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1-50 of 308
- Actor
Cardiff Giant was born on 27 December 1881 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor. He was married to Elizabeth . He died on 30 November 1922.- Actor
Clifford Bartlett was born on 14 June 1903 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor. He died on 25 December 1936 in London, England, UK.- Richard Littledale was born on 29 July 1903 in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for The Middle Watch (1946), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and She Stoops to Conquer (1949). He died on 31 January 1951 in Kensington, London, England, UK.
- Writer
- Actor
- Music Department
While his special gifts seemed to lie in music and composing, the dapper, multi-talented Welsh actor Ivor Novello (ne David Ivor Davies), with his leading-man good looks, had a strong affinity for the camera.
Born in Cardiff, Wales, in 1893, he was the son of a tax-collector father and a well-known singing teacher mother. His prodigious musical skills were evident fairly early. Trained at the Magdalen College Choir School on a soprano scholarship, he soon began writing songs under the name Ivor Novello. In his overall career, Novello would write over 250 songs, a large percentage of them uplifting, touchingly sentimental and war-inspired morale boosters. He moved with his family to London in 1914, and became an overnight celebrity after composing the patriotic World War I standard "Keep the Home Fires Burning," which was introduced much later in the film The Lost Squadron (1932).
Novello then switched to pursue acting and debuted with a role in The Call of the Blood (1921) [The Call of the Blood], a French romantic melodrama which earned him promising notices. Other roles that ensured his status as a screen idol followed, including The Man Without Desire (1923), which he produced. He wrote and appeared in the successful 1924 play "The Rat," which transferred quite well to film the following year (The Rat (1925)). This also inspired two sequels -- The Triumph of the Rat (1926) and The Return of the Rat (1929).
The actor's film peak occurred headlining two of Alfred Hitchcock's early suspense thrillers, serving as the put-upon protagonist in both the silent classic The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) and the lesser-received Downhill (1927). Novello had a fine, well-modulated speaking voice that transferred easily to talkies. Into the 1930s, he wrote and starred in Symphony in Two Flats (1930) and went on to remake The Phantom Fiend (1932) successfully. During this time he also wrote the dialogue for Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), the first of the jungle series to star Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. Novello's last film was Autumn Crocus (1934), after which he decided to devote himself full time to music and theater.
He went on to earn rave reviews for his opulent, romantically melodramatic stagings of "Glamorous Night" (1935), "The Dancing Years" (1939) and "Perchance to Dream" (1945). He wrote eight musicals in all and appeared in six of them, all of them non-singing parts.
His longtime companion of 35 years, actor Robert Andrews, was with Novello when Novello died suddenly on March 6, 1951 of a coronary thrombosis only hours after performing in his own play "The King's Rhapsody." Hugely popular in his time (though virtually unknown in America), Novello's lasting influence on film, theater and especially music cannot be denied.- Tiny Jones was born on 25 November 1875 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for Manhattan Moon (1935), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) and The Man from Blankley's (1930). She died on 21 March 1952 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Casting Director
- Actor
Howard Milsom was born on 11 December 1906 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a casting director and actor, known for Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans (1957), Anne of Green Gables (1956) and Anne of Green Gables (1958). He was married to Sigrid Johansen. He died on 1 June 1960 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Peter Wilde was born on 13 January 1919 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for The Archers (2007), The Cobbler's Belle (1956) and Fresh as Paint (1956). He died on 30 September 1961 in Birling Gap, East Dean, Sussex, England, UK.
- Music Department
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Alec Templeton was born on 4 July 1909 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for A Date with Judy (1948), The Deputy Drummer (1935) and Papa Soltero (1939). He died on 28 March 1963 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.- Howard Spring was born on 10 February 1889 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a writer, known for My Son, My Son! (1940), Fame Is the Spur (1947) and Shabby Tiger (1973). He died on 3 May 1965 in Falmouth, Cornwall, England, UK.
- Director
- Actor
Gerard Dynevor was born in 1931 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a director and actor, known for Coronation Street (1960), The Man in Room 17 (1965) and Friday Night (1963). He was married to Shirley Dynevor. He died on 21 May 1966 in Altrincham, Cheshire, England, UK.- Leonard Brockington was born on 6 April 1888 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He died on 15 September 1966 in Ontario, Canada.
- Nan Fitzgerald was born in 1892 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for Casey's Millions (1922) and Wicklow Gold (1922). She died on 20 May 1969 in Dublin, Ireland.
- Malcolm Watson was born on 1 May 1895 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Quatermass and the Pit (1958), Quatermass II (1955) and Musical Playhouse (1959). He died on 19 June 1971 in Broadstairs, Kent, England, UK.
- Norman Fisher was born on 9 July 1910 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He died on 1 February 1972 in Hampstead, London, England, UK.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Kathleen Naylor was born on 10 November 1912 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for The Mikado (1939). She died on 17 September 1974 in Somerville, New Jersey, USA.- Maurice Edelman was born on 2 March 1911 in Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, UK. He was a writer, known for The Frighteners (1972), Lilli Palmer Theatre (1955) and Playhouse 90 (1956). He died on 13 December 1975 in London, England, UK.
- Pauline Peters was born on 24 August 1895 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for The Mayor of Casterbridge (1921), Tense Moments from Opera (1922) and Trent's Last Case (1920). She was married to A. George Smith. She died on 14 December 1976 in South Africa.
- Queenie Thomas was born on 18 June 1898 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for The School for Scandal (1923), Rock of Ages (1918) and Trousers (1920). She was married to Bertram Phillips. She died on 11 October 1977 in England, UK.
- Nan Braunton was born on 4 April 1895 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for The Grove Family (1954), It's a Great Day! (1955) and Heidi (1959). She was married to Robert Bevens. She died on 27 March 1978 in Denville Hall, Northwood, London, England, UK.
- Maisie MacFarquhar was born on 6 March 1902 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for Macbeth (1971), Mystery and Imagination (1966) and The Forsyte Saga (1967). She died on 23 February 1979 in Dublin, Ireland.
- Eric Hobbis was born on 21 May 1903 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a writer, known for Westward Ho! (1953). He died on 8 June 1980 in Clevedon, Somerset, England, UK.
- Dawson France was born on 6 November 1941 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Winstanley (1975), The Secret Garden (1952) and The Heart Within (1957). He died on 6 December 1980 in Camberwell, London, England, UK.
- Eric Elliott was born on 5 October 1902 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for The Avengers (1961), Peridot Flight (1960) and Probation Officer (1959). He died on 25 September 1981 in Golders Green, London, England, UK.
- Make-Up Department
Hugh Richards was born in 1920 in Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales, UK. He is known for The MacKintosh Man (1973), The Public Eye (1972) and The Southern Star (1969). He was married to Carmalina Ellul. He died on 19 December 1981 in Westminster, London, England, UK.- Art Department
Herbert Plews was born on 9 October 1898 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He is known for El cantante de Napoles (1935) and The Silver Chalice (1954). He died on 24 January 1982 in Burbank, California, USA.- Ronald Bell was born on 14 April 1914 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He died on 27 February 1982 in Westminster, London, England, UK.
- Barry Phelps was born on 10 September 1910 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Ghost Ship (1952), Skid Kids (1953) and Epitaph for a Spy (1953). He died on 6 March 1982 in Worth Matravers, Dorset, England, UK.
- George was born in Wales of a Northern family with several generations of architects to which his own son, Christopher has joined. There's also a long family link to Shakespearean actor/manager Sir Frank Benson. After seeing Shakespearean productions in Western Super Mar, his boyhood home and determined to be an actor he was taken to see Sir Frank. George was trained at RADA after which he gained much early stage experience in Charlot Revues, and acted with the Cambridge Festival Theatre in Cambridge ,and The Gate Theatre in London and toured to the Middle East and Australia where he would return in a Shakespeare group headed by Katherine Hepburn, Just before WWII he achieved his ambition of joining a top theatre company at the Old Vic being directed by Tyrone Guthrie in such as She Stoops to Conquer, On the outbreak of war he joined the Royal Artillery then on demob played in Bettergate at Londons Garrick Theatre then The Winslow Boy which toured America. On his return he appeared in Hamlet at the Old Vic in 49/50. He studied theatrical history and was a member of an organisation to preserve important old buildings and was made Chairman of the organisation of Theatre Research
- Art Department
Tom Plews was born on 7 July 1902 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Tom is known for Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960) and The Collector (1965). Tom died on 31 August 1984 in Palm Springs, California, USA.- Clive Sullivan was born on 9 April 1943 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was married to Rosalyn Sullivan. He died on 8 October 1985 in Hull, England, UK.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dan Donovan was born on 25 March 1901 in Cardiff, South Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Let's Make a Night of It (1937). He died on 12 June 1986 in Cardiff, Wales, UK.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Richard Marquand was born on 22 September 1937 in Llanishen, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), Nowhere to Run (1993) and Jagged Edge (1985). He was married to Carol Bell and Josephine Marquand. He died on 4 September 1987 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, UK.- Ray Handy was born on 1 June 1929 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Moulded in Earth (1965), Doctor Who (1963) and Suspense (1962). He died on 19 October 1987 in Cardiff, Wales, UK.
- Peter King was born in 1940 in Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales, UK. He was a writer, known for Say Hello to Yesterday (1971), Rooms (1974) and Survivors (1990). He was married to Harriet E. Edgerley. He died on 1 February 1989 in Camden, London, England, UK.
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Jack Howells was born in July 1913 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a writer and director, known for A Tribute to Dylan Thomas (1961), Here's to the Memory! (1952) and Front Page Story (1954). He died on 6 September 1990 in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, UK.- Writer
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dahl was born in Wales in 1916. He served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He made a forced landing in the Libyan Desert and was severely injured. As a result, he spent five months in a Royal Navy hospital in Alexandria. Dahl is noted for how he relates suspenseful and sometimes horrific events in a simple tone.- Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Paul Erickson was born on 22 November 1920 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Secret Venture (1955), The End of the Line (1957) and The Saint (1962). He died on 27 October 1991.- Production Manager
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lloyd Richards was born on 4 February 1903 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a production manager and producer, known for The Untouchables (1959), C.O.D.: A Mellow Drama (1929) and The Venetian Affair (1966). He was married to Barbara Davenport. He died on 20 January 1992 in Dyfed, Wales, UK.- Brian Badcoe was born on 11 August 1925 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Fanny by Gaslight (1981), Operation Diplomat (1952) and Department S (1969). He was married to Hilda Braid. He died on 20 October 1992 in London, England, UK.
- Cinematographer
- Producer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Ray Elton was born on 28 January 1914 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a cinematographer and producer, known for Last Holiday (1950), Quartet (1948) and A Boy, a Girl and a Bike (1949). He was married to Veronica Newman. He died on 7 May 1994 in London, England, UK.- Camera and Electrical Department
- Cinematographer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ernest Nukanen was born on 18 July 1919 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a cinematographer and assistant director, known for Killer's Kiss (1955), The Very Eye of Night (1955) and The Bell Telephone Hour (1959). He died on 26 February 1995 in Belfast, Maine, USA.- Producer
- Editor
Donald Baverstock was born on 18 January 1924 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a producer and editor, known for Tonight (1957), That Was the Week That Was (1962) and That Was the Week That Was (1963). He was married to Gillian Mary Pollock. He died on 17 March 1995 in Yorkshire, England, UK.- Actress
- Soundtrack
She was aptly and affectionately dubbed "Two Ton Tessie" not only for her plentiful girth but for the tons of talent she possessed as one of the British Isle's most beloved, unabashed music hall entertainers. Give her an audience and bawdy Tessie O'Shea could have them on their feet in seconds flat.
The Welsh comedy and recording star was born in Cardiff as Teresa Mary O'Shea on March 13, 1913, the daughter of a humble newspaper wholesaler. Already showing off in music halls as a six-year-old and later dubbed "The Wonder of Wales," she captured several prizes for the various talent contests she entered with her singing and dancing. The once-slim youthful performer made her solo debut at the age of 12 at the Bristol Hippodrome and never stopped working, appearing on BBC Radio as a teen and gracing the English and South African stages as well.
As she grew in size, Tessie became a major attraction and gained notoriety for belting out such bawdy or novelty favorites as "Don't Have Any More, Missus Moore," "Why Am I Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Blushing Bride," "I Met Him By the Withered Weeping Willows," "Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy" and "Nobody Loves a Fairy When She's Forty." She sang these while burying her hefty frame under loads of comic clothing -- complete with over-sized hats, striped stockings and elastic boots while
By the late 1930s Tessie had become a major radio and stage star, winning the hearts and respect of soldiers everywhere touring with ENSA during World War II. She later went out on the road with band-leader Billy Cotton in a highly successful musical revue called "Tess and Bill," a highlight was playing the Victoria Palace. The bump-and-grind tune "Two Ton Tessie from Tennessee," recorded in 1939, became Tessie's signature song, a ditty Ray Charles later added to his repertoire. In the 1940s, she found herself a frequent headliner at the London Palladium and later starred in the musical revue "High Time" in 1946.
Tessie became the star of two continents in the early 1960's when she traveled abroad and took the United States by storm. Having audiences immediately eating out of the palm of her hand, she became a Tony Award-winning sensation on Broadway with her scene-stealing song "London" in the musical "The Girl Who Came to Supper," a 1963 musical adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play "The Sleeping Prince." She would return to Gotham three years later with the musical "A Time for Singing" which was based on Richard Llewellyn's "How Green Was My Valley."
In addition to the stage, she included TV work here as a regular on the 1964 CBS show The Entertainers (1964) and also appeared on talk/variety/game shows. She was featured as Mrs. Cratchit in a TV version of Mr. Scrooge (1964) starring Cyril Ritchard as Scrooge and later won an Emmy nomination in 1968 for her feisty, atmospheric musical turn in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968) starring Jack Palance. In between her musical act took her successfully to such places as Las Vegas.
Film appearances were quite infrequent despite making an auspicious debut playing herself in the British musical London Town (1946) paired with stage and vaudeville star Sid Field. She subsequently was spotted co-starring in two obscure British comedies, Holiday's with Pay (1948) and The Ugly Little Boy (1977), both starring Frank Randle, had a singing cameo in the crime thriller The Blue Lamp (1950) and a featured part in the heart-warming Aussie tale The Shiralee (1957) starring Peter Finch. She later was spotted in the films The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966), The Best House in London (1969) (as a singer) and Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).
Tessie continued to travel here and abroad into the 1970's. In England, she appeared to great advantage on TV as a regular on the comedy series As Good Cooks Go (1969) and was a recurring musical guest on the variety show The Good Old Days (1953), as well as the stage. She received a "This Is Your Life" honor in 1984. Back in the States, she reappeared on Broadway in the whodunit musical "Something's Afoot" as Miss Tweed in 1976, and appeared very briefly in "Broadway Follies," which opened and closed on March 15, 1981.
Tessie performed until ill health forced her retirement. She died in Leesburg, Florida, on April 21, 1995, of congestive heart failure. She was 82. She became the brief center of attention when BBC celebrated her with the documentary "Two Ton Tessie!" that was first broadcast in March of 2011.- Ebullient Welsh-born character actress Margaret Courtenay was born on November 14, 1923 in Cardiff, Wales. With resounding voice and dominant personality, she was known for The Mirror Crack'd (1980), Duet for One (1986) and Miss Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1992).
Courtenay was trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. A prolific performer at the London West End, she appeared in anything from Shakespeare and Shaw, to Coward and Sondheim. Her special forte was in comedy-tinged roles as overbearing or snobbish society matrons and impossible mothers-in-law. Her screen career, from 1955, was primarily confined to television.
She was married to Ivan Pinfield. The couple had one son. She died on February 15, 1996 in London, England. - Writer
- Actress
- Music Department
Diana Morgan was born on 29 May 1910 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. She was a writer and actress, known for The Halfway House (1944), Let's Be Happy (1957) and Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945). She was married to Robert Mcdermott. She died on 9 December 1996 in Northwood, Middlesex, England, UK.- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Producer
Before becoming a film scriptwriter, Terry Nation was a prolific writer of UK television scripts in both the action and science fiction genres. His scripts are noted for their depth, i.e. they usually have many sub-plots as well as the main plot. As a writer on the BBC's Doctor Who (1963) series, he created the Daleks, the mechanical monsters who plan universal domination. On Earth they would constantly be planning to 'exterminate' all humans. Nation also created Survivors (1975) and Blake's 7 (1978) for the BBC.- Graham Suter was born on 26 February 1920 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for The Big Pull (1962), Barbara in Black (1962) and St. Ives (1960). He died on 6 September 1997 in Fulham, London, England, UK.
- Leon Eagles was born on 6 April 1932 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for The Tomorrow People (1973), The Prince and the Pauper (1976) and The Danedyke Mystery (1979). He was married to Mary Preston. He died on 16 December 1997 in Kensington, London, England, UK.
- Hugh Cudlipp was born on 28 August 1913 in Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales, UK. He was married to Jodi Cudlipp, Eileen Ascroft and Edith Parnell. He died on 17 May 1998 in Chichester, West Sussex, England, UK.
- Peter Chown was born on 10 March 1915 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Messiah (1960) and A Voice Crying in the Wilderness (1958). He died on 27 October 1998 in Dorset, England, UK.