Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill was an English comedian, actor, and scriptwriter. He is remembered for his television programme, The Benny Hill Show, an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double entendre in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment.
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broadcast from 09:25 Monday morning to 17:15 Friday afternoon at which time it would hand over to London Weekend Television (LWT).
Elizabeth Joan Winch, known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles.
On the Buses is a British television sitcom that was broadcast on ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned three spin-off feature films and a stage version. Despite the writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife with the BBC, the corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential in a bus depot as a setting. The comedy partnership turned to Frank Muir, head of entertainment at London Weekend Television (LWT), who loved the idea; the show was accepted, and despite a poor critical reception became a hit with viewers.
Mary Ruth Maxted, known professionally as Mary Millington from 1974 onwards, was an English model and pornographic actress. Her appearance in the short softcore film Sex is My Business led to her meeting magazine publisher David Sullivan, who promoted her widely as a model and featured her in the 1977 softcore comedy Come Play With Me, which ran for a record-breaking four years at the same cinema.
Prunella Mary Gee is an English counsellor, therapist and former actress, best known for her work as an actress in the 1970s and 1980s, and for the role of Doreen Heavey in Coronation Street, a part she first played in 1999. Doreen appeared in 17 episodes before returning as a permanent character in 2002 and 2003. She came back the following year for three episodes, proving to be Gee's final television role.
John Wright, credited professionally as Jackie Wright, also nicknamed Little Jackie and Uncle Jackie, was a Northern Irish comedian.
Diane Keen is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Fliss Hawthorne in the Granada sitcom The Cuckoo Waltz (1975–1980), Rings On Their Fingers (1978–1980) and Julia Parsons on the BBC soap opera Doctors (2003–2012). She also appeared in Nescafé advertisements from 1980 to 1989.
Le Sexe qui parle is a 1975 French adult film by Claude Mulot. It was the first exclusive hardcore feature film produced and released in France to meet international success, and has been called a cult film. In 1977, Mulot directed the sequel Le Sexe qui parle II, which starts with the "infection" passed by Eric to a prostitute.
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and double entendre.
Sue Upton is an English comic actress and dancer, best known for her many appearances on The Benny Hill Show. She was one of the longest-serving cast members of Benny Hill's stock company, appearing on the show from 1977 to his final programme for Thames Television in 1989. Upton also appeared in Benny Hill's World Tour: New York, in 1991.
Diana Magdalene Roloff, known professionally as Diana Darvey, was a British actress, singer and dancer, best known for her appearances on The Benny Hill Show.
Louise English is a British actress. She was a regular performer on The Benny Hill Show from 1978 to 1986, as an actress and in dance group Hill's Angels, and has performed in West End plays and nationally touring musical-theatre productions.
Howard "Vanderhorn" Nelson was an ex-champion bodybuilder who also acted in many British sex comedies. Cast in both comedy roles as well as `heavies' due to his muscular appearance, Nelson's most regular employer was close personal friend Harrison Marks. For many years Nelson worked in Marks' Studio in Farringdon. As well as being a regular in Marks' softcore films, Nelson also appeared in several of Marks 8mm glamour films. Nelson also made several appearances in various blue films made by Marks, usually wearing elaborate disguises like dark glasses and/or a blonde wig. In 1978 he appeared on the cover of Forum magazine he also featured as a 'spanking milkman' in the second issue of New Janus, a corporal punishment magazine Marks edited.
Come Play with Me is a 1977 British softcore pornographic film, starring Mary Millington and directed by George Harrison Marks. Its cast list contains many well-known British character actors who were not known for appearing in such films. The film is regarded by many as the most successful of the British sex comedies of the seventies. It ran continuously at the Moulin Cinema in Great Windmill Street, Soho, London for 201 weeks, from April 1977 to March 1981, which is listed in the Guinness Book Of World Records as the longest-running screening in Britain. A blue plaque on the former cinema's site commemorates this.
In the United Kingdom, pornography is regulated by a variety of laws, regulations, judicial processes, and voluntary schemes. Pornographic material generally has to be assessed by regulators or courts to determine its legality. British censorship laws with regard to pornography have often been some of the most restrictive in Western Europe.
Sue Longhurst is an English actress who appeared in several X-rated sex comedies in the 1970s.
Margaret Helen Fitzgibbon (OAM) was an Australian actress and singer, best known for her career in Britain. Coming from a show-business family, she was the older sister of musician Smacka Fitzgibbon. She was best known for her small-screen roles in BBC serial The Newcomers and LWT's Manhunt, though she appeared in numerous West End theatre musicals and light dramas showcasing her singing talents.
The Playbirds is a 1978 British sexploitation film directed by Willy Roe and starring Mary Millington, Glynn Edwards, Suzy Mandel and Windsor Davies. It was the official follow-up to Come Play with Me (1977), one of the most successful of the British sex comedies of the 1970s, which also starred Millington.
Susan "Susie" Silvey, occasionally Suzie Silvey, is an English actress, dancer and model, active in the 1970s and 1980s.
