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Smiley's People (miniseries)
''Smiley’s People'' is a 1982 British six-part spy drama by the BBC. Directed by Simon Langton and produced by Jonathan Powell, it is the television adaptation of the 1979 spy novel ''Smiley's People'' by John le Carré, and a sequel to ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (missing out the second book in the trilogy, '' The Honourable Schoolboy'', which was not filmed for cost reasons). Starring Alec Guinness, Michael Byrne, Anthony Bate and Bernard Hepton, it was first shown in the United Kingdom from 20 September to 25 October 1982, and in the United States beginning on 25 October 1982. Plot George Smiley is called out of retirement when one of his former assets, an émigré general, is found murdered. In tidying up loose ends for the "Circus", his former employer, he discovers a clandestine operation run by his nemesis, Karla, for his own personal benefit. Smiley is able to use this irregularity against Karla, forcing him to defect to the West. Cast *Alec Guinness as George ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smiley's People
''Smiley's People'' is a 1979 spy novel by John le Carré. The novel features a British master-spy George Smiley. It is the third and final novel of the " Karla Trilogy", following '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' and '' The Honourable Schoolboy''. George Smiley is called out of retirement to investigate the death of one of his old agents: a former Soviet general, the head of an Estonian émigré organisation based in London. Smiley learns the general had discovered information that will lead to a final confrontation with Smiley's nemesis, the Soviet spymaster Karla. Plot Maria Ostrakova is a Soviet émigrée in Paris. She is told by a Soviet agent calling himself "Kursky" that her daughter Alexandra, whom she was forced to leave behind, may be permitted to join her. Maria applies for an exit permit for her daughter. Hearing nothing more, she writes to General Vladimir, a former Soviet general and British agent, for help. Vladimir realises that Maria was used to provide a false ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Smiley
George Smiley OBE is a fictional character created by John le Carré. Smiley is a career intelligence officer with " The Circus", the British overseas intelligence agency. He is a central character in the novels '' Call for the Dead'', '' A Murder of Quality'', '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'', '' The Honourable Schoolboy'', '' Smiley's People'' and '' Karla's Choice'', and a supporting character in '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'', '' The Looking Glass War'', '' The Secret Pilgrim'' and '' A Legacy of Spies''. The character has also appeared in a number of film, television, and radio adaptations of le Carré's books. Le Carré created Smiley as an intentional contrast to James Bond, a character who he believed depicted an inaccurate and damaging version of espionage. Short, overweight, balding, and bespectacled, Smiley is polite and self-effacing and frequently allows others to mistreat him, including his serially unfaithful wife; these traits mask his inner cunning, e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vladek Sheybal
Vladek Sheybal (born Władysław Rudolf Zbigniew Sheybal; 12 March 1923 – 16 October 1992) was a Polish character actor, singer and director of both television and stage productions. He was well known for his portrayal of the chess grandmaster Kronsteen in the James Bond film '' From Russia with Love'' (1963), a role for which he had been personally recommended by his friend Sean Connery, and as Otto Leipzig in '' Smiley's People'' (1982). He also had notable recurring roles as Dr. Douglas Jackson in Gerry Anderson's '' UFO'', Captain Ferreira in the NBC miniseries ''Shōgun'' and as Gen. Bratchenko in the 1984 version of ''Red Dawn.'' He became a naturalised British citizen, but remained "fiercely proud of his homeland and its culture". Life and career Sheybal was born in Zgierz, near Łódź, in the Second Polish Republic. The son of a university professor, he was attracted to acting at an early age. At the age of 16, he was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curd Jürgens
Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in ''Des Teufels General''. His English-language roles include ''James Bond'' villain Karl Stromberg in '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977), Éric Carradine in '' And God Created Woman'' (1956), and Professor Immanuel Rath in ''The Blue Angel'' (1959). Early life Jürgens was born on 13 December 1915 in the Munich borough of Solln, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire. His father, Kurt, was a trader from Hamburg, and his mother, Marie-Albertine, was a French teacher. He had two elder twin sisters, Jeanette and Marguerite. He began his working career as a journalist before becoming an actor at the urging of his actress wife, Louise Basler. He spent much of his early acting career on the stage in Vienna. Due to serious injuries that he sustained in a car accident in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Mario Adorf
Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, among them the 1979 Oscar-winning film ''The Tin Drum''. He is also the author of several successful mostly autobiographical books. Biography Adorf was born in Zürich, Switzerland, the illegitimate child of Matteo Menniti, an Italian surgeon and Alice Adorf, a German medical assistant. He grew up in his maternal grandfather's hometown, Mayen, where he was raised by his unmarried mother. He rose to fame in Europe, and particularly Germany, and also made appearances in international films, including ''Ten Little Indians'' and '' Smilla's Sense of Snow''. He also played a small role in the BBC adaptation of John le Carré's '' Smiley's People'' as a German club owner. He also appeared in a number of Italian movies. In the 1960s, he marrie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siân Phillips
Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips ( ), is a Welsh actress from Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Wales. Her early career consisted primarily of stage roles, including the title roles in Ibsen's '' Hedda Gabler'' and George Bernard Shaw's '' Saint Joan.'' In the 1960s, she started taking on more roles in television and film. She is particularly known for her performance as Livia in the 1976 BBC television series '' I, Claudius,'' for which she was awarded a BAFTA and a Royal Television Society award. She was nominated for a Tony Award and Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Marlene Dietrich in '' Marlene''. Early life Phillips was born on 14 May 1933 in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Glamorgan, South Wales, the daughter of Sally (''née'' Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker who became a policeman. She is a Welsh-speaker: in the first volume of her autobiography ''Private Faces'' (1999) she notes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Paterson (actor)
William Tulloch Paterson (born 3 June 1945) is a Scottish actor. Throughout his career he has appeared regularly in radio drama and provided the narration for a large number of documentaries. Paterson has appeared in films and television series including '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984), '' Traffik'' (1989), ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' (1986), '' Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1990), '' The Witches'' (1990), '' Wives and Daughters'' (1999), '' Sea of Souls'' (2004–2007), '' Amazing Grace'' (2006), '' Miss Potter'' (2006), '' Little Dorrit'' (2008), ''Doctor Who'' (2010), '' Outlander'' (2014), '' Fleabag'' (2016–2019), ''Inside No. 9'' (2018), '' Good Omens'' (2019), '' Brassic'' (2020) and '' House of the Dragon'' (2022). He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Scottish BAFTAs. Early life William Tulloch Paterson was born in Glasgow on 3 June 1945. Paterson was raised in Dennistoun by his father, a plumber, and his mother, a hairdresser. He states that his interest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beryl Reid
Beryl Elizabeth Reid (17 June 1919 – 13 October 1996) was a British actress. She won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for '' The Killing of Sister George'', the 1980 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for '' Born in the Gardens'', and the 1982 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for '' Smiley's People''. Her film appearances included '' The Belles of St. Trinian's'' (1954), '' The Killing of Sister George'' (1968), '' The Assassination Bureau'' (1969), and '' No Sex Please, We're British'' (1973). Early life Beryl Elizabeth Reid was born on 17 June 1919 in Hereford, Herefordshire, daughter of Leonard Reid, an estate agent and valuer, and Anne Burton, née McDonald.Jonathan Cecil, "Reid, Beryl Elizabeth (1919–1996)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 200available online Retrieved 30 August 2020. Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester, where she attended Withington and Levenshulme Hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Lonsdale
Michael Edward Lonsdale Crouch (24 May 1931 – 21 September 2020), commonly known as Michael Lonsdale and sometimes as Michel Lonsdale, was a French-British actor and author who appeared in over 180 films and television shows. He is often known in the English-speaking world for his roles as the villain Hugo Drax in the 1979 James Bond film '' Moonraker'', the detective Claude Lebel in '' The Day of the Jackal'' (1973), The Abbot in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986) and Dupont d'Ivry in '' The Remains of the Day'' (1993). Early life and education Lonsdale was born in Paris, the natural son of British Army officer Edward Lonsdale Crouch and Simone Calderon (née Béraud). He was brought up initially on the island of Jersey, then in London from 1935, and later, during the Second World War, in Casablanca, Morocco. Career He returned to Paris to study painting in 1947, but was drawn into the world of acting instead, first appearing on stage at the age of 24. Lonsdale was bilin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Foster (actor)
John Barry Foster (21 August 1927 – 11 February 2002) was an English actor who had an extensive career in film, radio, stage and television over almost 50 years. He was best known for portraying the title character in the British crime series '' Van der Valk'' (1972–1992) and Bob Rusk in Alfred Hitchcock's '' Frenzy'' (1972). Early life Foster was born on 21 August 1927 in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, the son of a toolsetter. His family moved to Hayes, Middlesex when he was a few months old. He received his formal education at Southall County School. After leaving school, Foster trained as a plastics organic chemist at the local EMI Central Research Laboratories, while unsuccessfully submitting ideas to advertising agencies. Having been "called to the Colours" under the National Service Act 1948, Foster served with the Royal Air Force. He subsequently trained as an actor, having won a scholarship to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He arrived ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins (born 15 June 1934) is an English actress. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for '' Cranford''. She is also a three-time Olivier Award winner, winning Best Supporting Performance in 1988 (for Multiple roles) and Best Actress for '' The Unexpected Man'' (1999) and ''Honour'' (2004). She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1990 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2001. Atkins joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1957 and made her Broadway debut in the 1966 production of '' The Killing of Sister George'', for which she received the first of four Tony Award nominations for Best Actress in a Play in 1967. She received subsequent nominations for, '' Vivat! Vivat Regina!'' (1972), ''Indiscretions'' (1995) and '' The Retreat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
