John Le Mesurier was an English actor. He is perhaps 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.
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), the last of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay. He has also appeared in Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and The French Dispatch (2021). Wilson also starred in the Woody Allen romantic comedy Midnight in Paris (2011) as unsatisfied screenwriter Gil Pender, a role which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination. In 2014 he appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice, and Peter Bogdanovich's She's Funny That Way.
William Thomson Hay was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film Oh, Mr. Porter! (1937), made by Gainsborough Pictures, is often cited as the supreme British-produced film-comedy, and in 1938 he was the third highest-grossing star in the UK. Many comedians have acknowledged him as a major influence. Hay was also a keen amateur astronomer.
Mara Elizabeth Wilson is an American actress and writer. She rose to prominence as a child for playing Natalie Hillard in the film Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and went on to play Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), the title character in Matilda (1996), Annabel Greening in A Simple Wish (1997), and Lily Stone in Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000). She took a 12-year hiatus following the last film to focus on writing. She returned to acting in 2012, and has predominantly worked in web series.
Bennet Evan Miller is an English comedian and actor. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two series of the BBC crime drama Death in Paradise, and for portraying James Lester in the ITV science-fiction series Primeval.
David Schneider is a British actor, comedian, and director, best known for playing Tony Hayers in the Alan Partridge franchise.
Claude Noel Hulbert was a mid-20th century English stage, radio and cinema comic actor.
Michael Sydney Knowles is a British actor and scriptwriter who is best known for his roles in BBC sitcoms written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Basil Dearden was an English film director.
The Black Sheep of Whitehall is a 1942 British black-and-white comedy war film, directed by Will Hay and Basil Dearden, starring Will Hay, John Mills, Basil Sydney and Thora Hird in her screen debut. It was produced by Michael Balcon and Ealing Studios.
The Ghost of St. Michael's is a 1941 British comedy-thriller film, produced by Ealing Studios.
Yvette Reneé Wilson was an American comedian and actress. She was known for her role as Andell Wilkerson, the shopkeeper of the local hangout on the UPN sitcoms Moesha (1996–2001); and restaurant owner and Nikki's best friend on its spinoff The Parkers (1999–2004). She had appeared in many comedy films such as House Party 3, Friday, and on Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam. She was also known for her role as Rita in the 1995 F. Gary Gray film Friday. Wilson died from cervical cancer at the age of 48.
John Gervase Dighton was a British playwright and screenwriter.
Where There's a Will is a 1936 British comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring Will Hay, Graham Moffatt and Norma Varden. It features an incompetent solicitor who unwittingly becomes party to a bank robbery.
Sara Crowe is a Scottish film and stage actress who mainly plays comedy roles.
Ronald Alfred Shiner was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.
Cathryn Rose "Casey" Wilson is an American actress, comedienne, and screenwriter. She starred as Penny Hartz in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings for which she was twice nominated to the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and has since starred in comedies such as Showtime's Black Monday, Apple TV's The Shrink Next Door, Hulu's The Hotwives and Marry Me on NBC. Other notable work includes supporting roles in films such as Gone Girl, Julie & Julia, and The Meddler, recurring in the HBO series Mrs. Fletcher, the Amazon comedy One Mississippi, and the Netflix series Atypical, and her 2013 Sundance film Ass Backwards, which she co-wrote and starred in with her creative partner June Diane Raphael. Wilson co-hosts the Earwolf podcast Bitch Sesh.
Freebird is a 2008 British comedy film directed by Jon Ivay and starring Gary Stretch, Geoff Bell, Phil Daniels and Peter Bowles.
Charles Laurence was a British actor and playwright who worked in films and television.
Things Are Looking Up is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Albert de Courville, produced by Michael Balcon for Gaumont British and starring Cicely Courtneidge, Max Miller and William Gargan. It was made at Islington Studios by British Gaumont, an affiliate of Gainsborough Pictures. The film's sets were designed by Alex Vetchinsky. Courtneidge plays a dual role as the sisters Bertha and Cicely Fytte. Bertha is a dour schoolteacher, while the bubbly Cicely runs a nearby circus. When Bertha surprisingly elopes, Cicely takes her place at the school to prevent her from getting the sack. It was the film debut for Vivien Leigh.
