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Rich Little's Christmas Carol
''Rich Little's Christmas Carol'', broadcast in Canada as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a TV special that premiered on CBC Television in December 1978, and in the United States on Home Box Office (HBO) on December 16, 1979. The special won an International Emmy Award and a Rose d'Or award. It was produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1978. It starred Rich Little in a one-man performance with impersonations of his characters playing the parts in Charles Dickens' famous 1843 holiday story, ''A Christmas Carol''.December 1979 HBO Program Guide (''The China Syndrome'' on cover), page 12 Little played the following celebrities: * W. C. Fields as Ebenezer Scrooge *Paul Lynde as Bob Cratchit *Johnny Carson as Fred *Laurel and Hardy as the two solicitors *Richard Nixon as Jacob Marley *Humphrey Bogart as the Ghost of Christmas Past *Groucho Marx as Fezziwig *James Stewart as Dick Wilkins *Peter Falk as Columbo/the Ghost of Christmas Present *Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rich Little
Richard Caruthers Little (born November 26, 1938) is a Canadian-American comedian, impressionist and voice actor. Sometimes known as the "Man of a Thousand Voices", Little has recorded nine comedy albums and made numerous television appearances, including three HBO specials. Early life Little was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the middle of three sons, older brother Fred and younger brother Chris. His father, Lawrence Peniston Little, was a surgeon who served as a lieutenant commander in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve during World War II and then worked for the Department of Veterans' Affairs until his death in 1959. His mother, Elizabeth (Betty) Maud (née Wilson), was a housewife who grew up in Sarnia, Ontario. A third-generation Canadian, he is descended from English stock on his father's side and Irish on his mother's. On his mother's side, he is descended from John Willson, who was Speaker of the 5th Parliament of Upper Canada in the 1820s. His maternal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality he portrayed both on and off the screen, he epitomized the " American ideal" in the mid-twentieth century. In 1999, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked him third on its list of the greatest American male actors. He received numerous honors including the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1980, the Kennedy Center Honor in 1983, as well as the Academy Honorary Award and Presidential Medal of Freedom, both in 1985. Born and raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Stewart started acting while at Princeton University. After graduating, he began a career as a stage actor making his Broadway debut in the play '' Carry Nation'' (1932). He landed his first supporting role in '' The Murder Man'' (1935) and had his breakthrough in Frank Capra's en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood's Golden Age, especially in Western film, Western and war film, war movies. His career flourished from the silent film era of the 1920s through the American New Wave, as he appeared in a total of 179 film and television productions. He was among the top box-office draws for three decades and appeared with many other important Hollywood stars of his era. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Wayne as one of the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, greatest male stars of classic American cinema. Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa, but grew up in Southern California. After losing his Athletic scholarship, football scholarship to the University of Southern California due to a bodysurfing accident, he began working for the 20th Century Fox, Fox ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Burns
George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyebrow and cigar-smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three-quarters of a century. He and his wife Gracie Allen appeared on radio, television and film as the comedy duo Burns and Allen. At age 79, Burns experienced a sudden career revival as an amiable, beloved, and unusually active comedy elder statesman in the 1975 film ''The Sunshine Boys (1975 film), The Sunshine Boys'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Early life George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum () on January 20, 1896, in New York City, the ninth of 12 children born to Hadassah "Dorah" (née Bluth; ; 1857–1927) and Eliezer Birnbaum (; 1855–1903), known as Louis or Lippa, Jewish immigrants who had come to the United States from Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Mason
James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two BAFTA Awards throughout his career. Mason began his career as a stage actor on the West End theatre, West End, before transitioning into leading man roles in films during the early 1940s. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films included ''The Seventh Veil'' (1945) and ''The Wicked Lady'' (1945). He starred in ''Odd Man Out'' (1947), the first recipient of the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. Moving to the United States in the following decade, Mason starred in such films as George Cukor's ''A Star Is Born (1954 film), A Star Is Born'' (1954) - earning a Golden Globe for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is the last of the three spirits that appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption, foretold by the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Following a visit from the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, Scrooge receives nocturnal visits from three Ghosts of Christmas, each representing a different period in Scrooge's life. The shrouded, ominous, and silent Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is Scrooge's last visitor and shows him a vision of a Christmas Day soon after his death. Background By early 1843, Dickens had been affected by the treatment of the poor, and in particular the treatment of the children of the poor after witnessing children working in appalling conditions in a tin mine and following a visit to a ragged school. Indeed, Dickens experienced poverty as a boy when he was forced to w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inspector Clouseau
Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical ''The Pink Panther'' series. Clouseau's immense ego, eccentricity, exaggerated French accent, and prominent mustache are all a parody of Hercule Poirot, the fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. He is portrayed by Peter Sellers in the original series, and also by Alan Arkin in the 1968 film ''Inspector Clouseau (film), Inspector Clouseau'' and, in a cameo, by Roger Moore (credited as Turk Thrust II) in the 1983 film ''Curse of the Pink Panther''. In the The Pink Panther (2006 film), 2006 reboot and its The Pink Panther 2, 2009 sequel, Clouseau is portrayed by Steve Martin. Clouseau's likeness also appears in the Pink Panther (character), Pink Panther animated cartoon shorts and segments, where he is known as simply "the Inspector". Character Overview Clouseau is an inept and incompetent police detective in the France, French National P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comic songs, and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Inspector Clouseau, Chief Inspector Clouseau in ''The Pink Panther'' series. Born in Southsea, Sellers made his stage debut at the Kings Theatre, Southsea, when he was two weeks old. He began accompanying his parents in a variety act that toured the provincial theatres. He first worked as a drummer and toured around England as a member of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). He developed his mimicry and improvisational skills during a spell in Ralph Reader's wartime Gang Show entertainment troupe, which toured Britain and the Far East. After the war, Sellers made his radio debut in ''ShowTime'', and eventually became a regular perfo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)
:; Tiny Tim Cratchit is a fictional character from the 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens. Although seen only briefly, he is a major character, and serves as an important symbol of the consequences of the protagonist's choices. Character overview Tiny Tim is the young, ailing son of Bob Cratchit, Ebenezer Scrooge’s underpaid clerk. When Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present he is shown just how ill the boy really is (the family cannot afford to properly treat him on the salary Scrooge pays Cratchit). When visited by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Scrooge is shown that Tiny Tim will die. This, and several other visions, leads Scrooge to reform his ways. At the end of the story, Dickens makes it explicit that Tiny Tim does not die, and Scrooge becomes a "second father" to him. Cratchit says of Tim: In the story, Tiny Tim is known for the statement, "God bless us, every one!" which he offers as a blessing at Christmas dinner. Dickens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Truman Capote
Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, and he is regarded as one of the founders of New Journalism, along with Gay Talese, Hunter S. Thompson, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. His work and his life story have been adapted into and have been the subject of more than 20 films and television productions. Capote had a troubled childhood caused by his parents' divorce, a long absence from his mother, and multiple moves. He was planning to become a writer by the time he was eight years old, and he honed his writing ability throughout his childhood. He began his professional career writing short stories. The critical success of "Miriam (short story), Miriam" (1945) attracted the attention of Random House publisher Bennett Cerf and resulted in a contract to write the novel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edith Bunker
Edith Bunker is a fictional character on the 1970s sitcom ''All in the Family'' (and occasionally '' Archie Bunker's Place''), played by Jean Stapleton. She is married to Archie Bunker, mother of Gloria Stivic, mother-in-law of Michael "Meathead" Stivic, and grandmother of Joey Stivic. Her cousin is Maude Findlay ( Bea Arthur), one of Archie's nemeses. While Edith is typically a traditional and usually subservient wife, Jean Stapleton was a noted feminist. Series creator Norman Lear said on ''All Things Considered'' that the reason why Archie would always tell Edith to stifle herself was because Lear's father told his mother to "stifle". Character and background Edith Bunker is an undereducated but kind, cheery, and loving woman. She is less politically opinionated than the rest of the family. Her main role is as the matriarch who keeps her family intact. Archie once described Edith's father as a man "with no chin and a 'go funny' eye." A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Stapleton
Jean Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray; January 19, 1923 – May 31, 2013) was an American character actress of stage, television and film. Stapleton is best known for her portrayal of Edith Bunker, the perpetually optimistic and devoted wife of Archie Bunker, on the 1970s sitcom ''All in the Family''. The role earned her three Emmys and two Golden Globes for Best Actress in a comedy series. Early life Stapleton was born on January 19, 1923 in Manhattan. She was the daughter of Marie A. Stapleton, an opera singer, and Joseph E. Murray, a billboard advertising salesman. She had an elder brother, Jack. Her uncle was a vaudevillian performer, and her brother was a stage actor who inspired her to pursue acting. Career Stapleton began her career in 1942 aged 18 in summer stock theatre and made her New York debut in the Off-Broadway play ''American Gothic''. She was featured on Broadway in several hit musicals, such as ''Funny Girl'', ''Juno'', ''Damn Yankees'' and ''Bells ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
