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Nicholas Smith (actor)
Nicholas John Smith (5 March 1934 – 6 December 2015) was an English comedian and actor. He appeared in the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'', playing Mr (Cuthbert) Rumbold, the manager of the fictional Grace Brothers department store. Early life Smith, the son of a chartered surveyor, attended a preparatory school and St John's School, Leatherhead. He served with the Royal Army Service Corps in Aldershot during his national service. He learned to play musical instruments, studied singing and trained as an actor at RADA. He then appeared in repertory theatres, on the West End stage, at the Bristol Old Vic and on Broadway. Roles Smith's earliest TV roles were as a non-speaking extra in various ITV programmes. He had his first speaking role in the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' (1964). Smith persuaded the serial's director, Richard Martin, to expand the role so that his character, Wells, appeared in three of the serial's six episodes instead of o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banstead
Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, London, Sutton, south-west of Croydon, north of Reigate, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main compass points separated from other settlements by open area buffer zone, buffers with Metropolitan Green Belt status. Banstead Downs, although a fragment of its larger historic area and spread between newer developments, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). One of the Banstead wards of the United Kingdom, wards is "Banstead Village". The wikt:contiguous, contiguous ward of Nork, Surrey, Nork, which contains Banstead station, shares in many amenities of Banstead and is included in Surrey County Council, county-level population analyses of Banstead but not the central-government-drawn Banstead Built-up Area. The latter takes in Burgh Heath and held 15,469 residents as at the 2011 census. Hist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Champions
''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ITV during 1968–1969. The series was broadcast in the US on NBC, starting in summer 1968. Plot Agents Craig Stirling, Sharron Macready and Richard Barrett work for a United Nations law enforcement organization called 'Nemesis', based in Geneva. Barrett is a codebreaker, Stirling a pilot, and Macready a recently widowed scientist and doctor. In the pilot episode, the team is escaping by air from a spying mission in China. Their stolen plane, damaged by gunfire during the getaway, crashes in the Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salt And Pepper (film)
''Salt and Pepper'' (also known as ''Salt & Pepper'') is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Richard Donner and starring Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Michael Bates, Ilona Rodgers and John Le Mesurier. It was written by Michael Pertwee. Plot Chris Pepper and Charlie Salt own a nightclub in Swinging London, operating under the suspicious eye of the intrepid Inspector Crabbe. One night, Pepper finds an Asian girl on the floor of the club. Assuming she's drunk or high, he makes a date with her and thinks she responds. It turns out the girl is dying, and her death sets off a chain of events that puts the unlucky Salt and Pepper onto a plot to overthrow the British government, with the girl's dying words the key. Cast * Sammy Davis Jr. as Charles Salt * Peter Lawford as Christopher Pepper * Michael Bates as Inspector Crabbe * Ilona Rodgers as Marianne Renaud * John Le Mesurier as Colonel Woodstock * Graham Stark as Sergeant Walters * Ernest Clark as Colonel Balsom * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trevor Bannister
Trevor Gordon Bannister (14 August 193414 April 2011) was a British actor. He was best known for having played the womanising and wisecracking junior salesman Mr Lucas in the sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1979, and for his role as Toby Mulberry Smith in the long-running sitcom ''Last of the Summer Wine'', from 2003 until it ended its run in 2010. Career In 1960, Bannister appeared on stage at the Cambridge Theatre in London in ''Billy Liar'', which starred Albert Finney. He starred as Darkie Pilbeam, a wartime spiv, in the 1968 television series '' The War of Darkie Pilbeam;'' from 1969 to 1970, he appeared as "Heavy Breathing" in Jack Rosenthal's sitcom, '' The Dustbinmen''. Shortly afterwards, he was asked to play Mr. Lucas in a '' Comedy Playhouse'' pilot called ''Are You Being Served?'' and took the part in the series. It was originally intended as a vehicle for him as the average man caught up in the store full of odd characters and baroque customs and, fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Berry (singer)
Michael Hubert Bourne (24 September 1942 – 11 April 2025), known professionally as Mike Berry, was an English singer and actor, known for the top ten hits "Don't You Think It's Time" (1963) and " The Sunshine of Your Smile" (1980) and for portraying Mr. Spooner in ''Are You Being Served?'' Early life Berry was born in Northampton. His parents had grown up in Rhodesia but met in England and his mother was an amateur actress and singer. Six months after his birth his mother moved with him to North Wales for two years. The family then moved to Stoke Newington where he attended William Patten Primary School and passed his eleven plus exam, winning a scholarship to Hackney Downs Grocers' School. He left the school aged 16 without qualifications to become an apprentice compositor. Career Music Berry was a fan of skiffle and rock and roll music as a teenager and he formed his own skiffle group called the Rebels and then introduced electric guitars as Kenny Lord and the State ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers politics, business, entertainment, environment, technology, popular media, lifestyle, culture, comedy, healthy eating, young women's interests, and local news featuring columnists. It was created to provide a progressive alternative to conservative news websites such as the Drudge Report. The site contains its own content and user-generated content via video blogging, audio, and photo. In 2012, the website became the first commercially run United States digital media enterprise to win a Pulitzer Prize. Founded by Arianna Huffington, Andrew Breitbart, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, the site was launched on May 9, 2005, as a counterpart to the Drudge Report. In March 2011, it was acquired by AOL for US$315 million, with Arian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Thornton
Frank Thornton Ball (15 January 192116 March 2013), professionally known as Frank Thornton, was an English actor. He was best known for playing Captain Peacock in the TV sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' and its sequel '' Grace & Favour'' (''Are You Being Served? Again!'') and as Herbert "Truly" Truelove in TV sitcom ''Last of the Summer Wine''. Early life Frank Thornton Ball was born in Dulwich, London, the son of Rosina Mary (née Thornton) and William Ernest Ball. His father was an organist at St Stephen's Church, Sydenham Hill, where Frank learned to play the organ for a short while. Music proved too difficult for him, however, and he wanted to act from an early age. His father, who worked in a bank, wanted him to get a "proper" job, so he began working in insurance after leaving Alleyn's School. He soon enrolled at a small acting school, the London School of Dramatic Art, and took evening classes. After two years working at the insurance company, he was invited to beco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grace & Favour
''Grace & Favour'' (known as ''Are You Being Served? Again!'' in the United States) is a British television sitcom that was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC1 from 10 January 1992 to 8 February 1993. It served as a sequel series to ''Are You Being Served?'', and was written by ''Are You Being Served?'' creators and writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft (TV producer), David Croft. The series starred Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard and Nicholas Smith (actor), Nicholas Smith reprising their ''Are You Being Served?'' roles, and also starred Fleur Bennett, Joanne Heywood and Billy Burden. History The idea of a spin-off was suggested by the cast of ''Are You Being Served?'' almost immediately after the original series had ended in 1985. Lloyd and Croft liked the idea, but agreed that the department store format was exhausted and that any spin-off would require a change of location. Despite the enthusiasm of the original cast, it was almost seven years before Lloyd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Are You Being Served? (film)
''Are You Being Served?'' is a 1977 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and written David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, based on the 1972–85 BBC sitcom of the same name, which follows the staff of the men's and women's clothing departments of the London Grace Brothers department store. The story is adapted from the successful stage production of the show, which played at Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The film features the performers from the television series, including Mollie Sugden, John Inman, Frank Thornton, Trevor Bannister, Arthur Brough, Wendy Richard, and Nicholas Smith. The movie was one of the last credits for executive Nat Cohen. Plot As Grace Brothers undergoes redecorations, the management sends the staff on a paid holiday to the resort of Costa Plonka, on the Spanish coast. On the first night they think they are allocated seven "penthouses" but it is in fact "tent-houses" outside the hotel – save for Mr Harman, who is given one of the hotel's luxury suites, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilot Episode
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distributor. A pilot is created to be a testing ground to gauge whether a series will be successful. It is, therefore, a test episode for the intended television series, an early step in the series development, much like pilot studies serve as precursors to the start of larger activity. A successful pilot may be used as the series premiere, the first aired episode of a new show, but sometimes a series' pilot may be aired as a later episode or never aired at all. Some series are commissioned straight-to-series without a pilot (although an increasing number of such series have their first episodes titled "Pilot"). On some occasions, pilots that were not ordered to series may also be broadcast as a standalone television film or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Budgie (TV Series)
''Budgie'' is a British television series starring pop star Adam Faith which was produced by ITV company London Weekend Television and broadcast on the ITV network between 1971 and 1972. The series was created by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall. The show was produced by Verity Lambert with Rex Firkin as Executive Producer. In an interview for the 2006 DVD release, Lambert stated that the series was originally going to be called ''The Loser'' but this was rejected by the TV Network. The show had two theme songs: the first was "The Loner" by The Milton Hunter Orchestra, and the second was "Nobody's Fool" written by Ray Davies and performed by Cold Turkey. Series plot The series consisted of a sequence of stories – sometimes spread across two episodes – depicting Budgie's involvement in some hare-brained scheme to make money, usually somewhere on the wrong side of legality, and invariably for the local boss, Mr Endell. He often failed in his aim, being continually the victi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
