Ronald Lacey
Ronald William Lacey (28 September 1935 – 15 May 1991) was an English actor. He made numerous television and film appearances over a 30-year period. His roles included Harris in ''Porridge'' (1977), Frankie in the Bud Spencer comedy '' Charleston'' (1978), SD agent Sturmbannführer Arnold Ernst Toht in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981) and the Bishop of Bath and Wells in '' Blackadder II'' (1986). Early life Lacey was born and grew up in Harrow, Middlesex. He received his formal education at Harrow Weald Grammar School. After a brief period of national service in the British Armed Forces, he enrolled at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art to train as an actor. Career Lacey began his acting career in 1959 in a television play, '' The Secret Agent''. His first significant performance was at the Royal Court Theatre in 1962's '' Chips with Everything''. Lacey had an unusual 'pug' look, with beady eyes, an upturned nose, an overbite, receding chin and no brow ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Green Tie On The Little Yellow Dog
''The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog'' is a three-part British television series that aired on Channel 4 in July 1983. It featured monologues, songs and sketches that had been popularised during the era of music hall, which were performed by a large cast, including Leonard Rossiter, Cilla Black and Julie Walters. It included the last professional engagement of veteran performer Arthur Askey, and was the first occasion where Maureen Lipman performed as Joyce Grenfell. Production Hosted by British comedian Barry Cryer, the show was recorded in the summer of 1982 at the Foundling Museum in London and made and devised by The Bright Thoughts Company The program's title was taken from the 1920s monologue ''The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog,'' by Scottish comedian Billy Bennett. Pianist Kenny Clayton accompanied the performers, who also served as their own audience around a large dining table. Performances in the programme included: *Arthur Askey: ''The Bee Song; The Villai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blackadder II
''Blackadder II'' is the second series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986. The series is set in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and sees the principal character, Edmund, Lord Blackadder, as a Tudor courtier attempting to win the favour of the Queen while avoiding execution by decapitation, a fate that befell many of her suitors. The series is the successor to ''The Black Adder'', and differed significantly from its predecessor, notably with Ben Elton replacing Rowan Atkinson as the second writer, filming in studio sets, rather than on location, the introduction of a Machiavellian Blackadder and a less intelligent Baldrick.Lewisohn, Mark''Blackadder II''at the former BBC Guide to Comedy. Retrieved 17 March 2007 A third series, '' Blackadder the Third'', aired in 1987. Plot The series is set during the Elizabethan era (1558–1603). The principal character ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, various accolades, including two Laurence Olivier Awards, Olivier Awards and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award, as well as nominations for a Tony Awards, Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, four Emmy Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. He was Knight Bachelor, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama in 2010. In 1966, Stewart became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his Broadway theatre, Broadway theatre debut in 1971 in a production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. In 1979, he received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in ''Antony and Cleopatra'' in the West End theatre, West End. His first television role was in ''Coronation Street'' in 1967. His first major ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Prince Hamlet
Prince Hamlet is the title character and protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew of the usurping King Claudius, Claudius, and son of King Hamlet, the previous King of Denmark. At the beginning of the play, he is conflicted whether, and how, to avenge the murder of his father, and struggles with his own sanity along the way. By the end of the tragedy, Hamlet has caused the deaths of Polonius, Laertes (Hamlet), Laertes, Claudius, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two acquaintances of his from childhood. He is also indirectly involved in the deaths of his love Ophelia (drowning) and of his mother Gertrude (Hamlet), Gertrude (mistakenly poisoned by Claudius). Role in the play The play opens with Hamlet deeply depressed over the recent death of his father, King Hamlet, and his uncle King Claudius, Claudius' ascension to the throne and hasty marriage to Hamlet's mother Gertrude (Hamlet), Gertrude. One night, his father ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson (7 April 19349 February 2007) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Conservative politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's '' House of Cards'' (1990–1995) television trilogy, as well as the pivotal spy Bill Haydon in '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (1979). His other notable screen work included a portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in two films ( ''The Sign of Four'' and ''The Hound of the Baskervilles''), as well as significant roles in ''Brazil'', '' M. Butterfly'', and '' Dark City''. Richardson was also a leading stage actor, well known for his Shakespearean works as well as his portrayal of Jean-Paul Marat in the Broadway production of '' Marat/Sade''. Early life Richardson was born in Edinburgh, the only son and eldest of three children of John Richardson (1909–1990), a manager at the McVitie & Price factory (where he and his wife met, and, according to his son, where John invented the Jaffa cake), and Margaret ("Peggy") Po ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (theatre), play depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, King Claudius, Claudius, who has murdered Ghost (Hamlet), Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Gertrude (Hamlet), Hamlet's mother. ''Hamlet'' is considered among the "most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language", with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others." It is widely considered one of the greatest plays of all time. Three different early versions of the play are extant: the Hamlet Q1, First Quarto (Q1, 1603); the Second Quarto (Q2, 1604); and the First Folio (F1, 1623). Each version includes lines and passages missing from the others. Many works have been pointed to as possible s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Civilisation (TV Series)
''Civilisation''—in full, ''Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark''—is a 1969 British television documentary series written and presented by the art historian Kenneth Clark. The thirteen programmes in the series outline the history of Western art, History of architecture#Western Architecture — Classical to Eclecticism, architecture and Western philosophy, philosophy since the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages. The series was produced by the BBC and aired from February to May 1969 on BBC2. Then, and in later transmissions in Britain, the US and other countries it reached an unprecedented number of viewers for an art series. Clark's book of the same title, based on the series, was published in 1969. Its production standards were generally praised and set the pattern for subsequent television documentary series. The ''The New Yorker, New Yorker'' magazine described it as revelatory for the general viewer. The BBC's DVD issue in 2005 has remained in the catalogues ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director and broadcaster. His expertise covered a wide range of artists and periods, but he is particularly associated with Italian Renaissance art, most of all that of Leonardo da Vinci. After running two art galleries in the 1930s and 1940s, he came to wider public notice on television, presenting a succession of programmes on the arts from the 1950s to the 1970s, the largest and best known being the ''Civilisation (TV series), Civilisation'' series in 1969. The son of rich parents, Clark was introduced to the arts at an early age. Among his early influences were the writings of John Ruskin, which instilled in him the belief that everyone should have access to great art. After coming under the influence of the art experts Bernard Berenson and Roger Fry, Clark was appointed director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford aged twenty-seven, and three years later he was put in charg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Clive James
Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Clive James — writer, TV broadcaster and critic — dies aged 80 ''ABC News'', 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019. He began his career specialising in literary criticism before becoming television critic for ''The Observer'' in 1972, where he made his name for his wry, deadpan humour. During this period, he earned an independent reputation as a poet and satire, satirist. He achieved mainstream success in the UK first as a writer for television, and eventually as the lead in his own programmes, including ''...on Televisio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under Milk Wood''. He also wrote stories and radio broadcasts such as '' A Child's Christmas in Wales'' and '' Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog''. He became widely popular in his lifetime, and remained so after his death at the age of 39 in New York City. By then, he had acquired a reputation, which he had encouraged, as a "roistering, drunken and doomed poet". Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea in 1914, leaving school in 1932 to become a reporter for the '' South Wales Daily Post''. Many of his works appeared in print while he was still a teenager. In 1934, the publication of "Light breaks where no sun shines" caught the attention of the literary world. While living in London, Thomas met Caitlin Macnamara; they married in 1937 and had t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chips With Everything
''Chips with Everything'' is a 1962 play by Arnold Wesker. The play shows class attitudes at the time by examining the life of a corporal. Productions ''Chips with Everything'' premiered in the West End at the Royal Court Theatre on 27 April 1962, and subsequently transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre. Directed by John Dexter, the cast featured Frank Finlay as Corporal Hill. The play opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre (and then the Booth Theatre) on 1 October 1963 after one preview, and closed on 8 February 1964 after 149 performances. British actors Alan Dobie (as Corporal Hill), Barry Evans (as First Airman) and George Layton (as First Corporal) made their Broadway debut. The director was John Dexter, with a cast that featured Gary Bond as 276 Thompson (Pip), Corin Redgrave (Pilot Officer), Norman Allen (Fourth Airman), John Levitt as 277 Cohen (Dodger), John Noakes and Gerald McNally (Third Airman). The play was revived in the West End in 1997, with a product ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opened in 1870; the current building was completed in 1888. The capacity of the theatre has varied between 728 seats and today's 380 seats (with a smaller upstairs theatre opened in 1969). In 1956 it was acquired by and remains the home of the English Stage Company, which focuses on contemporary theatre and won the Europe Theatre Prize, Europe Prize Theatrical Realities in 1999. History The first theatre The first theatre on Lower George Street, off Sloane Square, was the converted Nonconformist Ranelagh Chapel, opened as a theatre in 1870 under the name The New Chelsea Theatre. Marie Litton became its manager in 1871, hiring Walter Emden to remodel the interior, and it was renamed the Court Theatre. Several of W. S. Gilbert's early plays ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |