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Whack-O!
''Whack-O!'' is a British sitcom TV series starring Jimmy Edwards. It was written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. The series (in black and white) ran on the BBC from 1956 to 1960 and (in colour) from 1971 to 1972. Edwards took the part of Professor James Edwards, M.A., the drunken, gambling, devious, cane-swishing headmaster who tyrannised staff and children at Chiselbury public school (described in the opening titles as "for the sons of Gentlefolk"). The Edwards character bore more than a passing resemblance to Sergeant Bilko as he tried to swindle the children out of their pocket money to finance his many schemes. The first six episodes were subtitled "Six of the Best". In 1959 a film was made based on the show, called '' Bottoms Up!''. The series was revived in colour with updated scripts in 1971–72, retitled ''Whacko!''. In all, it ran for a total of 60 episodes, with 47 of black-and-white and 13 colour, of 30 minutes each. There were three special shorts. There was al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edwin Apps
Edwin Apps (14 May 1931 – 16 April 2021) was an English television actor and writer. He appeared in many British and French television series and films, which include ''Whack-O!'', ''I Thank a Fool'', ''Danger Man'', '' The Avengers'', ''Steptoe and Son'', ''My Wife Next Door'', ''Special Branch'', '' Katts and Dog'', '' The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc'', '' Vatel'', ''Joséphine, ange gardien'', '' 15 ans et demi'' and others. He created and co-wrote the 1960s sitcom ''All Gas and Gaiters'' (1966–71) with his wife, actress Pauline Devaney Pauline Devaney (born 27 January 1937) is a British actress, writer, and artist, best known for her television writing in partnership with Edwin Apps. Devaney was born in Stoke-on-Trent, and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She and .... Their joint writing was sometimes credited to the pseudonym John Wraith. Acting credits Writing credits References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Apps, Edwin 1931 bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Fosters
Great Fosters is a 16th-century mansion which originally lay within Windsor Great Park and is still adjacent to the town of Egham, Surrey, England. It is a Grade I listed building, close to Heathrow and the M25 London orbital motorway. It has been listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England since July 1951, and its gardens and parkland have been Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens since July 1988. The grounds are also home to a 17th-century Grade II listed barn which was reconstructed on the site from its original home in a field in Malden, Surrey. The Grade II listed former stables date from the 16th century and are now used as a conference centre. The formal gardens of Great Fosters were laid out in 1918 by W. H. Romaine-Walker in partnership with Gilbert Henry Jenkins; the pair also extended the house. History Great Fosters was the London seat of Sir John Dodderidge (1555–1628), a judge of the King's Bench and formerly Solicit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liz Fraser
Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of birth was usually cited as 1933, which she gave when auditioning for her role in '' I'm All Right Jack'', because the Boulting Brothers wanted someone younger for the part. In fact she was three years older, as she confirmed in her 2012 autobiography ''Liz Fraser ... and Other Characters'',. Her father was a travelling salesman for a brewery and her mother owned a corner shop just off the New Kent Road. Their family life was disrupted by the Second World War, when she was evacuated, initially to Westerham in Kent and then, when that was deemed still too vulnerable to bombing, to Chudleigh, a town in Devon. Her father died in May 1942, aged 40, when she was 11. She went to St Saviour's and St Olave's Grammar School for Girls between th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bottoms Up (1960 Film)
''Bottoms Up'' is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi, and starring Jimmy Edwards in a spin-off of his TV comedy series ''Whack-O!'', playing the seedy, alcoholic, cane-wielding headmaster of Chiselbury School, a fictional British public school. The screenplay was by Michael Pertwee, with additional dialogue by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. The cast includes juvenile actor John "Mitch" Mitchell who in the late 1960s was the drummer in The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Richard Briers in his first film appearance. Plot Professor Jim Edwards is the headmaster of Chiselbury School, a private boarding school for boys. A new head of the school's Board of Governors threatens to replace him as headmaster unless he can drastically improve the school's performance. When Edwards is also confronted by his bookmaker demanding money he owes and which he cannot pay, he devises a plan to deal with both problems by agreeing to accept into Chiselbury the bookmaker's son who will ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Clegg (actor)
John Walter Laurence Clegg (9 July 1934 – 2 August 2024) was an English actor, best known for playing the part of 'La Di Da' Gunner Graham in the BBC sitcom ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum''. Early life and career Clegg was born on 9 July 1934 in Murree, British India (present-day Pakistan) to English parents. After he and his parents returned to the United Kingdom, Clegg was educated at The Pilgrims' School, Winchester, and Canford School, near Bournemouth. During National Service he served as a private in the Wiltshire Regiment in Hong Kong, followed by a commission as a second lieutenant in the Royal Hampshire Regiment. Clegg later became a student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). After leaving RADA, Clegg joined the Watford Palace Theatre Company, where he met Jimmy Perry, who would go on to cast Clegg in the role for which he is best known. It was there that he also met many of his future co-stars, including Michael Knowles, Donald Hewlett, and Mavis Pugh (whom he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clodagh Rodgers
Clodagh Rodgers (5 March 1947 – 18 April 2025) was a Northern Irish singer, best known for her hit singles including " Come Back and Shake Me", "Goodnight Midnight" and "Jack in the Box" and albums including '' You Are My Music'', ''It's Different Now'' and '' Save Me''. Rodgers was born in County Down in 1947 and started singing at the age of 13. She made her television debut in September 1962. She represented the United Kingdom at the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest with "Jack in the Box", and finished in fourth place. After the contest, the single reached #4 on the UK singles chart. After her divorce in 1979, Rodgers stopped making new music and reduced her live appearances. She released two final singles in 1980 and her last overall release was a 2012 CD. Rodgers was married twice, first to John Morris, who later became her manager. They had a son and divorced in 1979. She was later married to guitarist Ian Sorbie, with whom she had a son, from 1987 until his death fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Bygraves
Walter William "Max" Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012) was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs. He made twenty ''Royal Variety Performance'' appearances and presented numerous programmes, including '' Family Fortunes'' between 1983 and 1985. His catchphrase "I wanna tell you a story" became an integral part of his act, although it had originated with comedian Mike Yarwood impersonating Bygraves. Early life Bygraves was born to Henry and Lillian ( McDonnell) Bygraves (who wed in 1919) in Rotherhithe in London, where he grew up in a two-room council flat in Park Buildings, Paradise Street with his five siblings, his parents and a grandparent. His father was a professional flyweight boxer, known as Battling Tom Smith, and a casual dockworker. Brought up Catholic, he attended St Joseph's School, Paradise Street, Rotherhithe, and sang with his school choir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Bennett
Harold Frank Bennett (17 November 1898 – 11 September 1981) was an English actor, active in stage, television and film best remembered for being in sitcoms written and produced by David Croft, having played 'Young Mr. Grace' in the 1970s British sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'', as well as minor character Sidney Bluett in ''Dad's Army.'' Biography Bennett was born in Hastings, Sussex. After leaving school at the age of twelve, in his early life he toured America as a clown with a circus, and later taught English at the Working Men's College in London. During World War I he served as a courier, initially on horseback, then on motorcycle. After the war he took up acting and eventually worked as stage producer in the Tower Theatre, London. He subsequently pursued a career as a draughtsman for an electric company, only taking up his acting career again following retirement. Harold Bennett died of a heart attack on 11 September 1981, aged 82. His wife predeceased him in the 193 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Films Based On British Sitcoms
This is a list of theatrically released feature films that are based on British television programmes. Comedy Drama Science fiction Documentary Children's television See also * List of films based on television programs * Cinema of the United Kingdom Notes References {{Portal bar, Film, Television, United Kingdom Films Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ... Films based on television series F Lists of films and television series ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Glaze
William George Peter Glaze (17 September 1917 – 20 February 1983) was an English comedian born in London. He appeared in '' Crackerjack'' with Eamonn Andrews and Leslie Crowther in the 1960s, and with Michael Aspel, Don Maclean and Bernie Clifton in the 1970s. In ''Crackerjack'' sketches, he usually played a pompous or middle-class character, who would always get exasperated with his partner Don Maclean during the course of the sketch. Maclean would then give an alliterative reply, such as "Don't get your knickers in a knot" or "Don't get your tights in a twist". He regularly uttered the expression " D'oh!", originated by James Finlayson in Laurel and Hardy films, long before it became associated with cartoon character Homer Simpson. He was also on the panel of the long-running radio panel game '' Twenty Questions'', along with Joy Adamson, Anona Winn and Norman Hackforth. Glaze was the son of an actor-manager and began his career in entertainment as a comedian at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Bird
John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor. Early life Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End debut in Peter Brook's production of ''The Winter's Tale'' at the Phoenix Theatre in 1951. He was also a member of the BBC's Radio Drama Company."Radio and audio book companies", in Lloyd Trott, ed., ''Actors and Performers Yearbook 2016'', pp. 353-354 His first film appearance was as the foreman in ''An Inspector Calls'' (1954). Film career He was a familiar face to British cinema audiences of the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in nearly 50 films such as ''The Angry Silence'' (1960), ''The League of Gentlemen'' (1960), '' Whistle Down the Wind'' (1961), '' Victim'' (1961) and ''Term of Trial'' (1962) with Laurence Olivier and The Hill with Sean Connery (1965). Television appearances He had over 200 television appearances, notably as Mr Braithwaite in ''Worzel Gummidge'' (1979–81) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Cope
Kenneth Charles Cope (14 April 1931 – 11 September 2024) was an English actor and scriptwriter. He was best known for his roles as Marty Hopkirk in '' Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'', Jed Stone in ''Coronation Street,'' Ray Hilton in '' Brookside'', Sid in '' The Damned'' and as a minor member of the ''Carry On'' team. Early life Kenneth Cope was born on 14 April 1931 in Wavertree, Liverpool (at the time in Lancashire, now in Merseyside), England. Career After training to be an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Cope began playing character roles in films from the mid-1950s, and between 1961 and 1966 gained attention for his regular role in ''Coronation Street'' as the shady Jed Stone, a part he returned to in 2008. In May 1963 he issued a single with Tony Hatch on the Pye label, inspired by Mike Sarne, titled "Hands Off, Stop Mucking About" b/w "Why Am I So Shy". The single was credited to Ken Cope and the Breakaways. He boasted: "It'll get me a golde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |