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Whack-O
''Whack-O!'' is a British sitcom TV series starring Jimmy Edwards, written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden, and broadcast from 1956 to 1960 and 1971 to 1972. The series (in black and white) ran on the BBC from 1956 to 1960 and (in colour) from 1971 to 1972. Edwards took the part of Professor James Edwards, M.A., the drunken, gambling, devious, cane-swishing headmaster who tyrannised staff and children at Chiselbury Independent school (UK), public school (described in the opening titles as "for the sons of Gentlefolk"). The Edwards character bore more than a passing resemblance to Sergeant Bilko as he tried to swindle the children out of their pocket money to finance his many schemes. The first six episodes were subtitled "Six of the Best". In 1959 a film was made based on the show, called ''Bottoms Up (1960 film), Bottoms Up!''. The series was revived in colour with updated scripts in 1971–72, slightly retitled ''Whacko!''. In all, it ran for a total of 60 episodes, with 47 of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Edwards
James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC (23 March 19207 July 1988) was an English comedy writer and actor on radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in '' Take It from Here'' and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in '' Whack-O!''. Early life Edwards was born in Barnes, Surrey, the son of a professor of mathematics. He had four brothers and four sisters. He was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School, at King's College School in Wimbledon and as a choral scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, where he sang in the college choir. Second World War Edwards served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, was commissioned in April 1942, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and ended the war as a flight lieutenant. He served with No. 271 Squadron RAF, based in Doncaster, who took part in the D-Day landings. His Dakota was shot down at Arnhem in 1944, resulting in facial injuries requiring plastic surgery, that he disguised with a large handlebar mou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edwin Apps
Edwin Apps (14 May 1931 – 16 April 2021) was an English television actor and writer. He appeared in many British and French television series and films, which include ''Whack-O!'', ''I Thank a Fool'', ''Danger Man'', ''The Avengers'', ''Steptoe and Son'', ''My Wife Next Door'', ''Special Branch'', ''Katts and Dog'', '' The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc'', '' Vatel'', ''Joséphine, ange gardien'', ''15 ans et demi'' and others. He created and co-wrote the 1960s sitcom ''All Gas and Gaiters'' (1966–71) with his wife, actress Pauline Devaney Pauline Devaney (born ) is a British actress, writer, and artist, best known for her television writing in partnership with Edwin Apps. Devaney was born in Stoke-on-Trent, and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She and Apps both bega .... Their joint writing was sometimes credited to the pseudonym John Wraith. Acting credits Writing credits References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Apps, Edwin 1931 birth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liz Fraser
Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of birth was usually cited as 1933, which she gave when auditioning for her role in '' I'm All Right Jack'', because the Boulting Brothers wanted someone younger for the part. In fact she was three years older, as she confirmed in her autobiography, ''Liz Fraser ... and Other Characters'', published by Signum Books in 2012. Her father was a travelling salesman for a brewery and her mother owned a corner shop just off the New Kent Road. Their family life was disrupted by the Second World War, when she was evacuated, initially to Westerham in Kent and then, when that was deemed still too vulnerable to bombing, to Chudleigh, a village in Devon. Her father died in May 1942, aged 40, when she was 11. She went to St Saviour's and St Olave's Grammar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Bennett
Harold Frank Bennett (17 November 1898 – 11 September 1981) was an English actor, active in stage, television and film best remembered for being in sitcoms written and produced by David Croft, having played 'Young Mr. Grace' in the 1970s British sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'', as well as minor character Sidney Bluett in ''Dad's Army.'' Biography Bennett was born in Hastings, Sussex. After leaving school at the age of twelve, in his early life he toured America as a clown with a circus, and later taught English at the Working Men's College in London. During World War I he served as a courier, initially on horseback, then on motorcycle. After the war he took up acting and eventually worked as stage producer in the Tower Theatre, London. He subsequently pursued a career as a draughtsman for an electric company, only taking up his acting career again following retirement. Harold Bennett died of a heart attack on 11 September 1981, aged 82. His wife predeceased him in the 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Fosters
Great Fosters is a 16th-century mansion which originally lay within Windsor Great Park and is still adjacent to the town of Egham, Surrey, England. It is a Grade I listed building, close to Heathrow and the M25 London orbital motorway. It has been listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England since July 1951, and its gardens and parkland have been Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens since July 1988. The grounds are also home to a 17th-century Grade II listed barn which was reconstructed on the site from its original home in a field in Malden, Surrey. The Grade II listed former stables date from the 16th century and are now used as a conference centre. The formal gardens of Great Fosters were laid out in 1918 by W. H. Romaine-Walker in partnership with G. H. Jenkins, the pair also extended the house. History Great Fosters was the London seat of Sir John Dodderidge (1555–1628), a judge of the King's Bench and formerly Solicitor General ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bottoms Up (1960 Film)
''Bottoms Up'' is a 1960 British comedy film. It stars Jimmy Edwards in a spin-off of his TV comedy series ''Whack-O!'', playing the seedy, alcoholic, cane-wielding headmaster of Chiselbury School, a fictional British public school. Screenplay was by Michael Pertwee, with additional dialogue by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. The cast includes juvenile actor John "Mitch" Mitchell (as Wendover), who in the late 1960s was the drummer in The Jimi Hendrix Experience, using his adult stage name, Mitch Mitchell, and it also marks the first film appearance of Richard Briers. Plot summary Professor Jim Edwards is the headmaster of Chiselbury School, a private boarding school for boys. A new head of the school's Board of Governors threatens to replace him as headmaster unless he can drastically improve the school's performance. When Edwards is also confronted by his bookmaker demanding money he owes and which he cannot pay, he devises a plan to deal with both problems by agreeing to acc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Muir
Frank Herbert Muir (5 February 1920 – 2 January 1998) was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wrote BBC Radio's '' Take It from Here'' for over 10 years, and then appeared on BBC radio quizzes '' My Word!'' and '' My Music'' for another 35. Muir became Assistant Head of Light Entertainment at the BBC in the 1960s, and was then London Weekend Television's founding Head of Entertainment. His many writing credits include editorship of ''The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose''. Birth and early life Muir was the second son of steam tug engineer Charles James Muir (1888–1934), originally from New Zealand, and his wife Margaret, daughter of ship's carpenter Harry Harding. Harry Harding had died young at sea; his widow, Elizabeth Jane (née Cowie) subsequently married Frank Herbert Webber, a former lighthouse inspector and licensee of the De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Clegg (actor)
John Walter Lawrence Clegg (born 9 July 1934) is an Indian-born English actor, best known for playing the part of Gunner 'Paderewski' Graham in the BBC sitcom ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum''. Early life and career Clegg was born on 9 July 1934 in Murree, British India (present-day Pakistan) to English parents. When he and his parents arrived back in England, Clegg became a student at RADA. After leaving RADA Clegg joined the Watford Palace Theatre Company, where he met Jimmy Perry, who would go on to cast Clegg in the role for which he is best known. It was there that he also met many of his future co-stars, including Michael Knowles, Donald Hewlett, and Mavis Pugh (whom he married in 1959). Pugh appeared in Croft and Perry sitcoms including ''Dad's Army'', ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' and ''Hi-de-Hi!'', but she is best known for playing Lady Lavender Southwick in '' You Rang, M'Lord?''. Due to the twenty year age gap between Clegg and Pugh many were sceptical as to whether the mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clodagh Rodgers
Clodagh Rodgers (born 5 March 1947) is a retired singer and actress from Northern Ireland, best known for her hit singles including "Come Back and Shake Me", "Goodnight Midnight", and " Jack in the Box". Career Rodgers was born in Warrenpoint and began her professional singing career at 13 when she opened for Michael Holliday. Her father, a dancehall tour promoter, helped her sign with Decca in 1962, where her earliest singles were produced by Shel Talmy. Her UK TV debut came on 26 September 1962, appearing as a guest on BBC TV's '' Adam Faith Show'' performing '' Let's Jump the Broomstick''. She made four singles with Decca, before moving to EMI's Columbia label in 1965, where 'Cloda Rogers' made the 1966 single " Stormy Weather"/"Lonely Room". Although none of her Decca or Columbia singles made the UK Singles Chart, Rodgers became a regular face on British television and appeared in the musical films '' Just for Fun'' (1963) and '' It's All Over Town'' (1964). She also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Bygraves
Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves (adopted in honour of Max Miller), was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs. He made twenty '' Royal Variety Performance'' appearances and presented numerous programmes, including '' Family Fortunes'' between 1983 and 1985. His catchphrase "I wanna tell you a story" became an integral part of his act, although it had originated with comedian Mike Yarwood impersonating Bygraves. Early life Bygraves was born to Henry and Lillian ( McDonnell) Bygraves (who wed in 1919) in Rotherhithe in London, where he grew up in a two-room council flat in Park Buildings, Paradise Street with his five siblings, his parents and a grandparent. His father was a professional flyweight boxer, known as Battling Tom Smith, and a casual dockworker. Brought up Catholic, he attended St Josep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Films Based On British Sitcoms
This is a list of theatrically released feature films that are based on British television programmes. Comedy Drama Science fiction Documentary Children's television See also * List of films based on television programs * Cinema of the United Kingdom Notes References {{Portal bar, Film, Television, United Kingdom Films Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ... Films based on television series F Lists of films and television series ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Glaze
William George Peter Glaze (17 September 1917 – 20 February 1983) was an English comedian born in London. He appeared in '' Crackerjack!'' with Eamonn Andrews and Leslie Crowther in the 1960s, and with Michael Aspel, Don Maclean and Bernie Clifton in the 1970s. In ''Crackerjack!'' sketches, he usually played a pompous or middle-class character, who would always get exasperated with his partner Don Maclean during the course of the sketch. Maclean would then give an alliterative reply, such as "Don't get your knickers in a knot" or "Don't get your tights in a twist". He regularly uttered the expression "D'oh!", originated by James Finlayson in Laurel and Hardy films, long before it became associated with cartoon character Homer Simpson. He was also on the panel of the long-running radio panel game '' Twenty Questions'', along with Joy Adamson, Anona Winn and Norman Hackforth. Glaze was the son of an actor-manager and began his career in entertainment as a comedian at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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