Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 228
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Deborah Jane Trimmer was born on 30 September 1921 in Glasgow, Scotland, the daughter of Captain Arthur Kerr Trimmer. She was educated at Northumberland House, Clifton, Bristol. She first performed at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, London. She subsequently performed with the Oxford Repertory Company 1939-40. Her first appearance on the West End stage was as Ellie Dunn in "Heartbreak House" at the Cambridge Theatre in 1943. She performed in France, Belgium and Holland with ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association, or Every Night Something Awful) - The British Army entertainment service. She has appeared in many films from her first appearance in Major Barbara (1941).- Actor
- Writer
Douglas Wilmer was born on 8 January 1920 in London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Octopussy (1983), Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and El Cid (1961). He was married to Anne Harding and Elizabeth Joan Melville. He died on 31 March 2016 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, UK.- Prunella Ransome was born on 18 January 1943 in Croydon, Surrey, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Who Can Kill a Child? (1976), Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) and Man in the Wilderness (1971). She died in March 2002 in Suffolk, England, UK.
- Gaunt and saturnine British character actor of stage and screen, Guy Rolfe made his stage debut in 1936, the same year he had a small uncredited bit part in Knight Without Armor (1937). Rolfe had spent his early twenties as a professional race car driver and boxer before making the move into films. In 1952, he starred in Ivanhoe (1952) with Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor. Rolfe's characters ranged from wealthy businessmen, to romantic leads, to sinister villains and heroes, starring in over thirty motion pictures. His important film roles include playing "Caiaphas" in King of Kings (1961), Taras Bulba (1962) and Mr. Sardonicus (1961). Although he was always recognized in such classic pictures, Rolfe became a familiar presence when he took over the role of toy maker "Andre Toulon" in the slasher film franchise "Puppetmaster". First appearing in the third installment, he made brief appearances in most "Puppet Master" movies since then. Guy Rolfe passed away of "natural causes" at the British Film Hospital in London, England at the age of 91.
- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
After his mother committed suicide, he lived with his grandmother. When he was 12, he joined Sir Philip Game Boys Club in Croydon, run by an ex-pro music hall performer, where his interest in theatre began. His grandmother took him to the theatre and the first show he remembers was with G.H. Elliott at the Croydon Empire. He worked at a market stall for pocket money, then at 15, in a boys' club concert where he was seen by Michael Bentine, who advised him to take up show business as a career - but first he had to do his military service. After that, he took his first step on the show business ladder by forming a double act with a friend from the boys club. Much later in his career, he became the chairman of the Entertainment Artists Benelovent Association. His first marriage was to Ann, whom he divorced in 1983, then married Debbie.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Educated at the Universities of Prague and Stuttgart, Emeric Pressburger worked as a journalist in Hungary and Germany and an author and scriptwriter in Berlin and Paris. He was a Hungarian Jew, chased around Europe (he worked on films for UFA in Berlin and Paris) before World War II, finally finding sanctuary in London--but as a scriptwriter who didn't speak English. So he taught himself to understand not only the finer nuances of the language but also of the British people. A few lucky breaks and introductions via old friends led to his meeting with "renegade" director Michael Powell. They then went on to make some of the most interesting (IMHO) and complex films of the 1940s and 1950s under the banner of "The Archers". Pressburger often showed a deep understanding of the British only granted to those "outside, looking in". He always prided himself on being "more English than the English". After all, some of us were just BORN English, but he CHOSE to become English. He spent his last days at Shoemakers Cottage, Aspall, Stowmarket, Suffolk in the English countryside that he loved so well.- Veteran British character player Ralph Truman was a pioneer radio actor and appeared in over 5000 broadcasts during his career. Born in London at the turn of the century, his overall film career was commendable but less enviable than his voice work on the airwaves. Originally from the stage, he had just finished a run of "Josef Suss" in 1930 when he moved directly into films, making his unbilled debut in the early talkie Farewell to Love (1931). Throughout the 1930s he would be found steadily in "B" films including The Bells (1931), That's My Uncle (1935), The Lad (1935), Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk (1935), Under the Red Robe (1937) and Dinner at the Ritz (1937). In the 1940s the distinctively balding, hook-nosed actor found featured work in more important films such as his Mountjoy in Laurence Olivier's stellar Shakespearean piece Henry V (1944). A natural for period settings, Truman played the nefarious Monks in Oliver Twist (1948), and was part of the large-scale proceedings in Christopher Columbus (1949) and Treasure Island (1950), giving animated Robert Newton a run for the money in the latter with a ripe, over-the-top pirate performance as George Merry. Married to fellow radio artist Ellis Powell, he was best known in later years for playing men of high ranking or position (lords, captains, admirals, governors, etc.). He retired after appearing in two final period epics: Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) and Lady Caroline Lamb (1972). He passed away a few years later.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Vivacious, hazel-eyed, strawberry-haired Jean Kent was a popular star of British films in the 1940's and early 50's. The daughter of variety performers Norman Field and Nina Norre, she was convent-educated. By the age of ten, she accompanied her mother on tour, then spent several years in the chorus line at London's Windmill Theatre in the West End. Having honed her acting skills on the provincial repertory stage, Jean signed with Gainsborough Pictures in 1943. Her first noteworthy performance was in Man of Evil (1944) for which she received fifth billing. Through sheer determination and hard work, she quickly moved up the ladder to integral roles as willful 'scarlet women' in juicy melodramas. These were often parts other leading actresses refused to play, point in case her gypsy wildcat Rosal in Caravan (1946), considered even by Margaret Lockwood as 'too awful'. Using her training to best advantage, Jean performed some striking dance numbers in the film.
She was the femme fatale wartime audiences loved to hate, an early British sex symbol, most effectively paired with the likes of Stewart Granger or James Mason. In one of her best-remembered performances, Jean took sole limelight as the titular star of the cautionary drama Good-Time Girl (1948), as a juvenile delinquent who falls in with spivs and gangsters and ends up in prison. However, within just a few years, Jean's box-office appeal had waned, possibly attributable to having portrayed a woman ten years older than herself in The Browning Version (1951) (though the film itself was a box-office and critical success). Her remaining screen career was thereafter confined to appearances on the small screen, from the much-derided soap opera Crossroads (1964), to playing Queen Elizabeth I in the excellent Sir Francis Drake (1961) or as Daphne Goodlace, potential seductress of both Albert and Harold, in Steptoe and Son (1962).- An engineer's daughter, she had first planned on becoming a ballerina, using her original Christian name Muguette, but abandoned those plans by the age of 17 when she realized that her physique was more in keeping with her other first name, Megs. She trained in Liverpool at the School of Dancing and Dramatic Art and then joined the Liverpool Repertory Company in 1933 before moving to London to appear at the Player's Theatre four years later.
During the 1950's, Megs was busy acting on stage and had considerable critical success in two plays by Emlyn Williams, 'Light of Heart' (1940) and 'The Wind of Heaven' (1945). Against character, she also played the vicious, unstable Alma Winemiller in 'Summer and Smoke' (1951) by Tennessee Williams. In 1956, she was awarded the Clarence Derwent Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role as the stoic wife of a longshoreman harbouring incestuous feelings for his niece in 'A View from the Bridge' by Arthur Miller. The previous year, she had made her Broadway debut in Chekhov's 'A Day by the Sea' as a supportive governess to an alcoholic physician.
Among her screen roles, best remembered are those of Nurse Woods in the excellent murder mystery Green for Danger (1946); her plump, homely innkeeper providing final happiness to the title character at the end of The History of Mr. Polly (1949)); and three of her many housekeepers : the proper one of Indiscreet (1958), the nervously anxious one, sensing danger in The Innocents (1961) and the warm, dependable one in the musical Oliver! (1968). From the 1960's, Megs did a lot of television work, starred in her own series, Weavers Green (1966), as a country veterinarian, and even made tea bag commercials. Her versatility and popularity as an actress ensured that she was never out of work. - Actor
- Writer
South African-born Stratford Johns was forever associated with the role of tough, abrasive Superintendant Charlie Barlow on TV's Z Cars (1962) and its sequels Softly Softly: Task Force (1969) and Barlow at Large (1971). In between, he also played Barlow in the miniseries Jack the Ripper (1973) (which, in turn, led to a 'cold case' investigation series called Second Verdict (1976)). He even spoofed his famous screen detective on The Two Ronnies (1971). His perennial sidekick was the actor Frank Windsor (in the role of Sergeant Watt), who once jokingly referred to their on-screen partnership as being "the Morecambe & Wise of serious television".
Johns was educated in Pietermaritzburg in Natal Province. He began working life as a deckhand with the South African Navy during World War II. He then had a brief spell as an accountant, before finding his vocation in the dramatic arts. After some work in local repertory companies, he went to England on a one-way ticket in 1948, acting for four and a half years on stage in Southend-on-Sea, followed by a comedy act in the variety halls. Since this amounted to little more than a meager income, Johns was forced to make ends meet by doing handyman jobs, building fences, painting and gardening. His big break came in 1962, when he was presented with the choice of whether to accept a small part in the epic blockbuster Cleopatra (1963), or, alternatively, screen test for a new BBC police series (initially called "Crime Cars"). Though tempted by the gentler Roman climate, he wisely chose the latter.
For better or worse, Johns became identified with Barlow to such an extent over the years, that he was even sought-after by police for recruitment drives on television. Conversely, though he occasionally attempted to break away from typecasting, especially on stage, he was rarely deemed to have succeeded.- Joanna Dunham was born on 6 May 1936 in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Advocate (1993), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and Van der Valk (1972). She was married to Reggie Oliver and Henry A. Osborne. She died on 25 November 2014 in Saxmundham, Suffolk, England, UK.
- Freda Dowie was born on 22 July 1928 in Carlisle, Cumbria, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Omen (1976), Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) and The Old Curiosity Shop (1979). She was married to David Thompson, John Harding Goodrich and Lionel Tolson Butterworth. She died on 10 August 2019 in Wherstead, Suffolk, England, UK.
- Actress
- Sound Department
Gillian Barge, born Gillian Betty Bargh, (27 May 1940 - 19 November 2003) was an English stage, television and film actress.
She was born in Hastings, Sussex and she started acting at the age of 17, training at the Birmingham Theatre School.
Gillian performed on the stage internationally, as well as in Britain where she has played all the major London theatres. Her stage roles included The Cherry Orchard (as Varya), Measure For Measure (Isabella) and The Winter's Tale (Paulina). In 2001 she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Passion Play at the Donmar Warehouse.
In addition to her theatre work, Gillian Barge has numerous television appearances to her credit. These include guest appearances on episodes of Pie in the Sky (1996), Lovejoy (1994), Midsomer Murders (2002), One Foot in the Grave (1990), All Creatures Great and Small (1980), Van der Valk (1977) and Softly, Softly (1972). Her film credits include The National Health (1973).
Her second husband was the actor Clive Merrison. She died in 2003 of cancer, aged just 63.- Christopher Crawford was born on 15 October 1942 in California, USA. He was an actor, known for Holiday Island (1981) and Skyways (1979). He died on 22 September 2006 in Greenport, Suffolk County, New York, USA.
- Pamela Cundell was born on January 15, 1920 in Croydon, Surrey, England as Pamela Isabel Cundell. She was an actress, known for TwentyFourSeven (1997), Big Deal (1984) and Dad's Army (1968). She was married to Bill Fraser, Leslie Newport-Gwilt and Robert O'Connor. She died on February 14, 2015 in Finchley, North London, England.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
The son of a regimental sergeant major, Albert Patrick Jordan grew up in London where he debuted on stage in a 1946 Old Vic production of "Richard II" at the New Theatre. The ensemble cast comprised actors Harry Andrews, Rosalind Atkinson and Alec Guinness. The same group of players went on to perform in other Shakespearean plays, including "Coriolanus" and "The Taming of the Shrew". Jordan began on screen in a TV adaptation of The Browning Version (1949), reprising his stage role from earlier that year. Most of his celluloid assignments in the 50s and 60s consisted of small or uncredited parts. His distinctively stern features and no-nonsense authoritarian bearing led to being invariably typecast as police officers or soldiers. A trademark scar on his right cheek added extra credence to his characters, more than a few of whom did not survive to the final reel. He appeared several times in No Hiding Place (1959), Dixon of Dock Green (1955) and Crossroads (1964) and had featured roles in the war films The Heroes of Telemark (1965), Play Dirty (1969) and Too Late the Hero (1970). Through his friend Alec Guiness, he managed to secure a role in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) as an Imperial Officer, aide to Grand Moff Tarkin (played by Peter Cushing ). He unwisely opted to take a one-off fee for his part, rather than a tiny share of the royalties -- much to his later regret.
Jordan retired in 1995 and died at the age of 96 in January 2020. His wife was Margery Gill (1925-2008), an acclaimed illustrator of children's books.- Actress
- Writer
Mona Bruce was born on 3 December 1924 in Birmingham, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Within These Walls (1974), ITV Television Playhouse (1955) and BBC Play of the Month (1965). She was married to Robert James. She died on 15 October 2008 in Suffolk, England, UK.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Pat Keen was born on 21 October 1933 in Willesden, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Without a Clue (1988), Fierce Creatures (1997) and Shadowlands (1993). She died on 1 March 2013 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, UK.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bill Treacher was born on 4 June 1930 in Dagenham, Essex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Musketeer (2001), George and the Dragon (2004) and Tale of the Mummy (1998). He was married to Katherine Kessey. He died on 5 November 2022 in Suffolk, England, UK.- Austin Trevor was born on 8 October 1897 in Belfast, Ireland [now Northern Ireland], UK. He was an actor, known for Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), Lord Edgware Dies (1934) and The Red Shoes (1948). He was married to Violet Clowes. He died on 21 January 1978 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, UK.
- Madeleine Mills was born on 28 February 1941 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. She was an actress, known for Quick Before They Catch Us (1966), Doctor Who (1963) and Softly Softly (1966). She was married to Simon Brent. She died on 18 August 2010 in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, UK.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Jacqueline Clarke was born on 26 February 1916 in St George Hanover Square, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Blithe Spirit (1945), Johnny in the Clouds (1945) and Escape (1948). She was married to Jonathan Glennon-Anderson, Gordon Anthony (photographer) and Anthony Compton (stage actor). She died on 30 June 1994 in Clare, Suffolk, England, UK.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Donald Madden was born on 5 November 1933 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for 1776 (1972), Play of the Week (1959) and The United States Steel Hour (1953). He died on 22 January 1983 in Central Islip, Suffolk, New York, USA.- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Jack Bruce was born on 14 May 1943 in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK. He was a composer and actor, known for True Lies (1994), Backdraft (1991) and Road House (1989). He was married to Margrit Seyffer and Janet Godfrey. He died on 25 October 2014 in Bures, Suffolk, England, UK.- Actress
- Producer
Sheila Raynor was born on 15 March 1906 in London, England, UK. She was an actress and producer, known for A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Omen (1976) and Man in the Wilderness (1971). She was married to Keith Pyott. She died on 17 February 1998 in Suffolk, England, UK.