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The Plank (1967 Film)
''The Plank'' is a 1967 British slapstick comedy film (51 minutes) made by Associated London Films. It follows the misadventures of two builders who require a floorboard. It was written and directed by Eric Sykes, and produced by Jon Penington. The story was based on an episode of Eric Sykes' BBC comedy series '' Sykes and a...'' from 1964, called "Sykes and a Plank". Although not strictly a silent film, it is unusual in having little dialogue; instead, the film is punctuated by grunts, other vocal noises and sound effects. The cast features many of the top comedians and comic actors of the time. Plot After one of the characters uses the last floorboard for heating, the two hapless carpenters have to buy a replacement. They return to the house with the plank on top of a Morris Eight Series E, but the journey is fraught with unexpected difficulties. The film is a series of "plank jokes" elaborating on the "man with a plank" slapstick routine seen in vaudeville and silent film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012) was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor, and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Tommy Cooper, Peter Sellers, John Antrobus, and Johnny Speight. Sykes first came to prominence through his many radio credits as a writer and actor in the 1950s, most notably through his collaboration on ''The Goon Show'' scripts. He became a TV star in his own right in the early 1960s when he appeared with Hattie Jacques in several popular BBC comedy television series. Early life Sykes was born on 4 May 1923 in Oldham, Lancashire; his mother died three weeks later, leaving him and his two-year-old brother Vernon motherless. Their father was a labourer in a cotton mill and a former army sergeant. When Sykes was two, his father remarried and he gained a half- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Dale
Jim Dale (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, composer, director, narrator, singer and songwriter. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In British film, he became one of the regulars in the ''Carry On'' films, along with Leslie Phillips, Valerie Leon, Kenneth Cope, Julian Holloway, Hugh Futcher, Anita Harris, Amanda Barrie, Jacki Piper, Angela Douglas and Patricia Franklin. In the United States he is most recognised as a leading actor on Broadway, where he had roles in ''Scapino'', ''Barnum'', ''Candide'' and ''Me and My Girl'', as well as for narrating all seven of the '' Harry Potter'' audiobooks in the American market (for which he received two Grammy Awards out of six nominations) and the ABC series ''Pushing Daisies'' (2007–2009); he also starred in the Disney film '' Pete's Dragon'' (1977). He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for portraying a young Spike Milligan in '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Plank (1979 Film)
''The Plank'' is a 30-minute, British slapstick comedy film for television from 1979, which was written and directed by Eric Sykes. This version, which is a remake of the 1967 film '' The Plank'', also written and directed by Sykes, was produced by Thames Television and broadcast on the ITV network. Although not literally a silent film, it has little spoken dialogue. Instead the film is punctuated by grunts, other vocal noises and sound effects. The soundtrack was composed by Alan Braden, and performed by Alan Braden and his orchestra. Sveriges Television in Sweden used to show the film several times around Christmas and New Year during the 1980s and 1990s. Outline When two builders find that a floorboard is missing, they buy a replacement floorboard and return with it through the streets, causing unexpected chaos. This was the third version of ''The Plank''; the basic idea had originated in an episode called "Sykes and a Plank", which Eric Sykes had written for his BBC t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stratford Johns
Alan Edgar Stratford Johns (22 September 1925 – 29 January 2002), known as Stratford Johns, was a British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the long-running BBC police series ''Z-Cars''. Early life Johns was born and grew up in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. After serving as a deckhand in the South African navy during World War II, he worked for a time in accountancy, but soon became involved in amateur theatre. Career In 1948, Johns bought a one-way ticket to Britain and learned his craft working in repertory theatre at Southend-on-Sea for almost five years. He began to appear in British films from the mid-1950s, including a bit part in the classic Ealing comedy '' The Ladykillers'' (1955). He ran a small hotel in London during the 1950s, and was a member of the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre during the Angry Young Men period when new playwrights, including John Osborne, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Freeman (British Writer)
David Freeman (22 August 1922 – 28 March 2005) was a British film and television writer, working chiefly in comedy. He was one of the first generation of writers who established television, taking over from radio, as the most popular medium for comedy. His works were known for their usage of puns and double entendre. During the small screen's Golden Age, he wrote scripts for comedians including Benny Hill, Tony Hancock, Ted Ray, Terry Scott, Spike Milligan, Eric Sykes, Peter Sellers, Charlie Drake, Arthur Askey, Sid James, Leslie Crowther, Roy Hudd, Jimmy Edwards, Tommy Cooper, Harry Worth and Frankie Howerd. Early life Dave Freeman was born in Marylebone, London. He trained as an electrician before joining the Royal Naval Fleet Air Arm at the outbreak of the Second World War. His service with the Pacific fleet took him to Ceylon, India, South Africa, Kenya and finally Australia where he met and married his wife, Alberta. Upon return to England in 1946, he joined the Metrop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Junkin
John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy. Early life Born in Ealing, Middlesex, the son of a policeman, he and his parents subsequently moved to Forest Gate so that he could attend St Bonaventure's Catholic School there, before qualifying as a teacher at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill. He worked as a primary school teacher in the East End for three years before becoming a professional actor and scriptwriter. Career In 1960, Junkin joined Joan Littlewood's Stratford East Theatre Workshop and played the lead in the original production of '' Sparrers Can't Sing''. A few years later, he joined the Royal Court Theatre company, and was the foil to Tony Hancock in some of Hancock's last work for British television. Junkin played a diverse range of roles on the small screen; however, he is best remembered for his comedy roles and his appearances as a te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Wilson (actor)
Ian Macrae Hamish Wilson (2 July 1901 in Hampstead, London – December 1987 in Exeter, Devon) was an English small role actor who appeared in over 145 films during his career. Most were small uncredited roles often playing meek public servants, professional men or busy bodies. Film appearances included '' The Plank'' 1967, ''The Day of the Triffids'' 1962, ''Carry On Jack'' 1963, ''Two-Way Stretch'' 1960, '' Hell Drivers'' 1957, ''The Ugly Duckling'' 1959 and '' Rotten to the Core'' 1965. His first film appearance was in the silent '' A Master of Craft'' in 1922, and his last was in ''The Wicker Man'' in 1973. Several of his films were made by the Boulting brothers, who considered him a "good luck charm." Wilson died in December 1987 in Devon. Selected filmography * '' A Master of Craft'' (1922) * '' Through Fire and Water'' (1923) - Jimmy * ''The Fighting Gladiator'' (1926) - J.C. Heenan * '' Wait and See'' (1928) - Caddie * '' Shooting Stars'' (1928) - Reporter * ''What Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graham Stark
Graham William Stark (20 January 1922 – 29 October 2013) was an English comedian, actor, writer and director. Early life The son of a purser on transatlantic liners, telegraph.co.uk, 31 October 2013 Stark was born in New BrightonRobert Seller "Graham Stark: Actor, author and director who graduated from music hall to the big screen" ''The Independent'', 31 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronnie Brody
Ronnie Brody (6 November 1918 – 8 May 1991) was a British actor who appeared in many comedy television series and films. His film appearances included: ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'', ''Carry On Loving'', ''Don't Lose Your Head'', ''Finders Keepers'', '' Superman 3'' and The Beatles film ''Help!''. His television appearances included: ''The Benny Hill Show'', ''Hancock's Half Hour'', ''Rising Damp'', ''Dad's Army'', ''The Sweeney'' (Episode 3, Series 3, "Visiting Fireman" - Garage Mechanic), ''Dave Allen at Large'' and ''The Goodies'' (episode " Punky Business"), ''Are You Being Served?, Hi-de-Hi!, Bless This House (Episode 3, Series 3, "Entente Not So Cordiale?" - Henri) and Carry on Laughing : ''This article describes the all-original 1975 TV series. Not to be confused with the later "Carry On" film-clip compilations or the stage play of the same name''. ''Carry On Laughing'' is a British television comedy series produced in 1975 ..., Filmography ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Tarbuck
James Joseph Tarbuck (born 6 February 1940) is an English comedian, singer, actor, entertainer and game show host. He was a host of ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' in the mid-1960s, and hosted numerous game shows and quiz shows on ITV during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. He is also known for leading ITV's ''Live From Her Majesty's'' and its subsequent incarnations during the 1980s. Actress and television and radio presenter Liza Tarbuck is his daughter. Biography Tarbuck was born in Wavertree, Liverpool, on 6 February 1940. He has an older brother (William) and his parents, Ada McLoughlin (aka Ada Hannagan) and Joseph Frederick Tarbuck, married in March 1947. He attended Dovedale Primary School in Liverpool, where he was a schoolmate of John Lennon. His first television show was ''It's Tarbuck '65!'' on ITV in 1964, though he had been introduced on Sunday Night at the London Palladium in October 1963 by Bruce Forsyth. He then replaced Forsyth as the last origina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Oddie
William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinton, Birmingham, Oddie has established a reputation as a naturalist, conservationist, and television presenter on wildlife issues. Some of his books are illustrated with his own paintings and drawings. His wildlife programmes for the BBC include ''Springwatch'' and ''Autumnwatch'', '' How to Watch Wildlife'', ''Wild in Your Garden'', '' Birding with Bill Oddie'', ''Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie'' and ''Bill Oddie Goes Wild''. Early life Oddie was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, but moved to Birmingham at a young age; his father was assistant chief accountant at the Midlands Electricity Board. His mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and, during most of his youth, lived in a hospital. He was educated at Lapal Primary School, Halesowen Gram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Speight
Johnny Speight (2 June 1920 – 5 July 1998) was an English television scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms. He emerged in the mid-1950s. He wrote for radio comics Frankie Howerd, Vic Oliver, Arthur Askey, and Cyril Fletcher. For television he wrote for Morecambe & Wise, and Peter Sellers, as well as '' The Arthur Haynes Show''. Later, he began to write ''Till Death Us Do Part'', which included his most famous creation, the controversial bigot Alf Garnett. His shows often explored the themes of racism and sexism through satire. Life and career John Speight was born into an Irish Catholic family in Canning Town, West Ham, Essex (now Greater London). He left school at 14, and after a series of odd jobs, tried his hand at writing, looking to George Bernard Shaw as inspiration. He began contributing scripts to comedy shows in 1955, starting with ''Great Scott - It's Maynard!'' He later contributed to ''Sykes and a...'' (1960–65), which starred Eric Sykes, Hattie Jacques ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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