Brits we lost in 2010
This is not an exhaustive list of the brits that we lost during 2010. Instead it is an attempt to partially redress the inbalance of the official IMDB list.
If you know of any other names that you feel should be included please let me know and I will revise the list.
If you know of any other names that you feel should be included please let me know and I will revise the list.
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- Aida the Dog was born in 1997. She was an actress, known for Spaced (1999) and Skip to the End (2004). She died on 22 April 2010.
- Sound Department
Alan Allen was born on 26 February 1912 in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, UK. He is known for The Interpretaris (1966), Circle of Danger (1951) and Hour of Glory (1949). He died on 20 September 2010 in Canberra, Australia.- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Music Department
Born in Jarrow in 1935, Alan Plater was brought up in Hull, and trained as an architect in Newcastle. He has been a full-time writer since 1961, with over two hundred assorted credits in radio, television, theatre and film - plus six novels, occasional journalism, broadcasting and teaching. His first plays were written for radio, a medium he still loves. His play, THE JOURNAL OF VASILUE BOGDANOVIC, won the 1983 Sony Radio Award, justifying his faith in eccentric titles. Recent works include a three part dramatisation of ALL THINGS BETRAY THEE the classic novel by Gwyn Thomas about the early days of the Industrial revolution, a radical new version of Gorki's LOWER DEPTHS and a new play, ONLY A MATTER OF TIME, heard in February of this year. His television career began with a string of single plays as well as contributions to the pioneering Z CARS series. Subsequent work has included BARCHESTER CHRONICLES, the BEIDERBECKE TRILOGY, FORTUNES OF WAR and A VERY BRITISH COUP - accumulating Awards from, among others, BAFTA, the Broadcasting Press Guild and the Royal Television Society - plus an International Emmy (USA), the Golden Fleece of Georgia (USSR) and the Grand Prix of the Banff Festival (Canada). His film, SELECTED EXITS, about Gwyn Thomas and starring Anthony Hopkins, was screened on Christmas Day 1993, wining the BAFTA Cymru Writing Award and the Royal Television Society Award for Best Regional Programme. DOGGIN' AROUND, about a jazz pianist adrift in the North of England, was shown in the BBC Screen One season in the Autumn of 1994, starring Eillot Gould and Geraldine James. His work in the theatre includes the musical, CLOSE THE COALHOUSE DOOR, written with Alex Glasgow and Sid Chaplin, a key work in the development of British political drama and triumphantly revived by Live Theatre, Newcastle in October 1994; two celebrated adaptations of Bill Tidy's FOSDYKE SAGA for London's Bush Theatre: RENT PARTY and 1 THOUGHT 1 HEARD A RUSTLING for the Theatre Royal, Stratford East; SWEET SORROW, a celebration of the poet Phillip Larkin for Hull Truck and GOING HOME, a celebration of Tyneside, Australia, forgotten footballers and cool jazz for Newcastle Playhouse. His stage play, SHOOTING THE LEGEND, was seen at at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle in September 1995, where it played to packed houses and rave reviews and won him a nomination for the Lloyd's Playwright of the Year Award. In 1998 he made his debut at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre with ALL CREDIT TO THE LADS, starring Roy Marsden. His first film for the big screen was THE VIRGIN AND THE GYPSY, from D. H. Lawrence's novel, and he later worked with Richard Lester on JUGGERNAUT. He wrote the screenplay for KEEP THE ASPIDISTRA FLYING (A MERRY WAR in the U.S.) from George Orwell's novel, released in 1997, directed by Robert Bierman, starring Richard E. Grant and Helens Bonham Carter. He has also written at least twenty abandoned projects of surpassing brilliance, has been fired by some eminent people and can be very boring about all this in conversation. His latest television work includes contributions to the DALZIEL AND PASCOE series for the BBC, dramatised from the novels by Reginald Hill, starring Warren Clarke and Colin Buchanan. He Lives very contentedly in London with his wife, Shirley. When he remembers where he left his spare time, he spends it adoring his grandchildren, juggling with crazy projects, hanging around jazz clubs and willing Hull City to show some form. He was president of the Writer's Guild of Great Britain from September 1991 until April 1995. He has received honorary degrees from the University of Hull and, in November 1997, from the University of Northumbria in his beloved Newcastle.- Alan Sillitoe was born on 4 March 1928 in Nottingham, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962). He was married to Ruth Fainlight. He died on 25 April 2010 in Charing Cross, London, England, UK.
- Alex Higgins was one of the greatest, and most exuberant, snooker players of all-time. He won two World Championship titles, first in 1972 against John Spencer, and second in 1982 against Ray Reardon. In addition, he also won two Masters titles, in 1978 and 1981, and one UK Championship title in 1983. Victories in these three events make him one of only ten players to-date who have completed snooker's Triple Crown.
He was also the World Doubles champion in 1984, partnering his longtime friend Jimmy White, and he won the Snooker World Cup three times with the All-Ireland team in 1985, 1986 and 1987.
Alex was a heavy drinker and chain smoker, which affected his general health throughout his troubled career. His fantastic playing disappeared and he dropped down the world rankings, eventually retiring in 1997.
In his later years, he battled against against throat cancer and, although he became quite frail, he still managed to play in various exhibition matches. Alex died in his flat on July 24, 2010 by way of malnutrition and pneumonia. - Brian Hanrahan was born on 22 March 1949 in Middlesex, England, UK. He was married to Honor Wilson. He died on 20 December 2010 in London, England, UK.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Christopher Cazenove was born on 17 December 1943 in Winchester, Hampshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for A Knight's Tale (2001), Three Men and a Little Lady (1990) and Dynasty (1981). He was married to Angharad Rees. He died on 7 April 2010 in Lambeth, London, England, UK.- Claire Rayner was born on 22 January 1931 in Stepney, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Bob Martin (2000), Noel's House Party (1991) and The Series from Hell (1994). She was married to Desmond Rayner. She died on 11 October 2010 in Harrow, London, England, UK.
- Director
- Editor
- Editorial Department
British director Clive Donner was born in West Hampstead, London, England. By age 18 he was already working in the film business, as an office clerk at Denham Studios. He eventually became an editor and then graduated to the director's chair. After making a series of TV commercials, he made his theatrical directorial debut with The Secret Place (1957). In the 1960s he went from smaller, harder-edged black-and-white films to more commercial, "now" films, such as Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968), What's New Pussycat (1965) and the disastrous flop Alfred the Great (1969). He worked only sporadically in features after that--two more bombs, The Nude Bomb (1980) and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981) didn't help matters--and he returned, for the most part, to television. Among his best work there were a critically acclaimed filming of Frederic Raphael's thriller Rogue Male (1976) and a faithful and well-received adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous novel, A Christmas Carol (1984) with George C. Scott as Scrooge. Unfortunately, that was followed by the notorious Arthur the King (1983), a bizarre, convoluted and disjointed mess about which the less said, the better.- Dick Francis learned to ride when he was five, on a donkey. His older brother offered him sixpence if he could jump the fence sitting backwards on the donkey. It took five tries, but the determined five-year-old did finally manage to stay on the donkey as he jumped the fence. He collected the sixpence from his brother and earned his first riding fee. Of that experience he says, "In my heart, from that moment, I became a professional horseman." He became an amateur steeplechase rider when he was 26, and two years later began riding as a professional steeplechase jockey. He won more than 350 races, and was retained as jockey to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother for four seasons. Perhaps his most famous and controversial ride was on the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch, in the 1956 Grand National. Fifty yards from the finish line, with the race virtually won, the horse just suddenly fell. Afterwards, they could find nothing wrong with the horse, and the mystery as to what happened has never been solved. Soon after, at 36, Francis decided to retire as a jockey. He became a racing correspondent for the Sunday Express and published his first book, an autobiography entitled "The Sport of Queens," in 1957. His first mystery novel, "Dead Cert," was published in 1962. Since then he has written an average of a mystery per year, to the delight of his many fans. He writes about what he knows best, and each novel touches on racing and horses in some way. The mysteries are more than simple "horse stories," though, as Francis uses his descriptive style to bring to life heroes who are actors, artists, photographers, bankers, contractors, wine merchants, inventors, diplomats, teachers, pilots, meteorologists - and the list goes on. Francis speculated in his autobiography that he would be remembered as "the man who didn't win the National", but to his many fans around the world, he will always be the definitive Master of Mystery.
- Egon Ronay was born on 24 July 1915 in Budapest, Hungary. He was married to Barbara Greenslade and Edit. He died on 12 June 2010 in Yattendon, Berkshire, England, UK.
- Actor
- Art Department
- Writer
Chris Sievey was born on 14 January 1954 in Manchester, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for What's Up Doc? (1992), No 73 (1982) and Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show (1992). He died on 20 June 2011 in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England, UK.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Fred Wedlock was born on 23 May 1942 in Bristol, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Arthur of the Britons (1972), The Great Western Musical Thunderbox (1974) and Top of the Pops (1964). He died on 4 March 2010 in Bath, Somerset, England, UK.- Gilly Coman was born on 13 September 1955 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Bread (1986), Springhill (1996) and Priest (1994). She was married to Phil Cutts. She died on 13 July 2010 in Caldy, Wirral, Merseyside, England, UK.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
The imposing Scottish character actor Graham Crowden was one of the most recognizable and reliable British screen actors who worked for over half a century. He was the third of four children of a Scottish Presbyterian classics teacher. His first job was in a tannery in Edinburgh. He joined the Royal Scots Youth Battalion in 1940, but was invalided out after being accidentally shot by his own platoon sergeant. After studies at Edinburgh Academy, he worked for the stage in 1944 as student assistant stage manager at the Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. This was followed by repertory experience in Dundee, Glasgow, Nottingham and with the Bristol Old Vic. A prolific actor at the Royal Court from the mid-1950's, and later with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Laurence Olivier's National Theatre. Tall and possessed of an incisive manner, resonant voice and larger-than-life personality, Crowden was at his best in eccentric portrayals as mad scientists or flawed men-of-the-cloth.
One of his most memorable film appearances was as the maniacal chief surgeon in Lindsay Anderson's Britannia Hospital (1982). In television, he turned down the role of Doctor Who (1963) in 1974 but later appeared in it opposite Tom Baker, who had been cast as the Doctor instead, to give the series one of its most memorably over-the-top villains. He also achieved success in later life in television comedies such as A Very Peculiar Practice (1986) and opposite Stephanie Cole in Waiting for God (1990). He continued to act until shortly before his death.- Actor
- Director
Harry Carpenter was born on 17 October 1925 in South Norwood, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor and director, known for The Prince Who Is King (1999), 101 Greatest Knockouts: Round 2 (2006) and Vendetta (1966). He was married to Phyllis Barbara Matthews. He died on 20 March 2010 in Denmark Hill, London, England, UK.- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Unassuming, innocent-eyed and undeniably ingratiating, Brit comedy actor Ian Carmichael was quite the popular chap in late 50s and early 60s film. He was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England on June 18, 1920, the son of Arthur Denholm Carmichael, an optician, and his wife Kate (Gillett). After receiving his schooling at Bromsgove High School and Scarborough College, he was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and trained there, making his stage debut as a mute robot in "RUR". in 1939. That same year he also appeared as Claudius in "Julius Caesar" and was appearing a revue production of "Nine Sharp" (1940) when his young career was interrupted by WWII. He served in Europe for many years with the Royal Armoured Corps as a commissioned officer in the 22nd Dragoons.
Ian returned to the theatre in 1947 with roles in four productions: "She Wanted a Cream Front Door", "I Said to Myself", "Cupid and Mars" and "Out of the Frying Pan". He also sharpened his farcical skills in music hall revues where he worked with such revue legends as Hermione Baddeley and Dora Bryan. Given his first film bit as a waiter in Bond Street (1948), he continued in rather obscure roles for several years. While he was sincerely capable of playing it serious, which would include roles in the U.S. film Betrayed (1954) starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner, as well as the war-themed adventures The Colditz Story (1955) and Storm Over the Nile (1955), it was his association with late 50s "silly-ass" comedy that gave his cinematic career a noticeable boost. After repeating his stage success (the only cast member to do do) playing David Prentice in the film version of Simon and Laura (1955) opposite Kay Kendall and Peter Finch, he co-starred in a series of droll satires for the Boulting Brothers and Ealing Studios. While he might have been upstaged on occasion by a motley crew of scene-stealers (Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Raymond Huntley, Margaret Rutherford), Ian was sublimely funny himself as the hapless klutz caught up in their shenanigans. Private's Progress (1956), the service comedy which got the whole ball rolling, and its sequel, I'm All Right Jack (1959), along with the Boulting's Lucky Jim (1957) Brothers in Law (1957) and Happy Is the Bride (1958) firmly established Ian as a slapstick movie star.
The inane fun continued into the 60s with ripe vehicles in Skywatch (1960), School for Scoundrels (1960), Double Bunk (1961), The Amorous Mr. Prawn (1962) and Heavens Above! (1963). During the late 1960s and 1970s, he found more fulfillment playing wry, bemused, upper-crust characters on comedy TV, particularly his Bertie Wooster in The World of Wooster (1965) which reunited him with frequent Boulting Brothers co-star Dennis Price as Jeeves, Wooster's chilly-mannered personal valet. Ian's leading role as the Bachelor Father (1970), based on the story of a real-life perennial bachelor who took on several foster children, only added to his popularity. In later years, he was frequently heard on the BBC radio.
Ian made vigilant returns to the comedy stage whenever possible in such lightweight vehicles as "The Tunnel of Love", "The Gazebo", "Critic's Choice", "Birds on the Wing", "Darling, I'm Home", "Springtime for Henry" and appeared in his last musical "I Do! I Do!" in 1968. Earlier, in 1965, he made his Broadway debut starring in "Boeing-Boeing", which lasted only a few weeks. A more successful revival of this show showed up on Broadway in 2008.
Semi-retired since the mid-1980s, Ian continued to show elderly spryness here and there with a smattering of films including The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971), From Beyond the Grave (1974), The Lady Vanishes (1979) and Diamond Skulls (1989). On TV, he was quite popular in the role of the gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey in several crime mystery mini-series: Clouds of Witness (1972), The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1972), Murder Must Advertise (1973), The Nine Tailors (1974) and Five Red Herrings (1975), and had a recurring role on the TV series Strathblair (1992).
To cap his career off, he was honored as an OBE in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List. Made a widower after 40 years by his first wife Jean (Pym) McLean, he married novelist/radio producer Kate Fenton, who is over thirty years his junior, in 1992. He has two daughters, Lee and Sally, from his first marriage. In 1979, his autobiography, "Will the Real Ian Carmichael?...", was published.
A charmer to the end, his last (recurring) appearance was on the TV series The Royal (2003) in 2009. The actor died on February 7, 2010, following a month-long illness.- Actress
- Writer
Best known as Hammer Films' most seductive female vampire of the early 1970s, the Polish-born Pitt possessed dark, alluring features and a sexy figure that made her just right for Gothic horror! Ingrid Pitt (born Ingoushka Petrov) survived World War II and became a well-known actress on the East Berlin stage, however, she did not appear on screen until well into her twenties. She appeared in several minor roles in Spanish films in the mid 1960s, mostly uncredited, before landing the supporting role of undercover agent "Heidi", assisting Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton defeat the Third Reich in Where Eagles Dare (1968).
Her exotic looks and eastern European accent came to the notice of Hammer executives who cast Pitt as vampiress "Mircalla" in the sensual horror thriller The Vampire Lovers (1970). The film was a box office success with its blend of horror and sexual overtones, and Pitt was a beautiful, yet ferocious bloodsucker. Next up, Pitt was cast by Amicus Productions as another gorgeous vampire in the episode entitled "The Cloak" in the superb The House That Dripped Blood (1971). This time, Ingrid played an actress appearing in horror films alongside screen vampire Jon Pertwee, but then later reveals herself to be a real vampire keen on recruiting fresh blood.
Ingrid donned the fangs for her third vampire film in a row, Countess Dracula (1971) which was loosely based around the legend of the 16th century bloodthirsty Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Whilst not as successful, as the two prior outings, Ingrid Pitt had firmly established herself as one of the key ladies of British horror of the 1970s. She then appeared in the underrated at the time - now widely regarded as a classic - The Wicker Man (1973) as an uncooperative civil servant annoying Edward Woodward in his search for a missing child. Further work followed in The Final Option (1982), as "Elvira" in the adaptation of the John le Carré Cold War thriller Smiley's People (1982), Wild Geese II (1985) and The Asylum (2000).
Ingrid Pitt made regular appearances at horror conventions and fan gatherings, had penned several books on her horror career, and she relished talking to fans about her on screen vampiric exploits. Ingrid's fan club is known as the "Pitt of Horror"! A much loved and genuine cult figure of modern horror cinema, she died on November 23, 2010, just two days after her 73rd birthday.- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Jack Parnell was born on 6 August 1923 in London, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments (1973), The Arthur Askey Show (1961) and The Benny Hill Show (1957). He was married to Monique Bonneau. He died on 8 August 2010 in Southwold, Suffolk, England, UK.- James Pickles was born on 18 March 1925 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Full Monty (1993), Have I Got News for You (1990) and Do the Right Thing (1994). He was married to Sheila Ratcliffe. He died on 18 December 2010 in London, England, UK.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Attended the Royal Academy of Music beginning at the age of 17. His first American professional appearance occurred at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 3, 1959. He founded the London Symphony Orchestra's Pops Program and served as the orchestra's Pops Musical Director.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Kenneth McKellar was born on 23 June 1927 in Paisley, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for Dear Frankie (2004), The Beggar's Opera (1963) and The Great Waltz (1972). He was married to Hedy. He died on 9 April 2010 in Lake Tahoe, California, USA.- Director
- Actor
Kristian Digby was born on 24 June 1977 in Torquay, Devon, England, UK. He was a director and actor, known for Fantasy Rooms (1999), She's Gotta Have It (1998) and Big Strong Boys (1999). He died on 1 March 2010 in Stratford, London, England, UK.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
With his bald head, firm jawline and bristling moustache, Lionel Jeffries played a nice line of English eccentrics. This belied his RADA training. Following military service in WWII, he played his major roles - everything from Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) to the Marquis of Queensberry in The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) - in the 1960s.
His surprisingly brief career as a director included the highly popular family films The Railway Children (1970) and The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972).- John Louis Mansi was born on 8 November 1926 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Italian Job (1969), 'Allo 'Allo! (1982) and The Woman in White (1966). He died on 6 August 2010 in Berwick, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Actress of both the English and American stage and screen, Lynn Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London, England, into one of the world's most famous acting dynasties. As the daughter of Rachel Kempson and Sir Michael Redgrave, sister of Vanessa Redgrave and Corin Redgrave, and granddaughter of Roy Redgrave and Margaret Scudamore, all of whom were actors, her early aspirations were surprisingly to become an equestrienne or a chef. It was not until the age of 15 that she became more and more involved in acting and her father's stage performances.
Attending London's Central School of Music and Drama, she made her stage debut in 1962 and began film work a year later. It wasn't until her lovable role as the ugly-duckling in Georgy Girl (1966), that she was taken notice and, as a result, won both the Golden Globe, New York Film Critics Circle Award and a nomination for the coveted Best Actress at the 1967 Academy Awards. Despite this promising performance, Lynn struggled to find promising follow-up work, she played the lead in the fluffy Smashing Time (1967) and The Virgin Soldiers (1969), low-key films that were relevant at the time of London's swinging 60s, but very quickly became largely forgotten. She married stage actor/director John Clark and her sister, Vanessa Redgrave, who was also Oscar-nominated the same year for Morgan! (1966), was also gaining exposure and critical success if not surpassing Lynn, on both the British stage and films and was largely considered the leading face of England's breakout actresses of the '60s, alongside Julie Christie and other high-profile actresses.
Becoming the label of Vanessa Redgrave's younger and chubbier sister "that did that film a few years ago" didn't sit well with Lynn and, as a result, she lost considerable weight and permanently settled in the U.S. in 1974 to distance herself from this. Primarily based in southern California, she regularly commuted to New York and became notable particularly on the Broadway stage, and had successful runs in "Black Comedy/White Lies" (1967), "My Fat Friend" (1974), "Mrs. Warren's Profession" (1976), "Knock Knock" (1976), "Saint Joan" (1977-1978), "Aren't We All" (1985) and "Sweet Sue" (1987). She was prolifically hired by major networks to appear on a variety of TV talk and game shows and held the position of co-host for a few seasons of Not for Women Only (1968), while acting on prime-time TV, whether it was guest spots, mini-series or short-lived TV series. For over 20 years, Redgrave's film career was infrequent and admittedly "terrible" by the actress herself, she notoriously played the title character in the critically-bashed, The Happy Hooker (1975), and the all-star cast misfire, The Big Bus (1976), and, in the 1980s, she focused in a different direction, becoming a spokesperson and commercial actress for "Weight Watchers". This coincided with the release of her well- received book: "This Is Living: How I Found Health and Happiness", that detailed her weight issues and eating binges, it was also revealed that for years she suffered bulimia. In the mid-to-late '90s, Redgrave had somewhat of a resurgence in her career, from 1993-1994, she spent over 8 months on Broadway, as well as touring across the world, performing her own personally written show of "Shakespeare for My Father", that explored the bisexuality, aloof persona and intimidating resume of her father. In 1996, Scott Hicks reignited her film career after many years of inactivity by casting her in the Australian Oscar-winning hit, Shine (1996), in which she gave a short yet tender performance as "Gillian", the woman Geoffrey Rush's character falls in love with. Another Golden Globe win/Oscar nomination followed (this time in the supporting category) for her role as the Hungarian housekeeper in Gods and Monsters (1998). Her marriage abruptly ended in 1999, when infidelity was discovered on her husband's behalf and a nasty divorced followed, they produced three children Benjamin, Kelly Clark and Annabel Clark.
Continually working her way through film, television and stage performances in the '00s, recently awarded the OBE, Lynn Redgrave was shocked to discover lumps on her body and was diagnosed with breast cancer. As a result, she took time to write "Journal: A Mother and Daughter's Recovery from Breast Cancer" with her youngest daughter, Annabel Clark, in 2003 and tragically lost her 7-year battle on 2 May 2010 (aged 67) in her family home, surrounded by her loved ones. Her diagnosis led her to realize the beauty and simplicities of life, and she was quoted as saying: "there isn't any such thing as a bad day. Yes, bad things happen. But any day that I'm still here, able to feel and think and share things with people, then how could that possibly be a bad day?".- Actor
- Soundtrack
Corin Redgrave, a towering, award-winning force on the British stage but a lesser universally recognized third-generation scion of the acting dynasty, was the reddish-haired middle brother of his more internationally famous sisters, Vanessa Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave who achieved widespread celebrity during their course of work on the American stage, film and TV.
Nevertheless Corin was a treasured actor in England and much less inspired to acquire the fame cast upon his sisters. The tall, amiably handsome actor built for an enviable career for himself on the British stage. Like Vanessa he was a fiery and impassioned political radical and embraced a host of liberal causes during his lifetime. Most notably, he was a potent member of the Workers' Revolutionary Party, and supported a motion to impeach Prime Minister Tony Blair following the British participation in the war in Iraq. He also campaigned for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. In 2004, he, along with Vanessa, founded the Peace and Progress Party in 2004, which offered several candidates for the 2005 national election. He strongly believed that his early political activism impeded his nascent progress as an actor at the time, explaining the late bloom of his career.
The son of renowned actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, Corin William was born in London, England on July 16, 1939. The patriarch and matriarch of the acting family was his paternal grandparents Roy Redgrave and Margaret Scudamore. Educated at Westminster public school and at King's College at the University of Cambridge, he inherited his parents' intense passion for acting and was determined to follow in the family's natural acting ways. His career took longer to ignite than older sister Vanessa, who quickly became an international star.
Corin's first stage appearance at age 22 occurred auspiciously, however, at London's famed Royal Court Theatre in 1961 portraying Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" that was produced by Tony Richardson, Vanessa's husband-to-be. Following this he appeared in "Twelfth Night" and then appeared in "Chips with Everything" (also at the Royal) which eventually went to New York. Following theatre roles in "The Right Honourable Gentleman" (1964), "Lady Windemere's Fan" (1966) and "Abelard and Heloise" (1971), Corin joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for the 1972 season at Stratford and at the Aldwych, playing Octavius in both "Julius Caesar" and "Antony and Cleopatra," as well as Ephesus in "The Comedy of Errors". Under the direction of David Thacker, a prominent British director of Arthur Miller works, he appeared in the Miller plays "The Crucible" at the Young Vic.
As for his early years on 1960s film, Corin appeared in several of his sisters' films. Making his debut in the unmemorable Crooks in Cloisters (1964), he showed up with Vanessa in the films A Man for All Seasons (1966), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) and in Lynn's The Deadly Affair (1967). He actually fared better at the time in classier TV productions such as David Copperfield (1970); a production of "Dracula" in 1969 (as Jonathan Harker); and in Antony and Cleopatra (1974) (as Octavius, his stage role). Corin enjoyed a rare lead movie role in the Australian-made Between Wars (1974) and also appeared in the well-received Excalibur (1981) before making a strong impression in the Daniel Day-Lewis starrer In the Name of the Father (1993). Often playing gentlemen of strong authority and nobility, his on-camera career seemed to hit its stride as a character performer in later years.
Elsewhere, Corin and sister Vanessa founded the Moving Theatre company in 1993, that proved an exciting and creative outlet for their acting and directing ambitions. He went on to portray a critically acclaimed King Lear and also appeared opposite Vanessa and second wife Kika Markham in a successful revival of Noël Coward's "A Song at Twilight". Even better, he played the brutal prison warden Boss Whalen in the "lost" Tennessee Williams' work "Not About Nightingales" for which he won a 1998 Olivier Award and was nominated for a Tony award a year later. In 2000 he appeared in Trevor Nunn's production of Chekov's "The Cherry Orchard" at the National.
An occasional playwright ("Bluntly Speaking"), Corin also authored a very well-received book about his tormented father, "Michael Redgrave: My Father," which was hailed for its candid examination of both his father's bisexuality and BBC "blacklisting" (for his alleged ties with the Communist party).
Corin was plagued by illness come the millennium. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000 and suffered a serious heart attack in 2005. Rebounding however, he appeared in the one-man play "Tynan" in 2007, and made a triumphant return to the London stage in late March of 2009 playing the title role in "Trumbo," which is based on the life of blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. The actor dedicated his opening-night performance to the memory of his niece, actress Natasha Richardson, who had just died earlier in the month of injuries sustained in a Canadian skiing accident.
Redgrave's first marriage to former model Deirdre Hamilton-Hill (they divorced and she later died of cancer in 1997) produced son Luke and actress/daughter Jemma Redgrave. He subsequently married actress Kika Markham and had two more sons, Harvey and Arden. Thriving on stage, TV and film as late as 2009, the 70-year-old Corin died in a London hospital after a short illness in April of 2010.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Natasha Jane Richardson was born in Marylebone, London, England, to director and producer Tony Richardson and actress Vanessa Redgrave. She was the sister of actress Joely Richardson, the niece of actors Corin Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave, and the granddaughter of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson.
Trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, Richardson performed extensively on stage in roles, including "Helena" in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Ophelia in "Hamlet" at the Young Vic. In 1986, she garnered the London Drama Critics' Most Promising Newcomer Award for her performance as "Nina" in "The Seagull", with Vanessa Redgrave and Jonathan Pryce. In 1987, she played "Tracey Lord" in Richard Eyre's musical, "High Society".
Natasha made her feature film debut as Mary Shelley in Ken Russell's Gothic (1986). Her performance caught the attention of director Paul Schrader, who cast her in the title role in Patty Hearst (1988). Natasha achieved notable success in such films as Pat O'Connor's A Month in the Country (1987), Roland Joffé's Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) and The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991), featuring Bob Hoskins and Jeff Goldblum. For her performance in Volker Schlöndorff's The Handmaid's Tale (1990) and Schrader's The Comfort of Strangers (1990), Richardson earned The London Evening Standard Award for Best Actress of 1990; and for Widows' Peak (1994), also starring Mia Farrow and Joan Plowright, she received the Best Actress Award at the 1994 Karlovy Vary Festival.
Also in 1994, she co-starred with Jodie Foster and Liam Neeson in Nell (1994) and, in 1998, in The Parent Trap (1998) with Dennis Quaid. Her early 2000s films include Blow Dry (2001) released in 2001, and Ethan Hawke's Chelsea Walls (2001).
Natasha performed the title role of "Anna Christie", first in London, where she was voted London Drama Critics' Best Actress Award in 1992, then on Broadway at the Roundabout in 1993, where she was nominated for a Tony for Best Actress in a Play, a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Debut of an Actress, and a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actress. For her performance as Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes' production of "Cabaret", she won the 1998 Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actress in a Musical. She then appeared on Broadway in Patrick Marber's Tony-nominated play "Closer". In December 2009 she had been intended to play "Miss Julie" on Broadway with Philip Seymour Hoffman, directed by David Leveaux for Roundabout Theatre.
Richardson's television credits included Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts" for the BBC, also starring Judi Dench, Michael Gambon and Kenneth Branagh; the HBO cable feature Hostages (1992); the BBC film Suddenly, Last Summer (1993), based on the play by Tennessee Williams, and also starring Maggie Smith and Rob Lowe. In 1993 she starred as Zelda Fitzgerald in the TNT movie Zelda (1993), co-starring Timothy Hutton and directed by Pat O'Connor (cable Ace nomination for Best Actress). She played Ruth Gruber in the 2001 CBS mini-series Haven (2001) based on Ms. Gruber's autobiography.
In March 2009, Natasha died in a New York City hospital, after falling and receiving a head injury whilst skiing in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. Natasha was married to actor Liam Neeson from 1994 until her death, and the couple have two children.- Michael Foot was born on 23 July 1913 in Plymouth, Devon, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Biter Bit (1943), Yellow Caesar (1941) and Young Veteran (1940). He was married to Jill Craigie. He died on 3 March 2010 in Hampstead, London, England, UK.
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Sir Norman Wisdom has become the great British clown in the mold of Sir Charles Chaplin with his little man in the ill fitting suit and cloth cap. His character is an everyman, much put upon but struggling through to a (usually) happy ending. He was brought up in an orphanage after his mother died and his father disowned him. He joined the British Army at age 14 as a band boy and learnt to play the clarinet, drums and xylophone. In 1941, he went to India with the army and became a comedian by clowning around in camp concerts. When demobbed, he returned home and decided to try to get on the stage but couldn't find an agent who was interested in him.
After marrying his fiancee, Freda Simpson, he spent five weeks in America searching for an agent and work without success. On his return to Britain, he eventually found an agent resulting in him making his first stage appearance at Collins Music Hall on December 17, 1946. Over time, his talent and his popularity grew resulting in him making his first major film Trouble in Store (1953) followed by One Good Turn (1955). Before long, he was writing the screenplays for eight of his films, including The Square Peg (1958), Follow a Star (1959), A Stitch in Time (1963) and The Early Bird (1965). In addition to writing the screenplays, he also composed numerous songs including his theme song "Don't Laugh at Me ('Cause I'm a Fool)".- Writer
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Ray Alan was born on 18 September 1930 in Greenwich, London, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for The Two Ronnies (1971), Give Me Your Word (1969) and Hancock (1963). He was married to Greta Gray and Jane. He died on 24 May 2010 in Reigate, Surrey, England, UK.- Actor
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Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, the light-haired, aristocratically handsome Simon MacCorkindale's first career choice was to follow in his Air Force pilot father Peter's bootsteps by joining the Air Training Corps., but his deteriorating eyesight forced him to choose an alternative vocation. Taking drama classes following high school graduation, he attended the highly prestigious Haileybury and Imperial Service College in Hertfordshire in the late 60s. He subsequently put in much time on the repertory theatre stage, which culminated in a West End debut appearance in the highly acclaimed production of "Pygmalion" with Alec McCowen and Diana Rigg in 1974. Simon later appeared in several heralded TV miniseries productions such as I, Claudius (1976) and Jesus of Nazareth (1977).
His major breakthrough in film came with the role of the charming and cunning shipboard suspect in the all-star whodunnit Death on the Nile (1978), with similar shady roles in such films as The Riddle of the Sands (1979) keeping the momentum going. Hollywood became an option for him in the 80s and he found his patrician good looks well suited for TV, with series roles ranging from soap operas (Falcon Crest (1981)) to adventures (Manimal (1983)). Since then, Simon has delved into stage projects featuring him as both director and actor, more notably in "Macbeth" and "The Merchant of Venice". Much of the last decade was spent starring as a doctor in the British TV series Casualty (1999).
Divorced during his early career from actress Fiona Fullerton, he subsequently married Brit actress Susan George and produced a few of her films. They also raised Arabian horses together. He focused for a time as a producer/director/writer on a variety of personal projects, but has since concentrated again on performing. Simon lost his over four-year-old battle with bowel cancer in October 2010.