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Tony Slattery
Tony Declan James Slattery (9 November 1959 – 14 January 2025) was a British actor and comedian. He appeared on British television regularly from the mid-1980s, including as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''. His serious and comedic film work included roles in ''The Crying Game'', ''Peter's Friends'' and '' How to Get Ahead in Advertising''. Early life and education Slattery was born in Stonebridge, London, into a working-class background, the fifth and last child of Catholic Irish immigrants, Michael and Margaret Slattery. In April 2019 Slattery revealed that he had been repeatedly sexually abused by a priest at the age of eight, but had never told his parents; he believed the event contributed to his unstable character later in life. He was educated at Gunnersbury Boys' School in west London and won a scholarship to read Modern and Medieval Languages at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, specialising in French literature and Spanish poetry. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stonebridge, London
Stonebridge is a locality in the London Borough of Brent. Stonebridge is situated in southern Brent and makes up the western part of Harlesden. The A404 runs through the district known locally as Brentfield and Hillside, while to the south are railway tracks and to the west is the North Circular Road along with Stonebridge Park station. The area is known for the previously troubled 1960s Stonebridge housing estate, which was completely redeveloped in the 2010s. Stonebridge is also the name of the largest electoral ward in the borough, which includes Stonebridge itself as well as Park Royal and the southern half of Neasden including the St Raphael's Estate; it is the most populated ward in Brent with a population over 17,000 with the majority of British Afro-Caribbean community, Afro-Caribbean heritage. History The area was named after a stone bridge built in the later 17th century (when most bridges were of wood) over the River Brent to the north. The exclusive Craven Park E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Fry
Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' (1989–1995) and ''Jeeves and Wooster'' (1990–1993). He also starred in the sketch series ''Alfresco (TV series), Alfresco'' (1983–1984) with Laurie, Emma Thompson, and Robbie Coltrane, and in ''Blackadder'' (1986–1989) alongside Rowan Atkinson. Since 2011 he has served as president of the mental health charity Mind (charity), Mind. In 2025, he was Knight Bachelor, knighted for services to mental health awareness, the environment and charity. Fry's film acting roles include playing Oscar Wilde in the film ''Wilde (film), Wilde'' (1997), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor; Inspector Thompson in Robert Altman's murder mystery ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saturday Stayback
''Saturday Stayback'' was a late-night comedy show that was aired for six episodes from 22 January until 26 February 1983 by Central Television, starring Chris Tarrant. It was performed entirely in a public house. It was a sequel to '' O.T.T.'', itself a spin-off from ''Tiswas''. From these previous shows were regulars Bob Carolgees and Helen Atkinson-Wood, as well as newcomer to television Tony Slattery. Guest appearances included Frank Carson and, making his TV debut, impressionist Phil Cool. ''O.T.T.'' had been a critical disaster for Central, and had angered the Independent Broadcasting Authority (the commercial television watchdog), so instead of automatically granting a second series, they decided to slash the budget and insisted on pre-recording instead of the show going out live. This decision so enraged producer/presenter Chris Tarrant, who had been largely responsible for the success of Central's ''Tiswas'', that after the meeting with management, he slammed the d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Tarrant
Christopher John Tarrant (born 10 October 1946) is a retired English broadcaster, television personality, radio DJ and stand up comedian. He is best known for presenting the ITV children's television show '' Tiswas'' from 1974 to 1981, and the game show ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' from its inception in 1998 until 2014. Tarrant's career began in 1972, when he was hired by the television broadcaster ATV. He presented ''ATV Today,'' a current affairs programme serving the Midlands area of England, until 1982. Tarrant rose to prominence after becoming a co-host on ''Tiswas'', the children's television show broadcast on Saturday mornings from 1974 to 1981. Tarrant was a member of the Four Bucketeers group, whose single "Bucket of Water Song" reached No. 26 in the UK Singles Chart in 1980. In January 1982, along with Bob Carolgees, John Gorman, Randolph Sutherland and Lenny Henry, Tarrant launched a late-night show, '' O.T.T.'' ("Over the Top"), thought of as an "adult" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its parent company, National World, also publishes the ''Edinburgh Evening News''. It had an audited print circulation of 8,762 for July to December 2022. Its website, Scotsman.com, had an average of 138,000 unique visitors a day as of 2017. The title celebrated its bicentenary on 25 January 2017. History ''The Scotsman'' was conceived in 1816 and first launched on 25 January 1817 as a liberal weekly newspaper by lawyer William Ritchie (Newspaper Editor), William Ritchie and customs official Charles Maclaren in response to the "unblushing subservience" of competing newspapers to the Edinburgh establishment. These two plus John Ramsay McCulloch were co-founders of the venture. The paper was pledged to "impartiality, firm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in 1992. Following the closure of the '' Sunday Herald'', the ''Herald on Sunday'' was launched as a Sunday edition on 9 September 2018. History Founding The newspaper was founded by an Edinburgh-born printer called John Mennons in January 1783 as a weekly publication called the ''Glasgow Advertiser''. Mennons' first edition had a global scoop: news of the treaties of Versailles reached Mennons via the Lord Provost of Glasgow just as he was putting the paper together. War had ended with the American colonies, he revealed. ''The Herald'', therefore, is as old as the United States of America, give or take an hour or two. The story was, however, only carried on the back page. Mennons, using the larger of two fonts available to him, put it in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Cellar Tapes
The ''Cambridge Footlights Revue'' is an annual revue by the Footlights Club, a group of comedy writer-performers at the University of Cambridge. Three of the more notable revues are detailed below. 1963 revue "A Clump of Plinths" — "Cambridge Circus" The 1963 revue, entitled "A Clump of Plinths" (later retitled ''Cambridge Circus''), played at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1963 before opening at West End in London on 10 July 1963. Unfortunately, the revised title sometimes confused audiences, as it was not actually playing at Cambridge Circus itself. "Cambridge Circus" then toured New Zealand in July and August 1964, where they recorded a television special and four radio shows. which were eventually broadcast in November and December 1964. The radio shows were rediscovered in the New Zealand national sound and film archives in 2015 and broadcast again in January 2016 under the title "Goodie, Goodie! Python, Python! The Cambridge Circus Tapes" The New Zealand tour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932. Though most famous for their visual spectacle, revues frequently satirized contemporary figures, news or literature. Similar to the related subforms of operetta and musical theatre, the revue art form brings together music, dance and sketches to create a compelling show. In contrast to these, however, revue does not have an overarching storyline. Rather, a general theme serves as the motto for a loosely related series of acts that alternate between solo performances and dance ensembles. Owing to high ticket prices, wikt:ribald, ribald publicity campaigns and the occasional use of wikt:prurient, prurient material, the revue was typically patronized by audience members who earned mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perrier Award
Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of bottled water marketed as coming from its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard ''département''. Perrier was part of the Perrier Vittel Group SA, which became Nestlé Waters France after the acquisition of the company by Nestlé in 1992. Overview The spring from which Perrier water is sourced is naturally carbonated, but the water and natural carbon dioxide gas are obtained independently. The water is then purified, and during bottling, the carbon dioxide gas is re-added so that the level of carbonation in bottled Perrier matches that of the Vergèze spring. In 1990, Perrier removed the "naturally sparkling" claim from its bottles under pressure from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since at least 2019, Perrier water is no longer "reinforced with gas from the source" but "with the addition of carbon dioxide". According to the company, this change allows it to considerably reduce its total water consumptio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Vranch
Richard Leslie Vranch (born 29 June 1959) is an English actor, improviser, comedian, writer and musician. He is known for providing the music for the British TV series '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' Early life Vranch's parents were a teacher and a BT engineer. He attended Bristol Grammar School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, graduating from Cambridge University with a BA and PhD in physics. While a first-year doctoral student, he joined the Footlights in 1981 and was a contemporary of Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Morwenna Banks, Tony Slattery and Neil Mullarkey. He was also a member of the Light Entertainment Society and the Cambridge University Mummers. He was a researcher at the Cavendish Laboratory and a research fellow at St John's College, Oxford for nine months before going into comedy full-time. Career Stand-up comedy and improvisation Vranch has performed since 1979. He formed a comedy double-act with Tony Slattery in 1981. The duo hosted the Channel 4 quiz '' The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Ravens
Janet Ravens (born 14 May 1958) is an English actress and impressionist, known for her voice work on '' Spitting Image'' and '' Dead Ringers''. Early life Ravens grew up in Hoylake, then in Cheshire, on the west side of the Wirral with her father, a local government clerk, and her mother, a nurse. She attended West Kirby Grammar School for Girls, where BBC Radio 4 presenter Sheila McClennon ('' You and Yours'') was two years below her. She read education studies and drama at Homerton College, Cambridge, and was the first female president of Cambridge University Footlights Club in 1979–80. Career After Cambridge, Ravens became a radio comedy producer. Her first television role was in the ITV series, ''Just Amazing''. She joined Jasper Carrott's comedy, ''Carrott's Lib'', in 1983. In 1986, she played the heavily pregnant Vanessa Plowright in the "Tourists" episode of '' Farrington of the F.O.'' (broadcast 13 March). In 1986, she accompanied then husband Steve Brown on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandi Toksvig
Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She has written plays, novels and books for children. In 1994, she came out as a lesbian. Toksvig took over from Stephen Fry as host of the BBC television quiz show ''QI'' in 2016 (series 'N'), having been a guest a number of times and spent ten years hosting ''The News Quiz'' on BBC Radio 4. From 2017 to 2020, she was co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'', alongside comedian Noel Fielding. In 2020, she stepped down and was replaced by Matt Lucas. Toksvig was the president of the Women of the Year Lunch from 2015 to 2017. Early life Toksvig was born in 1958 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her father, Claus Toksvig, was a Danish journalist, broadcaster and foreign correspondent; as a result, Toksvig spent most of her youth outside Denmark, mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
