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The Secret Policeman's Balls
''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but later included leading musicians and actors. The ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' shows are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years. Co-founded by Monty Python member John Cleese, campaigner Peter Luff (Assistant Director Amnesty International 1974–1978), and entertainment industry executive Martin Lewis, there have been four distinct eras of the Amnesty benefit shows. The shows of the first era (1976–1981), featuring five members of Monty Python and newcomers such as Rowan Atkinson, yielded films, television specials, home-videos, and albums that have since been widely seen and heard internationally. The three subsequent eras ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola (the island containing the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic); the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands lies some to the north-west. Originally inhabited by the indigenous Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. Many of the indigenous people either were killed or died of diseases, after which the Spanish brought large numbers of African slaves to Jamaica as labourers. The island remained a possession of Spain until 1655, when England (later Great Britain) conquered it, renaming it ''Jamaica''. Under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with a plantation economy dependent on the African slaves and later their des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part of the punk rock movement. The band had List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1970s, UK number one hits with his compositions "Rat Trap" and "I Don't Like Mondays". Geldof starred as "Pink" in Pink Floyd's 1982 film ''Pink Floyd – The Wall''. As a fundraiser, Geldof organised the charity supergroup Band Aid (band), Band Aid and the concerts Live Aid and Live 8, and co-wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?", one of the List of best-selling singles, best-selling singles of all time. Geldof is widely recognised for his activism, especially anti-poverty efforts concerning Humanitarianism in Africa, Africa. In 1984, he and Midge Ure founded the charity supergroup Band Aid (band), Band Aid to raise money for famine relie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townshend has written more than 100 songs for 12 of the Who's studio albums. These include concept albums, the rock operas ''Tommy'' (1969) and ''Quadrophenia'' (1973), plus popular rock radio staples such as ''Who's Next'' (1971); as well as dozens more that appeared as non-album singles, bonus tracks on reissues, and tracks on rarities compilation albums such as ''Odds & Sods'' (1974). He has also written more than 100 songs that have appeared on his solo albums, as well as radio jingles and television theme songs. While known primarily as a guitarist, Townshend also plays keyboards, banjo, accordion, harmonica, ukulele, mandolin, violin, synthesiser, bass guitar, and drums; he is self-taught on all of these instruments and plays on his own s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sting (musician)
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner (born 2 October 1951), known as Sting, is an English musician and actor. He was the frontman, songwriter and bassist for new wave rock band The Police from 1977 until their breakup in 1986. He launched a solo career in 1985 and has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age, and worldbeat in his music. As a solo musician and a member of The Police, Sting has received 17 Grammy Awards: he won Song of the Year for "Every Breath You Take", three Brit Awards, including Best British Male Artist in 1994 and Outstanding Contribution in 2002, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2019, he received a BMI Award for "Every Breath You Take" becoming the most-played song in radio history. In 2002, Sting received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as the Frat Pack. His films have grossed more than $2.6 billion in Canada and the United States, with an average of $79 million per film. Throughout his career, he has received various awards and honors, including an Emmy Award, multiple MTV Movie Awards, a Britannia Award and a Teen Choice Award. While beginning his acting career, Stiller wrote several mockumentaries and was offered a variety sketch comedy series titled ''The Ben Stiller Show'', which he produced and hosted for its 13-episode run. The series ran on MTV from 1990 to 1992, earning him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Program. He then appeared on shows such as '' Friends'', '' Curb Your Enthusiasm'', and ''Arrested Development''. Having previo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Silverman was a writer and performer on ''Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced ''The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 to 2010 on Comedy Central, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She released an autobiography ''The Bedwetter'' in 2010. She also appeared in other television programs, such as ''Mr. Show'' and '' V.I.P.'' and starred in films, including ''Who's the Caboose?'' (1997), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''Wreck-It Ralph'' (2012), '' A Million Ways to Die in the West'' (2014) and '' Ralph Breaks the Internet'' (2018). In 2015, she starred in the drama ''I Smile Back'', for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. During the 2016 election, she became increasingly politically active; she initially campaigne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with her best friend and comedy partner, Dawn French. With French, she co-wrote and starred in their eponymous sketch show, ''French and Saunders'', for which they jointly received a BAFTA Fellowship in 2009. Saunders later received acclaim in the 1990s for writing and playing her character Edina Monsoon in her sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. Early life Jennifer Jane Saunders was born on 6 July 1958 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England.Hannah Hamad. Jennifer Saunders' — screenonline.org. Retrieved 4 October 2007. Her mother, Barbara Jane Saunders née Duminy, was a biology teacher, born in France, and her father, Robert Thomas Saunders, served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He reached the rank of group capt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Palin
Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin wrote most of his comedic material with fellow Python member Terry Jones. Before Monty Python, they had worked on other shows including the ''Ken Dodd Show'', ''The Frost Report'', and ''Do Not Adjust Your Set''. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "Argument Clinic", "Dead Parrot sketch", "The Lumberjack Song", "The Spanish Inquisition", " Bicycle Repair Man" and "The Fish-Slapping Dance". He also regularly played a Gumby. Palin continued to work with Jones away from Python, co-writing ''Ripping Yarns''. He has also appeared in several films directed by fellow Python Terry Gilliam and made notable appearances in other films such as '' A Fish Called Wanda'' (1988), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writer-performers in the comedy revue '' Beyond the Fringe'' from 1960 that created a boom in satiric comedy, and with a member of that team, Peter Cook, collaborated on the BBC television series '' Not Only... But Also''. As a popular double act, Moore’s buffoonery contrasted with Cook’s deadpan monologues. They jointly received the 1966 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance. They worked together on other projects until the mid 1970s, by which time Moore had settled in Los Angeles to concentrate on his film acting. His career as a comedy film actor was marked by hit films, particularly '' Bedazzled'' (1967), set in Swinging Sixties London (in which he co-starred with Cook) and Hollywood productions '' Foul P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Mitchell (comedian)
David James Stuart Mitchell (born 14 July 1974) is a British comedian, actor, writer and television personality. He is part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb. Mitchell and Webb starred in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Peep Show'', in which Mitchell plays Mark Corrigan. Mitchell won the British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Performance in 2009 for his performance. The duo have written and starred in several sketch shows including '' Bruiser'', '' The Mitchell and Webb Situation'', '' That Mitchell and Webb Sound'' and also '' That Mitchell and Webb Look''. The pair also starred in the UK version of Apple's " Get a Mac" advertising campaign. Their first film, '' Magicians'', was released in 2007. In 2013, the duo starred in the short-lived TV series ''Ambassadors''. Since 2017, Mitchell has starred in the Channel 4 comedy-drama '' Back,'' alongside Webb. Mitchell starred as Owen in ''Think the Unthinkable'', and in the Ben Elton-penned BBC Two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seth Meyers
Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to that, he was a cast member and head writer for NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' (2001–2014) and hosted the show's news parody segment, ''Weekend Update''. Early life and education Meyers was born in Evanston, Illinois, and was raised in Okemos, Michigan, from four to ten years of age, and Bedford, New Hampshire, after that. Meyers's mother, Hilary Claire ( Olson), was a French teacher, and his father, Laurence Meyers Jr., worked in finance. His younger brother, Josh Meyers, is an actor. His paternal grandfather was an Ashkenazi Jewish emigrant from Kalvarija near Marijampolė in modern-day Lithuania.Stated on ''Finding Your Roots'', February 19, 2019 The rest of his ancestry is Czech, Austrian, Croatian (from his paternal grandmother), Swedish (from his maternal grandfather), English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a number of projects during the 1980s and 1990s, including the BBC sketch comedy series ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' and the P. G. Wodehouse adaptation ''Jeeves and Wooster''. He appeared in two series of the period comedy ''Blackadder'' (1987–1989) alongside Rowan Atkinson. From 2004 to 2012, Laurie starred as Dr. Gregory House on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox medical drama series ''House (TV series), House''. He received two Golden Globe Awards and many other accolades for the role, and was listed in the 2011 ''Guinness World Records'' as the most watched leading man on television and was one of the highest-paid actors in a television drama, earning £250,000 ($409,000) per episode of ''House''. His other television credits include arm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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