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Crackerjack! (TV Programme)
''Crackerjack'' is a British children's television series which was initially aired on the BBC Television Service between 14 September 1955 and 21 December 1984 (with no series in 1971). The series was a variety show featuring comedy sketches, singers and quizzes, broadcast live with an audience. ''Crackerjack'' returned in 2020. It was hosted by Sam & Mark, with an exclamation mark added to its original title, and aired on CBBC from 17 January. The second revived series aired from December 2020 to March 2021. Its initial long run featured Eamonn Andrews, Max Bygraves, Leslie Crowther, Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, Jack Douglas, Stu Francis, Peter Glaze, Don Maclean, Michael Aspel, Little and Large, Jan Hunt, The Krankies, Basil Brush, Geoffrey Durham, Bernie Clifton, and Ronnie Corbett, amongst many others. Performers who appeared as singers/dancers, assisting the host with games, included Sally Ann Triplett (Series 26), Julie Dorne-Brown (Series 27–28), and Ling Tai (Series ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leslie Crowther
Leslie Douglas Sargent Crowther (6 February 1933 – 28 September 1996) was an English comedian, actor, TV presenter, and game show host. Biography Leslie Crowther was born on Monday 6 February 1933 in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, son of Leslie Frederick Crowther (died 1955), of Twickenham, Middlesex, and Ethel Maraquita, nee Goulder (8 March 1895-14 November 1951)England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 née Goulder. At the end of 1944, he moved to London with his parents, but was evacuated for a few months to the Isle of Bute until just after the Second World War ended. Crowther's stage experience began in the mid-1940s. As a youngster he showed promise as a pianist, and in 1944 won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. He attended the respected Cone-Ripman Drama School in London, where he met his future wife, and whilst there competed (in 1947) at the Star Junior Ballroom Championships partnering Pamela Coc ... [...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 performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compère (master of ceremonies) or 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 the format is still widespread in some parts of the world, such as in the United Kingdom with the '' Royal Variety Performance'', the Philippines with ''Eat Bulaga!'' and '' It's Showtime'', and South Korea with '' 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 late-night talk shows and NBC's vari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ling Tai
Ling Tai is a Chinese actress, remembered for being a presenter on the final year of children's programme ''Crackerjack!'' as well as playing Lily in the first series of children's comedy ''Spatz''. Early life In 1960, she was found abandoned as a baby on the streets of Hong Kong. Rescued by a policeman, she was taken to an orphanage. Aged six months, the girl was brought to Britain with nine other babies, where she was adopted by a couple from Eastcote. Aged 18, Ling planned to return home to China with her adoptive parents but decided to enter the world of acting. Acting career Acting work includes appearances in ''The Two Ronnies'', '' Bergerac'', ''Dramarama'', ''Never the Twain'', ''Alas Smith and Jones'', ''Coronation Street'' and ''Soldier Soldier''. ''Doctor Who'' fans recall Ling for her part as Shou Yuing in the 1989 story ''Battlefield'' (after previously being an uncredited extra in ''The Leisure Hive'' and ''Warriors of the Deep''). On stage, the actress has a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Downtown Julie Brown
Julie Dorne Brown, better known as Downtown Julie Brown, is a British-born actress, dancer, television personality, SiriusXM DJ and former MTV VJ. Brown is best known as the host of the television music show '' Club MTV'', which ran from 1987 until 1992. Life and career Brown's father was Jamaican and her mother British. Brown has six siblings. Her father was in the Royal Air Force, and she grew up on air force bases around the world, including Singapore and Cyprus, before returning to the United Kingdom, where they settled in Bridgend, Wales. After winning the UK Disco Dancing Championships, she went on to win the World Disco Dancing Championship in 1979. Soon after, Brown began a career on British television as presenter and guest on a number of children's programmes, including the long-running show '' Crackerjack''. Brown also appeared as a dancer on ''Top of the Pops'' in the early 1980s as a member of the dance troupe Zoo. Brown became a presenter on the pan-European mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sally Ann Triplett
Sally Ann Triplett (born 15 April 1962, London, England) is a British singer and actress. She participated in two editions of the Eurovision Song Contest and West End productions. Career Triplett first represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 as the lead female vocals of the six-piece band Prima Donna. Prima Donna finished third with their pop-ballad " Love Enough for Two" but the song was a flop in the charts, and the group disbanded after their second single. Two years later, she again represented United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, this time as part of a duo, Bardo. Their song, " One Step Further", was a frantic pop number with a complex dance routine. The vigorous choreography noticeably affected the vocals, and not helped by a backing track but instead a live orchestra, the song finished seventh. Author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor notes in his ''The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History'' that Sally-Ann Tripl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved prominence in David Frost's 1960s satirical comedy programme '' The Frost Report'' (with Barker) and subsequently starred in sitcoms such as '' No – That's Me Over Here!'', '' Now Look Here'', and '' Sorry!''. Corbett began his acting career after moving from Edinburgh to London; he had early roles in the TV series ''Crackerjack'' and ''The Saint'', and appeared in the films ''You're Only Young Twice'', '' Rockets Galore!'', ''Casino Royale'', '' Some Will, Some Won't'', and ''No Sex Please, We're British''. He first worked with Ronnie Barker in the BBC TV series '' The Frost Report'' in 1966, and the two of them were given their own show by the BBC five years later. ''The Two Ronnies'' ran as a comedy sketch show from 1971 to 1987, and b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernie Clifton
Bernie Clifton (born Bernard M. Quinn, 30 April 1936) is a British comedian and entertainer, known for his work with his orange ostrich puppet costume Oswald the Ostrich. Early life Clifton was born on 30 April 1936 in St Helens, Lancashire, where he also grew up. He left grammar school without any qualifications at 15 and became an apprentice plumber. Aged 21, he was called up for national service and became a radar mechanic at the Bomber Command Bombing School (BCBS) at RAF Lindholme. He has been based in South Yorkshire ever since. Career Clifton's first performing job was as a singer with a dance band, but he was fired after a month. His first television performance was on the light-entertainment show '' The Good Old Days'' in 1971, where he was inspired by Les Dawson. He performed in the 1979 Royal Variety Performance. He subsequently appeared on several further occasions, including the 2016 show. He made regular appearances on '' Crackerjack!''. During the 1980s, he app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Durham
Geoffrey Durham (born 22 July 1949) is a British comedy magician and actor who was known for many years as "the Great Soprendo". Early life Durham was born in East Molesey, Surrey, England. At the age of ten, he developed an interest in magic and performed occasional shows for friends and relatives. By the age of 13, however, that interest had waned. He later studied Spanish at Leeds University and then took a job as a stage-hand at the Leeds City Varieties Theatre. He worked there for 18 months, ending up as head flyman, and then left to become an actor. After working in various stage shows for several years his interest in magic was rekindled while preparing for a show in Liverpool, in which his character performed some tricks. He dug out some of his old props and found he enjoyed learning and performing magic so much that he decided to make it his new career. Magic career Durham presented a magic act as an outrageous Spanish magician for at least 15 years before perform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil Brush
Basil Brush is a fictional fox best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts, books, annuals and comic strips. The character has featured on children's television from the 1960s to the present day. He has also appeared in pantomimes across the UK. A mischievous character and a raconteur, Basil Brush is best known for his catchphrase " Boom! Boom!", used after bursting out laughing at one of his own jokes, and also for speaking in a "posh" accent and manner, referring to himself as a "fella". The character claims to dislike puppets, and says his most prized possession is his brush, this being the traditional name for a fox's tail. He publicly supports the Leicester City Football Club, which he refers to as "the foxes". 1962-1968 The original Basil Brush glove puppet was designed by Peter Firmin in 1962 for an ITV television series and was voiced and perf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Krankies
The Krankies are a Scottish comedy duo who enjoyed success as a cabaret act in the 1970s and on television in the 1980s, featuring in their own television shows and making pop records. Since this period, they have also regularly appeared in pantomime. The duo comprises Janette Tough (née Anderson) and her husband Ian. As the Krankies they portray schoolboy Wee Jimmy Krankie (Janette), and paternal figure Ian Krankie (Ian), though in their comedy act they also portray other characters. Beginning in the 1990s, they regularly appeared as the Krankies in episodes of the BBC comedy series '' French and Saunders''. Wee Jimmy Krankie often used the catchphrase exclamation " Fandabidozi!" Biographies Janette Anderson was born on 16 May 1947 in Queenzieburn, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, and Ian Tough on 26 March 1947 in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire. The two met in 1966, and were married in 1969. Career The Krankies began their career as a comedy duo performing as various characters and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Hunt
Jan Hunt (born 15 February 1938) is a British comedian, actress and music hall performer, who appeared on BBC television series '' Crackerjack'' with Michael Aspel, Ed Stewart, Peter Glaze and Don Maclean in the 1970s. She would often be seen playing an old lady in dramatisations, involving her donning a grey wig and glasses and putting her hand on her hip to suggest a bad back. Her later career included playing Ellie May in ''Show Boat'' (Adelphi Theatre London 1971) in which she first performed her trademark "spoons" routine. She frequently performed at London's Players' Theatre, and on BBC TV's '' The Good Old Days'', notably as Marie Lloyd. Her Paper Moon Theatre Company continues to provide music hall and variety shows throughout the UK. Hunt is an honorary patron of The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America and the Theatre and Film Guild of Great Britain and America is a registered theatre charity and non-profi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little And Large
''Little and Large'' were a British comedy double act comprising straight man Syd Little (born Cyril John Mead; 19 December 1942) and comic Eddie Large (born Edward Hugh McGinnis; 25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020). Comedy duo They formed their partnership in 1962, originally appearing as singers in local pubs around north-west England. According to an interview with Eddie Large in ''Metro (British newspaper), Metro'' newspaper (11 January 2019), they went professional in October 1963. After deciding to concentrate on comedy, Little and Large's big break came in 1971 when they appeared on ITV talent show ''Opportunity Knocks (UK TV series), Opportunity Knocks''. They won the programme's vote, turning them into household names virtually overnight. Within five years, the duo had their own prime-time show on ITV (TV channel), ITV called ''The Little and Large Tellyshow''. It began with a pilot episode in 1976, which earned the pair a commission for a series in 1977. However, the duo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
