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Stephen Lewis (actor)
Stephen Lewis (17 December 1926 – 12 August 2015), credited early in his career as Stephen Cato, was an English actor, comedian, director, screenwriter and playwright. He is best known for his roles as Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake in ''On the Buses'', Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway in ''Last of the Summer Wine'' and Harry Lambert in ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'', although he also appeared in numerous stage and film roles. Early life Lewis was born at All Saints Maternity Hospital in Poplar, London, England. He worked as a bricklayer, electrician's mate and carpenter, and also joined the Merchant Navy, before turning to acting. He was persuaded to go to a performance by the Theatre Workshop, under its director Joan Littlewood. It was common, after these performances, to invite members of the audience to meet the cast. He was invited to an audition, landed the part, and left the sea to become a member of the company. Stage Lewis made his West End theatre debut with the transfer of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
On The Buses
''On the Buses'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom that was broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Chesney and Wolfe, Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned three spin-off feature films and a stage version. Despite the writers' previous successes with ''The Rag Trade'' and ''Meet the Wife (TV series), Meet the Wife'' with the BBC, the corporation rejected ''On the Buses'', not seeing much comedy potential in a bus depot as a setting. The comedy partnership turned to Frank Muir, Head of Entertainment at London Weekend Television (LWT), who loved the idea; the show was accepted, and despite a poor critical reception became a hit with viewers. The series is centred on the working-class life of Stan Butler and Jack Harper, who are the crew of the Number 11 bus at the Luxton and District Motor Traction Company. The action mostly takes place at the Butler home and at the bus depot. Network On Air descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Grant (actor)
Robert St Clair Grant (14 April 19328 November 2003) was an English actor, comedian and writer, best known for playing bus conductor Jack Harper in the television sitcom ''On the Buses'', as well as its film spin-offs and stage version. Early life Grant was born in Hammersmith, West London, on 14April 1932, the son of Albert George Grant (19091985) and Florence (19092001), . He was educated at Aldenham School. Early career Grant trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, working in his spare time as a frozen food salesman and also (coincidentally, in view of his later career) as a bus driver. After doing national service in the Royal Artillery, he made his stage debut in 1952 as Sydney in ''Worm's Eye View'' at the Court Royal, Horsham. In 1954, he married Jean Hyett; the marriage would end in divorce. Grant's first London appearance was in ''The Good Soldier Schweik'' at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1956, and he spent several years at the Theatre Royal S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staircase (film)
''Staircase'' is a 1969 British comedy-drama film adaptation of a two-character play, also called '' Staircase'', by Charles Dyer. The film, like the play, is about an ageing gay couple who own a barber shop in the East End of London. They discuss their loving but often volatile past together and ponder their possible future without each other, as Charles is about to go on trial for dressing as a woman in public. The two main characters are named Charles Dyer (the name of the playwright/screenwriter) and Harry C. Leeds, which is an anagram of his name. Plot Cast * Richard Burton as Harry C. Leeds * Rex Harrison as Charles Dyer * Cathleen Nesbitt as Harry's mother * Beatrix Lehmann as Charles' mother * Avril Angers as Miss Ricard * Pat Heywood as Nurse * Stephen Lewis as Jack * Gwen Nelson as Matron * Neil Wilson as Policeman * Shelagh Fraser as Cub mistress * Dermot Kelly as Gravedigger * Jake Kavanagh as Choirboy * Gordon Heath as Postman * Michael Rogers as drag singer duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Negatives (1968 Film)
''Negatives'' is a 1968 British drama film directed by Peter Medak. Based on the 1961 novel ''Negatives'' by Peter Everett, it features Peter McEnery and Glenda Jackson as Theo and Vivien, a couple who act out their erotic fantasies by dressing up as the Edwardian murderer Hawley Harvey Crippen and his lover Ethel le Neve. Diane Cilento plays Reingard, a German photographer who becomes involved in their private world. Cast *Peter McEnery as Theo *Diane Cilento as Reingard *Glenda Jackson as Vivien * Billy Russell as Old Man *Norman Rossington as Auctioneer * Stephen Lewis as The Dealer *Maurice Denham as The Father Critical reception In ''The New York Times'', Vincent Canby found the film "so good in so many of its particulars that it is hard to believe that it finally goes so wrong with such a straight face...It actually is quite a good movie until it is taken over by the fantasies—and by the anxious hand of a young (31 years old) director who wants to make a meaningful fil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Prize Of Arms
''A Prize of Arms'' is a 1962 British crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Stanley Baker, Helmut Schmid, Patrick Magee and Tom Bell with early appearances by several actors including Fulton Mackay, Michael Ripper, Stephen Lewis, Geoffrey Palmer, Tom Adams and Rodney Bewes. Set in 1956, the film follows a criminal gang as it tries to rob an army pay convoy during the Suez Crisis. Plot Three criminals have hatched a plan to rob an army barracks. The troops are about to be dispatched to take part in a war in the Middle East and there is believed to be a large amount of pay on the premises, to be shipped out with them. The gang enters an army barracks, disguised as soldiers and proceeds to the pay corps headquarters where, under the guise of maintenance work, they make sure that the alarms are disabled — which will give them time to make their escape once the robbery takes place. For the rest of the day they try to integrate themselves into the workings of the base ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manhunt (1969 TV Series)
''Manhunt'' is a World War II drama series consisting of 26 episodes, produced by London Weekend Television in 1969 and broadcast nationwide from January 1970. Synopsis British pilot Jimmy Briggs (Alfred Lynch) crashes his aeroplane in occupied France and immediately finds himself on the run from the Nazis. He meets a young girl, Nina ( Cyd Hayman), a part-Jewish agent with important information, and vows to get her back to Britain. He is helped by another agent, code-named Vincent (Peter Barkworth), and pursued across France by S.S. Officer Lutzig ( Philip Madoc), and the ambivalent Abwehr Sgt. Gratz (Robert Hardy), a complex psychological character who is implied to fall in love with Nina. Unlike most previous war dramas, the Nazis were presented as more than just fanatical thugs. While Lutzig was close to the stereotype, although given great depth by Philip Madoc, Gratz could not have been more different. Unlike many similar dramas, ''Manhunt'' also portrayed in detail the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Grimleys
''The Grimleys'' is a comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after three series. The show was written by Jed Mercurio, who had trained as a doctor and whose first series, ''Cardiac Arrest'' – written under the pseudonym 'John MacUre' – had attracted critical plaudits for its dark portrayal of life in a disintegrating British National Health Service. The filming of the school took place in Salford, Buile Hill High, Hope High, and Pendleton College, and the characters' homes were filmed in Langley, Greater Manchester. Later series featured location filming in Dudley, including a scene at Dudley Zoo. Premise ''The Grimleys'' follows the ups and downs of the dysfunctional Grimley family in their struggles with everyday life. Gordon Grimley ( James Bradshaw) is an intellectual but feeble schoolboy who has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, primetime drama and entertainment, and live BBC Sport events. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution. It was renamed BBC TV in 1960 and used this name until the launch of the second BBC channel, BBC2, in 1964. The main channel then became known as BBC1. The channel adopted the current spelling of BBC One in 1997. The channel's annual budget for 2012–2013 was £1.14 billion. It is funded by the television licence fee together with the BBC's other domestic television stations and shows uninterrupted programming without commercial advertising. The television channel had the highest reach share of any broadcaster in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Generation Game
''The Generation Game'' is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two people from the same family, but different generations, compete to win prizes. The game There are eight competitors, hence the catchphrase "Let's meet the eight who are going to generate" used in earlier series by Bruce Forsyth. The couples were a generation apart and in later series, but not originally, of different genders. Most of the time it was mother/son, father/daughter. Sometimes aunt/nephew and uncle/niece played. In the first two rounds, two couples compete against each other in two games. One game usually involves first seeing a skilled professional construct or perform something, such as pottery or dancing. The contestants attempt to do the same, and a score is given by the professional. The other game usually involves more of a quiz element, such as identifying pieces of music. At the end of each of the first two rounds, the couple with the lower score is eliminated. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Davidson
James Cameron Davidson (born 13 December 1953) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, singer and TV presenter. He hosted the television shows ''Big Break'' and ''The Generation Game''. He also developed two adult pantomime shows such as ''Boobs in the Wood'' and ''Sinderella'', to critical reception. Biography The son of a Scottish father from Glasgow and Irish mother from Cork, Davidson was born in Kidbrooke, London, and attended Kidbrooke Park Primary School, Blackheath, and St Austin's School in Charlton. Having impressed some acquaintances of his father with impressions of celebrities, he was chosen to appear in Ralph Reader's Gang Show at the Golders Green Hippodrome aged 12 and appeared on television in the ''Billy Cotton Band Show''. He also briefly attended a stage school in Woolwich. Upon leaving school, Davidson worked as a drummer for pub bands, as well as holding a job as a supermarket shelf stacker, a messenger, air ticket clerk for a travel agency, a cashi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat Coombs
Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, film and television sitcoms and Children's ITV's '' Playbox'' and ''Ragdolly Anna''. Her authorised biography, written by Andrew Ross, was published in 2021. Early life Born in Camberwell, South London, Coombs was one of three children; her father worked in insurance for the Employers' Liability, the forerunner of Commercial Union. Coombs attended the County School for Girls in Beckenham, Kent. After leaving school, she began her working life as a student kindergarten teacher, but soon a keenness to act prompted her to take drama lessons during the Second World War with her friend and neighbour Vivien Merchant. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don't Drink The Water (TV Series)
''Don't Drink the Water'' is a British sitcom television series produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network. The series was created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe (who wrote almost every episode) and is a spin-off from their long running sitcom ''On the Buses''. The storyline follows Cyril Blake (Stephen Lewis) living in Spain with his sister Dorothy (Pat Coombs) after his retirement from the Luxton & District Traction Company. Thirteen episodes were broadcast over two series from 27 July 1974 to 6 December 1975. Episode list Series 1 Series 2 DVD releases Network originally included the first episode of ''Don't Drink the Water'' as an extra feature on the seventh series DVD of ''On the Buses ''On the Buses'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom that was broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Chesney and Wolfe, Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned thr ...'', which w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
