The Reluctant Debutante (play)
''The Reluctant Debutante'' is a 1955 play by the British playwright William Douglas Home. It was first performed (for a 'try-out' week) at the Theatre Royal Brighton after William Douglas-Home spotted the untrained 17-year-old actress Anna Massey and brought her in to audition for the title role. After she wowed the Brighton audiences the play quickly transferred to the Cambridge Theatre, London on 24 May 1955, where it enjoyed a long run with Wilfrid Hyde-White continuing to play the father and Celia Johnson the neurotic mother, Sheila Broadbent. The production was directed by Jack Minster. On 30 June 1955 MGM bought the film and stage rights to this hit London success with the aim of taking it to Broadway. In 1956 the play premièred on Broadway at the Henry Miller's Theatre with a mostly changed cast but still with Anna Massey in the lead and Wilfrid Hyde-White playing her father. Plot The plot follows an aristocratic family through one of London's debutante A d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
William Douglas Home
William Douglas Home (3 June 1912 – 28 September 1992) was a British dramatist and politician. Early life Douglas-Home (he later dropped the hyphen from his surname) was the third son of Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home, and Lady Lilian Lambton, daughter of the 4th Earl of Durham. His eldest brother was Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964. He was educated at Ludgrove School, Eton College and New College, Oxford, where he read history. His first play, ''Murder in Pupil Room'', was performed by his classmates at Eton in 1926 when he was only fourteen. On 26 July 1951, he married the Hon. Rachel Brand (who later inherited the barony of Dacre), the daughter of Thomas Brand, 4th Viscount Hampden and 26th Baron Dacre, and Leila Emily Seely. They had four children. Political career During the Second World War, Douglas-Home contested three parliamentary by-elections as an independent candidate opposed to Winston Churchill's war aim of an unconditiona ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Paul Ferris (composer)
Richard Paul Ferris (2 May 1941 – 30 October 1995) was an English composer and actor. Born in Corby, Northamptonshire, England, Ferris provided scores for various low budget British horror films during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Career Ferris began made a few acting appearances from 1961 such as ''Dixon of Dock Green'' and the 1964 comedy film ''Rattle of a Simple Man''. In 1965 he was seen as John Mannering's sidekick David Marlowe in '' The Baron'' before his character was replaced by Sue Lloyd at the insistence of American television executives. He briefly appeared in the 1967 James Bond spoof '' Casino Royale'' as one of Vesper Lynd's business staff. As a songwriter, Ferris wrote Cliff Richard's 1966 number 7 UK hit " Visions" and The Shadows' 1967 number 24 UK hit "Maroc 7" from the film of the same name. He is probably best known for his rousing score for Michael Reeves' ''Witchfinder General'' (1968), in which he also appeared in a bit part under the pseud ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Diane Clare
Diane Clare (born Diane Dirsztay; 8 July 1938 – 21 June 2013) was an English film and television actress. Career Clare started acting at a very young age playing uncredited baby parts in films such as ''The Ghosts of Berkeley Square'' and ''The Silver Fleet'', and for a time was one of the most highly paid babies in British films. Names to watch: Diane Clare. At the age of three, Clare was too old to continue playing babies so her career came to a standstill. "I'd been longing to play in pictures from the time I was dropped all those years ago because I'd become too old to play baby parts", Diane Clare Devotees. she told an interviewe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Christina Gillespie
Christina may refer to: People * Christina (given name), shared by several people * Christina (surname), shared by several people Places * Christina, Montana, unincorporated community, United States * Christina, British Columbia, Canada * Christina Lake (British Columbia), Canada * Christina River, Delaware, United States, named after Christina, Queen regnant of Sweden * Christina River (Alberta), river in Alberta * Christina School District, Delaware, United States, named after Christina, Queen regnant of Sweden * Fort Christina, first Swedish settlement in North America Arts and entertainment * ''Christina's World'', an Andrew Wyeth painting of Christina Olson * ''Christina'' (1929 film), a 1929 silent film * ''Christina'' (1953 film), a West German drama film * ''Christina'' (book series), a series of novels published by Playboy Press ** ''Christina'' (1984 film), a film based on the book series * ''Christina'', self-titled album by Christina Milian Other * ''Christina O ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Anna Steele (actress)
''Fifty Shades'' is a series of erotic novels by E. L. James, initially a trilogy consisting of ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' (2011), ''Fifty Shades Darker'' (2012) and ''Fifty Shades Freed'' (2012). The series traces the deepening relationship between college graduate Anastasia Steele and young businessman Christian Grey, who introduces Ana to the world of BDSM. The author has spoken of her shock at the success of the book: "The explosion of interest has taken me completely by surprise." James has described the ''Fifty Shades'' trilogy as "my midlife crisis, writ large. All my fantasies in there, and that's it." She did not start to write until January 2009, as she revealed while still active on FanFiction.Net: "I started writing in January 2009 after I finished reading the Twilight saga, and I haven't stopped since. I discovered Fan Fiction in August 2009. Since then I have written two fics and plan on doing at least one more. After that ... who knows?" In August 2013, sales of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Belinda Lang
Belinda Lucy Lange (born 23 December 1953), known professionally as Belinda Lang, is an English actress. She is known for playing Liza in the ITV sitcom '' Second Thoughts'' (1991–94), and Bill Porter in the BBC sitcom '' 2point4 Children'' (1991–99). Her theatre credits include London productions of the Noël Coward plays, ''Present Laughter'' (1981), '' Blithe Spirit'' (1997), and ''Hay Fever'' (2006). Her radio/audio credits include voicing narrator Madeleine in the podcast ''Wooden Overcoats''. Early life Lang was born in Marylebone, London, in 1953, the daughter of actors Jeremy Hawk and Joan Heal. Career Television Lang is perhaps best known for her starring roles in three sitcoms – as Kate in '' Dear John'', as Bill Porter in '' 2point4 Children'' and as Liza Ferrari in '' Second Thoughts''. After a small part as 'Girl in Bath' in ''Play for Today'' in 1980 she appeared in the 1980 miniseries ''To Serve Them All My Days'', following this she had several one-off a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Georgina Cookson
Antoinette Georgina Cookson (19 December 1918 – 1 October 2011) was a British film, stage and television actress. She died in Sydney, aged 92, on 1 October 2011. Family Cookson was the daughter of racing driver Roger Cookson and Sybil Taylor. Her mother, using the pseudonym Sydney Tremayne, was a novelist and contributed to ''The Tatler''. Cookson left Benenden School at the age of 15 to train at RADA. She was the great-granddaughter of the psychiatrist Sir James Crichton-Browne. She was married four times; she was twice divorced and twice widowed. She had two children, a son and a daughter. Theatre After graduating from RADA, she found constant work in both the regions and the West End theatre, appearing alongside Hermione Gingold in the wartime revue ''Rise Above It'' at the ‘Q’ (1940) and at the Comedy Theatre (1941). In the same decade, she was in ''Love Goes to Press'', with Irene Worth, at the Embassy Theatre (in Swiss Cottage) and Duchess Theatre (1946) and br ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Angela Lansbury
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal of international attention. At the time of her death, she was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Lansbury received many accolades throughout her career, including six Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), six Golden Globe Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, and the Academy Honorary Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, eighteen Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. In 2014, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lansbury Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Lansbury was born to an upper-middle-class family in Central London, the daughter of Irish actress Moyna Macgill and English politician Edgar Lansbury. She moved to the United States in 1940 to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Brenda Forbes
Brenda Forbes (14 January 1909 – 11 September 1996) was a British-born American actress of stage and screen. Personal life Born as Dorothy Brenda Taylor in Wandsworth, London, the daughter of Ernest John and Ethel Louise Taylor. Her mother was actress Mary Forbes, and her elder brother was actor Ralph Forbes (né Ralph Forbes Taylor), she made her first film appearance in 1935 and her last in 1995. She appeared on Broadway between 1931 and 1985, mostly in revivals of classics. Career Forbes created the role of the outspoken maid, Wilson, in the original production of ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' opposite Katharine Cornell. She played the role in various revivals as well. She co-starred as Lady Vale in the 1967 musical ''Darling of the Day'' in which she and Peter Woodthorpe introduced the song ''Panache'' and appeared in the 1976 revival of ''My Fair Lady'' as Mrs. Higgins; also in that production was George Rose whom she starred with in the 1986 all star cast ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ambrosine Phillpotts
Ambrosine Phillpotts (13 September 1912 – 12 October 1980) was a British actress of theatre, TV, radio and film. ''The Times'' wrote, "She was one of the last great stage aristocrats, a stylish comedienne best known for playing on stage and screen a succession of increasingly 'grandes dames' with an endearing mixture of Edwardian snobbery and eccentric absent-mindedness". Partial filmography * '' This Man Is Mine'' (1946) - Lady Daubney * '' The Chiltern Hundreds'' (1949) - Lady Fielding * '' The Franchise Affair'' (1951) - Miss Spence * ''Happy Go Lovely'' (1951) - Lady Martin * ''Mr. Denning Drives North'' (1952) - Miss Blade * '' Angels One Five'' (1952) - Mother at Party (uncredited) * '' Stolen Face'' (1952) - Miss Patten - Fur Department Clerk * ''Father's Doing Fine'' (1952) - Nurse Pynegar (uncredited) * '' The Captain's Paradise'' (1953) - Marjorie (with the major) * '' Aunt Clara'' (1954) - Sylvia Levington (uncredited) * ''The Adventures of Quentin Durward'' (19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Alex Felton
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (other), multiple people *Alex Gordon (other), multiple people *Alex Harris (other), multiple people *Alex Jones (other), multiple people *Alexander Johnson (other), multiple people *Alex Taylor (other), multiple people Politicians *Alex Allan (born 1951), British diplomat *Alex Attwood (born 1959), Northern Irish politician *Alex Kushnir (born 1978), Israeli politician *Alex Salmond (born 1954), Scottish politician, former First Minister of Scotland Baseball players *Alex Avila (born 1987), American baseball player *Alex Bregman (born 1994), American baseball player *Alex Gardner (baseball) (1861–1921), Canadian baseball player *Alex Katz (baseball) (born 1994), American baseball player *Alex Pompez (1890–1974), American executive in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball scout *Alex Rodriguez ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Raymond Clarke
Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ (''Raginmund'') or ᚱᛖᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ (''Reginmund''). ''Ragin'' (Gothic) and ''regin'' (Old German) meant "counsel". The Old High German ''mund'' originally meant "hand", but came to mean "protection". This etymology suggests that the name originated in the Early Middle Ages, possibly from Latin. Alternatively, the name can also be derived from Germanic Hraidmund, the first element being ''Hraid'', possibly meaning "fame" (compare ''Hrod'', found in names such as Robert, Roderick, Rudolph, Roland, Rodney and Roger) and ''mund'' meaning "protector". Despite the German and French origins of the English name, some of its early uses in English documents appear in Latinized form. As a surname, its first recorded appearance in Bri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |