Ian Crossley (born 1951), better known by the stage name Fine Time Fontayne, is an English actor and stage director.
Early life
Fontayne was born in
Wombwell
Wombwell () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The town in the 2011 census was split between a ward called Wombwell, as well as small parts that fell under two other wards called Darfield (specifically ...
,
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
(now
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham.
In N ...
) into a mining family.
In the 1960s, he moved with his parents and brothers to
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, where they ran a pub. He took his
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
when he began singing and playing at a local
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
club in Yorkshire. He had previously called himself Ordinary Seaman Whittle.
[''All Memories Great & Small'', Oliver Crocker (2016; MIWK)] He started acting in the 1970s with the Crucible Vanguard Company.
Career
In the early years of his career Fontayne worked in cabaret, community and repertory theatre, as well as the
Red Ladder Theatre Company
Red Ladder Theatre Company is a national touring theatre company, funded by the Arts Council England and Leeds City Council. It is based at the Yorkshire Dance Centre, Leeds.
The company was founded in London in 1968, during the Vietnam War, as a ...
.
He has played a variety of roles in many long-running British TV series such as ''
All Creatures Great and Small'', ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'', ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
'' as well as both ''
Heartbeat'' playing the role of a journalist on the ''Ashfordly Gazette'' and ''
The Royal
''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast on ITV1 from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the st ...
'' in which he appeared as Nobby Jepson, an ex-coal miner turned "''back setter,''" in the episode ''Consequences''.
He is a frequent voice in BBC Radio drama (including ''The Blackburn Files'' and ''
Street and Lane
''Street and Lane'' is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy series written by Dave Sheasby and Ian McMillan. The show ran for two series which aired in 2005 and 2007. The first series featured Nicholas Lane as Johnny Street, with Shaun Dooley taking ove ...
'') and has appeared in films including ''
24 Hour Party People'' and ''
Butterfly Kiss
''Butterfly Kiss'' (alternative title ''Killer on the Road'') is a 1995 British film, directed by Michael Winterbottom and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce. It stars Amanda Plummer and Saskia Reeves. The film was entered into the 45th Berlin Int ...
''.
Fontayne appeared in the 2002 radio series ''The Little World of Don Camillo''. He directed a successful production of ''Sleeping Beauty'' at the
Mercury Theatre
The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury als ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
in December 2007 and January 2008. In February 2020, Fontayne portrayed the role of
Ned Wainwright in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''.
Fontayne was also a regular feature in Oldham Colliseum's annual pantomime, co-writing and performing as the pantomime dame in things such as Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty and Mother Goose.
*
Review of Hamlet with Fine Time Fontayne:
* https://extra.shu.ac.uk/emls/15-3/revham.htm