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Balham, Gateway To The South
"Balham, Gateway to the South" is a comedy sketch that parodies cinema travelogues by presenting the South London suburb of Balham as an exotic locale. It was written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden for the short-lived BBC radio series ''Third Division'' and featured in the second edition broadcast on the BBC Third Programme on 2 February 1949. The sketch's depication of Balham as a faraway, desirable location contrasted with the real area during postwar austerity. One memorable part of the sketch is the pronunciation of Balham as "Bal-Ham" in an American accent, instead of the British pronunciation "Bal-um". The original sketch was performed by Peter Sellers as narrator, with others such as Benny Hill and Michael Bentine contributing other voices. The script features the narration of exaggerated claims regarding the attractions of the area. The sketch was later performed solo by Peter Sellers, in a parody of the American newsreel-travelogue host James A. Fitzpatrick, on th ...
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Comedy Sketch
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is used widely in variety shows, comedy talk shows, and some sitcoms and children's television series. The sketches may be improvised live by the performers, developed through improvisation before public performance, or scripted and rehearsed in advance like a play. Sketch comedians routinely differentiate their work from a "skit", maintaining that a skit is a (single) dramatized joke (or "bit") while a sketch is a comedic exploration of a concept, character, or situation.Sketch
definition 3b, Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved 5/4/2019


History

Sketch comedy has its origins in

Ron Goodwin
Ronald Alfred Goodwin (17 February 19258 January 2003) was an English composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included ''Where Eagles Dare'', ''Battle of Britain'', ''633 Squadron'', Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple films, and ''Frenzy''. Born in Plymouth, Devon, England, Goodwin learned to play the piano and trumpet from the age of five which allowed him to join the school band. When he was nine, the family moved to Harrow, London, where he attended Willesden County School and Pinner County Grammar School, in Middlesex. From there he went on to study the trumpet in London at the Guildhall School of Music. Whilst working as a copyist, he formed his own orchestra in his spare time and began arranging and conducting recordings for over fifty artists, which resulted in more than 100 chart successes. He wrote his first feature film score for ''Whirlpool'', with screenplay by Lawrence P. ...
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Sidgwick & Jackson
Sidgwick & Jackson is an imprint of book publishing company Pan Macmillan. Formerly it was an independent publisher; as such it was founded in Britain in 1908. Its notable early authors include poet Rupert Brooke and novelist E.M. Forster. In more recent times it helped launch the careers of Lynda La Plante, Shirley Conran and Judith Krantz. The Managing Director from 1968 to 1995 was William Armstrong; the company and Armstrong were said to have encouraged individuality and entrepreneurship among staff. Armstrong was also the father of the singer Dido. Subject interests *Commercial and popular non-fiction. *High-profile biography. *History of popular culture. *Sidgwick Military list: supported in association with the Imperial War Museum and National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the " Chelsea Pensioners". The muse ...
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Bantam Press
Bantam Press is an imprint of Transworld Publishers which is a British publishing division of Penguin Random House. It is based on Uxbridge Road in Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was hi ... near Ealing Broadway station, London, the same address as Transworld. Bantam Press also publishes Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic books. External linksTransworld website Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom {{UK-publish-company-stub ...
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Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after being purchased by Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, the paper ended a 180-year history of paid circulation and became a free newspaper, doubling its circulation as part of a change in its business plan. Emily Sheffield became editor in July 2020 but resigned in October 2021. History From 1827 to 2009 The newspaper was founded by barrister Stanley Lees Giffard on 21 May 1827 as ''The Standard''. The early owner of the paper was Charles Baldwin. Under the ownership of James Johnstone, ''The Standard'' became a morning paper from 29 June 1857. ''The Evening Standard'' was published from 11 June 1859. ''The Standard'' gained eminence for its detailed foreign news, notably its reporting of events of the American Civil War (1861–1 ...
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David De Keyser
David de Keyser (22 August 1927 – 20 February 2021) was an English actor and narrator. Life and career Born in London in August 1927, in the mid-sixties de Keyser worked twice with the writer, actor and director Jane Arden. Their first collaboration, ''The Logic Game'' (January 1965), was directed by Philip Saville. They acted together again in another Jane Arden script in the film ''Separation'' ( Jack Bond 1968) which was set in London and featured music by Procol Harum, Matthew Fisher and Stanley Myers. The themes of both pieces were marital strife and disintegrating relationships. De Keyser also worked on four occasions for the British director John Boorman, twice on screen in '' Catch Us If You Can'' (1965) and ''Leo the Last'' (1970), and on two further occasions Boorman has used de Keyser's rich voice, firstly as the Voice of the Tabernacle in ''Zardoz'' (1974), and as the Voice of the Grail in '' Excalibur'' (1981). Other unseen roles were the voice of Count Mitte ...
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Robbie Coltrane
Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointed an OBE in the 2006 New Year Honours by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to drama. In 1990, Coltrane received the Evening Standard British Film Award Peter Sellers Award for Comedy. In 2011, he was honoured for his " outstanding contribution" to film at the British Academy Scotland Awards. Coltrane started his career appearing alongside Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, and Emma Thompson in the sketch series '' Alfresco''. In 1987, he starred in the BBC miniseries '' Tutti Frutti'' with Thompson, for which he received his first British Academy Television Award for Best Actor nomination. Coltrane then gained national prominence starring as criminal psychologist Dr. Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald in the ITV television series ''Cra ...
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Micky Dolenz
George Michael Dolenz Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American actor, musician, TV producer and businessman. He is best known as the drummer and one of three primary vocalists for the Pop music, pop-Rock music, rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and multiple reunions through 2021), and a co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees (TV series), The Monkees'' (1966–1968). Following the death of Michael Nesmith in 2021, Dolenz is the only surviving member of the band. Life and entertainment career Dolenz was born at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California,Ancestry.com. California Birth Index, 1905–1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: State of California. California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. the son of actors George Dolenz and Janelle Johnson. He has three sisters, Gemma Marie ("Coco"; born April 5, 1949), Debora ...
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High Speed 2
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its most southerly terminus, London, to its most northerly point, Manchester, with branches to Birmingham and the East Midlands. HS2 will be Britain's second purpose-built high-speed line, the first being High Speed 1, which connects London to the Channel Tunnel. At its southern end, the line will terminate at London's Euston station while other termini will be Birmingham Curzon Street station and Manchester Piccadilly station. In addition to these stations, the dedicated track will serve Old Oak Common in west London, Birmingham Interchange, East Midlands Parkway south of Nottingham, Crewe, and Manchester Airport. There will be several junctions for trains to progress onto the existing West Coast Main Line and Midland Main Line to r ...
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Parliament Of The United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses Parliamentary sovereignty, legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and the overseas territories. Parliament is Bicameralism, bicameral but has three parts, consisting of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign (King-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons (the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, primary chamber). In theory, power is officially vested in the Queen-in-Parliament, King-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the prime minister, and the powers of the House of Lords are limited to only delaying legislation; thus power is ''de facto ...
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Tony Greaves, Baron Greaves
Anthony Robert Greaves, Baron Greaves (27 July 1942 – 23 March 2021) was a British politician and life peer. He was a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. Education and early career Greaves was born on 27 July 1942 in Bradford, Yorkshire. His father, Geoffrey Greaves, was a police driving instructor and his mother was Moyra Greaves (). He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield before attending Hertford College, Oxford, where he obtained a BA in Geography. After moving to the north-west he became a member of Lancashire County Council for 25 years, and also a local councillor on Colne Borough Council and subsequently on Pendle Borough Council, on which he served until his death. Community Politics Greaves was the mover—rather than author—of a motion at the Liberal Assembly in 1970 which committed the Liberal Party to pursuing community politics. He stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Pendle constituency in the 1997 General Elec ...
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Susan Garden, Baroness Garden Of Frognal
Susan Elizabeth Garden, Baroness Garden of Frognal, PC (born Button, 22 February 1944) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who, since 2018, serves as Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords. Career Educated at Westonbirt School and St Hilda's College, Oxford, she entered the teaching profession, becoming Hon FCIL in 2012. Lady Garden stood as the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Finchley and Golders Green (London) in 2005. In September 2007 she was created a Life Peer as Baroness Garden of Frognal, of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. Lady Garden is a former Government Whip and Spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and (Higher Education) Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenti ...
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