Sidney James was a South African-British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. Noted for his distinct dirty laugh, he was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series.
Anthony John Hancock was an English comedian and actor.
Hattie Jacques 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.
John Le Mesurier 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.
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams. The final television series, renamed simply Hancock, starred Hancock alone.
It Sticks Out Half a Mile is a British radio sitcom that was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 from 1983 to 1984. The series starred John Le Mesurier, Ian Lavender, Bill Pertwee and Vivienne Martin, and was written by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles, and produced by Martin Fisher. The series served as a sequel to the television wartime sitcom Dad's Army, for which Snoad and Knowles had written radio adaptations.
Howard Jerome Morris was an American actor, comedian, and director. He was best known for his role in The Andy Griffith Show as Ernest T. Bass, and as "Uncle Goopy" in a celebrated comedy sketch on Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (1954). He also did some voices for television shows such as The Flintstones (1962–1965), The Jetsons (1962–1987), The Atom Ant Show (1965–1966), and Garfield and Friends (1988–1994).
Margaret Rose Mount OBE was an English actress. As a child, she found acting an escape from an unhappy home life. After playing in amateur productions, she was taken on by a repertory company and spent nine years in various British towns, learning her craft. In 1955, she got her big break in the comic play Sailor Beware!: she created the leading role in a repertory production and, though unknown to London audiences, was given the part when the play was presented in the West End. She became known for playing domineering middle-aged women in plays, films and television shows.
The Gaffer is an ITV situation comedy series of the early 1980s, that starred Bill Maynard and was written by businessman Graham White. It was made for the ITV network by Yorkshire Television.
A charwoman is an occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually lives as part of the household within the structure of domestic service. A charwoman might work independently, often for cash in hand, or might come through an employment agency.
"Never Too Old" is the final episode of the ninth and final series of the British television sitcom Dad's Army. It was originally broadcast on Sunday, 13 November 1977, the same day of the Remembrance Sunday 1977 Commemorations. The episode marked the final regular appearances of Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn, John Laurie, Arnold Ridley and Ian Lavender.
Finders Keepers is a 1966 British musical film directed by Sidney Hayers, written by Michael Pertwee and starring Cliff Richard and The Shadows. It was released in the U.S. the following year.
Reta Shaw was an American character actress known for playing strong, hard-edged, working women in film and on many of the most popular television programs of the 1960s and 1970s in the United States. She may be best remembered as the housekeeper, Martha Grant, on the television series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and as the cook, Mrs. Brill, in the 1964 film Mary Poppins.
Jerry Desmonde was an English actor and presenter. He is perhaps best known for his work as a comedic foil in duos with Norman Wisdom and Sid Field.
"Traitor" is the first episode of second season of the British BBC anthology TV series Play for Today. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 14 October 1971. "Traitor" was written by Dennis Potter, directed by Alan Bridges, produced by Graeme MacDonald, and starred John Le Mesurier as Adrian Harris, a character loosely based on Kim Philby. Le Mesurier's performance won him the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1972.
Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James.
Desert Mice is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Michael Relph and starring Alfred Marks, Sid James, Dora Bryan, Irene Handl, John Le Mesurier and Liz Fraser. A group of ENSA entertainers with the British army in the North Africa desert during the Second World War thwart a Nazi plan. The title is a play on the Desert Rats.
Dad's Army is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total; a feature film released in 1971, a stage show and a radio version based on the television scripts were also produced. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still shown internationally.
Vincent Joseph Powell was a British television scriptwriter. He collaborated with a writing partner, Harry Driver, until 1973.
"Exposed" is the second episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Tony Barwick and the director was David Lane. The episode was filmed between 13 May and 23 May 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands network on 23 September 1970. Though shown as the second episode, it was actually the fifth to have been filmed.
