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Denis Norden
Denis Mostyn Norden (6 February 1922 – 19 September 2018) was an English comedy writer and television presenter. After an early career working in cinemas, he began scriptwriting during the Second World War. From 1948 to 1959, he co-wrote the BBC Radio comedy programme '' Take It from Here'' with Frank Muir. Muir and Norden remained associated for more than 50 years, appearing regularly together on the radio panel programmes '' My Word!'' and '' My Music'' after they stopped collaborating on scripts. He also wrote scripts for Hollywood films. He presented television programmes on ITV for many years, including the nostalgia quiz ''Looks Familiar'' and blooper shows '' It'll be Alright on the Night'' and ''Laughter File''. Early life and career Norden was born as Denis Moss Cohen into a Jewish family in Hackney, in London's East End. His parents were George Cohen, a tailor specializing in bridal gowns, and his wife Ginny (née Lubelsky), who was of Polish heritage. The famil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metropolitan Borough Of Hackney
The Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. Its area became part of the London Borough of Hackney. Formation and boundaries The borough was one of twenty-eight metropolitan boroughs created by the London Government Act 1899. It was the successor to the vestry of the parish of Hackney, which had been the local authority since 1894. Between 1855 and 1894 the parish had been administered with Stoke Newington as the Hackney District. The boundaries of Hackney with the neighbouring boroughs were adjusted slightly in 1900: Hackney gained the east side of Bethune Road from Stoke Newington and the south side of Balls Pond Road from Islington; it lost the west side of Southgate Road to Islington. The boundary with Shoreditch was altered to run along the Regents Canal, Albion Road and Brougham Road, while the boundary with Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green, Bethnal Green, which had formed a straight line, was changed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stagehand
A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General Stagehands are usually skilled in multiple disciplines, including rigging, carpentry, painting, stage electrics, stage lighting, audio, video/projection, and props. Stagehands are often responsible for operating the systems during shows or taping and also for the repair and maintenance of the equipment. Most stagehands have a general knowledge of all the phases of a production, but tend to develop specialties and focus on specific areas. Riggers are in charge of the things that hang. This may include building structures that are tens of stories high. They use safety gear similar to that used for mountain climbing. Carpenters construct and set up scenery. They may also move scenery on stage during a show. Electricians, or more commonly kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in '' The Pink Panther'' series. Born in Southsea, Portsmouth, Sellers made his stage debut at the Kings Theatre, Southsea, when he was two weeks old. He began accompanying his parents in a variety act that toured the provincial theatres. He first worked as a drummer and toured around England as a member of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). He developed his mimicry and improvisational skills during a spell in Ralph Reader's wartime Gang Show entertainment troupe, which toured Britain and the Far East. After the war, Sellers made his radio debut in ''ShowTime'', and eventually became a regular performer on v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Beatty
Robert Rutherford Beatty (19 October 1909 – 3 March 1992) was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK. Early years Beatty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of Charles Thompson Beatty and Blanch Sarah Rutherford. He attended Delta Collegiate School and earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto.Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 35–38. He began his acting career in Britain in 1939. Career Stage Beatty joined the Players' Guild of Hamilton after graduation from the University of Toronto. He went to London, England, in 1936 and joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. It was with the RADA that he made his English stage debut. In 1939 he appeared in the West End in N.C. Hunter's comedy '' Grouse in June''. Film Beatty's film credits include: '' San Demetrio London'' (1943), ''Odd Man Out'' (1947), ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Third Programme
The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and quickly became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces in Britain, playing a crucial role in disseminating the arts. It was the BBC's third national radio network, the other two being the Home Service (mainly speech-based) and the Light Programme, principally devoted to light entertainment and music. History When it started in 1946, the Third Programme broadcast for six hours each evening from 6.00pm to midnight, although its output was cut to just 24 hours a week from October 1957, with the early part of weekday evenings being given over to educational programming (known as "Network Three"). The frequencies were also used during daytime hours to broadcast complete ball-by-ball commentary on test match cricket, under the title '' Test Match Special". The Third's existence was cont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faces Of Jim
''Faces of Jim'' was a black-and-white British comedy television series starring Jimmy Edwards, June Whitfield and Ronnie Barker, with each episode being an individual half-hour sitcom. The first series aired as ''The Seven Faces of Jim'', the second as ''Six More Faces of Jim'' and the third series as ''More Faces of Jim''. All the episodes were written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. Cast *Jimmy Edwards - Various *June Whitfield - Various *Ronnie Barker - Various Episodes Series One (1961) Series Two (1962) Christmas Special (1962) Series Three (1963) Archive status The first series of Faces of Jim survives in its entirety and so does the 1962 Christmas Short, but all of the other episodes (from series 2 and 3) were discarded by the BBC during the early 1970s, and remain missing. Some of the existing footage was used in a "Comedy Classics of the 60's" compilation VHS by Watershed Entertainment. References *Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whack-O!
''Whack-O!'' is a British sitcom TV series starring Jimmy Edwards, written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden, and broadcast from 1956 to 1960 and 1971 to 1972. The series (in black and white) ran on the BBC from 1956 to 1960 and (in colour) from 1971 to 1972. Edwards took the part of Professor James Edwards, M.A., the drunken, gambling, devious, cane-swishing headmaster who tyrannised staff and children at Chiselbury public school (described in the opening titles as "for the sons of Gentlefolk"). The Edwards character bore more than a passing resemblance to Sergeant Bilko as he tried to swindle the children out of their pocket money to finance his many schemes. The first six episodes were subtitled "Six of the Best". In 1959 a film was made based on the show, called '' Bottoms Up!''. The series was revived in colour with updated scripts in 1971–72, slightly retitled ''Whacko!''. In all, it ran for a total of 60 episodes, with 47 of black-and-white and 13 colour, of 30 minutes e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Kavanagh
Henry Edward Kavanagh (7 March 1892 – 17 September 1958) was a British radio scriptwriter and producer. Ted Kavanagh was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1892. He initially studied medicine in Edinburgh before pursuing a career as a writer. He is best remembered as the writer of ''It's That Man Again'' (ITMA), a radio comedy series which ran for a decade from 1939 and was immensely successful. ''ITMA'' was devised by Kavanagh, producer Francis Worsley and the Liverpudian comedian Tommy Handley as Handley's specific vehicle; Kavanagh had been writing for him since 1924, and co-wrote two feature films for Handley, ''It's That Man Again'' (1943) and science fiction/ comedy '' Time Flies'' (1944). Kavanagh's biography of Handley was published in 1949, the year of the comedian's death and the end of their radio show. A prolific writer, ''ITMA'' and his work for Handley constituted only a small proportion of his total oeuvre. In 1948, Kavanagh set up an agency for writers, Ted Kav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Edwards
James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC (23 March 19207 July 1988) was an English comedy writer and actor on radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in '' Take It from Here'' and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in '' Whack-O!''. Early life Edwards was born in Barnes, Surrey, the son of a professor of mathematics. He had four brothers and four sisters. He was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School, at King's College School in Wimbledon and as a choral scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, where he sang in the college choir. Second World War Edwards served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, was commissioned in April 1942, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and ended the war as a flight lieutenant. He served with No. 271 Squadron RAF, based in Doncaster, who took part in the D-Day landings. His Dakota was shot down at Arnhem in 1944, resulting in facial injuries requiring plastic surgery, that he disguised with a large handlebar mou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Bentley
Charles Walter "Dick" Bentley (14 May 1907 – 27 August 1995) was an Australian-born comedian and actor of radio, stage and screen. He starred with Jimmy Edwards in '' Take It From Here'' for BBC Radio. He was a staple of and pioneer of radio, having started his career in the medium in the early 1930s. He appeared on screen from the late 1940s until retiring in 1978. Biography Early life and radio Bentley was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As a child, Bentley learned several musical instruments, and while still in his teens was a staple on the Melbourne cabaret circuit as a comedian and singer, his act consisting of playing a few bars of music deliberately badly, interspersed with jokes and legitimate musical numbers. He made his first appearance on ABC Radio in the early 1930s and by 1938 had become a fairly prominent personality, notably on Wilfrid Thomas's show ''Out of the Bag''. In that year he moved to London, and worked for the BBC. Newly married to Petrone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp
Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentration camp. Initially this was an "exchange camp", where Jewish hostages were held with the intention of exchanging them for German prisoners of war held overseas. The camp was later expanded to accommodate Jews from other concentration camps. After 1945, the name was applied to the displaced persons camp established nearby, but it is most commonly associated with the concentration camp. From 1941 to 1945, almost 20,000 Soviet prisoners of war and a further 50,000 inmates died there. Overcrowding, lack of food and poor sanitary conditions caused outbreaks of typhus, tuberculosis, typhoid fever and dysentery, leading to the deaths of more than 35,000 people in the first few months of 1945, shortly before and after the liberation. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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