money''. Her other screen credits include the 1983 film ''Betrayal'', the 1986 TV adaptation of ''The Life and Loves of a She-Devil'', and the TV film ''Hotel du Lac'' (1986). For her role in ''Hotel du Lac'', Hodge received a nomination for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress. Early life Hodge was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. The daug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bow Bells
The Church of St Mary-le-Bow is a Church of England parish church in the City of London. Located on Cheapside, one of the city's oldest and most important thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080 by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Rebuilt several times over the ensuing centuries, the present church is the work of Sir Christopher Wren, widely acknowledged to be one of his finest creations. With its tall spire, it is still a landmark in the City of London, being the third highest of any Wren church, surpassed only by nearby St Paul's Cathedral and St Bride's, Fleet Street. At a cost of over £15,000, it was also his second most expensive, again only surpassed by St Paul's Cathedral. St Mary-le-Bow is internationally famous for its bells, which also feature in the nursery rhyme 'Oranges and Lemons'. According to legend, Dick Whittington heard the bells calling him back to the city in 1392, leading him to become Lord Mayor. Today, anyone born within earshot of the bells is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or born within earshot of Bow Bells, although it most commonly refers to the broad variety of English native to London. Estuary English is an intermediate accent between Cockney and Received Pronunciation, also widely spoken in and around London, as well as in wider southeastern England. In multicultural areas of London, the Cockney dialect is, to an extent, being replaced by Multicultural London English—a new form of speech with significant Cockney influence. Words and phrases Etymology of Cockney The earliest recorded use of the term is 1362 in passus VI of William Langland's ''Piers Plowman'', where it is used to mean "a small, misshapen egg", from Middle English ''coken'' + ''ey'' ("a cock's egg"). Concurrently, the mythical land of l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh McDermott (actor)
Hugh Patrick McDermott (20 March 1906 – 29 January 1972) was a British professional golfer turned actor who made a number of film, stage and television performances between 1936 and 1972. He specialised in playing Americans, so much so that most British film fans had no idea that he was actually Scottish. Biography He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1906, and was educated in Davidson's Mains. Initially an instructor at the Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh, he later toured South and Central America and won the Central America Open and later helped design a course in Guatemala. A trip to the United States kindled his interest in the film industry, and he made his screen debut in ''Well Done, Henry'' and followed it up with an appearance as HM Stanley in ''David Livingstone''. In 1939 he appeared in the West End in N.C. Hunter's comedy ''Grouse in June''. He made his final appearance in ''Chato's Land'' on film, and in ''The Amorous Prawn'' on stage in Edinburgh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Michael
Ralph Michael (26 September 1907 – 9 November 1994) was an English actor. He was born as Ralph Champion Shotter in London. His film appearances included ''Dead of Night'', ''A Night to Remember (1958 film), A Night to Remember'', ''Children of the Damned'', ''Grand Prix (1966 film), Grand Prix'', ''The Assassination Bureau'' and ''Empire of the Sun (film), Empire of the Sun''. Television credits include: ''The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series), The Adventures of Robin Hood'', ''A Tale of Two Cities'', ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''Danger Man'', ''Kessler (TV series), Kessler'', ''The Forsyte Saga (1967 TV series), The Forsyte Saga'', ''Man in a Suitcase'', ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'', ''Colditz (1972 TV series), Colditz'', ''Doctor at Large (TV series), Doctor at Large'', ''Gazette (TV series), Gazette'', ''Public Eye (TV series), Public Eye'', ''Sutherland's Law'', ''Softly, Softly (TV series), Softly, Softly'', ''The Professionals (TV series), The Profession ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Lack
Simon Lack (19 December 19138 August 1980) was a Scottish actor. He was born Alexander MacAlpine, in Cleland, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Known locally as Alec, he was the youngest child and only son of his father, Alexander McAlpine (known as Sandy) and his mother, Euphemia Ritchie. His sisters were Charlotte (Lottie), Mary, Euphemia (Euphie), Agnes (Nan), and Jenny. Another sister, Jessie, died in childhood. Sandy McAlpine was a stonemason but worked down the mines when there was no masonry work available, making Simon Lack's later role in Proud Valley particularly poignant to those who knew him from his youth. Euphemia Ritchie's family were somewhat wealthier, but she was disowned on account of her choice of husband, and the family lived for many years in a one-room flat (known in Scottish working class language as a 'single end'), although it seems eventually one of her uncles relented and came to their aid. Alec's earliest ventures into acting were in local theatres. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Leech
Richard Leeper McClelland (24 November 1922 – 24 March 2004), known professionally as Richard Leech, was an Irish actor. Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Isabella Frances (Leeper) and Herbert Saunderson McClelland, a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Dublin, and qualified as a doctor in 1945. He worked in that profession from 1945–6, then became a full-time actor. His numerous film credits include '' The Dam Busters'' (1955) (playing Dinghy Young), ''Night of the Demon'' (1957), '' Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst'' (1957), ''Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), ''Tunes of Glory'' (1960), ''Young Winston'' (1972), ''Gandhi'' (1982) and the acclaimed ''The Shooting Party'' (1985). On television Richard Leech appeared in ''Dickens of London'', ''The Barchester Chronicles'', ''Smiley's People'', three episodes of '' The Avengers'' in different roles, ''Redcap'', ''Danger Man'', '' The Doctors'', '' The New Avengers' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Baldwin
William Joseph Baldwin (born February 21, 1963), Note: While birthplace is routinely listed as Massapequa, that town has no hospital, and brother Alec Baldwin was born in nearby Amityville, which does. known also as Billy Baldwin,is an American actor. A member of the Baldwin family, he is the second-youngest Baldwin of the four Baldwin brothers. He has starred in the films ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Backdraft'' (1991), ''Sliver'' (1993), ''Virus'' (1999), ''The Squid and the Whale'' (2005), ''Forgetting Sarah Marshall'', in which he portrayed himself, and the Netflix show '' Northern Rescue'' (2019). Baldwin is married to singer Chynna Phillips. Early life Baldwin was born in Massapequa, New York, the son of Carol Newcomb (née Martineau), founder oThe Baldwin Fundand Alexander Rae Baldwin, Jr. His father was a high school history/social studies teacher and football coach. He is the brother of actors Alec, Daniel, and Stephen, sometimes collectively known as the Baldwin brother ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeanne Tripplehorn
Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn (born June 10, 1963) is an American actress. She began her career on stage, acting in several plays throughout the early 1990s, including Anton Chekhov's '' Three Sisters'' on Broadway. Her film career began with the role of a police psychologist in the erotic thriller ''Basic Instinct'' (1992). Her other film roles include '' The Firm'' (1993), ''Waterworld'' (1995) and ''Sliding Doors'' (1998). On television, she starred as Barbara Henrickson on the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' (2006–2011) and as Dr. Alex Blake on the CBS police drama ''Criminal Minds'' (2012–2014), and she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the 2009 HBO movie ''Grey Gardens''. Early life Tripplehorn was born on June 10, 1963, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Suzanne Ferguson and Tom Tripplehorn, who was once a guitarist with Gary Lewis & the Playboys. Her parents divorced when she was two years old. She graduated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Firth
Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A Month in the Country'' (1987), ''Tumbledown'' (1988) and '' Valmont'' (1989). His portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's ''Pride and Prejudice'' led to widespread attention, and to roles in more prominent films such as ''The English Patient'' (1996), ''Shakespeare in Love'' (1998), ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' (2001), ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' (2002), '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'' (2003), Richard Curtis's romantic comedy ensemble film ''Love Actually'' (2003), and the musical comedy '' Mamma Mia!'' (2008) and its sequel, ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!'' (2018). In 2009, Firth received international acclaim for his performance in Tom Ford's ''A Single Man'', for which he won a BAFTA Award and recei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julie Andrews
Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards and six Golden Globe Awards. She has also received three Tony Award nominations. Andrews was made a Disney Legend in 1991, and has been honoured with an Honorary Golden Lion, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2007, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2022. In 2000, Andrews was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the performing arts. Andrews, a child actress and singer, appeared in the West End in 1948 and made her Broadway debut in '' The Boy Friend'' (1954). Billed as "Britain's youngest prima donna", she rose to prominence starring in Broadway musicals such as ''My Fair Lady'' (1956) playing Eliza Doolittle and ''Camelot'' (1960) playing Quee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
