|
The Marquise
''The Marquise'' is a romantic comedy play by Noël Coward, written as a vehicle for Marie Tempest, who starred in the original 1927 production in London. Among later players of the central role have been Lilian Gish, Celia Johnson, Moira Lister, Diana Rigg and Kate O'Mara. The play is set in 18th-century France and depicts the complications arising from the romantic affairs of two generations of an aristocratic family. Background By 1926 Coward had written more than a dozen plays, two of them – ''The Vortex'' and ''Hay Fever (play), Hay Fever'' – were big box-office successes, and he was in demand as a playwright. He had promised Marie Tempest to write a comedy for her, and completed ''The Marquise'' while recuperating from a breakdown in his health, brought on by overwork. He told his mother, "As there are several illegitimate children in it I doubt if Lord Cromer [the official censor] will care very deeply for it". The censor licensed the play, and it was put into rehearsa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. Since 2018, the paper's main news ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Chatto
Daniel St George Chatto (born Daniel Chatto St George Sproule; 22 April 1957) is a British artist and former actor. He is the husband of Lady Sarah Chatto, the daughter of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, niece of Queen Elizabeth II and cousin of King Charles III. Biography Daniel was born on 22 April 1957 in London, England, as "Daniel Chatto St George Sproule". He is the son of Thomas Chatto St George Sproule (1920–1982), better known as the actor Tom Chatto, and his wife, Rosalind Joan Thompson (died 2012), better known as the theatrical agent Ros Chatto. He has an elder brother, James Chatto, a food writer in Toronto who is the father of comedian Mae Martin. In 1987, he legally changed his name by a deed poll from Daniel Chatto St George Sproule to Daniel St George Chatto. At the same time, his mother, also using a deed poll, abandoned her married surname of Sproule in favour of Chatto. Marriage On 14 July 1994, Chatto married Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones. The coup ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Villiers
James Michael Hyde Villiers (29 September 1933 – 18 January 1998) was an English character actor. He was particularly known for his plummy voice and ripe articulation. He was a great-grandson of the 4th Earl of Clarendon. Early life Villiers was born on 29 September 1933 in London, the son of Eric Hyde Villiers and Joan Ankaret Talbot; he was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1953. 'Gentleman Jim' Villiers (pronounced ''Villers'') was from an upper-class background, the grandson of Sir Francis Hyde Villiers and great grandson of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon; his mother was descended from Earl Talbot. His aristocratic ancestry was often reflected in casting, he performed roles such as King Charles II in the BBC series ''The First Churchills'' (1969), the Earl of Warwick in ''Saint Joan'' (1974), and on stage as Lord Thurlow in ''The Madness of George III''. Through his father, Villiers was a relative of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Johnson (actor)
Richard Keith Johnson (30 July 1927 – 5 June 2015) was an English stage and screen actor, writer and producer. Described by Michael Coveney as "a very 'still' actor – authoritative, calm and compelling," he was a staple performer in British films and television from the 1960s through the 2010s, often playing urbane sophisticates and authoritative characters. He had a distinguished theatrical career, notably as a cornerstone member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was once acclaimed as "the finest romantic actor of his generation." Biography Early life and career Johnson was born to Frances Louisa Olive (née Tweed) and Keith Holcombe Johnson in Upminster, Essex. Johnson went to Felsted School, and wanted to act instead of going into the family paint business. He trained at RADA and due to the manpower shortage of wartime made his first professional appearance relatively quickly, on stage in Manchester with John Gielgud's company in a production of ''Hamlet'' in 1944. [...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 London for r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Pratt
Peter Pratt (21 March 1923 – 11 January 1995) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his comic roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. Pratt started his career in the chorus of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1945, moving up to small roles and then understudying Martyn Green, the principal comedian. From 1951 to 1959, he was the company's principal comedian, earning critical praise in the famous "patter" roles. After leaving the company, he moved on to a career in theatre, television, concert and radio, although he continued to perform the Gilbert and Sullivan roles throughout his career. Among his television roles Pratt was the second actor to play the Master in the science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. Biography Pratt was born and grew up in Eastbourne, England, where he began to study singing as a child and was a soloist in his church choir. He was also involved in amateur theatrical societies. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Latham
Charles Philip Latham (17 January 1929 – 20 June 2020) was a British television actor. He was educated at Felsted School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, from which he graduated in 1951. In the late 1960s/early 1970s he was well known to British TV viewers for his portrayal of chief accountant Willy Izard, the "conscience" to hard-nosed oil company industrialist Brian Stead (played by Geoffrey Keen) in the BBC series ''The Troubleshooters'' (1965–72). Other credits ''Jesus of Nazareth'' (1956), ''Paul of Tarsus'', ''Danger Man'' (1960–1962), ''Maigret'', ''The Treasure Seekers'', '' The Avengers'', '' Love Story'', '' Undermind'', ''UFO'', ''The Saint'', ''Sergeant Cork'', ''Justice'', ''The Cedar Tree'', ''Killers'', ''Hammer House of Horror'', '' The Professionals'', '' No. 10'', and ''Nanny''. One of his horror film roles was as Dracula's sinister servant Klove in Hammer's 1966 film '' Dracula, Prince of Darkness'', and he had previously worked for Hammer in ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Vernon
Richard Evelyn Vernon (7 March 1925 – 4 December 1997) was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles. Prematurely balding and greying, Vernon settled into playing archetypal middle-aged lords and military types while still in his 30s. He is perhaps best known for originating the role of Slartibartfast in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Other notable roles included Edwin Oldenshaw in ''The Man in Room 17'' (1965–67), Sir James Greenley, alias "C" in ''The Sandbaggers'' (1978–80) and Sir Desmond Glazebrook in ''Yes Minister'' (1980–81) and its sequel series ''Yes, Prime Minister'' (1987). Early life Vernon was born in Kenya in 1925 to British parents. Vernon and his parents moved to Britain in 1937 where Vernon attended Reading School and Leighton Park School (both in Reading, Berkshire). During the Second World War served in the Royal Navy. He trained as an actor at the Central S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denis Lill
Denis Lill (born 22 April 1942) is a New Zealand-born British actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Survivors'' as Charles Vaughan, ''Only Fools and Horses'' as Alan Parry, ''Outside Edge'' as Dennis Broadley and as Consultant General Surgeon Mr Rose in the ITV1 medical drama ''The Royal''. Career Lill joined the RNZAF as a 13–course BES cadet entrant in 1959. It was in the RNZAF that he first expressed an interest in amateur dramatics and a fondness for mimicking characters of the BBC's ''The Goon Show''. Throughout his air force career, he involved himself in operatic and theatric productions. He left New Zealand for Britain in 1967. Some of his many film and television roles include ''Fall of Eagles'' (1974), '' Special Branch'' (1974 series 4,ep12), ''Edward the Seventh'' (1975), '' Survivors'' (1975–77), '' The Eagle Has Landed'' (1976), '' Bad Blood'' (1981), ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' (1982), as William Knox D'Arcy, the Australian oil pioneer in Persia, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Jayston
Michael James (born 29 October 1935), known professionally as Michael Jayston, is an English actor. He played Nicholas II of Russia in the film ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' (1971). He has also made many television appearances, which have included playing the Valeyard in all fourteen episodes of the ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' (1986) and appearing in the ''Only Fools and Horses'' episode "Time on Our Hands" (1996) as Raquel's father, James. Early life and education Michael Jayston was born on 29 October 1935 in West Bridgford, Nottingham. His registered birth name was Michael A James. He is the only son of Aubrey Vincent James (1911–1937) and Edna Myfanwy Medcalfe (1904–1950). He attended the Becket RC School on Wilford Lane, West Bridgford. A former accountant, he trained in acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Career Stage Jayston began his stage career in 1962 and performed at the Bristol Old Vic and at Stratford-upon-Avon. Television ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Punch (magazine)
''Punch, or The London Charivari'' was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and wood-engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 1850s, when it helped to coin the term " cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration. From 1850, John Tenniel was the chief cartoon artist at the magazine for over 50 years. After the 1940s, when its circulation peaked, it went into a long decline, closing in 1992. It was revived in 1996, but closed again in 2002. History ''Punch'' was founded on 17 July 1841 by Henry Mayhew and wood-engraver Ebenezer Landells, on an initial investment of £25. It was jointly edited by Mayhew and Mark Lemon. It was subtitled ''The London Charivari'' in homage to Charles Philipon's French satirical humour magazine ''Le Charivari''. Reflecting their satiric and humorous intent, the two editors took for their name and masthead the anarchic glove puppet, Mr. Punch, of Punc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
