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The Odd Job
''The Odd Job'' is a 1978 British comedy film starring Monty Python member Graham Chapman. It tells the story of a man named Arthur Harris (Chapman) who is recently abandoned by his wife. He becomes so depressed that he hires an "odd job man" to kill him. Once his wife returns, Harris finds himself unable to cancel the contract. The concept originated as an episode of the London Weekend Television/ ITV series ''Six Dates With Barker'' in 1971, with Ronnie Barker as Arthur Harris and David Jason as the Odd Job Man (who plays the same role in the feature film). The role of the odd job man was originally intended for Chapman's friend, Keith Moon, but Moon was going through alcohol withdrawal at the time and in no real physical shape to play the part, although he did audition. It was shot at Shepperton Studios with location shooting around London. Cast *Graham Chapman as Arthur Harris *David Jason as The Odd Job Man *Diana Quick as Fiona Harris * Simon Williams as Tony Sloane *E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Medak
Peter Medak (born Medák Péter, 23 December 1937) is a Hungarian-born film director and television director of British and American productions. Early life Born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamounstein) and Gyula Medak, a textile manufacturer. His family was Jewish. In 1956, he fled his native country for the United Kingdom due to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Hungarian Uprising. There he embarked on a career in the film industry, starting as a trainee and gradually rising to the position of film director. Career Medak was signed to direct television films for Music Corporation of America, MCA Universal Pictures in 1963. In 1967, he signed with Paramount Pictures to make feature films. His first such film was ''Negatives (1968 film), Negatives'' (1968). Some of his most notable other works are ''The Ruling Class (film), The Ruling Class'' (1972), ''The Changeling (film), The Changeling'' (1980), ''The Krays (film), The Krays'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as '' Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and ''Open All Hours''. Barker began acting in Oxford amateur dramatics whilst working as a bank clerk, having dropped out of higher education. He moved into repertory theatre with the Manchester Repertory Company at Aylesbury and decided he was best suited to comic roles. He had his first success at the Oxford Playhouse and in roles in the West End including Tom Stoppard's ''The Real Inspector Hound''. During this period, he was in the cast of BBC radio and television comedies such as ''The Navy Lark''. He got his television break with the satirical sketch series ''The Frost Report'' in 1966, where he met future collaborator, Ronnie Corbett. He joined David Frost's production company and starred in ITV shows. After rejoining the BBC, Barker achieved signific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Andrews (actor)
Carl Andrews (1947 – 1990) was a British character actor. Andrews' most notable role was as garage mechanic Joe MacDonald, British soap opera's first, and one of the longest serving, recurring black characters in the original version of the popular motel soap ''Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...''. Andrews remained in the role from 1978 until 1986. Personal life He died from complications of AIDS at the age of 43. References External links * 1947 births 1990 deaths British male soap opera actors 20th-century British male actors {{UK-actor-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard O'Brien
Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in continuous production. He also co-wrote the screenplay along with director Jim Sharman for the film adaptation, ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), and appeared on-screen as Riff Raff; the film became an international success and has received a large cult following. O'Brien co-wrote the musical ''Shock Treatment'' (1981) and appeared in the film as Dr. Cosmo McKinley. O'Brien presented four series of the television game show ''The Crystal Maze'' (1990–1993) for Channel 4. He played the voice role of Lawrence Fletcher in the Disney Channel animated series ''Phineas and Ferb'' (2007–2015), as well as its two films (2011 and 2020). His other acting credits include ''Flash Gordon'' (1980), ''Robin of Sherwood'' (1985), ''Ever After'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Bree (actor)
James Rutherfoord Worsfold Thomson (20 July 1923 – 1 December 2008), known professionally as James Bree, was a British actor who appeared on stage, and played many supporting roles in both film and television. Bree was educated at Radley College near Abingdon, Oxfordshire and during the Second World War served in the RAF. He later trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He changed his surname to Thomson-Bree after inheriting land from his great-uncle, Archdeacon William Bree. On stage, Bree was in the original productions of Thornton Wilder's ''The Matchmaker'' in London's West End in 1954; and in John Arden's ''Sergeant Musgrave's Dance'' at the Royal Court in 1959. He was also one of the founder members of Peter Hall's Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford in 1960. On screen, he was cast as Blofeld's attorney Gumbold in the 1969 James Bond film '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', and for his role as Uncle Arthur in '' The Jewel in the Crown''. Bree perf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Innes
George Innes (born 8 March 1938) is a British actor. Stage career Innes was born in Stepney, East London, and began his career on the stage with the National Theatre of Great Britain under Laurence Olivier. Before that, he trained at Toynbee Hall and evening classes at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), where he was awarded the Shakespeare Cup for excellence. He appeared in the Bernard Kops play ''The Dream of Peter Mann'' at the Edinburgh Festival and on a tour of Great Britain, directed by Frank Dunlop, under whom he had trained at Toynbee Hall and LAMDA. His final year of study and training was at the Bristol Old Vic School. He worked with Dunlop again in ''The Pantomime'' at the Bristol Old Vic, before a season at Nottingham Playhouse with Dunlop and John Neville. Other theatre credits include working for The Royal Court production company in ''Chips with Everything'', which played in the West End and on Broadway. He appeared in ''Othello'' (understud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Melia
Joe Melia ( Giovanni Philip William Melia; 23 January 1935, Camden Town, Camden, London - 20 October 2012, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire) was a UK, British actor. Educated at the City of Leicester College, City of Leicester Boys' Grammar School and Downing College, Cambridge, where he read English, he first came to notice in Peter Nichols (playwright), Peter Nichols’s ''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'' (Glasgow Citizens, 1967). Filmography Film * ''Too Many Crooks'' (1959) - Whisper * ''Follow a Star'' (1959) - Stage Manager * ''The Intelligence Men'' (1965) - Conductor * ''Four in the Morning (film), Four in the Morning'' (1965) - Friend * ''Modesty Blaise'' (1966) - Crevier * ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' (1969) - The Photographer * ''A Talent for Loving (film), A Talent for Loving'' (1969) - Tortillaw * ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (1972) - Messenger No. 1 * ''Sweeney! (1977 film), Sweeney!'' (1977) - Ronnie Brent * ''Leonardo's Last Supper'' (1977) * ''The Odd Job'' (1978) - Hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carolyn Seymour
Carolyn Seymour is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Abby Grant in the BBC series '' Survivors'' (1975), and Queen Myrrah in the '' Gears of War'' franchise. Career Born Carolyn von Benckendorf in Buckinghamshire to an Estonian father of Russian descent and an Irish mother. One of her early television roles was as Jenny in the BBC drama series ''Take Three Girls''. and an early film appearance was as Zita in the film ''Steptoe and Son'' (1972) alongside Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell. Her best-known movie role remains Grace Gurney in '' The Ruling Class'' (also 1972), opposite Peter O'Toole. She left ''Survivors'' at the end of its first series due to disagreements with the producers over the direction the show and her character were taking. She appeared in the '' Space: 1999'' episode "The Seance Spectre", and with Joan Collins in '' The Bitch'' (1979). She then moved to the United States and made numerous television appearances including ''Hart ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Elphick
Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series ''Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1983 film '' Gorky Park''. In his prime, Elphick always looked older than he was, and with his gruff Sussex accent and lip-curling sneer he often played menacing hard men. Elphick struggled with a highly publicised addiction to alcohol; at the height of his problem he admitted to consuming two litres of spirits a day, which contributed to his death from a heart attack in 2002. Early life Elphick grew up in Chichester, Sussex, where his family had a butcher's shop. He was educated at Lancastrian Secondary Modern Boys School in Chichester, where he took part in several school productions including ''Noah'' and ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. He initially considered joinin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Paterson (actor)
William Tulloch Paterson (born 3 June 1945) is a Scottish actor with a career in theatre, film, television and radio. Throughout his career he has appeared regularly in radio drama and provided the narration for a large number of documentaries. He has appeared in films and TV series including '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984), ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' (1986), ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1990), ''Wives and Daughters'' (1999), ''Sea of Souls'' (2004–2007), ''Amazing Grace'' (2006), ''Miss Potter'' (2006), ''Little Dorrit'' (2008), ''Doctor Who'' (2010), '' Outlander'' (2014), ''Fleabag'' (2016–2019), ''Inside No. 9'' (2018), ''Good Omens'' (2019), and '' Brassic'' (2020). He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Scottish BAFTAs. Early life William Tulloch Paterson was born in Glasgow on 3 June 1945. Paterson was raised in Dennistoun by his father, a plumber, and his mother, a hairdresser. He states that his interest in acting began with a school trip to the Citize ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Hardwicke
Edward Cedric Hardwicke (7 August 1932 – 16 May 2011) was an English actor, who had a distinguished career on the stage and on-screen. He was best known for playing Captain Pat Grant in ''Colditz'' (1972-73), and Dr. Watson in Granada Television's ''Sherlock Holmes'' (1986-94). Early life Hardwicke was born in London, the son of actors Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Helena Pickard. He began his film career in Hollywood at the age of 10, in Victor Fleming's film ''A Guy Named Joe'' which starred Spencer Tracy. He returned to England, attended Stowe School, and fulfilled his national service as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and trained as an actor. Career Hardwicke played at the Bristol Old Vic, the Oxford Playhouse and the Nottingham Playhouse before in 1964 joining Laurence Olivier's National Theatre. He performed regularly there for seven years. He appeared with Olivier in William Shakespeare's ''Othello'' and I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Location Shooting
Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for example, scenes in the film ''The Interpreter'' were set and shot inside the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan), or it may stand in for a different locale (the films ''Amadeus'' and '' The Illusionist'' were primarily set in Vienna, but were filmed in Prague). Most films feature a combination of location and studio shoots; often, interior scenes will be shot on a soundstage while exterior scenes will be shot on location. Second unit photography is not generally considered a location shoot. Before filming, the locations are generally surveyed in pre-production, a process known as location scouting and recce. Pros and cons Location shooting has several advantages over filming on a studio set. First and foremost, the expense can often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
