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Dad (TV Series)
''Dad'' is a BBC One, BBC1 sitcom that ran for 13 episodes (each 30 minutes long) over two series and a Christmas special. Described by the BBC as a 'generation-gap comedy', it centered on the trials and tribulations of Alan Hook (Kevin McNally) and his father Brian (George Cole (actor), George Cole). Alan would often find himself getting increasingly frustrated with the endeavours of his father, whilst the world seemed to be forever against him. Toby Ross-Bryant played Alan's son Vincent, and Julia Hills played Alan's wife Beryl. It was written by Andrew Marshall (writer), Andrew Marshall, who was best known for his popular sitcom ''2point4 Children''. The title of each episode was a pun on the word "Dad". The theme tune for the first series was the 1965 hit 'Tijuana Taxi' performed by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. For the second series this was replaced with the song 'Go Daddy-O' by Californian swing revival band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Cast * Kevin McNally as Alan Hook * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Marshall (writer)
Andrew Paul Marshall (born 27 August 1954) is a British comedy screenwriter, most noted for the domestic sitcom ''2point4 children''. He was also the inspiration for Marvin the Paranoid Android in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Although he had also previously adapted stories for ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', in 2002 he made a further move into writing "straight" drama, with the fantasy horror series '' Strange''. He has also written several screenplays. Career Born in Lowestoft, Marshall attended Fen Park School and then Lowestoft Grammar School, and afterwards Borough Road College where he studied mathematics and psychology. Around the same time, he worked regularly on Radio 4's '' Week Ending'', together with David Renwick, Douglas Adams, Alistair Beaton, John Lloyd, Simon Brett and others. Shortly afterwards he began writing '' The Burkiss Way'' with David Renwick and John Mason (who later dropped out to go to acting school). Renwick and Marshall remained scriptwr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Cole (actor)
George Edward Cole, OBE (22 April 1925 – 5 August 2015) was an English actor whose career spanned 75 years. He was best known for playing Arthur Daley in the long-running ITV comedy-drama show '' Minder'' and Flash Harry in the early '' St Trinian's'' films. Early life Cole was born in Tooting, London. He was given up for adoption at ten days of age and adopted by George and Florence Cole, a Tooting council employee and charwoman (cleaner) respectively. He attended secondary school in nearby Morden. He left school at 14 to be a butcher's boy and had an ambition to join the Merchant Navy but landed a part in a touring musical and chose acting as a career. He recalled during that year (1939) he was in Dublin on the day of Britain's entry into World War II when he witnessed an effigy of Neville Chamberlain being publicly burned without interference from the local police. Career Aged 15, Cole was cast in the film '' Cottage to Let'' (1941) opposite Scottish actor Alastair Sim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kevin McNally
Kevin Robert McNally (born 27 April 1956) is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. Early life Born in Bristol, McNally spent his early years in Birmingham, attending Redhill Junior School on Redhill Road in Hay Mills and Mapledene Junior School (now Mapledene Primary School) on Mapledene Road in Sheldon. He went to Central Grammar School for Boys on Gressel Lane in Tile Cross. Career McNally's first professional acting work, at age 16, was at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. In 1973 he received a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where, in 1975, he won the Best Actor Bancroft Gold Medal. In 1976, he appeared in BBC's ''I, Claudius'' and, in 1977, was a regular in the second series of ''Poldark'' playing Drake Carne, younger brother of Demelza Poldark. From 1991 to 1994, he wrote nine episodes of '' Minder'', under the pseudonym Kevin Sperring, with writing partner Berna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julia Hills
Julia Hills (born 3 April 1957) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Rona in all eight series of the BBC sitcom ''2point4 Children''. She also portrayed various roles in Channel 4's first late night satirical sketch show '' Who Dares Wins'', Beryl in two series of the sitcom ''Dad'' and Caroline Joyner in '' Casualty''. Early life and career Hills was born in Nottingham and is a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company where she played many leading roles including Sally Forth in the premiere of Peter Nichols' musical '' Poppy''. Perdita in '' The Winter's Tale'' and Diana in ''All's Well That Ends Well'' directed by Trevor Nunn. She also played Edwin Drood in the New York Shakespeare Theatre production of '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' at the Savoy Theatre in 1987 working with Lulu and Ernie Wise. She went to Walton high school, Stafford, Staffordshire. Theatre work Hills was nominated for an Olivier Award (Actress of the Year in a Musical) in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, primetime drama and entertainment, and live BBC Sport events. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service and was the world's first Television in the United Kingdom, regular television service with a high level of image resolution. It was renamed BBC TV in 1960 and used this name until the launch of the second BBC channel, BBC Two, BBC2, in 1964. The main channel then became known as BBC1. The channel adopted the current spelling of BBC One in 1997. The channel's annual budget for 2012–2013 was £1.14 billion. It is funded by the television licence fee together with the BBC's List of BBC television channels and radio stations, other domestic television stations and shows uninterrupted pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2point4 Children
''2point4 Children'' is a BBC Television sitcom that was created and written by Andrew Marshall. It follows the lives of the Porters, a seemingly average, working-class London family whose world is frequently turned upside-down by bad luck and bizarre occurrences. The show was originally broadcast on BBC One from 1991 to 1999, and ran for eight series, concluding on 30 December 1999 with the special episode "The Millennium Experience". Lead actor Gary Olsen (who played the father) died from cancer in September 2000. The show is regularly repeated in the UK. In Australia showings are on UKTV. The name of the show comes from the stereotypical average size of a typical nuclear family in the UK. The show regularly picked up audiences of up to 14 million throughout the 1990s, with an average of between 6 and 9 million. The final episode was viewed by 9.03 million people. In 1997 a remake of the show debuted in the Netherlands: ''Kees & Co'' starring Simone Kleinsma. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, five of which became No. 1 albums; he has had 14 platinum albums and 15 gold albums. Alpert is the only musician to hit No. 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as both a vocalist ("This Guy's in Love with You", 1968) and an instrumentalist ("Rise", 1979). Alpert has reportedly sold 72 million records worldwide. He has received many accolades, including a Tony Award, and eight Grammy Awards, as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2006, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Alpert was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Barack Obama in 2013. Early life and career Herb Alpert was born and raised in the Boyle Heights section of Eastside Los Angeles, California, the younger child (both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swing Revival
The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak from the early/mid to late 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era of the 1930s and 1940s, but it was also greatly influenced by rockabilly, boogie-woogie, the jump blues of artists such as Louis Prima, and the theatrics of Cab Calloway. Many neo-swing bands practiced contemporary fusions of swing, jazz, and jump blues with rock, punk rock, ska, and ska punk music or had roots in punk, ska, ska punk, and alternative rock music. History The roots of the swing revival are generally traced back to 1989, which saw the formation of several of the scene's most prominent figures: Los Angeles' Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, who often stuck close to playing traditionally-styled jump blues and rockabilly; San Francisco's Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, who showcased vocal jazz and blues inf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing revival band from Southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O", "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)", and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit". The band played at the Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show in 1999. The band was originally formed in Ventura, California, in 1989 by leader Scotty Morris. The band was named Big Bad Voodoo Daddy after Scotty Morris met blues guitar legend Albert Collins at one of the latter's concerts. "He signed my poster 'To Scotty, the big bad voodoo daddy'," Morris explains. "I thought it was the coolest name I ever heard on one of the coolest musical nights I ever had. So when it came time to name this band, I didn't really have a choice. I felt like it was handed down to me." He and Kurt Sodergren are the two original members, with the rest of the band joining later. The band has concentrated on the swing of the 1940s and 1950s, playing clubs and lounges in their early years. History Early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Comedy Guide
British Comedy Guide or BCG (formerly the British Sitcom Guide or BSG) is a British website covering all forms of British comedy, across all media. At the time of writing, BCG has published guides to more than 7,000 individual British comedies - primarily TV and radio situation comedy, sketch shows, comedy dramas, satire, variety and panel games. Other notable features on BCG include a news section, a message board, interviews with comedians and actors, a series of comment and opinion articles, a searchable merchandise database, and a section offering advice to aspiring comedy writers. The website also runs ''The Comedy.co.uk Awards'' and hosts several podcast series, some of which have won awards. Reportedly, British Comedy Guide attracts over 500,000 unique visitors a month, making it Britain's most-visited comedy-related reference website. Background The website was founded in August 2003 as the ''British Sitcom Guide'' (''BSG''), a website devoted to British sit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Marshall (screenwriter)
Andrew Paul Marshall (born 27 August 1954) is a British comedy screenwriter, most noted for the domestic sitcom ''2point4 children''. He was also the inspiration for Marvin the Paranoid Android in '' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Although he had also previously adapted stories for '' Agatha Christie's Poirot'', in 2002 he made a further move into writing "straight" drama, with the fantasy horror series ''Strange''. He has also written several screenplays. Career Born in Lowestoft, Marshall attended Fen Park School and then Lowestoft Grammar School, and afterwards Borough Road College where he studied mathematics and psychology. Around the same time, he worked regularly on Radio 4's '' Week Ending'', together with David Renwick, Douglas Adams, Alistair Beaton, John Lloyd, Simon Brett and others. Shortly afterwards he began writing '' The Burkiss Way'' with David Renwick and John Mason (who later dropped out to go to acting school). Renwick and Marshall remained scr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Renwick
David Peter Renwick (; born 4 September 1951) is an English author, television writer, actor, director and executive producer, best known for creation of the sitcom ''One Foot in the Grave'' and the mystery series ''Jonathan Creek''. He was awarded the Writers Guild Ronnie Barker Award at the 2008 British Comedy Awards. Early life The son and only child of James George Renwick (born 1924) and Winifred May Renwick (née Smith) who were married in 1948, David Renwick was born and brought up in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. He was educated at Luton Grammar School, including its Sixth Form, a former state grammar school. The school became known as Luton Sixth Form College while he was still a pupil. He studied journalism at Harlow Technical College. Career 1970s Before becoming a comedy writer Renwick worked as a journalist, reporter and sub-editor on his home town newspaper, the ''Luton News''. On beginning his comedy writing career in the mid-1970s he initially submitted materia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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