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Caedmon Audio
Caedmon Audio and HarperCollins Audio are record label imprints of HarperCollins Publishers that specialize in audiobooks and other literary content. Formerly Caedmon Records, its marketing tag-line was Caedmon: a Third Dimension for the Printed Page. The name changed when the label switched to CD-only production. Caedmon history Caedmon Records was a pioneer in the audiobook business, it was the first company to sell spoken-word recordings to the public and has been called the seed of the audiobook industry. Caedmon was founded in New York in 1952 by college graduates Barbara Holdridge and Marianne Roney (later Marianne Mantell). The label's first release was a collection of poems by Dylan Thomas as read by the author. The B-side contained '' A Child's Christmas in Wales'', which was added as an afterthought; the story was obscure and Thomas himself could not remember its title when asked what to use to fill up the LP's B-side. However, this recording went on to become ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Holdridge
Barbara Ann Holdridge ( Cohen; July 26, 1929 – June 9, 2025) was an American recording executive. Together with her business partner, Marianne Mantell, she co-founded Caedmon Records in 1952. As an entirely female-owned company Caedmon stressed gender equality and focused on many women's writings. She was a pioneer in the genre of spoken word literary recordings, and is considered to have laid the foundation for modern audio books. Early life and education Barbara Ann Holdridge née Cohen was born in 1929 in New York City. Holdridge attended Hunter College in New York, receiving her BA in 1950 after majoring in Humanities. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated cum laude. She continued her graduate education in Humanities at Columbia University, also in New York, but then turned her attention to founding Caedmon Records with her college friend Marianne Roney, in 1952. Career In 1952 Holdridge was working for Liveright Publishers in New York and Roney (later Mante ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Burton
Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memorable performance as Richard Burton's Hamlet, Hamlet in 1964. He was called "the natural successor to Laurence Olivier, Olivier" by critic Kenneth Tynan. Burton's perceived failure to live up to those expectations disappointed some critics and colleagues; his heavy drinking added to his reputation as a great performer who had wasted his talent. Nevertheless, he is widely regarded as one of the finest actors of his generation. Burton was nominated for an Academy Awards, Academy Award seven times but never won. He was nominated for his performances in ''My Cousin Rachel (1952 film), My Cousin Rachel'' (1952), ''The Robe (1953 film), The Robe'' (1953), ''Becket (1964 film), Becket'' (1964), ''The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (film), The Spy W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures and one for television. Price's first film role was as a leading man in the 1938 comedy ''Service de Luxe''. He became a character actor, appearing in ''The Song of Bernadette (film), The Song of Bernadette'' (1943), ''Laura (1944 film), Laura'' (1944), ''The Keys of the Kingdom (film), The Keys of the Kingdom'' (1944), ''Leave Her to Heaven'' (1945), ''Dragonwyck (film), Dragonwyck'' (1946), ''The Three Musketeers (1948 film), The Three Musketeers'' (1948) and ''The Ten Commandments (1956 film), The Ten Commandments'' (1956). He established himself in the horror genre with roles in ''House of Wax (1953 film), House of Wax'' (1953), ''The Fly (1958 film), The Fly'' (1958 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had List of Maggie Smith performances, an extensive career on stage and screen for over seven decades and was one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actresses. She received List of awards and nominations received by Maggie Smith, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for six Olivier Awards. Smith is one of the few performers to earn the Triple Crown of Acting. Smith began her stage career as a student, performing at the Oxford Playhouse in 1952, and made her professional debut on Broadway theatre, Broadway in ''New Faces of '56''. Over the following decades Smith established herself alongside Judi Dench as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the Royal National Theatre, Nation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Adrian
Max Adrian (born Guy Thornton Bor; 1 November 1903 – 19 January 1973) was an Irish stage, film and television actor and singer. He was a founding member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. In addition to his success as a character actor in classical drama, Adrian was known for his work as a singer and comic actor in revue and musicals, and in one-man shows about George Bernard Shaw and Gilbert and Sullivan, and in cinema and television films, notably Ken Russell's '' Song of Summer'' as the ailing composer Delius. Early years Adrian was born in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland, the son of Edward Norman Cavendish Bor and Mabel Lloyd Thornton. He was born in the provincial Bank of Ireland branch in Kilkenny, where his father was the bank manager, into a Church of Ireland family, the seventh of eight children. His paternal ancestry was Dutch, from settlers who arrived in Ireland with William of Orange in 1689. He was educated at the Portora Roy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He worked in films throughout most of his career, and played more than sixty cinema roles. From an artistic but not theatrical background, Richardson had no thought of a stage career until a production of ''Hamlet'' in Brighton inspired him to become an actor. He learned his craft in the 1920s with a touring company and later the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. In 1931 he joined the Old Vic, playing mostly Shakespearean roles. He led the company the following season, succeeding Gielgud, who had taught him much about stage technique. After he left the company, a series of leading roles took him to stardom in the West End and on Broadway. In the 1940s, together with Olivier and John Burrell, Richardson was the co-director of the Old Vic company. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Pleasence
Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He was known for his "bald head and intense, staring eyes," and played more than 250 stage, film, and television roles across a nearly sixty-year career. Pleasence began his career on stage in the West End before having a screen career, which included starring in a 1954 BBC adaptation of George Orwell's ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', before playing numerous supporting and character roles, developing a reputation for playing "nervy, unstable characters" including Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in '' The Great Escape'' (1963), the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967), SEN 5241 in ''THX 1138'' (1971), and the deranged Clarence "Doc" Tydon in '' Wake in Fright'' (1971). He also maintained an acclaimed career on the Broadway stage. Pleasence starred as psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis in ''Halloween'' (1978) and four of its sequels, a role for which he w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alec McCowen
Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. Early life McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer, and Duncan McCowen, a shopkeeper. He attended The Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells - he was known as 'Squeaker' McCowen by his friends - and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Career Early theatre work McCowen first appeared on stage at the Macclesfield repertory theatre in August 1942 as Micky in ''Paddy the Next Best Thing''. He appeared in repertory in York and Birmingham 1943–45, and toured India and Burma in a production of Kenneth Horne's West End comedy '' Love in a Mist'' during 1945 with the Entertainments National Service Association ( ENSA). He continued in repertory 1946–49, during which time he played a season at St John's, Newfoundland, Canada. McCowen made his London debut on 20 April 1950, at the Arts The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield established a reputation as one of the greatest Shakespearean performers. He declined the honour of a knighthood, but was appointed CBE in 1956 and became a CH in 2001. Scofield received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for portraying Sir Thomas More in the Broadway production of '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1962). Four years later, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor when he reprised the role in the 1966 film adaptation, making him one of eleven to receive a Tony and Academy Award for the same role. He received the Primetime Emmy Award for ''Male of the Species'' (1969). Scofield garnered acclaim for his roles in films such as '' The Train'' (1964), ''King Lear'' (1971), '' A Delicate Balance'' (1973), '' Henry V'' (1989 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felix Aylmer
Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early life Felix Edward Aylmer Jones was born in Corsham, Wiltshire, the second of six children (five sons and a daughter) of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Edward Aylmer Jones, of the Royal Engineers, and his wife Lilian, née Cookworthy. He was educated at King James's Grammar School, Almondbury, near Huddersfield, where he was a boarder from 1897 to 1900, Magdalen College School, and Exeter College, Oxford, where he was a member of Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS). He trained under the Victorian-era actress and director Rosina Filippi before securing his first professional engagement at the London Coliseum in 1911. He appeared in the world premiere of '' The Farmer's Wife'' by Eden Phillpotts at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1917. Bet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanessa Redgrave
Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress. In her career spanning over six decades, she has garnered List of awards and nominations received by Vanessa Redgrave, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and an Olivier Award, making her one of the few performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. She has also received various honorary awards, including the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship Award, the Golden Lion#Golden Lion Honorary Award, Golden Lion Honorary Award, and an induction into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Redgrave made her acting debut on stage with the production of ' in 1958. She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in the Shakespearean comedy ''As You Like It'' with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has since starred in numerous productions in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway (theatre), Broadway. She won the Olivier Award for Laurence Olivier Awar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English actor and filmmaker. Beginning his career in theatre, he first appeared in the West End in 1937. He made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Lady Vanishes'' in 1938. Redgrave received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' (1947), as well as two BAFTA nominations for Best British Actor for his performances in '' The Night My Number Came Up'' (1955) and ''Time Without Pity'' (1957). At the 4th Cannes Film Festival, he won Best Actor for his performance in '' The Browning Version'' (1951). Youth and education Redgrave was born in Bristol, England, the son of actress Margaret Scudamore and the silent film actor Roy Redgrave. Roy left when Redgrave was six months old to pursue a career in Australia. He died when Redgrave was 14. His mother subsequently married Captain James Anderson, a tea planter. Redgrave greatly disliked his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
