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This Is Your Life (UK TV Series)
''This Is Your Life'' is a British biographical television series, based on the 1952 American series. In the show, the host surprises a special guest, before taking them through their life in a studio, with the assistance of the 'big red book'. Both celebrities and non-celebrities were featured on the show. The show was originally broadcast live, and over its run it alternated between being broadcast on the BBC and on ITV. 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. The surprise element was an 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 subject, Eamonn Andrews, who was the presenter from the ...
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Documentary Film
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and Media studies, media analyst Bill Nichols (film critic), Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in terms of "a filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception [that remains] a practice without clear boundaries". Research into information gathering, as a behavior, and the sharing of knowledge, as a concept, has noted how documentary movies were preceded by the notable practice of documentary photography. This has involved the use of singular Photograph, photographs to detail the complex attributes of History, historical events and continues to a certain degree to this day, with an example being the War photography, conflict-related photography achieved by popular figures such as Mathew Brady during the Am ...
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Variety (magazine)
''Variety'' is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation. It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933, ''Daily Variety'' was launched, based in Los Angeles, to cover the film industry, motion-picture industry. ''Variety'' website features entertainment news, reviews, box office results, plus a credits database, production charts and film calendar. History Founding ''Variety'' has been published since December 16, 1905, when it was launched by Sime Silverman as a weekly periodical covering theater and vaudeville, with its headquarters in New York City. Silverman had been fired by ''The Morning Telegraph'' in 1905 for panning an act which had taken out an advert for $50. He subsequently decided to start his own publication that, he said, would "not be influenced by advertising." With a loan of $1,500 from his father-in-law, he launched ''Variety'' as publisher and editor. In additi ...
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Magpie (TV Series)
''Magpie'' was a British children's television programme shown on ITV from 30 July 1968 to 6 June 1980. It was a magazine format show, intended to compete with the BBC's ''Blue Peter'', but it attempted to be more "hip", focusing more on popular culture. The show's creators, Lewis Rudd and Sue Turner, named the programme ''Magpie'', as a reference to the magpie's habit of collecting small items and also because of "mag" being evocative of "magazine" and "pie" being evocative of a collection of ingredients. Broadcast history The programme, made by Thames Television, was first transmitted on 30 July 1968, Thames Television's first day of broadcasting. It was shown weekly until 1969, after which, until it ended on 6 June 1980, it went out twice a week. It was not fully networked to all other ITV companies until the autumn of 1969. Approximately 1,000 episodes were made, each 25 minutes in duration. The first presenters were the former BBC Radio 1 disc jockey Pete Brady, Susan S ...
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Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horror and franchise films. Lee was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013. Lee gained fame for portraying Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films. His other film roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film '' The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974), Count Dooku in two ''Star Wars'' films (2002–2008) and Saruman in both ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and ''The Hobbit'' film trilogy (2012–2014). He frequently appeared opposite his friend Peter Cushing in horror films, and late in his career had roles in five Tim Burton films, including '' Sleepy Hollow'' (1999), '' Corpse Bride'' (2005), '' Charlie and the Ch ...
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Jack Rosenthal
Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original television plays, feature films, and adaptations. Early life Jack Morris Rosenthal was born into a Jewish family on 8 September 1931, in Cheetham, Manchester, Cheetham, Manchester. He was the younger of two sons to father Sam, a raincoat factory worker, and mother Leah (née Miller) Rosenthal. His parents were married in 1927 in Manchester, and were children of Russian Jewish immigrants. Rosenthal attended the Manchester Jews School in Derby Street, Cheetham. During the World War II, Second World War, he was evacuated to Blackpool, Lancashire with an inhospitable family who censored his letters and confiscated his food parcels. His family subsequently moved to Colne, Lancashire, and Rosenthal attended Colne Grammar School. In 1953, after studying English Litera ...
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Maureen Lipman
Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, columnist and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She was made a dame in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to charity, entertainment and the arts. Lipman has been nominated for seven Olivier Awards across categories commending acting in plays, musicals and comedy, winning in 1984 for ''See How They Run''. On film, Lipman was BAFTA nominated for ''Educating Rita'' (1983) and has also appeared in ''The Wildcats of St Trinian's'' (1980), ''Carry On Columbus'' (1992), ''Solomon & Gaenor'' (1999) and ''The Pianist'' (2002). On television, Lipman had prominent roles in ''Agony'' (1979–1981), ''Smiley's People'' (1982), ''Eskimo Day'' (1996) and ''Ladies of Letters'' (2009–2010). Since 2018, she has starred in ''Coronation Street'' as Evelyn Plummer. ...
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Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and ''Open All Hours''. Barker began acting in Oxford amateur dramatics while working as a bank clerk, having dropped out of higher education. He moved into repertory theatre with the Manchester Repertory Company at Aylesbury and decided he was best suited to comic roles. He had his first success at the Oxford Playhouse and in roles in the West End including Tom Stoppard's ''The Real Inspector Hound''. During this period, he was in the cast of BBC radio and television comedies such as ''The Navy Lark''. He got his television break with the satirical sketch series ''The Frost Report'' in 1966, where he worked with future collaborator Ronnie Corbett. He joined David Frost's production company and starred in ITV (TV network), ITV shows. Af ...
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Aurum Press
The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countries and in 40 languages, through a variety of traditional and non-traditional channels. Quarto employs c.330 people in eight offices in London, Brighton, New York City, Boston, Seattle, Southern California and Hong Kong. In July 2020, its publication ''This Book Is Anti-Racist'' by Tiffany Jewell reached the Number 1 position on The New York Times bestseller list. The group was established by co-founders Laurence Orbach and Robert Morley and was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1986. Laurence Orbach was chairman and CEO until November 2012, when he was replaced as chairman by Tim Chadwick and Marcus Leaver as CEO. Chuk Kin Lau, the principal shareholder, became Group CEO in July 2018. In February 2020, the Italian publisher, Giunti ...
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John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation comedy ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977). A self-confessed "jobbing actor", Le Mesurier appeared in more than 120 films across a range of genres, normally in smaller supporting parts. Le Mesurier became interested in the stage as a young adult and enrolled at the Fay Compton, Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art in 1933. From there he took a position in repertory theatre and made his stage debut in September 1934 at the Palladium Theatre in Edinburgh in the J. B. Priestley play ''Dangerous Corner''. He later accepted an offer to work with Alec Guinness in a John Gielgud production of ''Hamlet''. He first appeared on television in 1938 as Seigneur de Miolans in the BBC broadcast of ''The Marvellous History of St Bernard''. During the World War II, Se ...
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Hattie Jacques
Hattie Jacques (; born Josephine Edwina Jaques; 7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980) was an English comedy actress of stage, radio and screen. She is best known as a regular of the ''Carry On'' films, where she typically played strict, no-nonsense characters, but was also a prolific television and radio performer. Jacques started her career in 1944 with an appearance at the Players' Theatre in London, but came to national prominence through her appearances on three highly popular radio series on the BBC: with Tommy Handley on ''It's That Man Again''; with ventriloquist Peter Brough on '' Educating Archie''; and then with Tony Hancock on ''Hancock's Half Hour''. After the Second World War Jacques made her cinematic debut in ''Green for Danger'' (1946), in which she had a brief, uncredited role. From 1958 to 1974 she appeared in 14 ''Carry On'' films, playing various roles including the formidable hospital matron. On television she had a long professional partnership with Eri ...
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Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK'' (2004–2010; 2014–2018), and ''Britain's Got Talent'' (2007–present), as well as the American television talent competition shows ''American Idol'' (2002–2010), ''The X Factor (American TV series), The X Factor US'' (2011–2013), and ''America's Got Talent'' (2016–present). Cowell founded the British entertainment company Syco Entertainment in 2005, as well as its defunct predecessor, Syco Music (also known as S Records) in 2002. After some success in the 1980s and 1990s as a record producer, talent agent and consultant in the British music industry, Cowell came to public prominence in 2001 as a judge on ''Pop Idol'', a television show which he and its creator Simon Fuller successfully pitched to ITV (TV network), ITV Controll ...
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David Nixon (magician)
David Porter Nixon (29 December 1919 – 1 December 1978)GRO Register of Births: MAR 1920 3a 1125 EDMONTON - David P. NixonGRO Register of Deaths: DEC 1978 17 1052 SURREY SE - David Porter Nixon, DoB = 29 Dec 1919 was an English magician and television personality. At the height of his career, Nixon was among the best-known magicians in the UK. Early life Born in Muswell Hill, London, Nixon attended the Westcliff High School for Boys in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. His father was a lawyer whose hobby was magic and who took Nixon to watch performers such as Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant. One magician who made an early impression on the young boy was Stanley Collins, who had a gentlemanly image which influenced Nixon's later performing style. Nixon started performing magic himself after an aunt bought him an Ernest Sewell Magic Box for Christmas. On leaving school he gained a job with the ''Henley Telegraph'', the in-house magazine of the W. T. Henley Telegraph company, a publica ...
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