Sir Harry Donald Secombe was a Welsh actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme The Goon Show (1951–1960), playing many characters, most notably Neddie Seagoon. An accomplished tenor, he also appeared in musicals and films – notably as Mr Bumble in Oliver! (1968) – and, in his later years, was a presenter of television shows incorporating hymns and other devotional songs.
The Goon Show is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 1951, was titled Crazy People; subsequent series had the title The Goon Show.
Eric Sykes was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Tommy Cooper, Peter Sellers, John Antrobus and Johnny Speight. Sykes first came to prominence through his many radio credits as a writer and actor in the 1950s, which include collaboration on some scripts for The Goon Show. He became a TV star in his own right in the early 1960s when he appeared with Hattie Jacques in several popular BBC comedy television series.
Kill or Cure is a 1962 British comedy film directed by George Pollock and starring Terry-Thomas and Eric Sykes. It was written by David Pursall and Jack Seddon.
James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC was an English comedy writer and actor on radio and television, known for his roles as Pa Glum in Take It from Here and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in Whack-O!.
In American radio, film, television, and video games, walla is a sound effect imitating the murmur of a crowd in the background. A group of actors brought together in the post-production stage of film production to create this murmur is known as a walla group. According to one story, walla received its name during the early days of radio, when it was discovered that having several people repeat the sound walla in the background was sufficient to mimic the indistinct chatter of a crowd. Nowadays, walla actors make use of real words and conversations, often improvised, tailored to the languages, speech patterns, and accents that might be expected of the crowd to be mimicked.
The Plank is a 1967 British slapstick comedy film directed and written by Eric Sykes, and starring Sykes, Tommy Cooper and Jimmy Edwards, and featuring many of the top British comedians and comic actors of the time. It was produced by Jon Penington for Associated London Films.
The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins is a 1971 British sketch comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of The Magnificent Seven and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each representing a sin and written by an array of British comedy-writing talent, including Graham Chapman, Spike Milligan, Barry Cryer and Galton and Simpson. The sketches are linked by animation sequences overseen by Bob Godfrey's animation studio. The music score is by British jazz musician Roy Budd, cinematography by Harvey Harrison and editing by Rod Nelson-Keys and Roy Piper. It was produced by Tigon Pictures and distributed in the U.K. by Tigon Film Distributors Ltd.
Salt and Pepper is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Richard Donner and starring Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Michael Bates, Ilona Rodgers and John Le Mesurier. It was written by Michael Pertwee.
Rhubarb Rhubarb is a 1980 30-minute television comedy special written and directed by Eric Sykes for Thames TV. It is a re-make of Sykes' 1970 film Rhubarb.
Futtocks End is a British comedy short film released in 1970, directed by Bob Kellett and starring Ronnie Barker, Michael Hordern, Roger Livesey and Julian Orchard. It was written by Barker. Almost entirely without dialogue, the film includes a musical score, sound effects and incoherent mutterings. The story revolves around a weekend gathering at the decaying country home of the eccentric and lewd Sir Giles Futtock and the series of saucy mishaps between the staff and his guests.
Bottoms Up is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi, and starring Jimmy Edwards in a spin-off of his TV comedy series Whack-O!, playing the seedy, alcoholic, cane-wielding headmaster of Chiselbury School, a fictional British public school. The screenplay was by Michael Pertwee, with additional dialogue by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Blind Date is a 1959 British murder mystery film directed by Joseph Losey and starring Hardy Krüger, Stanley Baker, and Micheline Presle. It was written by Ben Barzman and Millard Lampell based on the 1955 novel Blind Date by Leigh Howard.
Nearly a Nasty Accident is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Jimmy Edwards, Kenneth Connor, Shirley Eaton and Eric Barker.
Postman's Knock is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Robert Lynn starring Spike Milligan, Barbara Shelley, John Wood and Warren Mitchell. The screenplay, by John Briley and Jack Trevor Story, concerns a country postman who is transferred to London, where he manages to foil a major robbery.
Davy is a 1958 British comedy-drama film directed by Michael Relph and starring Harry Secombe, Alexander Knox and Ron Randell. It was written by WIlliam Rose. It was the last comedy to be made by Ealing Studios and was the first British film in Technirama. Davy was intended to launch the solo career of Harry Secombe, who was already a popular British radio personality on The Goon Show, but it was only moderately successful.
Cover Girl Killer is a 1959 black and white British 'B' thriller film written and directed by Terry Bishop and starring Harry H. Corbett, Felicity Young, Victor Brooks and Spencer Teakle.
Child in the House is a 1956 British drama film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Phyllis Calvert, Eric Portman and Stanley Baker. It is based on the novel A Child in the House by Janet McNeill. A girl struggles to cope with her uncaring relatives.
James Douglas Grafton was a producer, writer and theatrical agent. He served in World War II as an officer in the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions during Operation Market Garden.
Spooners Patch is a British television sitcom, written by Ray Galton and Johnny Speight. It ran for 3 series and 19 episodes and was made and broadcast from 9 July 1979 to 24 August 1982 on the ITV network, by ATV.
