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John Thaw
John Edward Thaw (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor in television, stage and cinema, best known for his television roles starring as Detective Inspector Jack Regan in '' The Sweeney'' (1975—78) and as Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse in ''Inspector Morse'' (1987—2000). For four consecutive years Thaw was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for playing Morse, winning in 1990 and 1993. In 1988, he was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the film '' Cry Freedom'' and in 2001 was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship. Early life Born in Gorton, Manchester, to John Edward ("Jack") Thaw, a tool-setter at the Fairey Aviation Company aircraft factory, later a long-distance lorry driver, and Dorothy (née Ablott). Dorothy left when he was seven years old. He and his younger brother, Raymond Stuart (Ray) had a difficult childhood due to their father's long absences. Thaw grew up in Gorton and Burnage, at ...
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Inspector Morse
Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John Thaw in a 33-episode drama series, '' Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), and by Shaun Evans in the (2012–2023) prequel series '' Endeavour''. The older Morse is a senior Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer, while the younger is a detective constable rising through the ranks with the Oxford City Police and, in later seasons, the Thames Valley Police. Morse presents, to some, a reasonably sympathetic personality, despite his sullen and snobbish temperament. He is known for his classic Jaguar Mark 2 (a Lancia in the early novels), thirst for English real ale, and love of classical music (especially opera and Wagner), poetry, art and cryptic crossword puzzles. In his later career he is usually assisted by Sergeant Robbie Lew ...
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Ducie Technical High School
Manchester Academy is a coeducational secondary school within the English Academy programme, in Moss Side, Manchester. It is situated on Moss Lane East (B5219), near Denmark Road, with the University of Manchester nearby to the north and the Whitworth Art Gallery to the east. History The Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys was established on Whitworth Street in 1900. While the Central High School for Girls remained at Whitworth Street, the Central High School for Boys moved to Kirkmanshulme Lane in Longsight in 1958. It amalgamated with Victoria Park Secondary School to form the Central High School for Boys (as a comprehensive school) in 1967. It then amalgamated with Ducie Technical College to form the Ducie Central High School for Boys in 1982. The school moved to Moss Side, where new buildings were built at a cost of £5 million (the old site is now occupied by Belle Vue Centre), in September 1995. Iain Duncan Smith visited the school in October 2002. After a £12 mi ...
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Bat Out Of Hell (TV Series)
''Bat Out of Hell'' is a British Thriller television serial created by Francis Durbridge and originally aired on BBC Two from 26 November to 24 December 1966. The series followed two lovers, Diana Stewart (Sylvia Syms) and Mark Paxton (John Thaw), who are haunted by the voice of Diana's husband over the telephone after he is murdered by the couple. Inspector Clay (Dudley Foster) was the detective inspector who headed the police investigation. Situation Diana Stewart (Sylvia Syms) and Mark Paxton (John Thaw), are in love, however, Diana's husband Geoffrey ( Noel Johnson) is unlikely to grant her a divorce. When it is discovered that Geoffrey has a mistress, the two begin planning his murder. One night, as he is preparing to go on a month-long holiday, Mark shoots Diana's husband; Diana arrives shortly afterward to help him get rid of Geoffrey's body. They put it in the back of a car. Things start to go wrong when the body disappears from the car and Diana later receives a myste ...
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The Avengers (TV Series)
''The Avengers'' is a British Spy fiction, espionage television series that aired from 7 January 1961 to 21 April 1969. It initially focused on David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Ian Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish, and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). Dresses and suits for the series were made by Pierre Cardin. The series screened as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The first episode, "Hot Snow (The Avengers), Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 17 May 1969 in the United Kingdom. ''The Avengers'' was produced by ABC Weekend TV, a contractor within the ITV (TV network), ITV network. After a merger with Rediffusion London in July 1968, ABC Weekend became Thames T ...
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Redcap (TV Series)
''Redcap'' is a British television series produced by ABC Weekend TV and broadcast on the ITV network. It starred John Thaw as Sergeant John Mann, a member of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police and ran for two series and 26 episodes between 1964 and 1966. Other actors appearing in the series included Kenneth Colley, Keith Barron, Windsor Davies, David Battley, Allan Cuthbertson and Barry Letts. The series was created by Jack Bell and was written by Roger Marshall, Troy Kennedy-Martin, Jeremy Paul, Robert Holles and Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ..., among others. Of the run, 23 of the 26 episodes still exist in their complete form (the missing/incomplete episodes are indicated below). Episodes Series 1 Seri ...
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ITV (TV Network)
ITV, legally known as Channel 3, is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It is branded as ITV1 in most of the UK except for central and northern Scotland, where it is branded as STV (TV channel), STV. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, it has been Legal name, legally known as Channel 3 to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time: BBC1, BBC2 and Channel 4. ITV was, for decades, a network of separate companies that provided regional television services and also shared programmes among themselves to be shown on the entire network. Each franchise was originally owned by a different company. After several mergers, the fifteen regional franchises are now held by two companies: ITV plc, which runs ITV1, the ITV1 cha ...
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ABC Weekend Television
ABC Television Limited, popularly known as ABC Weekend TV, was a British broadcaster which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one of the " Big Four" companies that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes during this period. Originally created as Associated British Cinemas (Television) Ltd, ABC was one of a number of commercial television companies established during the 1950s by cinema chain companies, in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television, which was taking away their cinema audiences. In this case, the parent company was the Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)—owner of ABC Cinemas—which initially did not wish to become involved with the new broadcasting system, but was persuaded to do so by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) and the manager of its Pathé News subsidiary Howard Thom ...
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Z-Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978. ''Z-Cars'' ran for 801 episodes, of which fewer than half have survived. Regular stars included Stratford Johns (Detective Inspector Barlow), Frank Windsor (Det. Sgt. Watt), James Ellis (Bert Lynch), and Brian Blessed ("Fancy" Smith). Barlow and Watt were later spun into a separate series '' Softly, Softly''. Origin of the title The title comes from the radio call signs allocated by Lancashire Constabulary. Lancashire police divisions were lettered from north to the south: "A" Division (based in Ulverston) was the detached part of Lancashire at the time around Barrow-in-Furness, "B" Division was Lancaster, and so on (see Home Office radio). The TV series took the n ...
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Semi-Detached (play)
''Semi-Detached'' is a play written by David Turner. It premiered at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in June 1962 with Leonard Rossiter in the lead role, the production was directed by Tony Richardson. In 1964, the BBC recorded a radio adaptation starring Rossiter, rebroadcast in 2016 in its series ''Repertory in Britain''. The Belgrade Theatre production transferred to London, still directed by Richardson, but with Laurence Olivier (replacing Rossiter), Eileen Atkins, John Thaw, James Bolam (replacing Ian McKellen) and Mona Washbourne. The play reached Broadway in New York for a season in 1963 and a film version '' All the Way Up'' (1970), directed by James MacTaggart, starred Warren Mitchell. The play was revived at the Chichester Festival in 1999. Plot Set in the Midlands, Fred Midway is working his way up the social ladder. His desire to be accepted in the social circles to which he aspires occupies much of his energy. At first, Fred's carefully laid plans to boost his s ...
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Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles. Late in his career he had considerable success in television roles. Olivier's family had no theatrical connections, but his father, a clergyman, decided that his son should become an actor. After attending a drama school in London, Olivier learned his craft in a succession of acting jobs during the late 1920s. In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Coward's '' Private Lives'', and he appeared in his first film. In 1935 he played in a celebrated production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' alongside Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft, and by the end of the decade he was an established star. In the 1940s, together with Richardson and ...
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Tom Courtenay
Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he achieved prominence in the 1960s as part of actors of the British New Wave. Courtenay has received numerous accolades including three BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the Silver Bear, and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award, Emmy Award. He was Knight Bachelor, knighted for his services to cinema and theatre in the 2001 New Year Honours. Courtenay earned the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his role in the coming-of-age film ''The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'' (1962)⁠ and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in David Lean's epic ''Doctor Zhivago (film), Doctor Zhivago'' (1965). Other notable f ...
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The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner (film)
''The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'' is a 1962 British coming-of-age film directed by Tony Richardson, one of the new young directors emerging from the English Stage Company at the Royal Court. The screenplay was written by Alan Sillitoe, based on his 1959 short story of the same title, and concerns a rebellious youth who has been sentenced to a borstal for burgling a bakery. He gains privileges in the institution through his prowess as a long-distance runner, but reveries of important events before his incarceration that he has during his solitary runs lead him to re-evaluate his status as the prize athlete of the Governor. Plot ''The film's structure is non-linear, utilizing flashbacks throughout the plot.'' The film opens with Colin Smith running, alone, along a bleak country road somewhere in rural England. In a brief voiceover, he says that running is the way his family has always coped with the world's troubles, but that, in the end, the runner is always alon ...
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