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The Chalk Garden
''The Chalk Garden'' is a play by Enid Bagnold that premiered in the US in 1955 and was produced in Britain the following year. It tells the story of the imperious Mrs St Maugham and her granddaughter Laurel, a disturbed child under the care of Miss Madrigal, a governess, whose past life is a mystery that is solved during the action of the play. The work has been revived numerous times internationally, and was adapted for the cinema in 1964. Background and first productions Bagnold wrote the play with an English premiere in mind, but the West End producer, Binkie Beaumont, turned it down: "I confess I find some of the symbolism confusing and muddling". The piece was taken up by the American producer Irene Selznick, who proposed a Broadway premiere. She found the play challenging and tantalising – "I am haunted by its gossamer flashes of poetry and beauty" – but lacking in focus. In July 1954 she travelled to England to work with Bagnold for six weeks, tightening the pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Chalk Garden (film)
''The Chalk Garden'' is a 1964 British-American film directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Deborah Kerr and Hayley Mills and is an adaptation of the 1955 play of the same name by Enid Bagnold. Plot summary An elderly woman hires Miss Madrigal, a governess with a mysterious past, to look after her disturbed and spoiled teenage granddaughter Laurel, who has driven away many previous governesses. Laurel feels intense jealousy and resentment of her beautiful mother, who lives elsewhere with her new husband, and her grandmother has taught her to hate her mother. When Miss Madrigal arrives, Laurel tries to investigate her past and potentially expose her. Miss Madrigal had been convicted of murdering her stepsister 15 years ago and was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted and she spent years in prison. Miss Madrigal uses this painful revelation to convince Laurel and her grandmother that she was once like Laurel, and that Laurel should leave her toxic environment to live w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. History Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint from publisher Horace Liveright, which reprints classic works of literature. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random," which suggested the name Random House. In 1934 they published the first authorized edition of James Joyce's novel '' Ulysses'' in the Anglophone world. ''Ulysses'' transformed Random House into a formidable publisher over the next two decades. In 1936, it absorbed the firm of Smith and Haas—Robert Haas became the third partner until retiring and selling his share back to Cerf and Klopfer in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theater at 241 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1928, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the Elizabethan, Mediterranean, and Adam styles for the Shubert family. The theater, named in honor of actress Ethel Barrymore, has 1,058 seats and is operated by the Shubert Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks. The ground-floor facade is made of rusticated blocks of terracotta. The theater's main entrance consists of two archways and a doorway shielded by a marquee. The upper stories contain an arched screen made of terracotta, inspired by Roman baths, which is surrounded by white brick. The auditorium contains ornamental plasterwork, a sloped orchestra level, a large balcony, and a coved ceiling with a dome. The balcony level contains box seats topped by decorative arches. The theater was also designed with a basement lounge and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betsy Von Furstenberg
Countess Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese von Fürstenberg-Herdringen (August 16, 1931 – April 21, 2015), known as Betsy von Furstenberg, was a German-born American actress who starred in several Broadway plays, films and television series between 1950 and the early 1980s. In 1988, she published ''Mirror, Mirror'', a novel centered on an heiress pursuing love among Europe's elite social circles. Early life Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese, Gräfin von Fürstenberg-Herdringen was born in Arnsberg, Germany. Her parents were Franz-Egon, Graf (Count) von Fürstenberg-Herdringen (1896–1975) and his first wife, Elizabeth Foster Johnson (1899–1961), a native of Memphis, Tennessee."Countess Engaged to Peter S. Howard; Caroline E. von Furstenberg-Herdringen to Be Bride of Late Turfman's Grandson." ''The New York Times'', November 7, 1950. Her stepmothers were Gloria Rubio, Clara Ghyczy and Joan Siegel (not be confused with Joanne Siegel). She ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies
Dame Gwen Lucy Ffrangcon-Davies, (25 January 1891 – 27 January 1992) was a British actress and centenarian. Early life She was born in London of a Welsh family; the name "Ffrangcon" is said to originate from a valley in Snowdonia. Her parents were opera baritone David Ffrangcon-Davies (né David Thomas Davies) and Annie Francis Rayner. Career Ffrangcon-Davies made her stage debut in 1911, as a singer as well as an actress, and received encouragement in her career from Ellen Terry. In 1924, she played Juliet opposite John Gielgud as Romeo, and Gielgud was grateful to her for the rest of his life for the kindness she showed him, casting her as Queen Anne in '' Richard of Bordeaux'' in 1934. In 1925, Ffrangcon-Davies played Tess in a stage version of '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'', including a special presentation for its author, Thomas Hardy. In 1938, Ffrangcon-Davies appeared with Ivor Novello in a production of ''Henry V'' at Drury Lane. Later the same year, she appeared a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pamela Brown (actress)
Pamela Mary Brown (8 July 1917 – 19 September 1975) was a British actress. Early life She was born in Hampstead, London, to George Edward Brown, a journalist, and his wife, Helen Blanche (née Ellerton). Brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, she attended St Mary's School, Ascot. Career After attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art she made her stage debut in 1936 as Juliet in a Stratford-upon-Avon production of ''Romeo and Juliet''. Three of her early film roles were in Powell and Pressburger films: her first screen part in '' One of Our Aircraft Is Missing'' (1942), a memorable supporting role in '' I Know Where I'm Going!'' (1945), and in the fantasy film-opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (1951). She played a bitter spinster in '' Personal Affair'', starring Gene Tierney (1953). From the early 1950s, her arthritic condition (first appearing when she was sixteen) began to make playing on the stage difficult; her mobility was restricted and she was in great pain, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peggy Ashcroft
Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was determined from an early age to become an actress, despite parental opposition. She was working in smaller theatres even before graduating from drama school, and within two years she was starring in the West End. Ashcroft maintained her leading place in British theatre for the next 50 years. Always attracted by the ideals of permanent theatrical ensembles, she did much of her work for the Old Vic in the early 1930s, John Gielgud's companies in the 1930s and 1940s, the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and its successor the Royal Shakespeare Company from the 1950s, and the National Theatre from the 1970s. While well regarded in Shakespeare, Ashcroft was also known for her commitment to modern drama, appearing in plays by Bertolt Brecht, Samue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felix Aylmer
Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early life Felix Aylmer was born in Corsham, Wiltshire, the son of Lilian (Cookworthy) and Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Edward Aylmer Jones. He was educated at King James's Grammar School, Almondbury, near Huddersfield, where he was a boarder from 1897 to 1900, Magdalen College School, and Exeter College, Oxford, where he was a member of Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS). He trained under the Victorian-era actress and director Rosina Filippi before securing his first professional engagement at the London Coliseum in 1911. He appeared in the world premiere of ''The Farmer's Wife'' by Eden Phillpotts at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1917. Between 1917 and 1919 he served as a junior officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (R.N.V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Percy Waram
Percy Thomas Carne Waram ( ; 28 October 1880 – 5 October 1961) was a British-born stage and film actor who spent much of his career in the United States. His career lasted 55 years on the American stage, and he had memorable roles in ''The Shanghai Gesture'', '' Elizabeth the Queen'', '' Mary of Scotland'', ''Pride and Prejudice'', and ''Anne of the Thousand Days''. He starred in the Chicago production of '' Life With Father'' for three years, setting box office and attendance records, after which he took the production on the road for another 38 weeks. He starred in the Broadway production of ''The Late George Apley'' for a year, and then spent another 80 weeks with the show's national tour. Waram originated the role of Horace Vandergelder in ''The Merchant of Yonkers'', and appeared in an influential if not successful modern dress version of ''Hamlet''. Waram made only a few films, and had no starring roles, but is best remembered now for his role as General Haynesworth in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Rose (actor)
George Walter Rose (19 February 1920 – 5 May 1988) was an English actor and singer in theatre and film. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for roles in ''My Fair Lady'' and ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood''. Early life Born in Bicester, Oxfordshire, the son of a butcher, Rose studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. After graduation, he was briefly a farmer and secretary. After wartime service and studies at Oxford, he made his Old Vic stage debut in 1946. Career Rose spent four years with the Old Vic company and made his Broadway debut in a 1946 production of '' Henry IV, Part I'' and continued to play in New York City and London's West End for the remainder of the decade. He spent most of the 1950s appearing in broad comedy roles in the UK, later joining the Royal Shakespeare Company. He returned to Broadway to portray Dogberry in ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in 1959. Two years later, he co-starred to much acclaim in Robert Bolt's '' A Man for All Seasons' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fritz Weaver
Fritz William Weaver (January 19, 1926 − November 26, 2016) was an American actor in television, stage, and motion pictures. He portrayed Dr. Josef Weiss in the 1978 epic television drama, ''Holocaust'' for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. In cinema, he made his debut in the film ''Fail Safe'' (1964) and also appeared in '' Marathon Man'' (1976), ''Creepshow'' (1982), and '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1999). Among many television roles, he performed in the movie ''The Legend of Lizzie Borden'' (1975). He also worked in science fiction and fantasy, especially in television series and movies like ''The Twilight Zone'', '' 'Way Out'', ''Night Gallery'', ''The X-Files'', ''The Martian Chronicles,'' and '' Demon Seed''. Weaver also narrated educational TV programs. Early life Weaver was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 19, 1926, the son of Elsa W. Weaver (née Stringaro) and John Carson Weaver. His mother was of Italian descent and his father was a social ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophie Harris
Audrey Sophia "Sophie" Harris (2 July 1900 – 10 March 1966) was an English award winning theatre and opera costume and scenic designer. Biography Born in Hayes, Kent, the third child and first daughter of William Birkbeck Harris, a Lloyds Insurance clerk, and his wife Kathleen Marion Carey. With her younger sister Margaret "Percy" Harris she studied at The Chelsea Illustrators Studio in London. A fellow student was Elizabeth Montgomery, and the three formed a theatre design partnership known as Motley Theatre Design Group. The first full-scale production on which they worked was ''Romeo and Juliet'' for the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), John Gielgud's début as a director. The great success of this led to an invitation from Gielgud to design Gordon Daviot's ''Richard of Bordeaux'', which opened at the New Theatre in St Martins Lane, London, in February 1933. The production was a huge success, achieving cult status, with playgoers queuing round the block ev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
