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Michael Jayston
Michael James (born 29 October 1935), known professionally as Michael Jayston, is an English actor. He played Nicholas II of Russia in the film ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' (1971). He has also made many television appearances, which have included playing the Valeyard in all fourteen episodes of the ''Doctor Who'' serial '' The Trial of a Time Lord'' (1986) and appearing in the ''Only Fools and Horses'' episode " Time on Our Hands" (1996) as Raquel's father, James. Early life and education Michael Jayston was born on 29 October 1935 in West Bridgford, Nottingham. His registered birth name was Michael A James. He is the only son of Aubrey Vincent James (1911–1937) and Edna Myfanwy Medcalfe (1904–1950). He attended the Becket RC School on Wilford Lane, West Bridgford. A former accountant, he trained in acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Career Stage Jayston began his stage career in 1962 and performed at the Bristol Old Vic and at Stratford-upon-Avon. Televi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin Hood and to the lace-making, bicycle and tobacco industries. The city is also the county town of Nottinghamshire and the settlement was granted its city charter in 1897, as part of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Nottingham is a tourist destination; in 2018, the city received the second-highest number of overnight visitors in the Midlands and the highest number in the East Midlands. In 2020, Nottingham had an estimated population of 330,000. The wider conurbation, which includes many of the city's suburbs, has a population of 768,638. It is the largest urban area in the East Midlands and the second-largest in the Midlands. Its Functional Urban Area, the largest in the East Midlands, has a population of 919,484. The popula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Plane Makers/The Power Game
''The Plane Makers'' is a British television series created by Wilfred Greatorex and produced by Rex Firkin. ATV made three series for ITV between 1963 and 1965. It was succeeded by ''The Power Game'', which ran for an additional three series from 1965 to 1969. Firkin continued as producer for the first two series, and David Reid took over for series 3. ''The Plane Makers'' ''The Plane Makers'' focused on the power struggles between the trades union and the management on the shop floor of a fictional aircraft factory, Scott Furlong Ltd, as well as the political in-fighting amongst the management themselves. Patrick Wymark proved particularly popular as the anti-heroic Managing Director John Wilder, who was "a bully and a boor", who "is forgiven only if he gets results". Wilder's nemesis in the boardroom in the third series was David Corbett (Alan Dobie), though he was supported by his long-suffering wife Pamela ( Ann Firbank, standing in for Barbara Murray from serie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949), in which he played nine different characters, '' The Lavender Hill Mob'' (1951), for which he received his first Academy Award nomination, and '' The Ladykillers'' (1955). He collaborated six times with director David Lean: Herbert Pocket in '' Great Expectations'' (1946), Fagin in '' Oliver Twist'' (1948), Col. Nicholson in ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (1957), for which he won both the Academy Award for Best Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor, Prince Faisal in ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), General Yevgraf Zhivago in ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965), and Professor Godbole in '' A Passage to India'' (1984). In 1970 he played Jacob Marley's ghost in Ronald Neame's '' Scrooge''. He also portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Guillam
Pierre Guillame, better known by the anglicised form Peter Guillam, is a fictional character in John le Carré's series of espionage novels. He first appears in ''Call for the Dead''. He is the trusted right-hand-man of George Smiley, the protagonist of many of le Carre's novels, and is often the person Smiley turns to for assistance when he fears he cannot trust his peers or subordinates. Character Guillam is half-French and half-English, and comes from a family that has worked for The Circus (le Carre's name for MI6) for generations. Although ''Call for the Dead'' indicates that he served in the Second World War, the later books in the series indicate that he was born around 1933. In ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'', which takes place in 1973, Guillam contemplates having just turned forty years of age. Although he has done observational "field work" in the past and recruited spies that report to him, Guillam himself is uncomfortable with getting personally involved in spying operati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
She Fell Among Thieves (TV Film)
''She Fell Among Thieves'' is a 1978 British television film based on the novel of the same name by Dornford Yates, adapted for television by Tom Sharpe. It stars Malcolm McDowell and Eileen Atkins and was directed by Clive Donner. It was first broadcast on BBC2 on Wednesday 1 March 1978 at 9:40 p.m. as “Play of the Week.” It was one of a series of television films made by the BBC and Donner which focused on British heroes between the wars, others including '' Rogue Male'' and ''The Three Hostages''.Television: An Interview with Mark Shivas Hodgson, Clive. London Magazine18.1 (Apr 1, 1978): 68. Cast * ''Richard Chandos'' - Malcolm McDowell * ''Vanity Fair'' - Eileen Atkins * ''Jonathan Mansel'' - Michael Jayston * ''Jenny'' - Karen Dotrice * ''Virginia'' - Sarah Badel * ''Acorn'' - Philip Locke * ''Father Below'' - Richard Pearson * ''Lafone'' - Freda Jackson * ''Bell'' - Ralph Arliss * ''Carson'' - Bernard Hill * ''Candle'' - Simon Cadell * ''Gaston'' - Jonathan Ly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dornford Yates
Cecil William Mercer (7 August 1885 – 5 March 1960), known by his pen name Dornford Yates, was an English writer and novelist whose novels and short stories, some humorous (the ''Berry'' books), some thrillers (the ''Chandos'' books), were best-sellers during the Interwar Period. The pen name ''Dornford Yates'', first in print in 1910, resulted from combining the maiden names of his grandmothers – the paternal Eliza Mary Dornford, and the maternal Harriet Yates. Early life William (Bill) Mercer was born in Walmer, Kent, the son of Cecil John Mercer (1850–1921) and Helen Wall (1858–1918). His father was a solicitor whose sister, Mary Frances, married Charles Augustus Munro; their son was Hector Hugh Munro (the writer Saki); Bill Mercer is said to have idolised his elder cousin. Mercer attended St Clare preparatory school in Walmer from 1894 to 1899. The family moved from Kent to London when he joined Harrow School as a day pupil in 1899, his father selling his solici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quiller (TV Series)
''Quiller'' is a British drama television series starring Michael Jayston. The series premièred with the episode ''The Price of Violence'' on 29 August 1975 on BBC One. Quiller is the alias of a fictional spy created by English novelist Elleston Trevor who featured in a series of Cold War thrillers written under the pseudonym "Adam Hall". The second episode's script - ''Tango Briefing'' - was written by "Adam Hall", adapted from his own novel of the same name. All the other episodes were written for the series. Although all episodes survived destruction, the series has never been repeated on the BBC or other channels since its original transmission nor is it currently available online, on Blu-ray or DVD. Background Quiller (Michael Jayston) works for a British secret organisation known simply as "The Bureau". This organisation dispatches Quiller on various missions across the globe to retrieve missing documentation, prevent secrets from falling into the hands of the enemy, res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quiller
Quiller is a fictional character created by English novelist Elleston Trevor. Quiller, whose one-word name is a pseudonym, works as a spy, and he is the hero of a series of 19 Cold War thrillers written under the pseudonym Adam Hall, and became Trevor's most popular character. The books concern a solitary, highly capable operative who works, usually on his own, for a British government organization, referred to as "The Bureau", which "doesn't exist". Quiller narrates his adventures in first person, addressing the reader in an informal tone. He was named for the real-life Cornish writer Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. Characterisation Quiller is a highly skilled driver, pilot, diver, linguist and martial artist. In his choice of self-defence methods, he favours Shotokan karate, much like Trevor himself. Additionally, Quiller has knowledge of Chin Na—a related, complementary art that relies on advanced joint manipulation. He does not carry a firearm "in peacetime". Indeed, this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thriller (UK TV Series)
''Thriller'' is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits. Background The series was created by Brian Clemens, who also scripted the majority of the episodes and story-lined every installment. It was produced by John Sichel (the first three series), John Cooper (series 4) and Ian Fordyce (the final two series) for Associated Television (ATV) at its Elstree studios north of London. The series evolved from Clemens' previous work, in particular two films in a similar style: '' And Soon the Darkness'' (1970) and ''Blind Terror'' (aka '' See No Evil'', 1971); the latter shares plot similarities with the ''Thriller'' episodes "The Eyes Have It" and "The Next Voice You See". Original music, including the theme tune, was supplied by Clemens' re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sorcha Cusack
Sorcha Cusack (; born 9 April 1949) is an Irish television and stage actress. Her numerous television credits include playing the title role in ''Jane Eyre'' (1973), '' Casualty'' (1994–1997), ''Coronation Street'' (2008) and ''Father Brown'' (2013–present). Early and personal life Cusack was born on 9 April 1949 in Dublin, Ireland. She is the second daughter of the actors Cyril Cusack (1910–1993) and Maureen Cusack (1920–1977), her elder sister is actress Sinéad Cusack, and her younger sister is actress Niamh Cusack. She is a half-sister to Catherine Cusack. Through her sister Sinéad, she is the sister-in-law of actor Jeremy Irons and the aunt of actor Max Irons and his brother, former child actor Samuel Irons. She is married to actor Nigel Cooke with whom she has two children. Career Cusack has made many film and television appearances including ''Inspector Morse'' (“Cherubim and Seraphim“, S6:E5, 1992) as Joyce, ''The Bill'', '' Casualty'' (as Staff Nurs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jane Eyre (1973 TV Serial)
Charlotte Brontë's novel ''Jane Eyre'' (1847) has been the subject of numerous television and film adaptations. This 1973 four-hour literary version was originally broadcast as a five-part BBC television drama serial. It was directed by Joan Craft and starred Sorcha Cusack and Michael Jayston. Plot In this version of Charlotte Brontë's novel, Jane Eyre (Sorcha Cusack) is an independent and strong-minded young woman who is hired by Mr. Rochester (Michael Jayston) to work as a governess. What she does not realize is that she must share the estate (and ultimately Mr. Rochester) with his wife, Bertha (Brenda Kempner), who is, by this point in her life, mentally ill and kept locked away in an upstairs attic. For a full-length summary see: ''Jane Eyre'' plot summary. Cast Reception Henry Mitchell in a 21 July 1982 review for ''The Washington Post'' noted of the mini-series that "At its best, it sounds like Jane Austen through a glass darkly and that is very good indeed." Ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mr Rochester
Edward Fairfax Rochester (often referred to as Mr Rochester) is a character in Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel ''Jane Eyre''. The brooding master of Thornfield Hall, Rochester is the employer and eventual husband of the novel's titular protagonist Jane Eyre. He is regarded as an archetypal Byronic hero. In ''Jane Eyre'' Edward Rochester is the oft-absent master of Thornfield Hall, where Jane Eyre is employed as a governess to his young ward, Adèle Varens. Jane first meets Rochester while on a walk, when his horse slips and he injures his foot. He does not reveal to Jane his identity and it is only that evening back at the house that Jane learns he is Mr Rochester. Rochester and Jane are immediately interested in each other. She is fascinated by his rough, dark appearance as well as his abrupt manner. Rochester is intrigued by Jane's strength of character, comparing her to an elf or sprite and admiring her unusual strength and stubbornness. The two quickly become friends, oft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
