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 354
- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
The British actor Michael Rennie worked as a car salesman and factory manager before he turned to acting. A meeting with a Gaumont-British Studios casting director led to Rennie's first acting job - that of stand-in for Robert Young in Secret Agent (1936) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He put his film career on hold for a few years to get some acting experience on the stage, working in repertory in York and Windsor. Afterwards, he returned to films and achieved star status in I'll Be Your Sweetheart (1945). Brought to Hollywood in 1950 and signed to a contract by studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, Rennie was cast in arguably his most popular role as Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), when director Robert Wise's first choice, Claude Rains, was unavailable. After that he worked as a supporting actor for eight years until his return to England in 1959. At that time, he took the lead role of Harry Lime in the television series The Third Man (1959). Throughout his career, he made numerous guest appearances on television, particularly on American programs.- Born Leeds, England and trained at Old Vic Theatre School, 1947-1949. First stage appearance in "Tough at the Top" (C.B. Cochran's last musical) in 1949, followed by seasons at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; Glasgow Citizen's and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. First in London's West End in "The Happy Time" (1952) and more recently in "Worzel Gummidge", "A Month of Sundays", "Maria" and "Unfinished Business". Overseas: played Caesar in "Caesar and Cleopatra" (International Festival, Paris, 1956); Ravinia Shakespeare Festival (Chicago, 1964); Pickering in "My Fair Lady" (Houston, 1991). In 1998 he was nominated as "Best Actor" for the Royal Midland Television Awards for his role as Alby James in an episode of Peak Practice (1993).
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Gorden Kaye was born on 7 April 1941 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for 'Allo 'Allo! (1982), Brazil (1985) and Born and Bred (1978). He died on 23 January 2017 in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England, UK.- Camera and Electrical Department
Kal Biggins was born on 31 October 1990 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. Kal is known for Censor (2021). Kal died on 9 December 2021 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK.- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Unassuming, innocent-eyed and undeniably ingratiating, Brit comedy actor Ian Carmichael was quite the popular chap in late 50s and early 60s film. He was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England on June 18, 1920, the son of Arthur Denholm Carmichael, an optician, and his wife Kate (Gillett). After receiving his schooling at Bromsgove High School and Scarborough College, he was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and trained there, making his stage debut as a mute robot in "RUR". in 1939. That same year he also appeared as Claudius in "Julius Caesar" and was appearing a revue production of "Nine Sharp" (1940) when his young career was interrupted by WWII. He served in Europe for many years with the Royal Armoured Corps as a commissioned officer in the 22nd Dragoons.
Ian returned to the theatre in 1947 with roles in four productions: "She Wanted a Cream Front Door", "I Said to Myself", "Cupid and Mars" and "Out of the Frying Pan". He also sharpened his farcical skills in music hall revues where he worked with such revue legends as Hermione Baddeley and Dora Bryan. Given his first film bit as a waiter in Bond Street (1948), he continued in rather obscure roles for several years. While he was sincerely capable of playing it serious, which would include roles in the U.S. film Betrayed (1954) starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner, as well as the war-themed adventures The Colditz Story (1955) and Storm Over the Nile (1955), it was his association with late 50s "silly-ass" comedy that gave his cinematic career a noticeable boost. After repeating his stage success (the only cast member to do do) playing David Prentice in the film version of Simon and Laura (1955) opposite Kay Kendall and Peter Finch, he co-starred in a series of droll satires for the Boulting Brothers and Ealing Studios. While he might have been upstaged on occasion by a motley crew of scene-stealers (Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Raymond Huntley, Margaret Rutherford), Ian was sublimely funny himself as the hapless klutz caught up in their shenanigans. Private's Progress (1956), the service comedy which got the whole ball rolling, and its sequel, I'm All Right Jack (1959), along with the Boulting's Lucky Jim (1957) Brothers in Law (1957) and Happy Is the Bride (1958) firmly established Ian as a slapstick movie star.
The inane fun continued into the 60s with ripe vehicles in Skywatch (1960), School for Scoundrels (1960), Double Bunk (1961), The Amorous Mr. Prawn (1962) and Heavens Above! (1963). During the late 1960s and 1970s, he found more fulfillment playing wry, bemused, upper-crust characters on comedy TV, particularly his Bertie Wooster in The World of Wooster (1965) which reunited him with frequent Boulting Brothers co-star Dennis Price as Jeeves, Wooster's chilly-mannered personal valet. Ian's leading role as the Bachelor Father (1970), based on the story of a real-life perennial bachelor who took on several foster children, only added to his popularity. In later years, he was frequently heard on the BBC radio.
Ian made vigilant returns to the comedy stage whenever possible in such lightweight vehicles as "The Tunnel of Love", "The Gazebo", "Critic's Choice", "Birds on the Wing", "Darling, I'm Home", "Springtime for Henry" and appeared in his last musical "I Do! I Do!" in 1968. Earlier, in 1965, he made his Broadway debut starring in "Boeing-Boeing", which lasted only a few weeks. A more successful revival of this show showed up on Broadway in 2008.
Semi-retired since the mid-1980s, Ian continued to show elderly spryness here and there with a smattering of films including The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971), From Beyond the Grave (1974), The Lady Vanishes (1979) and Diamond Skulls (1989). On TV, he was quite popular in the role of the gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey in several crime mystery mini-series: Clouds of Witness (1972), The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1972), Murder Must Advertise (1973), The Nine Tailors (1974) and Five Red Herrings (1975), and had a recurring role on the TV series Strathblair (1992).
To cap his career off, he was honored as an OBE in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List. Made a widower after 40 years by his first wife Jean (Pym) McLean, he married novelist/radio producer Kate Fenton, who is over thirty years his junior, in 1992. He has two daughters, Lee and Sally, from his first marriage. In 1979, his autobiography, "Will the Real Ian Carmichael?...", was published.
A charmer to the end, his last (recurring) appearance was on the TV series The Royal (2003) in 2009. The actor died on February 7, 2010, following a month-long illness.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
The British character actor Bernard Miles was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England, in 1907; his father was a farm laborer and his mother was a cook. After graduation from Pembroke College, Oxford, he was a teacher for a while and then joined the New Theatre in London. In 1937, he worked in Herbert Farjeon's revue company and established his theatrical career. He made appearances in relatively few films, serving as director, producer, and screenwriter, as well as actor, on a number of them. In 1959, Miles opened the Mermaid Theatre in London; his contributions to the London stage won him a knighthood in 1969 and a life peerage ten years later.- Actor
- Director
- Music Department
Christopher Gable was born on 13 March 1940 in London, England, UK. He was an actor and director, known for The Boy Friend (1971), The Devil's Crown (1978) and The Rainbow (1989). He was married to Carole Needham. He died on 23 October 1998 in Near Halifax, Yorkshire, England, UK.- Stunts
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Diamond was one of the finest British stuntmen, with a career spanning over fifty years worth of television and film work. He originally trained as an actor at RADA and went on to become a stuntman, fight arranger and director. He is best known internationally for his work on the Star Wars films, as well as his contributions to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Superman II (1980), and Highlander (1992) and Highlander (1986). Peter also toured the UK giving demonstrations of his craft at theatres and events for schools.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jimmy Savile was born on 31 October 1926 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for When Louis Met... Jimmy (2000), Ferry Cross the Mersey (1964) and Go Go Mania (1965). He died on 29 October 2011 in Roundhay, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK.- Anthony Booth was born on 9 October 1931 in Liverpool, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Corruption (1968), Till Death Us Do Part (1965) and The Hi-Jackers (1963). He was married to Stephanie Buckley, Nancy Jaeger, Patricia Phoenix and Gale Booth. He died on 25 September 2017 in Todmorden, Yorkshire, England, UK.
- Best known now for his role in Emmerdale/ Emmerdale Farm he shot to fame as Dr John Rennie in Emergency Ward 10 in the 50's which launched him to fame. and led to A Family at War, and To the Manor Born while his films include The Dam Busters. He has 4 children by 3 marriages.
- Danny O'Dea was a British funnyman born out of the finest Music Hall tradition, left a legacy which spans eight decades and reads like the history of British comedy. He performed alongside some of the biggest names in the business including Arthur Askey, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, John Inman and Cilla Black, entering showbiz at an early age thanks to a enviable pedigree and working until he was 90, most recently enjoying popularity as long-sighted Eli Duckett in Last of the Summer Wine.
He was the nephew of music hall comedians Morney Cash and Archie Glen and was related to beautiful actress Kay Kendall, granddaughter of musical comedy star Marie Kendall and daughter of vaudevillian Terry Kendall. Kay, who married Rex Harrison, had a brief, very glamorous career but died from leukaemia in 1959, aged 33.
Danny began his epic career in the theatre, appearing in hundreds of musical comedies, plays and pantomimes and thousands of music hall, cabaret and seaside summer shows nationwide and in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. He became well-known as a fine comedy actor and a brilliant stand-up comedian. During a summer season in Blackpool he fell in love with his wife Doris, a dancer in a variety show, but it was in London in the 1950s and 1960s that his career really took off.
He became a member of Brian Rix's acclaimed company at London's Whitehall Theatre and appeared for six years in the long-running farce Pyjama Tops as doddering policeman Inspector Crindle. Two years at the Windmill Theatre co-starring with John Inman and Fiona Richmond in Let's Get Laid and roles as the effeminate Eric Tweedy in Les Dawson's Don't Tell the Wife and Albert Waterman in the blockbusting stage version of Carry On Laughing, alongside a cast which included Liz Fraser, Peter Butterworth, Kenneth Connor, Jack Douglas and Ann Ashton, built him a reputation as a bawdy comic player of the highest order. He became a regular on BBC Radio and later television, appearing on Sez Les with Les Dawson, Selwyn Froggart with Bill Maynard and as Tim Trimmer, the jovial old boatman in All Creatures Great and Small.
Later television appearances included Winning Streak, Bulman, The Book Tower and a guest appearance on Jim'll Fix It, as well as Victoria Wood and One Foot In The Grave.
During pantomime season he worked with stars including Millicent Martin, Arthur Askey, Nat Jackley, Dickie Henderson, Martie Wilde, Dick Emery and Frank Ifield, often stealing the show as the pantomime dame. He played the robber in Les Dawson's record-breaking 1980 panto at the Birmingham Palladium, the following season he was in Oxford playing Dame Merryweather alongside Stu Francis and The Krankies and in 1982, aged 80, he starred as Widow Twankey in Aladdin in Kirkcaldy. These exhausting runs lasted months and included around 100 shows, but Danny thrived on it. In 1986, aged 84, he only got busier. The year began in panto in Oxford alongside Jim Davidson as an ugly sister in Cinderella and ended at Leeds City varieties with Jack and the Beanstalk - his last stage appearance. In between he fitted in a season in Alan Bleasdale's farce Having a Ball in Exeter, starred as Paddy in Rita, Sue and Bob Too and landed a part in the BBC's Last of the Summer Wine. His character Eli remained a fixture for 15 years, until Danny was 90. Series director Alan RJ Bell said: "I'd get letters saying they only watch the show for Eli. He's got friends all over the world because the show is now broadcast in America. "Danny's scenes as Eli Duckett will be a lasting testament to his comic timing and sense of fun." Ken Kitson, co-star on Last of the Summer Wine, added: "I respected him, admired him and thought his timing was second to none. I remember him entertaining us for four hours when we were stuck on a bus, telling us about his music hall days." Danny's agent of over 30 years Michael Joseph said Danny's training in variety and music hall had set him apart. "I've known him for 50 years and it's very sad to know he's no longer with us because our business really needs people like him," he said. "There's no-one to replace him. "No-one can do the falls, the facial expressions and the comedy Danny used to do. He'd had 50 years' experience before he got to television. He was an amazing character."
Danny, who lived in Sal Royd, Low Moor, for 40 years before moving to Hartshead Manor Nursing Home in 2001 died aged 91 in 2003 leaving a daughter and two granddaughters. - Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Paul Shane was born on 19 June 1940 in Thrybergh, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Hi-de-Hi! (1980), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and Very Big Very Soon (1991). He was married to Dorothy Shortt. He died on 16 May 2013 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, UK.- John Collin was born on 18 October 1928 in Burley-in-Wharfedale, Ilkley, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Tess (1979), The Guardians (1971) and The Big Pull (1962). He died on 25 February 1987 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK.
- Being illegitimate, he had an unsettled childhood due to his mother not being around much during the first 10 years of his life. Consequently he was brought up by an aunt. Eventually he met his father, a German named Karl, when he was 28. After leaving school, he was apprenticed for 5 years to a Yorkshire firm that built diesel engines. In 1960, he joined the Merchant Navy with a dream of seeing the world but all he saw was the engine room. After 4 years, he settled in London where his first job was with a crew digging the London Victoria tube line tunnel. Relaxing in a folk club, he got talking to a man putting on plays with an amateur group, and did an audition, resulting in him getting a part which led him to be in the last 15 in a drama school in Loughton, Essex. After 3 years, he got steady work in the theatre and television including the series Lucky Feller (1975). Soon after, he went to Australia where he spent 2 years touring on a motorbike and busking with his guitar before returning to England, but all his agent could get him was a TV ad for Yellow Pages which was seen by Granada producers who thought him right for the part of Bill Webster in Coronation Street (1960).
- Olga Grahame was born on 22 June 1932 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Brassed Off (1996), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and Body & Soul (1993). She was married to John Douglas Mundy. She died in 2016 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, UK.
- Teddy Turner was born on 13 June 1917 in Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for All Creatures Great and Small (1978), This Year Next Year (1977) and Never the Twain (1981). He died on 29 August 1992 in Horsforth, Yorkshire, England, UK.
- Steve Halliwell was born on 19 March 1946 in Bury, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Emmerdale Farm (1972), Coronation Street (1960) and All Creatures Great and Small (1978). He was married to Valerie Kirkby and Susan Woods. He died on 15 December 2023 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK.
- Juliet Cooke was born on 23 April 1936 in Glossop, Derbyshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Wednesday Play (1964), ITV Play of the Week (1955) and Play for Today (1970). She died in 1982 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK.
- Joe Belcher was born on 29 August 1928 in Berkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for An American Werewolf in London (1981), Village Hall (1974) and The Practice (1985). He died on 16 August 2006 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK.
- After leaving the RAF he trained for the theatre with Esme Church of the Northern Theatre School between 1951 -52, He became an expert swordsman to such an extent that he arranges fights for stage, film and television and is a founder member of the British Fight Arrangers, He was the first actor to be given a special citation as a performer by American TV Radio Commercials Festival (1969) He first played Alf Roberts in Coronation Street in 1961. Married to Norma he had 3 sons and 3 daughters Jonathan ,Bernard and Leonard and Jacqueline, Simone and Helen,
- Charlotte was born 1816, the third of the six children of Patrick Brontë, an Anglican clergyman, and his wife Maria Branwell Brontë. After their mother's death in 1821, Charlotte and her sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, were sent to Cowan Bridge Clergy Daughters' School, which Charlotte would later immortalize as the brutal Lowood school in "Jane Eyre". Conditions at the school were so bad that both Maria and Elizabeth became ill with consumption (tuberculosis) which killed them in 1825. Charlotte was very close to her surviving siblings, Anne Brontë, Branwell, and Emily Brontë. The children invented the imaginary kingdoms of Angria and Gondal, and spent much of their childhood writing poetry and stories about their make-believe realms. In 1846 the three sisters published a collected work of their poetry called, appropriately enough, "Poems", and in 1847 Charlotte published her most famous book, "Jane Eyre", under a male pseudonym, Currer Bell. Charlotte lost her remaining siblings within a brief time -- Branwell from alcoholism and Emily from consumption, both in 1848; Anne also from consumption in 1849. Charlotte was devastated, and became a lifelong hypochondriac. She resided in London, where she made the acquaintance and admiration of William Makepeace Thackeray. In 1854, she married Reverend A. B. Nicholls, curate of Haworth, against her father's wishes. Charlotte found she was pregnant not long after her marriage, and it was felt she would have a difficult pregnancy due to previous ill-health. She died on 31 March 1855.
- Frances Cox (née Burns) was born in Halifax and moved to Normanton as a girl. She married Alex Cox from Normanton and taught at the School of Blessed English Martyrs in Lupset. She later worked at Queen Street School, Normanton, Eastmoor Junior School and Snapethorpe School.
She appeared in a number of shows including Open All Hours, Coronation Street, Last of the Summer Wine, Casualty, The League of Gentlemen, Children's Ward and Peak Practice. - Amy "Ariel" Burdett also known as Arabella Starchild was born in 1981 and grew up to be a self-proclaimed "holistic vocal coach" from Wakefield who auditioned for Series 5 of The X Factor UK. She did not pass the audition stage after singing her own piece which she branded an academic construction. She is remembered for her scary look and her voice which Simon branded a 'nightmare'. On the 12 November 2019, Burdett was found dead in her home in Leeds. She was found with stab wounds on her neck. Her death is considered to be not suspicious; thus, the stab wound was self-inflicted, ruling her death as a suicide.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lynne Perrie (7 April 1931 - 24 March 2006) was a Yorkshire based actress and singer.
Known as ''Little Miss Dynamite'', due to her vibrant personality, Perrie performed her cabaret act in clubs all around Britain, and in France, Germany, South Africa and the United States throughout the 1960s. In 1964, she appeared as a regular support act for the Beatles, and appeared on the same bill as other emerging stars like Sacha Distel and the Rolling Stones. She also performed eight times at London's Royal Albert Hall. On television, she made appearances on various television variety programmes, including ITV's ''Stars and Garters''.
In 1970, she won critical acclaim for her debut acting role as the neglectful mother in Ken Loach's award-winning film ''Kes''. This led to various television roles, including Mrs. Petty in the ITV comedy series ''Queenie's Castle'' (1970-1972), starring Diana Dors.
Perrie is best remembered for playing Ivy Tilsley (later Brennan) in the UK's flagship soap opera ''Coronation Street'', in which she appeared from 1971-1994.
After she left the ''Street'', Perrie returned to the stage with a new cabaret act and published her best-selling autobiography ''Secrets Of The Street'', appearing on many popular television chat shows to promote it.