Frederick John Westcott, best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was an English theatre impresario of the British music hall. As a comedian of slapstick he is credited with popularising the custard-pie-in-the-face gag. During the 1890s, in order to circumvent stage censorship, Karno developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue.
Phyllis Ada Diller was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and exaggerated, cackling laugh.
Richard Lewis Deacon was an American television and motion picture actor, best known for playing supporting roles in television shows such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It to Beaver, and The Jack Benny Program, along with minor roles in films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963).
If.... is a 1968 British satirical drama film produced and directed by Lindsay Anderson, and starring Malcolm McDowell as the character Mick Travis who appeared in two further Anderson films. Other actors include Richard Warwick, Christine Noonan, David Wood, and Robert Swann. A satire of English public school life, the film follows a group of pupils who stage a savage insurrection at a boys' boarding school. The film was the subject of controversy at the time of its release, receiving an X certificate for its depictions of violence.
The Adding Machine is a 1923 play by Elmer Rice; it has been called "... a landmark of American Expressionism, reflecting the growing interest in this highly subjective and nonrealistic form of modern drama."
Elmer Rice was an American playwright. He is best known for his plays The Adding Machine (1923) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of New York tenement life, Street Scene (1929).
Billie Honor Whitelaw was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was also known for her portrayal of Mrs. Baylock, the demonic nanny in the 1976 horror film The Omen.
Stuart Erwin was an American actor of stage, film, and television.
Billie Jenkins is a fictional character who appeared in the American television supernatural drama Charmed, which aired on The WB from 1998 to 2006. The character was created by executive producer Brad Kern and was portrayed by Kaley Cuoco. Billie was developed in response to The WB's request for a new character, and was intended to expand the show in a new direction for a possible ninth season or a spin-off series, leading to mixed opinions of media outlets.
Michael George Farr, known professionally as Mike Leander, was a British arranger, songwriter and record producer.
Charlie Bubbles is a 1968 British comedy-drama film directed by Albert Finney and starring Finney, Billie Whitelaw and Liza Minnelli. The screenplay was by Shelagh Delaney.
Barbara Gillian Ferris is an English actress and former fashion model.
Expressionism was a movement in drama and theatre that principally developed in Germany in the early decades of the 20th century. It was then popularized in the United States, Spain, China, the U.K., and all around the world. Similar to the broader movement of Expressionism in the arts, Expressionist theatre utilized theatrical elements and scenery with exaggeration and distortion to deliver strong feelings and ideas to audiences.
Adding Machine is a musical with music by Joshua Schmidt, and book and lyrics by Schmidt and Jason Loewith. It is an adaptation of Elmer Rice's 1923 play of the same name.
Cuba is a 1979 American adventure thriller film directed by Richard Lester and starring Sean Connery, portraying the build-up to the 1958 Cuban Revolution, filmed in Panavision. Neil Sinyard in his The Films of Richard Lester wrote that the film, "developed originally out of an idea of Lester's own, inspired by a conversation with a friend about great modern leaders. From there, Lester's thoughts began to formulate in complex ways around Castro and Casablanca (1942), and out of that audaciously bizarre combination comes Cuba.
Broken Journey is a 1948 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin and featuring Phyllis Calvert, James Donald, Margot Grahame, Raymond Huntley and Guy Rolfe. Passengers and crew strugge to survive after their airliner crashes on top of a mountain; based on a true-life accident in the Swiss Alps.
Loot is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Silvio Narizzano starring Richard Attenborough, Lee Remick, Hywel Bennett, Milo O'Shea and Roy Holder. The screenplay was by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson based on the 1965 play Loot by Joe Orton. It was entered into the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.
Work Is a Four-Letter Word is a 1968 British satirical comedy film directed by Peter Hall and starring David Warner and Cilla Black.. It was written by Jeremy Brooks based on the 1966 award-winning play Eh? by Henry Livings.
The Comedy Man is a 1964 British kitchen sink realism drama film directed by Alvin Rakoff and starring Kenneth More, Cecil Parker, Dennis Price and Billie Whitelaw. It depicts the life of a struggling actor in Swinging London.
Jerome Leonard Epstein was an American director, screenwriter and producer known for his nearly 30-year professional collaboration and friendship with Charlie Chaplin and his son Sydney Chaplin.
