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Charlie Drake
Charles Edward Springall (19 June 1925 – 23 December 2006), known professionally as Charlie Drake, was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer. With his small stature (5' 1"/155 cm tall), curly red hair and liking for slapstick, he was a popular comedian with children in his early years, becoming nationally known for his "Hello, my darlings!" catchphrase. Early life Born Charles Edward Springall in the Elephant and Castle, Southwark, South London, he took his mother's maiden name for the stage and, later, film and television, achieving success as a comedian. Career Drake made his first appearance on stage at the age of eight, and after leaving school toured working men's clubs. After serving in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, Drake turned professional and made his television début in ''The Centre Show'' in 1953. He then joined his wartime comrade Jack Edwardes to form a double act, named 'Mick and Montmorency'. In 1954 he appeared with Bob Monkho ...
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Elephant And Castle
The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The name is derived from a local coaching inn. In the first half of the 20th century, because of its vitality, the area was known as "the Piccadilly of South London". In more recent years, it has been viewed as a part of Central London given its location in Zone 1 on the London Underground. "The Elephant", as locally abbreviated, consists of major traffic junctions connected by a short road called Elephant and Castle, the nascent part of the A3. Traffic runs to and from Kent along the A2 (New Kent Road and Old Kent Road), much of the south of England on the A3, to the West End via St George's Road, and to the City of London via London Road and Newington Causeway at the northern junction. Newington Butts and Walwor ...
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The Charlie Drake Show
''The Charlie Drake Show'' is the name of four British comedy programmes that aired from 1958 to 1968. Starring comedian Charlie Drake, two of the programmes aired on ITV and two on the BBC. 1958 programme The first programme to use the title ''The Charlie Drake Show'' was a one-off 60 minute sketch and stand-up that aired on ITV on Sunday 31 August 1958 at 8.30pm. Made in black-and-white, the programme was produced by Kenneth Carter. The episode is presumed lost. 1960 sitcom Two years later a sitcom, called ''The Charlie Drake Show'', aired on BBC TV. The programme aired for a total of 12 episodes, each 30 minutes long, over three series from 25 November 1960 to 24 October 1961. It was written by Drake and Richard Waring and produced by Ronald Marsh. The first series, which aired on Fridays at 7.30pm, had the theme of "coping with the pressures of modern day life in 1960". The theme of series two - which broadcast on Thursdays at 7.30pm - was adventure and spoofed TV programmes ...
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London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 and 1969 ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' was held at the venue, which was produced for the ITV network. The show included a performance by The Beatles on 13 October 1963. One national paper's headlines in the following days coined the term "Beatlemania" to describe the increasingly hysterical interest in the band. While the theatre has a resident show, it is also able to host one-off performances, such as concerts, TV specials and Christmas pantomimes. It has hosted the Royal Variety Performance 43 times, most recently in 2019. In March 2020, the venue closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on the theatre industry, but reopened over four months later on 1 August 2020. Architecture Walter Gibbons, an early moving-pictures m ...
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Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ Authority), which oversaw the introduction of a state television service in the Republic of Ireland. Early life Andrews was born in Synge Street, Dublin, and educated at Synge Street CBS. He began his career as a clerk in an insurance office. He was a keen amateur boxer and won the Irish junior middleweight title in 1944. Broadcasting career By 1944 he was the Hon. Secretary of St. Andrew's Boxing Club. In 1946 he became a full-time freelance sports commentator, working for Radio Éireann, Ireland's state broadcaster. In 1950, he began presenting programmes for the BBC, being particularly well known for boxing commentaries, and soon became one of television's most popular presenters. The following year, the game show ''What's My Line?'' be ...
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This Is Your Life (British TV Series)
''This Is Your Life'' is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same title. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987. Michael Aspel then took up the role of host until the show ended in 2003. It briefly returned in 2007 as a one-off special presented by Trevor McDonald. In the show the host surprises a special guest, before taking them through their life with the assistance of the 'big red book'. Both celebrities and non-celebrities have been featured on the show. The show was originally broadcast live, and over its run it has alternated between being broadcast on the BBC and on ITV. The surprise element was a very important part of the show; if the guest heard about the project beforehand, it would be cancelled. History The British version of the show was launched in 1955 on the BBC and was first presented by Ralph Edwards to the first "victim", Eamonn Andrews, who was th ...
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Mister Ten Per Cent
''Mister Ten Per Cent'' is a 1967 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Charlie Drake, Derek Nimmo and Wanda Ventham. It was shot at Elstree Studios and on location in London. It was the last in a series of four films produced by ABPC featuring Drake. Plot Percy Pointer, a construction worker and amateur dramatist, writes a drama 'Oh My Lord' and hopes to have it professionally produced. A dishonest producer agrees to back the play, hoping that it will be a disaster, so that he can claim insurance on its failure. To Percy's distress, the first audience see the play as a slapstick comedy, not the drama he intended it to be. The play is a hit and audiences love it. But Percy is upset by the turn of events and attempts to ruin the production. It then emerges that in his ignorance of showbusiness contracts, he has signed away 10% of any revenue to so many people that he actually owes 110% of the money. His attempts to sabotage the production lead to his ...
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The Cracksman
''The Cracksman'' is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott.Personal letter from Delia Derbyshire to Associated British Picture Corporation, dated 25 April 1963. Plot Charlie Drake plays honest but naive locksmith Ernest Wright who believes that everybody else is equally honest. First, he is duped by a debonair con man into opening a car. He is caught by the police but given probation. Next, the same man fools him into breaking into a house, and again he is caught while the villain escapes and he lands in jail. When he is released, he again gets tricked, this time by a woman, into opening a safe, for which he receives a three-year jail sentence. On arrival in prison, he has a reputation as a master thief. Upon his release, he finds himself as a pawn being manipulated by two gangs into a safe-cracking scheme but, with the help of undercover policewoman Muriel, he helps trap the crooks and clear his name. Portions of the film satirise the 1962 films ''Birdman ...
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Petticoat Pirates
''Petticoat Pirates'' is a 1961 British comedy film directed by David MacDonald and starring Charlie Drake, Anne Heywood, Cecil Parker, John Turner and Thorley Walters Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English character actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in ''Two-Way Stretch'' and '' Carlton-Browne of the FO''. Early life Walters was born in Tei .... The film had its premiere on 30 November 1961 at the Warner Theatre in London's West End. Wren Officer Anne Heywood and the 150 girls under her command are piqued. On the grounds that Wrens can do anything that men can do, at least as well or better, they demand the right to serve at sea in warships. When their request is turned down by the authorities they board a frigate, imprison the skeleton crew, and set off to sea, where they unintentionally become embroiled in a training exercise between British and US fleets... Cast External links * 1961 films 1 ...
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Sands Of The Desert
''Sands of the Desert'' is a 1960 British adventure comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Charlie Drake in his first lead role in a feature film, Peter Arne, Sarah Branch and Raymond Huntley. Premise Charlie Sands, a British travel agent is sent to run a holiday camp in the Arabian Peninsula after his predecessor is assassinated because the property is sitting on a potential oilfield. Cast Critical reception ''TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...'' described it as "a mildly amusing comedy that never really delivers its laugh quota, due primarily to its uneven script. Drake, a popular British television comic of the day, is good, though the movies are clearly not his metier." References External links * 1960 films 1960s advent ...
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The Worker (TV Series)
''The Worker'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1965 to 1978. Co-written by and starring comedian Charlie Drake, the programme revolved around a man who has been dismissed from nearly 1,000 jobs. Cast *Charlie Drake - Charlie * Percy Herbert - Mr Whittaker ''(series 1)'' *Henry McGee - Mr Pugh ''(series 2 onwards)'' * Frank Williams - Vicar Plot Charlie, although willing to work, has been dismissed from the 980 jobs that the local Labour Exchange has found him over the previous 20 years. Mr Whittaker, and later Mr Pugh, is the clerk at the exchange who tries to find Charlie a suitable job. Episodes The first two series of ''The Worker'', a total of thirteen 35 minute episodes, aired in 1965 on Saturdays at 8.25pm. The next two series - by now in colour - broadcast from 1969 to 1970, with the first airing on Mondays at 9.30pm and the second on Thursdays at 9.00pm. This time the twelve episodes were 30 minutes long. A short special as part of ''All-Star Comedy Carnival' ...
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Slapstick And Old Lace
''Slapstick and Old Lace'' is a British television sketch show which originally aired on ITV in 1971. Starring Charlie Drake, it was his follow-up to his hit television comedy '' The Worker'' which had lasted from 1965 to 1970. Also appearing in the show were Anna Dawson and Henry McGee ''For the American businessman and academic, see Henry W. McGee.'' Henry James Marris-McGee (14 May 1929 – 28 January 2006) was a British actor, best known as straight man to Benny Hill for many years. McGee was also often the announce .... The title is a reference to the play '' Arsenic and Old Lace''. In 1976 Drake appeared in a stage show of the same name, which failed due to the extraordinary hot summer during which audience numbers dramatically fell.Goldman p.329 References Bibliography * Lawrence Goldman. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005–2008''. OUP Oxford, 2013. * Howard Maxford. ''Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company''. McFarland, 2018. Ex ...
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Who Is Sylvia? (TV Series)
''Who Is Sylvia?'' is a 1967 British television sitcom which aired on ITV.Maxford p.240 It stars Charlie Drake as a man in search of wife who enlists the help of a marriage bureau run by Mrs. Proudpiece (Kathleen Byron) with predictably disastrous results. Actors who appeared in episodes of the series include Leslie Dwyer, Ballard Berkeley, Victor Maddern, Pauline Collins, Sally Bazely, Austin Trevor, Justine Lord, Martin Benson, Shirley Stelfox, Henry McGee, George Woodbridge, Petra Markham, Michael Balfour and Wally Patch. 5 out of the 7 episodes made survive, The two episodes which are lost are episodes 5 and 6. Cast * Charlie Drake as Charles Rameses Drake * Kathleen Byron Kathleen Elizabeth Fell (11 January 1921 – 18 January 2009), known professionally as Kathleen Byron, was an English actress. Early life Byron was born in Manor Park (then part of Essex) to what she described as "staunch working-class social ... as Mrs. Proudpiece References Bibliography * Ho ...
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