Petula Clark CBE is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child performer and has had one of the longest careers of any British entertainer, spanning more than eight decades.
Brassed Off is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor.
George Thomas Moore Marriott was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film Dandy Dick (1935), but he was a significant supporting performer in Hay's films from 1936 to 1940, and while he starred with Hay during this period he played a character called "Harbottle" that was based on a character Marriott usually played. His character Harbottle was originally created by Hay when he used the character in his "The fourth form at St. Michael's" sketches in the 1920s.
Brian Oulton was an English character actor.
Chili Bouchier was an English film actress who achieved success during the silent film era, and went on to many screen appearances with the advent of sound films, before progressing to theatre later in her career.
The Runaway Bus is a 1954 British comedy film produced, written and directed by Val Guest. It stars Frankie Howerd, Margaret Rutherford and Petula Clark and an ensemble cast of character actors in a story about a bus caught in fog while a gang of crooks tries to carry off a heist. The film was shot at Southall Studios in London with sets designed by the art director Wilfred Arnold. It was the film debut of Belinda Lee. The film is referenced in an episode of Frankie Howerd's 1970s radio series.
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.
Trouble in Store is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom as a department store clerk in his cinema debut. The film also featured Moira Lister, Margaret Rutherford, Jerry Desmonde and Lana Morris. For his performance, Wisdom won a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Although it was shown at a West End venue, the film broke box office records at 51 out of the 67 London cinemas in which it played. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios with sets designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky. It was released by Rank's General Film Distributors and was later released in America by Republic Pictures. The film's success led to Wisdom appearing in a string of films for Rank beginning with One Good Turn.
Steptoe and Son Ride Again is a 1973 British comedy film. It is a sequel to the film Steptoe and Son (1972) based on the television series. As usual, the film starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett.
William Reginald Beckwith was an English film and television actor, who made over one hundred film and television appearances in his career. He died of a heart attack aged 56.
Maurice Elvey was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He also produced more than fifty films – his own as well as films directed by others.
Kenny Baker was an English jazz trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn player, and a composer.
Percy Marmont was an English film actor.
The Card is a 1952 British comedy film version of the 1911 novel by Arnold Bennett. In America, the film was titled The Promoter. It was adapted by Eric Ambler and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Alec Guinness, Glynis Johns, Valerie Hobson, and Petula Clark. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound.
The Gambler and the Lady is a 1952 British crime film directed by Patrick Jenkins and Sam Newfield and starring Dane Clark, Kathleen Byron and Naomi Chance. It was made by Hammer Films.
Mary Clare Avison Fitzgerald was an English-born actress and Australian television presenter, who started her career in her native country as a stage, screen and television actress. After emigrating to Australia, she became notable for being the first woman to appear on Melbourne television.
Oliver Twist is a 1962 BBC TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1838 novel Oliver Twist, serialised in 13 episodes. Due in part to its transmission at Sunday teatimes, the production proved to be controversial, with questions asked in Parliament and many viewer complaints over the brutal murder of Nancy by Bill Sikes in its eleventh episode. The serial has survived intact, and was released to DVD in 2017 by Simply Media.
Jennifer Gray was a British actress, frequently seen in the West End and on tour between 1934 and 1954. She made only two cinema films, but was often seen on BBC television in the late 1940s. Among the roles she created onstage were Daphne Stillington in Noël Coward's Present Laughter and Queenie Gibbons in his This Happy Breed, which premiered on successive nights in September 1942.
