|
Under The Hammer
''Under the Hammer'' is a British comedy drama television series which originally aired on ITV in 1994. Written by John Mortimer, it is set at a London auction house. Episodes #"The Fatal Attribution" (10 January 1994) #"Wonders in the Deep" (17 January 1994) #"The Virgin of Vitebsk" (24 January 1994) #"The Jolly Joker" (31 January 1994) #"After Titian" (7 February 1994) #"The Spectre at the Feast" (14 February 1994) #"Treasure Trove" (21 February 1994) Main cast * Richard Wilson as Ben Glazier * Jan Francis as Maggie Perowne * Robert Lang as Lord Holloway * Michael Siberry as Nick Roper * Marsha Fitzalan as Camilla Mounsey * Stephen Boxer as Keith Shrimsley * Rose Keegan as Lucy Starr * Susan Engel as Lady Holloway Other actors who appeared in episodes of the series include John Gielgud, Ian Carmichael, Ursula Howells, Dan O'Herlihy, Hermione Norris, Thora Hird, Keith Barron, Judy Cornwell, Burt Kwouk, Alfred Burke, Phyllida Law, Lloyd McGuire, Philip Fox, Frederick Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Mortimer
Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London, the only child of Kathleen May (née Smith) and (Herbert) Clifford Mortimer (1884–1961), a divorce and probate barrister who became blind in 1936 when he hit his head on the door frame of a London taxi but still pursued his career. Clifford's loss of sight was not acknowledged openly by the family.Helen T. Verongo"John Mortimer, barrister and creator of Rumpole, is dead" ''International Herald Tribune'', 16 January 2009. This obituary was also carried by ''The New York Times''; a more complete version than the version on the ''IHT'' website is onlin John Mortimer was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford, and Harrow School, where he joined the Communist Party, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. A member of the Terry family theatrical dynasty, he gained his first paid acting work as a junior member of his cousin Phyllis Neilson-Terry's company in 1922. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art he worked in repertory theatre and in the West End theatre, West End before establishing himself at the Old Vic as an exponent of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare in 1929–31. During the 1930s Gielgud was a stage star in the West End and on Broadway theatre, Broadway, appearing in new works and classics. He began a parallel career as a director, and set up his own company at the Sondheim Theatre, Queen's Theatre, London. He was regarded by many as the finest Prince Hamlet, Hamlet of his era, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Treves (actor)
Frederick William Treves BEM (29 March 1925 – 30 January 2012) was an English character actor with an extensive repertoire, specialising in avuncular, military and titled types. Early life Treves attended the Nautical College, Pangbourne and in World War II he served in the Merchant Navy. On his first voyage his ship, the refrigerated cargo liner , was part of the Operation Pedestal convoy to Malta. On 13 August 1942 ''Waimarama'' was bombed by a German Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ... aircraft. The ship's deck cargo included containers of aviation spirit that burst into flame. ''Waimarama'' exploded and 83 of her 107 crew were killed. Officer cadet, Cadet Treves helped save several of his shipmates, including the only ship's officer to su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Fox (actor)
Philip "Phil" Fox is an English film and television actor, known particularly for comic roles. His appearances include ''Genie in the House'', ''Maurice'', '' People Like Us'', '' Waking the Dead'', '' Maxwell'', ''Don't Tell Father'', ''Midsomer Murders'' and ''Foyle's War''. He also appeared in the film ''Venus'' alongside Peter O'Toole. He has also appeared in many children's programmes and has a long association with producer Clive Doig, who cast him in the children's shows ''Eureka'', ''The Album'', ''Eat Your Words'' and ''See It Saw It''. He has also appeared in very many productions for BBC Radio 4, most notably in a dramatisation of the Terry Pratchett books Mort and Small Gods. He has also played the part of Maurice Horton in The Archers. Fox played the estate agent in the first episode of Steve Coogan's comedy ''I'm Alan Partridge''. He also played the character Baldrick in the original pilot of the ''Blackadder'' series, which was never broadcast. For the series i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lloyd McGuire
Lloyd McGuire (born 2 September 1947) is an English actor in film and television. Education Born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, McGuire attended Bournville Grammar-Technical School for Boys. He began work as a Commercial Apprentice at the Austin Motor Company in Birmingham in 1964 and toyed with developing a career as a footballer (even playing in King Norton's League and for Alvechurch second team). He became disillusioned with both football and life at "the Austin" and, after watching a Michael Caine film, declared he was going to be an actor. He was encouraged by his apprentice supervisor and gained entry to drama school. While training to be a British Leyland salesman, McGuire made the move to become an actor. Introduced to the Alvechurch Amateur Dramatic Society, he did some work at Crescent Theatre before being trained at the Birmingham College of Speech and Drama."From soccer to stage", '' Sunday Mercury'', 12 May 1974 (pg.16) Career His most popular role was that of Bob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phyllida Law
Phyllida Ann Law (born 8 May 1932) is a British actress, known for her numerous roles in film and television. Early life Law was born in Glasgow, the daughter of Meg "Mego" and William Law, a journalist. Prior to the Second World War, her father was a journalist with the ''Glasgow Herald'' who "kept odd hours"; when the war broke out, he went into the air force and separated from his wife, later divorcing. Law would not see her father again until she was 18. Law's mother Meg worked in a dress shop in Glasgow during the war. The family also included Law's brother, James, her elder by five years, and their maternal grandmother, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, and "a fierce Presbyterian" herself whom Law "did not like as a child but can now admire." She attended Glasgow Girls High up to age seven. The war began in September 1939 and Law and her brother were evacuated to family friends outside Glasgow in Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire, and attended a local school there, before La ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Burke
Alfred Burke (28 February 1918 – 16 February 2011) was an English actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series '' Public Eye'', which ran on television for ten years. Early life Born in London's south-east district of Peckham, the son of Sarah Ann O'Leary and William Burke, he was educated at Leo Street Boys' School and Walworth Central School. Burke started work aged 14, working in a railway repair firm in the City of London after leaving school. He became a club steward and also worked in a silk warehouse, joining a local amateur dramatics group before moving to Morley College and winning a scholarship to RADA in 1937. His acting career started two years later at the Barn Theatre in Shere, Surrey. His budding career was interrupted by the Second World War, when he registered as a conscientious objector, and was directed to work on the land. Career In the late 1940s, he worked with the Young and Old Vic and other companies. His London deb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burt Kwouk
Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, (; ; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor, known for his role as Cato in the ''Pink Panther'' films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Major Yamauchi in the British drama series '' Tenko'' and as Entwistle in ''Last of the Summer Wine''. Early life Kwouk was born on 18 July 1930 in Warrington, Lancashire, to Chinese parents; his parents were on a business trip touring Europe. He was brought up in Shanghai; his father was a textile tycoon descended from a Tang dynasty general. Between the ages of 12 and 16, he attended the Shanghai Jesuit Mission School, which he described as "the Far East equivalent" of Eton College. He left China in 1947 when his parents returned to Britain, and was sent to the United States to complete his education. In 1953, he graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. The Kwouk family fortune was lost in the Chinese communist revolution in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judy Cornwell
Judy Valerie Cornwell (born 22 February 1940) is an English actress and writer best known for her role as Daisy in the successful British sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995). She also played Anya Claus in '' Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985). In her later years she became known for playing Miss Marple in many stage productions, including ''A Murder Is Announced'' between 2014 and 2016. Biography Cornwell's father served in the RAF and she grew up in Britain, where she attended a convent school, with Penelope Keith. She later attended Saint Michael Boarding school in Heacham, Norfolk, before moving to Australia with her family. She has written about her childhood experiences in her autobiography ''Adventures of a Jelly Baby''. She later returned to Britain and became a professional dancer and comedian in her teens, working her act between the nudes at Dhurjati Chaudhury's Irving Theatre Club, on Irving Street, off Leicester Square, London., before becoming an actress. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Barron
Keith Barron (8 August 1934 – 15 November 2017) was an English actor and television presenter who appeared in films and on television from 1961 until 2017. His television roles included the police drama ''The Odd Man'', the sitcom ''Duty Free'', and Gregory Wilmot in '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. Career Born in Mexborough in the West Riding of Yorkshire,'South Yorkshire' did not exist before 1 April 1974. 'West Riding of Yorkshire' is correct. Barron completed his national service in the Royal Air Force and his acting career started at the Sheffield Repertory Theatre, where he also met his wife, Mary, a stage designer. He became well known to British television viewers in the early 1960s as the easygoing Detective Sergeant Swift in the Granada TV series ''The Odd Man'' and its spin-off '' It's Dark Outside''. His major breakthrough, however, was as Nigel Barton in the writer Dennis Potter's semi-autobiographical plays '' Stand Up, Nigel Barton'' and '' Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thora Hird
Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution. A three-time winner of the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, she won for '' Talking Heads: A Cream Cracker Under the Settee'' (1988), '' Talking Heads: Waiting for the Telegram'' (1998) and '' Lost for Words'' (1999). Her film credits included ''The Love Match'' (1955), '' The Entertainer'' (1960), '' A Kind of Loving'' (1962) and ''The Nightcomers'' (1971). Early life and career Hird was born on 28 May 1911 in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe to James Henry Hird and Jane Mary (née Mayor). Her family background was largely theatrical: her mother had been an actress, while her father managed a number of entertainment venues in Morecambe, including the Royalty Theatre, where Hird made her first appearance, and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermione Norris
Hermione Jane Norris (born 5 December 1966) is an English actress. She attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s, before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Karen Marsden in the comedy drama television series ''Cold Feet''. She appeared in every episode of the series from 1998 to 2003 and was nominated for a British Comedy Award. From 2002 to 2005, Norris co-starred in the crime drama series ''Wire in the Blood'' as Carol Jordan, and from 2005 to 2009 co-starred in the BBC One spy drama '' Spooks'' as Ros Myers. Her role in ''Spooks'' won her the award for Best Actress at the 2008 ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards, and another nomination the next year. From 2007 to 2009, she co-starred in the ITV comedy drama ''Kingdom''. In 2020, she appeared in the Australian thriller series '' Between Two Worlds.'' Early life Norris was born in Paddington, London, the second of four children. She has two sisters, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
