Wendy van der Plank

Last updated

Wendy van der Plank
Born
Wendy Alison van der Plank
OccupationActress
Years active
  • 1980s–present (stage)
  • 1988–1995 (television)
Known for Wizadora
Notable work

Wendy Alison van der Plank is an English actress best known for playing the title role in the ITV children's series Wizadora . [1] [2] She is also known for her role as 'Hilly' in the ITV drama series Forever Green .

Contents

Career

Van der Plank's first television appearance[ when? ] was in the BBC comedy series Spin Off.[ citation needed ] After appearing in one episode of Casualty , she played the role of Hilly in the ITV drama Forever Green before being cast as Wizadora.

In addition she appeared as Sharon in the radio sitcom All That Jazz, [3] in which the creator commented that he was "...knocked out by Wendy van der Plank", and that "She'd never done any radio before and was largely unknown, but she came close to stealing the show. She really threw herself into it and I thought she was hilarious... She was just great!". [4] [5]

She has also appeared in various theatrical shows, including The King and I in 1987, [6] and Quasimodo the Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1988, [7] both at the Queen's Theatre in Hornchurch.

Personal life

She currently works for the Boiling Kettle Theatre Company in Devon. [8]

Selected filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1988–89Spin OffCharlie MabeySeries 1, episodes 17, 18 & 25
1989–92 Forever Green HillySeries 1–2 (main role, 18 episodes)
1989 Casualty RosieSeries 4, episode 6
1990 The Bill Tina BenskinSeries 6, episode 16
1993–96 Wizadora WizadoraSeries 1–5 (main role)
1995The VetPamela MullhollandSeries 1, episodes 3 & 4

Related Research Articles

<i>The Hunchback of Notre-Dame</i> 1831 novel by Victor Hugo

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. The title refers to the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which features prominently throughout the novel. It focuses on the unfortunate story of Quasimodo, the Roma street dancer Esmeralda and Quasimodo's guardian the Archdeacon Claude Frollo in 15th-century Paris. All its elements—the Renaissance setting, impossible love affairs and marginalized characters—make the work a model of the literary themes of Romanticism.

<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i> (1996 film) American animated musical drama film

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1831 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The film was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay written by Tab Murphy, Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and the writing team of Bob Tzudiker and Noni White. Featuring the voices of Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, and Kevin Kline, the film follows Quasimodo, the deformed and confined bell-ringer of Notre Dame, and his yearning to explore the outside world and be accepted by society, against the wishes of his cruel, puritanical foster father Claude Frollo, who also wants to exterminate Paris' Roma population.

<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by William Dieterle

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1939 American romantic drama film starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara. Directed by William Dieterle and produced by Pandro S. Berman, the film is based on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel. The film is also noted for being the first film ever shown at the Cannes Film Festival before the rest of the festival was cancelled due to the start of World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quasimodo</span> Character in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Quasimodo is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) by Victor Hugo. Quasimodo was born with a hunchback and feared by the townspeople as a sort of monster, but he finds sanctuary in an unlikely love that is fulfilled only in death.

Clopin Trouillefou is a fictional character first created in the novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by French author Victor Hugo, and subsequently adapted.

<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i> (1923 film) 1923 film

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American drama film starring Lon Chaney, directed by Wallace Worsley, and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg. The supporting cast includes Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, and Brandon Hurst. Distributed by Universal Pictures, the film was the studio's "Super Jewel" of 1923 and was their most successful silent film, grossing $3.5 million. The film premiered on September 2, 1923 at the Astor Theatre in New York, New York, then went into release on September 6.

<i>Notre-Dame de Paris</i> (musical) Sung-through French-Canadian musical

Notre-Dame de Paris is a sung-through French musical which debuted on 16 September 1998 in Paris. It is based upon the novel Notre-Dame de Paris by the French novelist Victor Hugo. The music was composed by Riccardo Cocciante and the lyrics are by Luc Plamondon.

<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame II</i> 2002 American film

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II is a 2002 American animated musical film directed by Bradley Raymond. It is a direct-to-video sequel to Disney's 1996 animated feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The film was produced by the Japanese office of Walt Disney Animation and Walt Disney Television Animation, while it was distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Much of the actors from the original film reprise their roles, with the addition of new characters played by Jennifer Love Hewitt and Haley Joel Osment. Critical reception was mostly negative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame)</span> Fictional character from Victor Hugos The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Esmeralda, born Agnès, is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. She is a French Roma girl. She constantly attracts men with her seductive dances, and is rarely seen without her clever goat Djali. She is around 16 years old and has a kind and generous heart.

<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i> (musical) 1999 musical

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a musical play based on the 1831 novel of the same name written by Victor Hugo with songs from the 1996 Walt Disney Animation Studios film adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Frollo (Disney character)</span> Disney villain character

Judge Claude Frollo is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Disney's 34th animated film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). He was based on Archdeacon Claude Frollo from Victor Hugo's 1831 novel.

<i>The Hunchback</i> (1997 film) 1997 television film by Peter Medak

The Hunchback is a 1997 made-for-television romantic drama film based on Victor Hugo's iconic 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, directed by Peter Medak and produced by Stephane Reichel. It stars Richard Harris as Claude Frollo, Salma Hayek as Esmeralda and Mandy Patinkin as Quasimodo, the titular hunchback of Notre Dame.

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is an 1831 novel by Victor Hugo.

"Someday" is a song from Disney's 1996 animated feature film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and originally recorded by American singer and actress Heidi Mollenhauer in her film role as the singing voice of Esmeralda. It was one of three recordings, along with "In a Place of Miracles" and "As Long as There's a Moon", that were discarded during the storyboarding process to be replaced by "God Help the Outcasts." The codirectors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise both desired a quieter song for Esmeralda's scene inside the Notre Dame cathedral.

"God Help the Outcasts" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz for Walt Disney Pictures' animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). A pop ballad, the song is performed by American singer Heidi Mollenhauer as the singing voice of Esmeralda on American actress Demi Moore's behalf, who provides the character's speaking voice. A prayer, "God Help the Outcasts" is a somber hymn in which a beset Esmeralda asks God to shield outcasts and Roma like herself against racism and discrimination at the hands of Paris and Judge Claude Frollo. The song also establishes Esmeralda as a selfless, empathetic character with whom Quasimodo falls in love.

<i>Esmeralda</i> (opera)

Esmeralda is an opera in four acts composed by Arthur Goring Thomas to an English-language libretto by Theo Marzials and Alberto Randegger based on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. It premiered in London on 26 March 1883 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane with Georgina Burns in the title role and Barton McGuckin as her lover, Phoebus.

"A Guy Like You" is a song from Disney's 1996 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It is performed by the three gargoyles as they try to console Quasimodo. The song was also featured in the German stage musical version, but was replaced with Flight into Egypt for the North American Stage Production.

<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i> (franchise) Disney media franchise

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a Disney media franchise, commencing in 1996 with the release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The franchise is based on the 1831 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eunice Black</span> English actress

Eunice Black was an English character actress best known for her roles in various sitcoms and comedy movies.

"Made of Stone" is a song written for the 1999 (German) and 2014 (English) stage adaptions of Disney's 1996 animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, based on the book of the same name by Victor Hugo. It is performed by Quasimodo and the Greek chorus of gargoyles.

References

  1. "Wendy Van Der Plank". TV.com.
  2. "Wendy Van Der Plank". Filmspot.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  3. "All That Jazz Cast List". Joking Apart.com.
  4. "Joking Apart - Craig Robins talks about his radio sitcom "All That Jazz"".
  5. TV.com. "Wendy van der Plank" . Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  6. "Queen's Theatre - Archive: The King and I (1987)".
  7. "Queen's Theatre - Archive: Quasimodo the Hunchback of Notre Dame (1988)".
  8. "Thicker than water". Boiling Kettle Theatre Company. Retrieved 6 January 2018.