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Spindoe
''Spindoe'' is a British television series shown on ITV in the spring of 1968. It was named after the lead character, Alec Spindoe, a South London gangster; the plot of the series showed how Spindoe re-established his gangland empire after he had been supplanted during a term of imprisonment but found that once he had succeeded, he was no longer interested. Background The character of London extortioner and gangland boss Alec Spindoe (played by Ray McAnally) first appeared in several episodes of Granada TV's serial '' The Fellows''. In that series, two university academics based in Cambridge solve crimes in the outside world by pure theory, without ever leaving their university buildings. Spindoe falls foul of one of these theories when he panics over a threatening letter, in truth sent to him by one of the Fellows in the hope that he will react exactly as he does. His panic leads him to set up a jewellery shop robbery, where he is caught and arrested. The following year, Spindo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Man In Room 17/The Fellows (Late Of Room 17)
''The Man in Room 17'' is a British television series which ran for two series in the mid-1960s, produced by the northern weekday ITV (TV network), ITV franchise, Granada Television. Key to the series' success was the involvement of writer/producer Robin Chapman. Overview The show was set in Room 17 of the Department of Social Research, where former wartime agent-turned-criminologist Edwin Oldenshaw (Richard Vernon) solved difficult police cases through theory and discussions with his assistant (originally Ian Dimmock (Michael Aldridge), later succeeded by Imlac Defraits (Denholm Elliott), owing to Aldridge becoming ill). (The characters of Dimmock and Defraits may have been given the same initials to continue a play on words. Oldenshaw was sometimes identified as Edwin G. Oldenshaw. In the last episode, Oldenshaw and Defraits are in a park, feeding waterfowl, and the camera zooms in on their briefcases, bearing their initials: E.G.O. and I.D.). The novelty of the series was th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Man In Room 17
''The Man in Room 17'' is a British television series which ran for two series in the mid-1960s, produced by the northern weekday ITV franchise, Granada Television. Key to the series' success was the involvement of writer/producer Robin Chapman. Overview The show was set in Room 17 of the Department of Social Research, where former wartime agent-turned-criminologist Edwin Oldenshaw (Richard Vernon) solved difficult police cases through theory and discussions with his assistant (originally Ian Dimmock ( Michael Aldridge), later succeeded by Imlac Defraits (Denholm Elliott), owing to Aldridge becoming ill). (The characters of Dimmock and Defraits may have been given the same initials to continue a play on words. Oldenshaw was sometimes identified as Edwin G. Oldenshaw. In the last episode, Oldenshaw and Defraits are in a park, feeding waterfowl, and the camera zooms in on their briefcases, bearing their initials: E.G.O. and I.D.). The novelty of the series was that Oldenshaw a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray McAnally
Ray McAnally (30 March 1926 – 15 June 1989) was an Irish actor. He was the recipient of three BAFTA Awards in the late 1980s: two BAFTA Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor (for ''The Mission'' in 1986 and ''My Left Foot'' in 1989), and a BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor for ''A Very British Coup'' in 1989. In 2020, he was ranked at number 34 on The Irish Times's list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Background Ray McAnally was born in Buncrana, a seaside town located on the Inishowen peninsula of County Donegal, Ireland and brought up in the nearby town of Moville from the age of three. The son of a bank manager, he was educated at St Eunan's College in Letterkenny where he wrote, produced and staged a musical called ''Madame Screwball'' at the age of 16. He entered Maynooth Seminary at the age of 18 but left after a short time having decided that the priesthood was not his vocation. He joined the Abbey Theatre in 1947 where he met and married actress Ronnie Mas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Newell (director)
Michael Cormac Newell (born 28 March 1942) is an English film and television director and producer. He won the BAFTA for Best Direction for '' Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994), which also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and directed the films ''Donnie Brasco'' (1997) and ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' (2005). Early life Newell was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, as the son of amateur actors, and was educated at St Albans School. He read English at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He then attended a three-year training course at Granada Television with the intention of entering the theatre. Career Newell directed various British TV shows from the 1960s onwards (such as '' Spindoe'', credited as Cormac Newell, and ''Big Breadwinner Hog''), but eventually shifted his focus to film direction. His first feature-length project was '' The Man in the Iron Mask'' (1977), a made-for-television film. His first critically acclaimed movie was '' Bad Blood'' (1981), c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rachel Herbert
Rachel Herbert (born 1935) is a British actress whose television appearances include roles in '' Deadline Midnight'' (1960), ''Thursday Theatre'' (1964), ''The Villains'' (1964), ''No Hiding Place'' (1963–65), ''Danger Man'' (1965), ''The Power Game'' (1965–66), and ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' (1967). She appeared in ''The Prisoner'' episode entitled " Free for All" (1967) as Number Fifty-Eight but ultimately revealed to be the new Number Two. Other roles include ''ITV Play of the Week'' (1965–67), ''Man in a Suitcase'' (1968), ''Spindoe'' (1968), ''The Champions'' (1969), ''Callan'' (1970), '' Special Branch'' (1970), ''ITV Saturday Night Theatre'' (1971); episode 1 of ''Lord Peter Wimsey'' 's ''Clouds of Witness'', ''Murder Must Advertise'' (1973), ''The Pallisers'' (1974), ''The Venturers'' (1975), '' Softly, Softly: Taskforce'' (1974–75), ''Shadows'' (1978), '' The Professionals'' (1978), ''Prince Regent'' (1979), '' The Enigma Files'' (1980), ''Minder'' (1980), '' Crown ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bryan Marshall
Bryan Marshall (19 May 1938 – 25 June 2019) was a British actor, with a number of major credits in film and television to his name, in both his native country and Australia. Early life Marshall was born in Battersea, south London. He was educated at the Salesian College, Battersea, and trained as an actor at RADA, before appearing at the Bristol Old Vic and in repertory theatre and in the 1986 first national tour of ''The Sound of Music'' as Captain von Trapp. Film Marshall's best-remembered film role is that of Councillor Harris in '' The Long Good Friday'' (1980). His other film credits include ''Rasputin the Mad Monk'' (1966), '' Alfie'' (1966), '' The Witches'' (1966), '' The Viking Queen'' (1967), ''Quatermass and the Pit'' (1967), ''Mosquito Squadron'' (1969), '' I Start Counting'' (1970), '' Man in the Wilderness'' (1971), ''Because of the Cats'' (1973), ''The Tamarind Seed'' (1974) and '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977). His later film career included roles in Australi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Breadwinner Hog
''Big Breadwinner Hog'' is a British television Thriller (genre), thriller Serial (radio and television), serial devised by Robin Chapman, produced by Granada TV and transmitted in eight parts, starting at 9.00pm on 11 April 1969 on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Overview The series focussed on the ruthless rise through the criminal underworld of the trendy young London gangster Hogarth (Peter Egan). He exploits the resources of a declining gangster, Ryan (Godfrey Quigley), to take over the dominant crime syndicate Scot-Yanks, controlled by the equally ruthless and manipulative Lennox (Timothy West). The key to Hogarth's success is knowledge of a murder arranged by Lennox, of which there is a crucial witness, Ackerman (Donald Burton), a one-time private eye who has been blackmailed into working for Scot-Yanks and bitterly resents Lennox. The eight-part serial was widely condemned at the time for its amorality and violence. Its first episode featured a scene in which a jar of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Sewell
George Sewell (31 August 19242 April 2007) was an English actor, best known for his television roles, but also active on stage and in films. Early life and career The son of a Hoxton printer and a florist, Sewell left school at the age of 14 and worked briefly in the printing trade before switching to building work, specifically the repair of bomb-damaged houses. He then trained as a Royal Air Force pilot, though too late to see action during the Second World War. Following his demob, Sewell joined the Merchant Navy, he worked in the engine room serving as an oil trimmer for the Cunard Line on the and for their Atlantic crossings to New York. He worked as a street photographer, assisted a French roller-skating team, and was drummer and assistant road manager of a rumba band. He also travelled Europe as a motor coach courier for a holiday company. Acting career Theatre Sewell had not considered acting until, aged 35, he met the actor Dudley Sutton by chance in a pub. Sutton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robin Chapman
Robin John Chapman (18 January 1933 – 29 July 2020) was an English novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Early life Chapman was born in Croydon, Surrey. He was educated at Selhurst Grammar School (later Selhurst High School) and Christ's College, Cambridge, where he read English. He began his career as an actor at Cambridge, playing Hamlet in the ADC's centenary production and assuming the presidency of the Marlowe Society, before acting at Stratford-upon-Avon and working in repertory. He then joined Joan Littlewood's revolutionary Theatre Workshop, where he turned to writing. Plays and screenwriting Among Chapman's stage plays are ''High Street China'', ''Guests'' and ''One of Us''. He enjoyed a long career in television, favoured by Granada TV during its early days. His best-known work includes ''Spindoe'' (1968), the controversial '' Big Breadwinner Hog'' (1969), and many adaptations, including M. R. James' ''Lost Hearts'', ''Jane Eyre'', '' Eyeless in Gaza'', and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Hurndall
Richard Gibbon Hurndall (3 November 1910 – 13 April 1984) was an English actor. He is best remembered for replacing William Hartnell in the role of the First Doctor for '' Doctor Who's'' 20th anniversary special '' The Five Doctors''. Career BBC radio Hurndall was born in Darlington and he attended Claremont Preparatory School, Darlington and Scarborough College, before training as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He then appeared in several plays at Stratford-upon-Avon. Hurndall acted with the BBC radio drama repertory company from 1949 to 1952. In 1959, he played Sherlock Holmes in a five part adaptation of '' The Sign of Four''. He continued to play roles on BBC radio until about 1980, often as the leading man. Radio Luxembourg In 1958 he became the third host of the Radio Luxembourg program called ''This I Believe''. (This show had originally been hosted by Edward R. Murrow on the U.S. CBS Radio Network from 1951 to 1955 and it was then edited in Lond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Bate
Anthony Bate (31 August 1927 – 19 June 2012) was an English actor. He is possibly best known for his role as Oliver Lacon in the BBC television adaptations of the John le Carré novels ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' and ''Smiley's People'' and his role as Bret Renssalaer in Len Deighton's trilogy '' Game, Set and Match''.Gideons Way Bate's other credits include: '' Dixon of Dock Green'', '' The Saint'', '' The Avengers'', ''Prime Suspect'', ''Inspector Morse'', ''A Touch of Frost'' and ''Midsomer Murders''. Early life Bate was born the third son of Isle of Wight hoteliers Hubert George Cookson Bate (son of George Harry Bate, a hairdresser and trichologist, of Stourbridge; died 1986) and Cecile Marjorie Canadine (died 1973). Bate was educated at King Edward VI School, Stourbridge, and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama (Gold medal). During his National Service he served with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve from 1945 to 1947. Theatre From his professional thea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glynn Edwards
John Glynn Edwards (2 February 1931 – 23 May 2018) was a British television and cinema character actor, who came to national prominence for his portrayal of the barman Dave Harris in the 1970s–1990s British television comedy-drama ''Minder''. Early life Edwards was born in Penang, Peninsular Malaysia, on 2 February 1931. His father, who spent little time on him, was a rubber planter at the time of his birth and died later in 1946. His mother died shortly after his birth and he was raised first by his grandparents in Southsea, Hampshire, and then by his father and stepmother, who ran a pub in Salisbury, Wiltshire. He received his early formal education at Clayesmore School in Dorset. In his childhood he read Arthur Ransome's adventure novel ''Swallows and Amazons'', which gave him a life-long passion for river-boating, which began with sailing expeditions along the River Avon in his tenth year. As a teenager he was an amateur actor, before going to Trinidad where he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |