Douglas Rae (born 22 June 1947) is a Scottish film producer, television producer and executive, and a former children's television presenter.
Rae presented the long-running Thames Television children's series Magpie , [1] [2] [3] taking over from Pete Brady in 1971 and remaining until 1977.
Rae then moved behind the camera, becoming an executive producer of films and television series. In November 1988 he founded Ecosse Films, a film and television production company. [2] Film productions include Mrs Brown starring Judi Dench, Charlotte Gray starring Cate Blanchett, Becoming Jane starring Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy, the BAFTA-nominated Nowhere Boy , and upcoming ilm The Great Escaper , starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson. Ecosse Films' most successful television production has been the BBC serial Monarch of the Glen . Other television productions include the BBC One series Mistresses (2008-2010), Camelot (2011), Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond (2014), The Great Fire (2014), the Bloomsbury Group drama Life in Squares (2015), and The Trial of Christine Keeler (2019). His most recent production is the forthcoming film The Great Escaper , starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson.
Sir Thomas Sean Connery was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Connery originated the role in Dr. No (1962) and continued starring as Bond in the Eon Productions From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967) and Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Connery made his final appearance in the franchise in Never Say Never Again (1983), a non-Eon-produced Bond film.
Sir Michael Caine is an English retired actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over a career spanning eight decades and is considered a British film icon. He has received numerous awards including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. As of 2017, the films in which Caine has appeared have grossed over $7.8 billion worldwide. Caine is one of only five male actors to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting in five different decades. In 2000, he received a BAFTA Fellowship and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Glenda May Jackson was an English actress and politician. She was one of the few performers to achieve the American Triple Crown of Acting, having won two Academy Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. A member of the Labour Party, she served continuously as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 23 years, initially for Hampstead and Highgate from 1992 to 2010, and Hampstead and Kilburn from 2010 to 2015, following boundary changes.
The year 1949 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1949.
Get Carter is a 1971 British gangster film, written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley. Based on Ted Lewis's 1970 novel Jack's Return Home, the film follows the eponymous Jack Carter (Caine), a London gangster who returns to his hometown in North East England to learn about his brother's supposedly accidental death. Suspecting foul play, and with vengeance on his mind, he investigates and interrogates, regaining a feel for the city and its hardened-criminal element.
Women in Love is a 1969 British romantic drama film directed by Ken Russell and starring Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson, and Jennie Linden. The film was adapted by Larry Kramer from D.H. Lawrence's 1920 novel Women in Love. It was the first film to be released by Brandywine Productions.
Michael Richard Jackson is a British television producer and executive. He was one of only three people to have been Controller of both BBC1 and BBC2, the main television channels of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and for being the first media studies graduate to reach a senior level in the British media. He was also the Chief Executive of British television station, Channel 4, between 1997 and 2001. In 2018, he co-founded Two Cities TV, with Wall to Wall Media founder and ex-CEO Alex Graham
Michael Edward O'Malley is an American actor, writer and television producer. Born in Boston and raised in New Hampshire, O'Malley hosted the early 1990s children's game shows Get the Picture and Nickelodeon Guts before moving to Los Angeles later that decade to star in his own sitcom for NBC called The Mike O'Malley Show. He is best known for his role as Jimmy Hughes on Yes, Dear, a CBS series which aired from 2000 to 2006. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as Burt Hummel on the Fox series Glee.
David John Tennant is a Scottish actor. He was the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the sci-fi series Doctor Who, returning to the show as the fourteenth incarnation of the character in 2022. His other notable screen roles include DI Alec Hardy in the crime drama series Broadchurch (2013–2017), Kilgrave in the superhero series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), and Crowley in the fantasy series Good Omens (2019–present).
Daniel Morris Angel was a leading British film producer who was responsible for several notable British films during the 1950s, such as Another Man's Poison (1952), The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954), Reach for the Sky (1956), and Carve Her Name with Pride (1958).
Goldcrest Films is an independent British distribution, production, post production, and finance company. Operating from London and New York, Goldcrest is a privately owned integrated filmed entertainment company.
Arthur Nigel Davenport was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films A Man for All Seasons and Chariots of Fire, respectively.
John Irvin is an English film director. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, he began his career by directing a number of documentaries and television works, including the BBC adaptation of John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He made several Hollywood films in the 1980s, including The Dogs of War (1980), Ghost Story (1981) and Hamburger Hill (1987).
Ecosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films produces programs for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Sky Atlantic, Starz Channel and WGBH.
Vivian Pickles is an English actress.
Kevin Hood is a playwright and screenwriter who is perhaps best known for contributing scripts to the BBC television series Grange Hill and the 2007 film Becoming Jane.
Sarah Williams is a British producer and screenwriter perhaps best known for writing the scripts to the 2005 television film Wallis & Edward and co-writing the 2007 feature film Becoming Jane. For her work adapting the novels Poppy Shakespeare and Small Island for television, Williams received two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award nominations.
The Great Escaper is a 2023 biographical drama film directed by Oliver Parker, written by William Ivory, and starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson. It is based on the true story of 89-year-old British World War II Royal Navy veteran Bernard Jordan who "broke out" of his nursing home to attend the 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations in France in June 2014.
William (Billy) Ivory is a British screenwriter, playwright and actor. He is a three-time BAFTA nominee.
Danielle Vitalis is a British actress and writer.