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Gladys Morgan
Gladys Mabel Morgan (7 November 1898–16 April 1983) was a Welsh comedian, billed variously as the 'Queen of Comedy' or 'the Queen of Laughter', and was renowned for her toothless, ear-splitting, infectious laugh. Biography Early life and career Gladys Morgan was born in Swansea, Wales, in 1898 and, though her family was not theatrical, she was always interested in the stage and by the time she turned eleven she had her own song and dance act. She joined a children's concert party called The Brilliant Gems, where one of her colleagues was Albert Burdon, who was later to become known as an actor and comedian. Four foot ten inch Morgan then formed an act called The Three Virgins, with the equally diminutive Betty Jumel on violin and Vy Vivienne on piano. While touring as a solo singer in a concert party in the Isle of Man, she was asked by the company manager to play the part of an old deaf woman in a sketch. She reluctantly agreed to do so, and was amazed and delighted t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in .... It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, twenty-fifth largest in the United Kingdom. Located along Swansea Bay in southwest Wales, with the principal area covering the Gower Peninsula, it is part of the Swansea Bay (region), Swansea Bay region and part of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Glamorgan; also the ancient Welsh commote of Gŵyr. The principal area is the second most List of Welsh principal areas by population, populous local authority area in Wales with an estimate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Secombe
Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, most notably Neddie Seagoon. An accomplished tenor, he also appeared in musicals and films – notably as Bumble in '' Oliver!'' (1968) – and, in his later years, was a presenter of television shows incorporating hymns and other devotional songs. Early life Secombe was born in St Thomas, Swansea, the third of four children of Nellie Jane Gladys (née Davies), a shop manageress, and Frederick Ernest Secombe, a commercial traveller and office worker for a Swansea wholesale grocery business. From the age of 11 he attended Dynevor School, a state grammar school in central Swansea. His family were regular churchgoers, belonging to the congregation of St Thomas Church. A member of the choir, from the age of 12 Secombe would perform a sketc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 19118 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads, toffs and bounders, using his distinctive voice; his costume and props tended to include a monocle, waistcoat and cigarette holder. His striking dress sense was set off by a gap between his two upper front teeth. Born in London, Terry-Thomas made his film debut, uncredited, in ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933). He spent several years appearing in smaller roles, before wartime service with Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) and Stars in Battledress. The experience helped sharpen his cabaret and revue act, increased his public profile and proved instrumental in the development of his successful comic stage routine. On his demobilisation, he starred in ''Piccadilly Hayride'' o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nancy Kwan
Nancy Kwan Ka-shen (; born May 19, 1939) is a Chinese-American actress, philanthropist, and former dancer. In addition to her personality and looks, her career was benefited by Hollywood's casting of more Asian roles in the 1960s, especially in comedies. Biography Early life Born in Hong Kong on May 19, 1939, and growing up in Kowloon Tong, Kwan is the Eurasian daughter of Kwan Wing-hong, a Cantonese architect and Marquita Scott, a European model of English and Scottish ancestry. Kwan Wing-hong was the son of lawyer Kwan King-sun and Juliann Loke Yuen-ying, daughter of Loke Yew. He attended Cambridge University and met Scott in London. The two married and moved to Hong Kong, where Wing-hong became an eminent architect. In that era, society held a dim view of interracial marriage. Nancy has an older brother, Ka-keung. In fear of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong during World War II, Wing Hong, in the guise of a coolie, escaped from Hong Kong to North China in Christmas 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Springbok Radio
Springbok Radio (spelled ''Springbokradio'' in Afrikaans, ) was a South African nationwide radio station that operated from 1950 to 1986. History SABC's decision in December 1945 to develop a commercial service was constrained by post-war financial issues. After almost five years of investigation and after consulting Lord Reith of the BBC and the South African government, it decided to introduce commercial radio to supplement the SABC's public service English and Afrikaans networks and help solve the SABC's financial problems. The SABC would build the equipment and facilities and would place them at the disposal of advertisers and their agencies at cost for productions and allow them to make use of SABC's production staff. On 1 May 1950, the first commercial radio station in South Africa, Springbok Radio, took to the air. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely Enclave and exclave, enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over Demographics of South Africa, 60 million people, the country is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a Megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with Deserts of Australia, deserts in the centre, tropical Forests of Australia, rainforests in the north-east, and List of mountains in Australia, mountain ranges in the south-east. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately Early human migrations#Nearby Oceania, 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, last i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking countries, especially during the Christmas and New Year season. Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing. It employs gender-crossing actors and combines topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale.Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline. "Pantomime", ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature'', Jack Zipes (ed.), Oxford University Press (2006), Pantomime is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is encouraged and expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers. Pantomime has a long theatrical history in Western culture dating back to the era of classical theatre. It developed partly from the 16th century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blazer
A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons to reflect their origins as jackets worn by boating club members. A blazer's cloth is usually durable, as it is intended as outdoor wear. Blazers are often part of a uniform that denotes, for example, an airline's employees, pupils of a particular school, members of sports clubs, or sportsmen and women on a particular team. Wear Blazers are worn with a wide variety of clothes, ranging from a dress shirt and necktie to an open-necked polo shirt, or even just a plain T-shirt. They are seen with trousers of all colours and fabrics, from the classic white cotton or linen, to grey flannel, to brown or beige chinos, and also jeans. A fitted, classically cut, double-breasted navy blue blazer with navy-style buttons is a popular design and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Death Index: 1916–2005 and Edith Florence Howard (née Morrison, 1888–1962), at the City Hospital in York, England, in 1917 (not 1922 as he later claimed). His mother worked at the Rowntree's chocolate factory. For his first two and a half years, Howerd lived in a terraced house at 53, Hartoft Street. He described it as "a poorish area of the city near the River Ouse". He later said he had only one memory of living in York and that was of falling down the stairs, an experience which left him with a life-long dread of heights. He returned to York on many occasions for family holidays, however, and later in life spoke of his fondness for the city. His family moved to Eltham, London when he was a young child, and he was educated at Shooter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Educating Archie
''Educating Archie'' was a BBC Light Programme comedy show which was broadcast for nearly ten years between June 1950 and February 1960, mostly at lunchtime on Sundays. The programme featured ventriloquist Peter Brough and his doll Archie Andrews. The show was very popular, despite its unlikely central premise of a ventriloquist act on radio. ''Educating Archie'' averaged 15 million listeners, and a fan club boasted 250,000 members. It was so successful that in 1950, after only four months on the air, it won the ''Daily Mail''s Variety Award. The programme introduced comedians who later became well known, including Tony Hancock as Archie's tutor, who would greet Archie with a weary "Oh, it's you again" and always replied to any put-down from him with "flipping kids". Other "tutors" included Benny Hill, Harry Secombe, Dick Emery, Bernard Bresslaw, Hattie Jacques, and Bruce Forsyth – together with a young Julie Andrews as Archie's girlfriend. Later, Beryl Reid took this role, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Workers' Playtime (radio Programme)
''Workers' Playtime'' was a British radio variety programme transmitted by the BBC between 1941 and 1964. Originally intended as a morale-booster for industrial workers in Britain during World War II, the programme was broadcast at lunchtime, three times a week, live from a factory canteen "somewhere in Britain". Initially, it was broadcast simultaneously on both the BBC Home Service and Forces Programme, then from 1957 onwards solely on the Light Programme. For all its 23 years each show concluded with the words from the show's producer, Bill Gates: "Good luck, all workers!" The programme had the support of the government because the shows were seen as supporting the war effort on the home front. ''Workers' Playtime'' was a touring show, with the Ministry of Labour choosing which factory canteens it would visit. Throughout World War II, Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour and National Service, would appear on these shows from time to time to congratulate the workers and e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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