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John Clegg (actor)
John Walter Lawrence Clegg (born 9 July 1934) is an Indian-born English actor, best known for playing the part of Gunner 'Paderewski' Graham in the BBC sitcom ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum''. Early life and career Clegg was born on 9 July 1934 in Murree, British India (present-day Pakistan) to English parents. When he and his parents arrived back in England, Clegg became a student at RADA. After leaving RADA Clegg joined the Watford Palace Theatre Company, where he met Jimmy Perry, who would go on to cast Clegg in the role for which he is best known. It was there that he also met many of his future co-stars, including Michael Knowles, Donald Hewlett, and Mavis Pugh (whom he married in 1959). Pugh appeared in Croft and Perry sitcoms including ''Dad's Army'', ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' and ''Hi-de-Hi!'', but she is best known for playing Lady Lavender Southwick in ''You Rang, M'Lord?''. Due to the twenty year age gap between Clegg and Pugh many were sceptical as to whether the marr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murree
Murree (Punjabi, Urdu: مری) is a mountain resort city, located in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range, within the Muree District of Punjab, Pakistan. It forms the outskirts of the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area, and is about northeast of Islamabad. It has average altitude of . The British built this town during their rule to escape the scorching heat in the plains of Punjab during the summer. Construction of the town was started in 1851 on the hill of Murree as a sanatorium for British troops. The permanent town of Murree was constructed in 1853 and the church was consecrated shortly thereafter. One main road was established, commonly referred to even in modern times, as the mall. Murree was the summer headquarters of the colonial Punjab Government until 1876 when it was moved to Shimla. Murree became a popular tourist station for British citizens of the British Raj. Several prominent Britons were born here including Bruce Bairnsfather, Francis Younghusb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Croft (TV Producer)
Major David John Croft, (born David John Andrew Sharland; 7 September 1922 – 27 September 2011) was an English television comedy screenwriter, producer and director. He produced and wrote a string of BBC sitcoms with partners Jimmy Perry and Jeremy Lloyd, including '' Dad's Army'', '' Are You Being Served?'', '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'', '' Hi-de-Hi!'' and '' 'Allo 'Allo!'' Early life Croft was born into a show business family: his father, Reginald Sharland (1886–1944), had a successful career as a radio actor in Hollywood, and his mother, Annie Croft (1896–1959), was a famous stage actress who had starred in the 1927 silent film ''On With The Dance,'' she was also the first woman to own a West End theatre company. His first public appearance was at the age of seven, when he was seen in a commercial which aired in cinemas. After that, his acting career in films "began and ended" with his uncredited appearance as Perkins in the film '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis Tresham
Francis Tresham ( 1567 – 23 December 1605), eldest son of Thomas Tresham and Muriel Throckmorton, was a member of the group of English provincial Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate King James I of England. Tresham joined the Earl of Essex's failed rebellion against the government in 1601, for which he was imprisoned. Only his family's intervention and his father's money saved him from attainder. Despite this, he became involved in two missions to Catholic Spain to seek support for English Catholics (then heavily persecuted), and finally with the Gunpowder Plotters. According to his confession, Tresham joined the plot in October 1605. Its leader, Robert Catesby, asked him to provide a large sum of money and the use of Rushton Hall, but Tresham apparently provided neither, instead giving a much smaller amount of money to fellow plotter Thomas Wintour. Tresham also expressed concern that if the plot was successful, two of hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gunpowder Plot (documentary)
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought to restore the Catholic monarchy to England after decades of persecution against Catholics. The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605, as the prelude to a popular revolt in the Midlands during which King James's nine-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, was to be installed as the Catholic head of state. Catesby may have embarked on the scheme after hopes of securing greater religious tolerance under King James I had faded, leaving many English Catholics disappointed. His fellow contributors were John and Christopher Wright, Robert and Thomas Wintour, Thomas Percy, Guy Fawkes, Robert Keyes, Thomas Bates, John Grant, Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby and Francis Tresham. Fawkes, who ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Half A Sixpence (film)
''Half a Sixpence'' is a 1967 British musical film directed by George Sidney and choreographed by Gillian Lynne. The screenplay by Beverley Cross is adapted from his book for the 1963 stage musical of the same name, which was based on '' Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul'', a 1905 novel by H. G. Wells. The music and lyrics are by David Heneker. This was the final film made by Sidney, director of such films as '' Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Kiss Me Kate'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' and ''Viva Las Vegas''. Plot In Victorian England, a young orphan, Arthur Kipps ("Artie"), finds a sixpence as he walks along a river with his young friend, Ann. Artie is then sent to a nearby town, where he is to serve as apprentice to a draper. Several years later he meets up with Ann once again, and with the coin cut into two he gives one half to Ann as a symbol of their love. Artie grows up into a young man. Work at the draper's store is difficult. He becomes friends with Harry Chitterlow, an actor-playwr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musical Film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate "production numbers". The musical film was a natural development of the stage musical after the emergence of sound film technology. Typically, the biggest difference between film and stage musicals is the use of lavish background scenery and locations that would be impractical in a theater. Musical films characteristically contain elements reminiscent of theater; performers often treat their song and dance numbers as if a live audience were watching. In a sense, the viewer becomes the diegetic audience, as the performer looks directly into the camera and performs to it. With the advent of sound in the late 1920s, musicals gained popularity with the public and are exemplified by the films of Busb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dixon Of Dock Green
''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 to 1976. The central character, George Dixon, first appeared in the film ''The Blue Lamp''. Dixon is a mature and sympathetic police constable, played by Jack Warner in all of the 432 episodes. Dixon is the embodiment of a typical "bobby" who would be familiar with the area in which he patrolled and its residents and often lived there himself. The series contrasted with later programmes such as ''Z-Cars'', which reflected a more aggressive policing culture. It retained a faithful following throughout its run and was voted second-most popular programme on British television in 1961. Jack Warner Warner's success as Dixon was well received by police forces. He was made an honorary member of both the Margate and Ramsgate Police Forces in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Criminal Investigation Department
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of both are entitled to the rank prefix "Detective"). The name derives from the CID of the Metropolitan Police, formed on 8 April 1878 by C. E. Howard Vincent as a re-formation of its Detective Branch. British colonial police forces all over the world adopted the terminology developed in the UK in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and later the police forces of those countries often retained it after independence. English-language media often use "CID" as a translation to refer to comparable organisations in other countries. By country Afghanistan The ''Criminal Investigation Department'' is under the Afghan National Police. Bangladesh France The Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire (DCPJ) is the national authority of the crim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gas Light (play)
''Gas Light'' is a 1938 thriller play, set in the Victorian era, written by the British novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton's play is a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his wife insane in order to steal from her. ''Gas Light'' was written during a dark period in Hamilton's life. Six years prior to the play Hamilton was hit by a drunk driver and dragged through the streets of London, leaving him with a limp, a paralyzed arm, and a disfigured face. Two years later, Hamilton's mother committed suicide. Premiering at the Richmond Theatre in London on 5 December 1938 before transferring to the Apollo Theatre in the West End on 1 January, the play closed after six months and 141 performances, but it has endured through an impressive list of incarnations most notably ''Five Chelsea Lane'' (1941 American play), ''Angel Street'' (1941 American play), and ''Gaslight'' (1958 Australian television play). ''Angel Str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Happiest Days Of Your Life (play)
''The Happiest Days of Your Life'' is a farce by the English playwright John Dighton. It depicts the complications that ensue when because of a bureaucratic error a girls' school is made to share premises with a boys' school. The title of the play echoes the old saying that schooldays are "the happiest days of our lives". The play was first seen on BBC Television in 1947, and then, after a one-night try-out in the West End later that year, it opened at the Apollo Theatre in March 1948, running for more than 600 performances. It has subsequently been revived, and adapted for broadcasting and the cinema. Background and first productions The title of the play alludes to the old saying, dating back to at least the early 19th century, that schooldays are "the happiest days of our lives". The play was first seen on BBC Television in its early post-war days, screened live on 4 February 1947 and again on 6 February. It was staged for a single Sunday-night try-out at the Strand Theatr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charley's Aunt
''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot include the arrival of the real aunt and the attempts of an elderly fortune hunter to woo the bogus aunt. The play concludes with three pairs of young lovers united, along with an older pair – Charley's real aunt and Jack's widowed father. The play was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds in February 1892. It then opened in London at the Royalty Theatre on 21 December 1892 and quickly transferred to the larger Globe Theatre on 30 January 1893. The production broke the historic record for longest-running play worldwide, running for 1,466 performances. It was produced by the actor W. S. Penley, a friend of Thomas, who appeared as Babberley. The play was also a success on Broadway in 1893, and in Paris, where it had further ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farce
Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or nonsense; satire, parody, and mockery of real-life situations, people, events, and interactions; unlikely and humorous instances of miscommunication; ludicrous, improbable, and exaggerated characters; and broadly stylized performances. Genre Despite involving absurd situations and characters, the genre generally maintains at least a slight degree of realism and narrative continuity within the context of the irrational or ludicrous situations, often distinguishing it from completely absurdist or fantastical genres. Farces are often episodic or short in duration, often being set in one specific location where all events occur. Farces have historically been performed for the stage and film. Historical context The term ''farce'' is der ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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