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Virgin Of The Secret Service
''Virgin of the Secret Service'' is a British television series which ran for one season in 1968, produced by the ITV franchise, Associated Television. The series was created by Ted Willis. The show was a tongue-in-cheek adventure series set in the early 1900s, and followed the adventures of Captain Robert Virgin (Clinton Greyn), a gentleman officer working for the British Secret Service. Each episode would see him dispatched to different parts of the world by Colonel Shaw-Camberley (Noel Coleman) to do battle with enemies of the British Empire. He was aided by his escapologist batman Sergeant Doublett (John Cater) and Mrs. Cortez (Veronica Strong), an emancipated female photographer and part-time secret agent. Virgin's principal adversary was always Karl Von Brauner (Alexander Doré) – a German spy who would always be dreaming up "a plan of the utmost simplicity" with which to take down the Empire and the Secret Service. The series was released on DVD by Network on 1 April 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Willis
Edward Henry Willis, Baron Willis (13 January 1914 – 22 December 1992) was an English playwright, novelist and screenwriter who was also politically active in support of the Labour Party. In 1941 he became the General Secretary of the Young Communist League, the youth branch of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Early life and War service Born in Tottenham, Middlesex, Willis described when he was leaving school at the age of fourteen: "I had a two-second 'career interview' with my Headmaster. He asked me what I wished to do for the future and I told him that I intended to become a writer. His response was a cackle followed by the remark: 'You will never make a writer in a hundred years. You haven't got the imagination for it or the intelligence. Go away and learn a good trade.'" Willis was elected Chairman of the Labour League of Youth as the candidate of the left in 1937. In 1939, along with much of the League of Youth leadership, he joined the Young Communist League. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Swanwick
Walter Peter Swanwick (29 September 1922 – 14 November 1968) was a British actor best remembered as the "Supervisor" (sometimes called the Controller) in the 1967 TV series, ''The Prisoner''. Swanwick's film career began with bit parts in films such as '' The African Queen'' (1951), and he became a recognisable face on British TV during the mid-1960s when he featured in a number of series, including '' The Avengers'' and ''Danger Man'' where he first worked with later ''Prisoner'' star and co-creator, Patrick McGoohan. According to several biographies Swanwick endured major health problems in the 1960s that resulted in his undergoing undisclosed operations that left him with a short time to live. Swanwick played the non-singing part of Herr Zeller in the original London stage production of ''The Sound of Music''. Selected filmography * ''Lilli Marlene'' (1950) - Chief Interrogator * '' Madame Louise'' (1951) - Bradford businessman (uncredited) * '' The African Queen'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ITV Television Dramas
ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands **ITV1, a brand name used by ITV plc for twelve franchises of the ITV television network covering England, Southern Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands **ITV Digital, a defunct UK digital terrestrial television broadcaster, which opened in 1998 as ONdigital and closed in 2002 **ITV plc, the British parent company which owns thirteen of the fifteen ITV television network franchises **ITV Studios, a television production company owned by ITV plc **itv.com, the main website of ITV plc *ITV Parapentes, a defunct French aircraft manufacturer *ITV Independent Television Tanzania, a Tanzanian television station and member of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) *CITV-DT, a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1960s British Drama Television Series
Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 196 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus attempts to assassinate Clodius Albinus but fails, causing Albinus to retaliate militarily. * Emperor Septimius Severus captures and sacks Byzantium; the city is rebuilt and regains its previous prosperity. * In order to assure the support of the Roman legion in Germany on his march to Rome, Clodius Albinus is declared Augustus by his army while crossing Gaul. * Hadrian's wall in Britain is partially destroyed. China * First year of the '' Jian'an era of the Chinese Han Dynasty. * Emperor Xian o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josephine Douglas
Josephine Douglas (6 October 1926 – 12 July 1988) was a British actress and TV and film producer. Her original name was Jo Doll (née Reckitt). She played a pioneering role as a woman in television production at a time when it was dominated by men. She was the co-producer and co-host of Britain's first pop chart television show, ''Six-Five Special'', during 1957–58. The show broke the mould of British TV and ushered in an era in which popular culture seemed to be dominated by the young. Life She was born at 146 The Green, Earlsheaton, Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, the daughter of Jessie Elizabeth (born Hampson) and Bernard Rickett, a manager for Fyffes banana company. She showed an early interest in drama. As a teenager she produced a fundraising performance of Hansel and Gretel to raise funds for the air force in the Second World War. It led to parts in the amateur dramatic group the Huddersfield Thespians, with whom she made her stage début in December ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Steven
Anthony Steven (3 August 1916 – 26 May 1990) was a British television scriptwriter whose career spanned over three decades. Notable works include '' All Creatures Great and Small'', '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' and ''The Forsyte Saga''. Career Anthony Steven began his career as a reporter on the ''Oxford Mail''. Later, he was discovered by John Grierson, the founder of the Crown Film Unit, who hired him as a writer. In 1957 Steven joined the BBC. A prolific writer, he wrote many television serials over a period of thirty years. Some of his scripts were original but many were adaptations of classic novels, including several episodes of ''The Forsyte Saga'' (1967). In 1984, he wrote the script for the ''Doctor Who'' story ''The Twin Dilemma'', the first to star Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert D
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honour, praise, renown" and ''berht'' "bright, light, shining"). It is the second most frequently used given name of ancient Germanic origin. It is also in use as a surname. Another commonly used form of the name is Rupert. After becoming widely used in Continental Europe it entered England in its Old French form ''Robert'', where an Old English cognate form (''Hrēodbēorht'', ''Hrodberht'', ''Hrēodbēorð'', ''Hrœdbœrð'', ''Hrœdberð'', ''Hrōðberχtŕ'') had existed before the Norman Conquest. The feminine version is Roberta. The Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish form is Roberto. Robert is also a common name in many Germanic languages, including English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Scots, Danish, and Icelandic. It can be use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Sichel
John Peter Sichel (21 September 1937 – 5 April 2005) was a British director of film, stage and television, and, later in life, a film, television, and theatre trainer. Early in his career, he became known for translating the classical theatre repertoire to the screen. After he directed Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson in a television version of ''Twelfth Night'' (1969), he was asked by Laurence Olivier to direct the National Theatre Company in the film of Anton Chekhov's '' Three Sisters'' (1970) with Olivier, Joan Plowright and Alan Bates. He subsequently directed Olivier in Shakespeare's ''The Merchant of Venice'' (1973), again from a National Theatre Company production. This was remounted for CBC in Canada in 1976 with a Canadian cast which included A. E. Holland as Shylock, Allan Grey, Micki Maunsell, Jack Rigg and Barney O'Sullivan. He also produced the first three series of '' Thriller'' (1973–74) for the British Associated Television (ATV) company for whom the two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Bernard (director)
Paul Bernard (20 June 1929 – 25 September 1997) was an English television director and production designer. Bernard was born in London, England. As a designer he worked on series including ''The Avengers''. His direction credits include ''Coronation Street'', ''The Tomorrow People'', ''Z-Cars'', four episodes of ''Virgin of the Secret Service'' (1968) (for which he also worked as a supervising producer with Robert D. Cardona), and the ''Doctor Who'' stories ''Day of the Daleks'' (1972), ''The Time Monster'' (1972) and ''Frontier in Space ''Frontier in Space'' is the third serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The serial was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 24 February to 31 March 1973. It was the last serial to ...'' (1973). References External links * 1929 births 1997 deaths British television directors Television people from London {{UK-tv-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escapologist
Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and other perils, often in combination. History The art of escaping from restraints and confined spaces has been a skill employed by performers for a very long time. It was not originally displayed as an overt act in itself but was instead used secretly to create illusions such as a disappearance or transmutation. In the 1860s, the Davenport Brothers, who were skilled at releasing themselves from rope ties, used the art to convey the impression they were restrained while they created spirit phenomena. Other illusionists, including John Nevil Maskelyne, worked out how the Davenports did their act and re-created the tricks to debunk the brothers' claims of psychic power. However, the re-creations did not involve overt escape, merely a replicatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clinton Greyn
Clinton Greyn (29 September 1933 – 19 March 2019) was a Welsh-born actor noted for his appearances in British television series of the 1960s and 1970s. After graduating from RADA in 1957, Greyn worked in rep at Ipswich, Chesterfield and the Belgrade Theatre Coventry. He made his film debut in the 1961 ''Scotland Yard'' short ''Wings of Death'', before going on to appear in such popular British TV series as ''Z-Cars'' and ''Compact''. By 1967 his career had progressed to prominent roles opposite Shirley MacLaine in Vittorio De Sica's ''Woman Times Seven'' (1967), Stanley Baker in Peter Yates' crime caper ''Robbery'' (1967), and Peter O'Toole in Herbert Ross's musical remake of ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1969). This led to him getting his own TV series in 1968, '' Virgin of the Secret Service'', in which he played the dashing Captain Robert Virgin, travelling the world battling evil in the name of the British Empire. The series was not a success and he found himself making guest ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered , of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories. During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
