Sidney James was a South African-British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. Noted for his distinct dirty laugh, he was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series.
Anthony John Hancock was an English comedian and actor.
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is also the name by which the performers are known when they appear elsewhere as a double act. The show was given one of the highest budgets in BBC history to create detailed spoofs and satires of popular culture, movies, celebrities, and art. French and Saunders continued to film holiday specials for the BBC, and both have been individually successful starring in other shows.
Isaac Sidney Caesar was an American actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: Your Show of Shows (1950–1954), which was a 90-minute weekly show watched by 60 million people, and its successor, Caesar's Hour (1954–1957), both of which influenced later generations of comedians. Your Show of Shows and its cast received seven Emmy nominations between the years 1953 and 1954 and tallied two wins. He also acted in films; he played Coach Calhoun in Grease (1978) and its sequel Grease 2 (1982) and appeared in the films It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Silent Movie (1976), History of the World, Part I (1981), Cannonball Run II (1984), and Vegas Vacation (1997).
The Pope Must Die is a 1991 British Catholic Church comedy film directed by Peter Richardson, who also wrote the screenplay with Pete Richens derived from elements of an earlier screenplay for a three-part mini-series satirising the Catholic Church, and which had been rejected by Channel 4. The film stars Robbie Coltrane as a low ranking priest who is mistakenly elected Pope, then has to avoid being assassinated by the Mafia. The film co-stars Adrian Edmondson, Annette Crosbie, Herbert Lom and Alex Rocco. The film was released by Palace Pictures with the backing of Channel 4 Films.
Silent Movie is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film cowritten, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters and Sid Caesar, with cameos by Anne Bancroft, Liza Minnelli, Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Marcel Marceau and Paul Newman as themselves. The film was produced in the manner of a 20th-century silent film, with intertitles instead of spoken dialogue; the soundtrack consists almost entirely of accompanying music and sound effects. It is an affectionate parody of slapstick comedies, including those of Charlie Chaplin, Mack Sennett and Buster Keaton. The film satirizes the film industry, presenting the story of a film producer trying to obtain studio support to make a silent film in the 1970s.
Arthur Bowden Askey, was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation and catchphrases including "Hello playmates!", "I thank you" and "Before your very eyes".
Peter Baynham is a Welsh screenwriter and performer. He appeared in a series of comedic Pot Noodle television adverts in the 1990s. His writing work includes collaborations with comedy figures such as Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan, Chris Morris, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Sarah Smith. Born in Cardiff, Baynham served in the Merchant Navy after leaving school and later pursued a career in comedy — first in stand-up, and then as a writer and performer for various news and sketch comedies in radio and television while enjoying personal fame starring in Pot Noodle adverts. He then became a writer in feature film.
Gary Olsen was an English actor. He played Ben Porter on the BBC television sitcom 2point4 Children from 1991 to 1999.
Juke Box Jury was a music panel show which ran on BBC Television between 1 June 1959 and 27 December 1967. The programme was based on the American show Jukebox Jury, itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series. The American series, which was televised, aired from 1953 to 1959 and was hosted by Peter Potter, Suzanne Alexander, Jean Moorhead, and Lisa Davis.
Alan Donald Whicker was a British journalist and television presenter and broadcaster. His career spanned almost 60 years, during which time he presented the documentary television programme Whicker's World for over 30 years. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2005 for services to broadcasting.
Patricia Bredin was an English actress and one-time singer. She is best known as the first representative of the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest.
David Freeman was a British film and television writer, working chiefly in comedy.
Living It Up was a black-and-white British sitcom starring Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch that ran for nine episodes from 1957 to 1958. It was written by Sid Colin and Talbot Rothwell. It was made for the ITV network by Associated-Rediffusion. All nine episodes survive in the archives.
Arthur's Treasured Volumes was a black-and-white British television series that aired on ITV in 1960. Starring Arthur Askey, it was written by Dave Freeman and was made for the ITV network by ATV.
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.
Meet Mr. Lucifer is a 1953 black-and-white British comedy satire film directed by Anthony Pelisser starring Stanley Holloway, Peggy Cummins and Jack Watling. It is based on the 1951 play Beggar My Neighbour by Arnold Ridley. It opened on 26 November 1953 at the Haymarket Gaumont cinema in London. It was filmed at Ealing Studios, London, and is one of the Ealing comedies.
Jeremy Hawk was a character actor with a long career in music halls and on London's West End stage.
Ramsbottom Rides Again is a 1956 British western comedy film produced and directed by John Baxter, starring Arthur Askey, Sid James, Shani Wallis, Betty Marsden and Jerry Desmonde. It was written by Basil Thomas and John Baxter, basd on a play by Harold G. Robert, with additional comedy scenes and dialogue by Arthur Askey, Glenn Melvyn and Geoffrey Orme.
Tommy the Toreador is a 1959 British musical comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Tommy Steele, Janet Munro, Sid James, Bernard Cribbins, Noel Purcell and Kenneth Williams.
