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Workers' Playtime (radio Programme)
''Workers' Playtime'' was a British radio variety programme transmitted by the BBC between 1941 and 1964. Originally intended as a morale-booster for industrial workers in Britain during World War II, the programme was broadcast at lunchtime, three times a week, live from a factory canteen "somewhere in Britain". Initially, it was broadcast simultaneously on both the BBC Home Service and Forces Programme, then from 1957 onwards solely on the Light Programme. For all its 23 years each show concluded with the words from the show's producer, Bill Gates: "Good luck, all workers!" The programme had the support of the government because the shows were seen as supporting the war effort on the home front. ''Workers' Playtime'' was a touring show, with the Ministry of Labour choosing which factory canteens it would visit. Throughout World War II, Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour and National Service, would appear on these shows from time to time to congratulate the workers and exh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety Show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a Master of Ceremonies, compère (master of ceremonies) or Television presenter, host. The variety format made its way from the Victorian era stage in Britain and America to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s. While still widespread in some parts of the world, such as in the United Kingdom with the ''Royal Variety Performance'', and South Korea with ''Running Man (South Korean TV series), Running Man'', the proliferation of multichannel television and evolving viewer tastes have affected the popularity of variety shows in the United States. Despite this, their influence has still had a major effect on late night television whose la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anne Shelton (singer)
Anne Shelton (born Patricia Jacqueline Sibley, 10 November 1923 – 31 July 1994) was a popular English vocalist, who is remembered for providing inspirational songs for soldiers both on radio broadcasts, and in person, at British military bases during the Second World War. During the 1950s and 60s, Shelton had some success on the UK Singles Chart, topping it in 1956 with " Lay Down Your Arms". Early life Shelton was born on 10 November 1923 in Dulwich, South London. Singing career In May 1940 at age 16, she appeared on the BBC talent radio show "Monday Night at Eight" and sang 'Let the Curtain Come Down'. The dance-band leader Bert Ambrose heard her performance, and signed her to sing with his prestigious and popular 'Ambrose Orchestra'. She made her first broadcast with Ambrose in June 1940 and she soon made her first solo record for Rex Records "I Can't Love You Any More" backed with "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)". In January 1941 she commenced weekly radio b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', ''Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout''''. Early life and career Monkhouse was born on 1 June 1928 at 168 Bromley Road, Beckenham, Kent, the son of chartered accountant Wilfred Adrian Monkhouse (1894–1957) and Dorothy Muriel Monkhouse (''née'' Hansard, 1895–1971). Monkhouse had an elder brother, John, who was born in 1922. Monkhouse's grandfather John Monkhouse (1862–1938) was a prosperous Methodist businessman who co-founded Monk and Glass, which made custard powder and jelly. In a 2015 documentary, it was revealed that Monkhouse and his older brother suffered from physical and verbal abuse by their mother. Bob Monkhouse was educated at Goring Hall School in Worthing, Sussex, and Dulwich College in south London, from which he was expelled for climbing the clock tower. While st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Stargazers (1940s–1950s Group)
The Stargazers were a British vocal group, jointly founded in 1949 by Cliff Adams and Ronnie Milne. Other original members were Marie Benson, Fred Datchler and Dick James. Very shortly after the group made their first broadcasts with BBC Radio on such programmes as '' Workers' Playtime'' and ''The Goon Show'', Dick James decided to resume his career as a solo vocalist, left the group, and was replaced by Bob Brown. Ronnie Milne took care of the musical arranging, while Cliff Adams became their manager, in addition to contributing scores for the group. In September 1953, Milne left the Stargazers to emigrate to Canada, and was replaced in the group by Dave Carey. The group served as backing vocalists for Petula Clark on her first recordings. Commercial success Recording for De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Howard (comedian)
Michael Howard (4 March 1916 – 18 February 1988) was a British actor and comedian. His parents were the Scottish Congregational minister, psychologist and academic John Grant McKenzie and Margaret Ann née Murray."Dr. J. G. McKenzie", ''The Times'' (London), 20 May 1963, p. 16. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed at various theatres in Britain and America. He became a resident comic at the Windmill Theatre in London in 1941. He wrote and starred in a number of comedy shows for BBC Radio including ''For the Love of Mike'', ''Leave it to the Boys'', ''The Michael Howard Show'' and ''Here's Howard''. The last was adapted for BBC Television and was transmitted from 14 March to 20 June 1951. He married Betty Kelly in 1938, with whom he had one child, Harriet. They later divorced and in 1949 he married the actress Peggy Evans, with whom he had two children, Annabelle Howard and Ian Howard. The 1956 'Picture Show Who's Who on the Screen' Annual gives, on P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd, OBE (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment. Early life Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née Barham) and Harry Hudd. His father was a carpenter who left the family shortly after the Second World War, and his mother, who had a history of mental health problems, commited suicide by gas when Hudd was 9 years old. Hudd was primarily brought up by his grandmother, and attended Tavistock Secondary Modern School in Croydon and Croydon Secondary Technical School. After completing his national service in the Royal Air Force, he studied commercial art at the Regent Street Polytechnic. He then worked as a messenger for an advertising agency, a window dresser and a commercial artist working under Harry Beck. He made his professional debut as a comedian at the Streatham Hill Theatre on 27 October 1957, in a show in aid of the Sir Philip Game#M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Janet Brown
Janet McLuckie Brown (14 December 192327 May 2011) was a Scottish actress, comedian and impressionist who gained considerable fame in the 1970s and 1980s for her impersonations of Margaret Thatcher. Brown was the wife of Peter Butterworth, who was best known for his appearances in the ''Carry On'' films. Butterworth died in 1979 and Brown never remarried. Career Brown was born in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, and educated at Rutherglen Academy. During World War II, Brown enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and was the first female performer to take part in Stars in Battledress. She entered British film as an actress in 1948, notably in ''Folly to Be Wise'' (1952), and then appeared in several British television series, such as ''The Eric Barker Half-Hour'' (1952), ''How Do You View?'' (1952–1953) and ''Friends and Neighbours'' (1954). Margaret Thatcher impersonations Beginning with Margaret Thatcher's election as the leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, Brown ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Martin (comedian)
George Frederick Martin (26 February 1922 – 4 November 1991) was a British comedian, musician, composer, scriptwriter and broadcaster, often billed as "The Casual Comedian". Early days Martin was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, England, with Romany blood on his mother's side. He was an accordion player and singer known as "The Boy Baritone". He also played in The Tango Trio. Martin volunteered for the Royal Air Force in 1940, on his eighteenth birthday, serving as a ground crew technician in Ireland and Canada. Martin developed his performance skills in numerous service productions. He married Joan Hewitt in 1942 and had three children – Sue (1946), Ray (1947) and Mike (1954). He left the RAF in 1946 and worked for a while as an electrician in Aldershot. Early career Martin formed a close harmony trio, The Martin Brothers, with his younger brother, Bill, and his brother-in-law, Bob McGowan (whom he had met in the RAF in Canada). They successfully auditioned for Vivian Van ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Cavanagh (impressionist)
Peter Cavanagh (born Peter Cedric Coates; 31 October 1914 – 18 February 1981) was an English comic impressionist, popular on BBC radio in the 1940s and 1950s when he was known as "The Voice of Them All". Biography Born in Croydon, Cavanagh started work in the motor trade and then for an electrical manufacturer, before training at the Guildhall School of Music with the aim of becoming a concert singer. During the Second World War, he was attached to the Royal Army Medical Corps, and sometimes acted as compere at shows. He started mimicking radio personalities, such as the imaginary children impersonated by Harry Hemsley, and developed a special talent for impersonating Field Marshal Montgomery - whom he resembled physically - and Winston Churchill.Richard Anthony Baker, ''Old Time Variety: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2011, , pp.164-165 He started making regular radio appearances on ''Variety Bandbox'' in 1945, and became widely known for his ability to make ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morecambe And Wise
Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984. They have been described as "the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double-act that Britain has ever produced". In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, '' The Morecambe and Wise Show'' was placed 14th. In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 2 in a poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars. Their early career was the subject of the 2011 television biopic ''Eric and Ernie'', and their 1970s career was the subject of the television biopic ''Eric, Ernie and Me'' in 2017. In 1976, Morecambe and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julie Andrews
Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards and six Golden Globe Awards. She has also received three Tony Award nominations. Andrews was made a Disney Legend in 1991, and has been honoured with an Honorary Golden Lion, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2007, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2022. In 2000, Andrews was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the performing arts. Andrews, a child actress and singer, appeared in the West End in 1948 and made her Broadway debut in '' The Boy Friend'' (1954). Billed as "Britain's youngest prima donna", she rose to prominence starring in Broadway musicals such as ''My Fair Lady'' (1956) playing Eliza Doolittle and ''Camelot'' (1960) playing Quee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur English
Arthur Leslie Norman English (9 May 1919 – 16 April 1995) was an English television, film and stage actor and comedian from the music hall tradition. Early life English was born at 22 Lysons Road in Aldershot,'Arthur English, ''Aldershot Historical & Archaeological Society'' (AHAS), Yearbook 23 (2010) pg7 Hampshire, the son of Walter Frederick English (1856–1948) and Ethel English (Married and maiden names, née Parsons) (1886–1975), who married at Holy Trinity Church, Aldershot, Holy Trinity church in Aldershot in 1909. Arthur English had two older brothers: Walter (born 1910) and John Edgar (born 1912). All three boys were born in their parents' bedroom in Lysons Road and all three were baptised at Holy Trinity church. He attended West End Boys School in Aldershot (now the West End Centre, Aldershot, West End Centre) from the age of 5 to 14. His first stage appearance was aged 10 when he joined a group from Gale & Polden called the 'Five O'clock Follies' as an acrobat. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
