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Up Pompeii!
''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the second series by Rothwell and Sid Colin. Two later specials were transmitted in 1975 and 1991 and a film adaptation was released in 1971. Background ''Up Pompeii!'' first appeared in the Comedy Playhouse series, after Michael Mills and Tom Sloan from BBC Comedy and Light Entertainment visited the ruins of Pompeii. Since Mills had recently seen Frankie Howerd in the stage musical ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' he casually remarked to Sloan that he half expected Howerd to suddenly appear round the corner. Sloan had replied 'Why not?', and the idea took root. Talbot Rothwell was invited to write a script and the designer Sally Hulke visited Pompeii with a sketch book and camera to ensure realism and authenticity. A slight variation of this is related ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talbot Rothwell
Talbot Nelson Conn “Tolly” Rothwell, OBE (12 November 1916 – 28 February 1981) was an English screenwriter. Life and career Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, police officer, and Royal Air Force pilot. He was made a prisoner of war during World War II after being shot down over Norway. It was during this period, while incarcerated in Stalag Luft III, that he started to write. Peter Butterworth was in the same camp and the two became firm friends, with Rothwell mostly writing and Butterworth performing for camp concerts. This helped to relieve the boredom of camp life and the noise of the concerts helped cover tunnelling escape efforts. After World War II Rothwell took up writing as his profession, writing scripts for The Crazy Gang, Arthur Askey, Ted Ray and Terry-Thomas. His hit play ''Queen Elizabeth Slept Here'' ran for 349 performances at the Strand Theatre in London's West End. By the tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specifically ''Pseudolus'', ''Miles Gloriosus (play), Miles Gloriosus'', and ''Mostellaria'', the musical tells the bawdy story of a slavery, slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The plot displays many classic elements of farce, including puns, the slamming of doors, cases of mistaken identity (frequently involving characters disguising themselves as one another), and satirical comments on social class. The title derives from a line often used by vaudeville comedians to begin a story: "A funny thing happened on the way to the theater". The musical's original 1962 Broadway theatre, Broadway run won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prologue
A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information. The Ancient Greek ''prólogos'' included the modern meaning of ''prologue'', but was of wider significance, more like the meaning of preface. The importance, therefore, of the prologue in Greek drama was very great; it sometimes almost took the place of a romance, to which, or to an episode in which, the play itself succeeded. Latin On the Latin stage the prologue was often more elaborate than it was in Athens, and in the careful composition of the poems which Plautus prefixes to his plays we see what importance he gave to this portion of the entertainment; sometimes, as in the preface to the '' Rudens'', Plautus rises to the height of his genius in his adroit and romantic pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aside
An aside is a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention, the audience is to realize that the character's speech is unheard by the other characters on stage. It may be addressed to the audience expressly (in character or out) or represent an unspoken thought. An aside is usually a brief comment, rather than a speech, such as a monologue or soliloquy. Unlike a public announcement, it occurs within the context of the play. An aside is, by convention, a true statement of a character's thought; a character may be mistaken in an aside, but may not be dishonest. Examples This technique is used by many playwrights, including William Shakespeare. For instance, in the play ''Macbeth'', Macbeth has the following aside: Another example is found in ''Hamlet'': This technique has frequently been used in film comedy, for example in the Bob Hope "Road" comedies, Woody Allen comedies and in '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off''. The Jean-Luc Godard film '' Breathless ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Entendres
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially awkward, sexually suggestive, or offensive to state directly. A double entendre may exploit puns or word play to convey the second meaning. Double entendres generally rely on multiple meanings of words, or different interpretations of the same primary meaning. They often exploit ambiguity and may be used to introduce it deliberately in a text. Sometimes a homophone can be used as a pun. When three or more meanings have been constructed, this is known as a "triple entendre", etc. Etymology According to the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, the expression comes from the rare and obsolete French expression, which literally meant "double meaning" and was used in the senses of "double understanding" or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valerie Leon
Valerie may refer to: People *Saint Valerie (other), a number of saints went by the name Valerie *Valerie (given name), a feminine given name Songs *"Valerie", a 1981 song by Quarterflash, from ''Quarterflash'' *"Valerie", a 1982 song by Jerry Garcia from ''Run for the Roses'' * "Valerie" (Stevie Winwood song), a 1982 song by Steve Winwood from ''Talking Back to the Night'' *"Valerie", a 1986 song by Bad Company from ''Fame and Fortune'' *"Valerie", a 1986 song by Joy from ''Hello'' *"Valerie", a 1986 song by Richard Thompson *"Valerie", a 1993 song by Patti Scialfa from ''Rumble Doll'' *"Valerie", a 2002 song by Reel Big Fish from '' Cheer Up!'' * "Valerie" (Zutons song), a 2006 song by the Zutons from ''Tired of Hanging Around''; covered by Mark Ronson, with lead vocals by Amy Winehouse *"Valerie", a 2011 song by the Weeknd from ''Thursday'' *"Valerie", a 2020 song by Bladee from ''333'' *"Valleri", a 1968 song written by Boyce and Hart for the Monkees *"La Valéri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wendy Richard
Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 2006. Despite being known for her Cockney accent, Richard was born in Middlesbrough. After a childhood in which her father died by suicide, Richard worked in department stores to pay her drama school fees before appearing regularly on-screen from the early 1960s. She played Joyce Harker in '' The Newcomers'' from 1967 to 1969. Richard then starred in two '' Carry On'' films. In the television series ''Dad's Army'', she was Private Walker's girlfriend, before being cast as Miss Brahms in ''Are You Being Served?'' appearing in all 69 episodes from 1972 to 1985. She also reprised the role in the sequel series ''Grace and Favour'' in 1992 and 1993. After ''Are You Being Served?'' ended, Richard starred as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Windsor
Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''." Ten Things You Never Knew About Barbara Windsor" ''Digital Spy'' 23 May 2007 She joined the cast of ''EastEnders'' in 1994 and won the 1999 British Soap Award for Best Actress, before ultimately leaving the show in 2016 when her character was killed off. Windsor began her career on stage in 1950 at the age of 13, and made her film debut as a schoolgirl in ''The Belles of St. Trinian's'' (1954) while studying shipping management at Bow Technical College. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Rushton
William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in 3 Wilbraham Place, Chelsea, London, the only child of publisher John Atherton Rushton (1908–1958) and his Welsh wife Veronica (née James, 1910–1977). He was educated at Shrewsbury School, where he was not academically successful but met his future ''Private Eye'' colleagues Richard Ingrams, Paul Foot and Christopher Booker. He also contributed to the satirical magazine ''The Wallopian'', (a play on the school magazine name ''The Salopian'') mocking school spirit, traditions and the masters. Later, he said he recalled little of his schooldays, except that "it was Blandings country. The sort of place you go to die, not to be educated". After school Rushton had to perform two years of national service in the army, where he failed officer selection. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus. The word Plautine refers to both Plautus's own works and works similar to or influenced by his. Biography Not much is known about Titus Maccius Plautus's early life. It is believed that he was born in Sarsina, a small town in Emilia Romagna in northern Italy, around 254 BC.''The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature'' (1996) Ed. M.C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers, Oxford University Press, Oxford Reference Online According to Morris Marples, Plautus worked as a stage-carpenter or scene-shifter in his early years. It is from this work, perhaps, that his love of the theater originated. His acting talent was eventually discovered; and he adopted the names "Maccius ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeanne Mockford
Jeanne Mary Mockford (15 March 1926 – 16 November 2018) was an English actress, probably best known as Senna the soothsayer in the British television 1969–70 comedy series ''Up Pompeii!''. She has made guest appearances in shows such as ''The Bill'', '' Doctors'', ''Bedsitcom'', '' My Hero'', ''Keeping Up Appearances'', ''Last of the Summer Wine'', ''The Mighty Boosh'', and ''Casualty''. She starred in '' Little Britain'' as Kenny Craig's mother, and appeared in the feature films ''Fourplay'' (2001) and '' Hellboy II: The Golden Army'' (2008). Mockford latterly lived at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors, where she was diagnosed with dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe .... She died in November 2018 at the age of 92. Filmography References ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortune-telling
Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination. The difference is that divination is the term used for predictions considered part of a religious ritual, invoking deities or spirits, while the term fortune telling implies a less serious or formal setting, even one of popular culture, where belief in occult workings behind the prediction is less prominent than the concept of suggestion, spiritual or practical advisory or affirmation. Historically, Pliny the Elder describes use of the crystal ball in the 1st century CE by soothsayers (''"crystallum orbis"'', later written in Medieval Latin by scribes as ''orbuculum''). Contemporary Western images of fortune telling grow out of folkloristic reception of Renaissance magic, specifically associated with Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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