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- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Sicilian born actor/writer/director was very popular with European audiences, but largely unknown to the west apart from his portrayal of the villainous SPECTRE agent "Emilio Largo" in the spectacular James Bond film Thunderball (1965). However, due to his heavy accent, Celi's voice was dubbed by Robert Rietty. Two years later Celi popped up in the appalling James Bond spoof Operation Kid Brother (1967) starring Neil Connery brother of Sean Connery.
Additional to his many film appearances in Italian productions, Celi spent many years on stage in South America to very positive reviews, and directed three films made in South America, Caiçara (1950), Tico-Tico no fuba (1952)_ and L'Alibi (1969)_.
He passed away on February 19th 1986 from a heart attack.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Alan Bennett is an award-winning dramatist and screenwriter who is best known as a member of Beyond the Fringe (1964) (a satirical review that was a hit on both the London stage and on Broadway and featured fellow members Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore) and for his plays The Madness of King George (1994) and The History Boys (2006). Bennett and Miller also collaborated on the TV sketch show On the Margin (1966).
In 1995, Bennett was nominated for an Academy Award for his adaptation of his own play "The Madness of King George." He has declined a knighthood and an honorary doctorate from Oxford University.- Born in Sunderland he worked his way up from copy boy to journalist on the local paper then after doing his national service returned to Newcastle before moving to London to work for a news agency and spent 3 years in Cairo .Returning to London his wife, knowing his real love was the theatre told him to try it and despite having no experience got a job at his first audition and straight away joined Equiity, With two babies and no regular wage things were tough but as a precaution he kept up his union subscriptions and did some holiday relief work at the news agency then came a regular part in The Newcomers which he had for some time but left because for him the part had lost its challenge, He then got a part in Coronation Street thanks to Patricia Phoenix (Elsie Tanner} who suggested him for a strong love interest story line
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
At one time he was playing in three bands and at the same time holding down a job as a tax inspector. He and Eric Burdon used to go round the clubs as if they were in a Western. Eric used to sit in the band and sing the blues while Alan would play the piano and before long the five piece Alan Price Combo had started a regular R & B night at the Downbeat club in Newcastle. The first night there were only six people there then the word spread and the next night there were about 600 and it wasn't long before the fans were referring to them as 'the animals' because of their wild antics on stage. In 1963 The Animals, as they'd renamed themselves moved to the larger Club A -Go-Go and within a year they'd topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with their version of House of the Rising Sun which Alan had heard on a Bob Dylan album- Born in Hokenstein near the Prussia/ Poland border his mother was German and his father a French doctor. He studied biology at Berlin University but gave it up for banking then despite family protests he turned to the stage at 23 doing walk on parts in theatre's around Europe .In 1937 he moved to England playing Prince Ernest in Victoria Regina at the Lyric Theatre in London. 1940 -45 he broadcast regularly on overseas propaganda service. Married actress Susan Shaw and had a small, farm in Devon.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Albert Romolo Broccoli was born in Astoria, Queens (New York City) on April 5th, 1909. His mother and father, Cristina and Giovanni Broccoli, raised young Albert in New York on the family farm. The family was in the vegetable business, and Albert claimed one of his uncles brought the first broccoli seeds into the United States in the 1870's. Albert's cousin Pat DiCicco gave him the nickname "Cubby" after a comic strip character named Kabibble. Cubby worked in a pharmacy and then as a coffin-maker, but a trip to see his cousin in Los Angeles gave him an ambition for film stardom. Pat was an actor's agent, and introduced Cubby to such stars as Randolph Scott, Cary Grant and Bob Hope.
In 1940, at the age of 31, Cubby married actress Gloria Blondell. That same year the head of 20th Century-Fox offered him an assistant director position on The Outlaw (1943), directed by Howard Hawks and produced by his good friend Howard Hughes. After this initial job opportunity Cubby became the top assistant director at Fox. He went on to serve as A.D. on such films as The Song of Bernadette (1943) and The Black Swan (1942). When World War II began, Cubby joined the U.S. Navy, where he met future film producer Ray Stark, and together they become heads of entertainment for the troops. Cubby and Gloria decided to end their marriage in 1945, but remained good friends. After the war Cubby determined to get back into the movie business.
In 1946 his cousin Pat worked out the financing for a project called Avalanche (1946), on which Cubby served as production manager. The film spawned a partnership between Cubby and director Irving Allen. Broccoli and Allen later formed Warwick Productions, which eventually became a very successful independent production company based in London, England. After the poor response to "Avalanche", however, Broccoli worked various odd jobs, including selling Christmas trees in California, and eventually took a job as a talent agent, where he represented, among others, Robert Wagner and Lana Turner.
In 1951 Cubby married Nedra Clark. That same year he left the talent agency and, together with his partner Allen, reformed Warwick to make Paratrooper (1953). The film, released in the US as "Paratrooper", was very profitable. Broccoli and Allen become the most successful independent producers in England, turning out such hits as Safari (1956), Zarak (1956) and The Bandit of Zhobe (1959). Cubby and Nedra wanted to start a family but, according to the doctor, Nedra was unable to become pregnant. They instead adopted a young baby boy named Tony. Shortly afterwards Nedra became pregnant after all, and gave birth to a girl, whom they named Tina. Unfortunately, Nedra died in New York shortly afterwards. Cubby was now a widower with two children to raise. He spent months trying to get new film projects off the ground and support his family.
Cubby met Dana Wilson at a New Year's Eve party and there was an instant attraction. The two fell in love and, after five weeks, Cubby proposed marriage. Dana flew to London and started a new life with Cubby. However, things were about to turn sour for him. After making The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), which was financed out of his and Allen's own pockets, the two went bankrupt due to the poor box-office returns because of adverse reaction to the subject matter--Oscar Wilde's homosexuality. The film wasn't allowed to be advertised in the US and never made back its production costs during initial release. Cubby and Allen ended their partnership after the failure of the film. On June 18, 1960, Dana gave birth to a baby girl, Barbara Broccoli. One night Dana asked Cubby if there was something he really wanted to do. Cubby replied. "I always wanted to film the Ian Fleming James Bond books."
Cubby then managed to meet with Harry Saltzman, the man who held the option to the books. Together they formed Eon Productions Ltd. and Danjaq S.A. to make the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962). However, they needed financing. The two men flew to New York and met with Arthur Krim, the head of United Artists. Within the hour Broccoli and Saltzman had a deal to make the first 007 film adventure. Despite the small budget of $1 million, the producers insisted on filming on location in Jamaica and using the then virtually unknown Sean Connery in the title role. Bond became the most successful film series in history and made Cubby Broccoli a household name.
Together with Saltzman, Broccoli produced From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). After nine years as partners, Saltzman sold his share of Eon/Danjaq to United Artists and Cubby became the sole producer of the James Bond films. He later brought in his stepson, Michael G. Wilson, and his daughter Barbara, making it a true family affair. Broccoli's last non-Bond film was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). He had purchased the rights to this Ian Fleming story when he got the 007 book option. They brought in songwriters Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who were under contract to Disney, to write the music for this musical.
In 1982 Broccoli received the Irving G. Thalberg Award for his long and successful producing career. The award was presented by Roger Moore at the Academy Awards ceremony. Broccoli stated that it was one of the happiest days of his life and was very pleased to have received such a great honor. He stopped during his speech to thank all of the hundreds of crew technicians and actors who have helped make his films possible. In 1990 he was honored by having his star placed on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and was even honored by the Queen of England for his contribution to cinema and the British community. Broccoli's last film was Licence to Kill (1989). He had heart problems throughout the early 1990s and was unable to go to the set of GoldenEye (1995).
Cubby's last years were spent at his home in Beverly Hills, surrounded by his children and grandchildren. Despite awards, honors and an amazing film career, the most important thing in his life was his family. After undergoing a triple-bypass in 1995, Cubby Broccoli passed away on Thursday, June 27, 1996, surrounded by loved ones. He was 87 and was one of the best-loved and most respected producers in Hollywood. No one ever had anything bad to say about Cubby and, according to many, he was a gentleman who cared about every one of his cast and crew and was the last true film producer. Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli's legacy lives on thanks to his family, which carries on the tradition of making the James Bond films.- Mike Hope and Albie Keen were 1st cousins and formed the comedy duo Hope and Keen, following in the footsteps of their comedian fathers who were the comedy duo Syd and Max Harrison. Mike and Albie were educated at public schools and made their first appearance at Dartmoor. They were trained gymnasts, judo and karate experts, could sing and dance and play the trumpet, trombone and guitar
- Born Alexander Viespi, Jr. in Floral Park, New York in 1933, handsome, often mustachioed Alex Cord was stricken with polio at the age of 12. Confined to a hospital and iron lung for a long time, he overcame the illness after being sent to a Wyoming ranch for therapy. He soon regained his dream and determination of becoming a jockey or professional horseman.
A high school dropout at the age of sixteen, he grew up to be too tall to be a jockey so he joined the rodeo circuit and earned a living riding bulls and bareback horses. During another extended hospital stay, this time suffering major injuries after being thrown by a bull at a rodeo in New York City's Madison Square Garden, he reevaluated his life's direction and decided to finish his high school education by way of night school. A voracious reader during his long convalescence, he later studied and received his degree in literature at New York University.
Prodded by an interest in acting, Alex received dramatic training at the Actors Studio and began his professional career in summer stock (The Compass Players in St. Louis, Missouri) and at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut where he played "Laertes" in a production of "Hamlet". A British producer saw his promise and invited him to London where he co-starred in four plays ("Play With a Tiger", "The Rose Tattoo", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Umbrella"). He was nominated for the "Best Actor Award" by the London Critics' Circle for the first-mentioned play.
He sought a Hollywood "in" and found one via his equestrian skills in the early 1960s. Steady work came to him on such established western TV series as Laramie (1959) and Branded (1965) and that extended itself into acting roles on crime action series (Route 66 (1960) and Naked City (1958)). Gaining a foothold in feature films within a relatively short time, he starred or co-starred in more than 30 feature films, including Get Off My Back (1965), Stagecoach (1966), Stiletto (1969) and The Brotherhood (1968).
After his film career declined in the late 1970s he turned to action adventure overseas with the "spaghetti western" A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1967) [A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die] and the British war drama The Last Grenade (1970) with Stanley Baker and Richard Attenborough. Around that time as well, he played the murderer opposite Sam Jaffe's old man in Edgar Allan Poe's dramatic short, The Tell-Tale Heart (1971). It was TV, however, that provided more career stability. Cord has more than 300 credits, including roles in Hotel (1983), Fantasy Island (1977), Simon & Simon (1981), Jake and the Fatman (1987), Mission: Impossible (1966), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993) and Murder, She Wrote (1984). He situated himself in a number of series, notably Airwolf (1984), in which he co-starred with Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine as the mysterious white-suited, eye-patched, cane-using "Michael Archangel".
Later commercial interest was drawn from his title role in Grayeagle (1977), a remake of the John Wayne film, The Searchers (1956), in which he played the Indian kidnapper of Ben Johnson's daughter. Lana Wood, sister of star Natalie Wood (who appeared in the original), also co-starred in this film. Alex can still be seen from time to time in low-budget films and the occasional television appearance, but other interests took up his time. His last film role was in the dismissible thriller Fire from Below (2009) in support of Kevin Sorbo.
Alex's love for horses extended itself into work for numerous charities and benefits. He was a regular competitor in the Ben Johnson Pro-Celebrity Rodeos that raised money for children's charities, and he is one of the founders of the Chukkers for Charity Celebrity Polo Team which has raised more than $3 million for worthy causes. He chairs "Ahead with Horses", an organization that provides therapeutic riding programs for the physically and emotionally challenged. Alex also turned to writing, thus far publishing several novels including A Feather in the Rain (2005), Days of the Harbinger (2013), The Man Who Would Be God (2014 and High Moon (2016). He has also sold three screenplays.
The actor's three marriages all ended in divorce. His second wife was British-born actress Joanna Pettet and third, Susannah, was a horse trainer. He had three children -- Toni Aluisa, Wayne and Damien Zachary. His son by Pettet, Damien, died tragically in 1995 of a heroin overdose at the age of 26. - Producer
- Director
- Additional Crew
One of a large group of Hungarian refugees who found refuge in England in the 1930s, Sir Alexander Korda was the first British film producer to receive a knighthood. He was a major, if controversial, figure and acted as a guiding force behind the British film industry of the 1930s and continued to influence British films until his death in 1956. He learned his trade by working in studios in Austria, Germany and America and was a crafty and flamboyant businessman. He started his production company, London Films, in 1933 and one of its first films The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), received an Oscar nomination as best picture and won the Best Actor Oscar for its star, Charles Laughton. Helped by his brothers Zoltan Korda (director) and Vincent Korda (art director) and other expatriate Hungarians, London Films produced some of Britain's finest films (even if they weren't all commercial successes). Korda's willingness to experiment and be daring allowed the flowering of such talents as Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and gave early breaks to people such as Laurence Olivier, David Lean and Carol Reed. Korda sold his library to television in the 1950s, thus allowing London Films' famous logo of Big Ben to become familiar to a new generation of film enthusiasts.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
He was born in Peckham, South London after his family arrived from Cork, in Ireland, He was educated in Leo Street School, Peckham then Walworth Central. At 15 he left school and became an office boy with a railway wagon repair firm then a year later he became a steward in a business mens club in Bishopsgate which ended abruptly when he quarrelled with a barmaid and she squirted soda in his face, Too frightened to tell his parents he ran away to Brighton but being just after Winter there were no jobs and he was forced to return home to a job in a silk warehouse in Cheapside. At 17 he left home and went into lodgings in New Cross,, For the first time he started going to the cinema and the theatre and finding it exciting took up amateur dramatics with a local group and went to Morley College where he won a scholarship to RADA in 1937, He eventually met and married Barbara, an actress, who was originally training to be a singer and they had 2 sets of twins, Jacob and Harriet and Kelly and Louisa, all musically inclined. Alfred became well known when he played private eye Frank Marker in the TV series Public Eye,- Actor
- Soundtrack
He was a boy soprano in his school's pierrot troupe and on leaving school became an auctioneer in London's Petticoat Lane Market. In WWII he joined the Royal Air Force for five years attaining the rank of flight sergeant. Finding himself in Italy he had his voice checked at the Italian Conservatoire. On being demobbed he went round theatrical agents then auditioned at The Windmill Theatre at Piccadilly and given a 6 week trial which lasted nearly 2 years. In 1952 he met Paddie O'Neil who was in a show with him. They married and had a daughter Danielle- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Ali was educated at Wellesley College, where she studied art history. After graduating, she worked on fashion magazines. Her interest in fashion photography led her to become a top model, a profession she carried on until 1968, when she made a late start in what was to be a sporadic film career, mainly due to her marriage to Steve McQueen. Even so, what films she did make were in the main either hugely successful (Goodbye, Columbus (1969), Love Story (1970), The Getaway (1972), Convoy (1978)) or fairly so (Players (1979), Just Tell Me What You Want (1980), The Winds of War (1983)). Today, the former star leads a surprisingly modest lifestyle in New Mexico.- Actress
- Soundtrack
As A&E's Biography put it, "She rose from the mean streets of New York's Hell's Kitchen to become the most famous singing actress in the world. When the pressures of fame became too much, she had the courage to leave Hollywood on her own terms". Alice Faye was born Alice Jeanne Leppert in NYC on May 5, 1915. She was to become one of Hollywood's biggest stars of the late 1930s and early 1940s. She started her career as a singer, but later gravitated to film roles. Alice's first role was in the film George White's Scandals (1934) in 1934 where she played "Mona Vale". Lilian Harvey was set to play the lead role in this film, but quit. Alice inherited the part. She went on to star in Tinseltown's popular and lucrative cookie-cutter musicals and, with her distinctive contralto, introduced several songs that became pop standards, notably "You'll Never Know" in the film Hello Frisco, Hello (1943) in 1943.
After filming Fallen Angel (1945) in 1945, in which she was very disappointed because many of her best scenes were cut, she walked out on her contract. Her life after Hollywood was charmingly simple. She was married to Hoosier Phil Harris from 1941-1995 in a union that produced two daughters. She had previously been married to Tony Martin for four years. Alice had always said that her family always came before her professional life. She went back to Hollywood to make State Fair (1962) in 1962. At that time, she said "I don't know what happened to the picture business. I'm sorry I went back to find out. Such a shame". Her last film was The Magic of Lassie (1978) in 1978 opposite James Stewart. Most of her films are big hits at revival theaters across the country, confirming the power she had in the wonderful performances she gave. Ironically, Alice is more popular in Britain than in the US. Four days after her birthday on May 9, 1998, Alice Faye died in Rancho Mirage, California. She was 83 years old.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Andrew Kotting made his directorial debut with Gallivant which won him Channel 4's Best New Director Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 1996. He then co wrote This Filthy Earth with Sean Lock with whom he'd worked with on Smart Alex and went through eight drafts of This Filthy Earth before he had a finished script then brought together the main members of his crew and started to look for suitable locations before deciding on the Yorkshire Dales after spending 10 days driving round them. Having settled on the location site a construction crew was brought in to build the village for the film. A budget of £1.2 million, less than what was hoped for, was gathered from the Film Council lottery money, the East London Film Fund, the Yorkshire Media Producton Agency and British Screen- Actress
- Soundtrack
Angela and her actress sister Hermione were born of a wealthy family with Angela making her stage debut at the age of 8 as a little orphan girl in The Dawn of Happiness. One night a police officer said that she was too young and wouldn't allow her to perform, The following year she auditioned at The Old Vic Theatre, When she was 10 a newspaper called her 'a consumate little actress, at 11 she was appearing in Shakespeare, as a teenager she was singing and dancing in musicals and pantomimes and became the 'toast of London. She retired briefly when she was18. She appeared in many plays but most enjoyed those by Emlyn Williams - Night Must Fall, The Winslow Boy, Morning Star and The Light of Heart, which he wrote for her, She was married to theatre producer Glen Byam Shaw 1931 -75 and was awarded a CBE for services to the theatre- She was born in the district of Bow in London to her parents Anne, a seamstress and father, a cutter in a dress factory and had a younger sister. She left school at 16 with 4 O levels and had a string of jobs including insurance clerk, and model for C and A (a clothes chain.) When young she'd taught singing and tap dancing and joined an amateur drama group. When 20 she won a grant for a drama school which lasted 3 years and then spent the next 13 years touring around the country in repertory companies, one of which was The Citizens Theatre in Glasgow., pantomimes, the odd West End show and television including a maid in Nanny, Lois, Jim Davidson's girlfriend in Up the Elephant and Round the Castle and other odd shows before getting a major role in BBC's long running serial Eastenders.
- Born Ann Snape to toolmaker and athlete father and a domestic science teacher mother, She made her stage debut at the young age of 4 and eventually became a noted singer with the D'oyle Carte Company in The Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, Gondoliers and The Mikado, She also played in light musicals which she became more known for in such as Rose Marie, Desert Song, and Belle of New York, She married a chemist and lived in Smethwick near Birmingham
- Ann comes from a talented family with her sister Heather being a star actress in her own right and her father being a doctor. Ann made her television debut in 1956 and her film debut a year later. Her television work started in 1956 and includes appearances in such series as 'Emergency Ward 10','The Flying Doctor' and 'The Grove Family' while films include'The Bridge on the River Kwai', 'Crash Dive' and 'She Always Gets Their Man'.
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Dame Anna Neagle, the endearingly popular British star during WWII, was born Florence Marjorie Robertson and began dancing as a professional in chorus lines at age 14. She starred with actor Jack Buchanan in the musical "Stand Up and Sing" in the West End and earned her big break when producer/director Herbert Wilcox, who had caught the show purposely to consider Buchanan for an upcoming film, was also taken (and smitten) by Anna, casting her as well in the process. Thus began one of the most exclusive and successful partnerships in the British cinema.
Under Wilcox's guidance (they married in 1943), Anna became one of the biggest and brightest celebrities of her time. Always considered an actress of limited abilities, the lovely Anna nevertheless would prove to be a sensational box-office commodity for nearly two decades. She added glamour and sophistication for war-torn London audiences and her lightweight musicals, comedies and even costumed historical dramas provided a nicely balanced escape route. The tasteful, ladylike heroines she portrayed included nurses Edith Cavell and Florence Nightingale, flyer Amy Johnson and undercover spy Odette; Nell Gwyn and Queen Victoria also fell within her grasp. She appeared in a number of frothy post-war retreads co-starring Michael Wilding that the critics turned their noses on but the audiences ate up - including They Met at Midnight (1946), Katy's Love Affair (1947), Spring in Park Lane (1948) and The Lady with a Lamp (1951). She tried to extend her fame to Hollywood and briefly appeared there in three musicals in the early 40s, but failed to make a dent. Anna's appeal faded somewhat in the late 50s and, after producing a few film efforts, retired altogether from the screen.
She returned to her theatre roots, which culminated in the long-running "Charlie Girl", a 1965 production that ran with Anna for nearly six years. She was bestowed with the honor of Dame of the British Empire in 1969 for her contributions to the theatre. Anna continued to perform after her husband's death in 1977, later developing Parkinson's disease in her final years. She died in 1986 of complications.- Anna Wing first appeared on television in the late 1930s, and became a highly experienced film and stage actress. She appeared in numerous television series throughout her career, including The Wednesday Play (1964), Anna Karenina (1977) and Z Cars (1962). However, she became a household name when she starred in over 230 episodes of EastEnders (1985) as the matriarch Lou Beale.
She had two sons, including the actor Mark Wing-Davey. She died in her sleep in July 2013, aged 98. - Anne is a prolific writer having written well over 40 books since her debut with The Summerhouse Loon which she wrote while expecting her first daughter. Her book Flour Babies was awarded the Carnegie Medal as the Best Childrens Book of the Year, and the 'Best Children's Novel in the Whitbread Awards. Her book Mrs Doubtfire was made into a film of the same title, starring Robin Williams, and which made over £30 million in its first two weeks of screenings in America of which she didn't see anything.. She also wrote the book Goggle Eyes which was filmed for television in 1993. and Bill's New Frock which was filmed for the BBC in 1999. Whilst being best known for her children's books, she did write an adult novel, In Cold Domain in 1993. Divorced and with two daughters she lives in County Durham
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Befitting her original name (Violet Pretty), the knockout English brunette Anne Heywood won the coveted "Miss Great Britain" beauty title in 1950 at the young age of 17. Born on December 11, 1931, the daughter of a violinist, she originally trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She gained early experience on the stage with the Highbury Players in Birmingham and moved on to some TV work. The Rank Organization caught sight of her and offered the former beauty queen a seven-year contract. During that time, however, she was pretty much relegated to playing 'nice girl' types in the 50s and 60s.
In later career, her film appearances courted controversy and she seemed drawn toward highly troubled, flawed characters. Very popular with Italian audiences, Anne never endeared herself to American film goers although she did stir up some curiosity with one of her more noteworthy films, the pioneer lesbian drama The Fox (1967). Starring Anne with Sandy Dennis, the two were quite believable as an unhappy, isolated couple whose relationship is irreparably shattered by the appearance of a handsome stranger (Keir Dullea). At the height of the movie's publicity, Playboy magazine revealed a "pictorial essay" just prior to its 1967 release with Anne in a nude and auto-erotic spread. The film won a "Best Foreign Film" Golden Globe Award (it was made in Canada) and Anne herself earned a "Best Actress" nod.
Despite being aggressively promoted in its aftermath by husband/producer Raymond Stross, who was instrumental in reshaping her image with such sexy, offbeat dramas as The Night Fighters (1960), The Very Edge (1963), 90 Degrees in the Shade (1965), Midas Run (1969), I Want What I Want (1972) and Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff (1979), Anne has remained a distinct European film product. She last appeared on TV in The Equalizer (1985) series. Following her husband's death in 1988, Anne remarried (to a former New York Assistant Attorney General) and begged away from the camera. The couple settled in Beverly Hills.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Anne was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne but the family moved to Redcar when the WWII started. She was educated at White House School where she acted in a school play of Romeo and Juliet with June Laverick, who when older would also take to the stage. When Anne got older she was sent to a boarding school, Penrose College, in North Wales and at 11 was in a choir. Her father became a special correspondent for the Daily Telegraph following in the footsteps of her grandfather, an uncle and 3 brothers who were all journalists. Anne took elocution lessons and did bits in plays with a teacher who recognising her talent helped her to get into RADA after which she worked as as a stage manager and some work in repertory. Her first work in television involved sketches with Benny Hill but gave up acting in 1974 before returning in 1986 eventually making her name in the part of Valerie Barlow in the television soap Coronation Street.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Anthony wanted to be a soccer player but he didn't have the skills so he taught in a school for 10 months until he realized that it wasn't his vocation and then spent some years working in a shoe store before moving to New York where he spent time as a barman and a sprinkler system installer to earn money for acting classes. By 1988 he was on the New York stage and was seen by a casting director who some time later put him in Frasier as Simon Moon.- Producer
- Production Manager
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
He was one of four film making sons of comedian Nelson 'Bunch' Keys. Born in London, he was educated at Brighton College. He entered the entertainment world as a recording manager with a record company in the late 1920's In the early 1930's he switched from records to films working at the British and Dominions and British International Studios at Elstree. During this time he gained experience in almost every technical branch of the business and for a time even acted in films. Later he moved to Pinewood Studios but by then war had started. After it was over he returned to films with 'Dancing With Crime- the only time the four brothers - John Paddy Carstairs, Basil Keys,Roderick Keys and Anthony ever worked together on the same production. The film starred Richard Attenborough and a then unknown Dirk Bogarde. Anthony then joined producer Sydney Box at Riverside Studios as production manager on such films as ''The Brothers' and 'Christopher Columbus then for 8 years he was associate producer with producer Daniel Angel on classic films such as 'Reach For the Sky'. 'Albert R.N.'and 'The Sea Shall Not Have Them'. He then joined Romulus Films for 'Pandora and the Flying Dutchman'.He started a long association with psychological thrillers, swashbuckling, and cloak and dagger films at Bray Studios where he combined production with general managership of the studios then as producer in his own right he turned to cut and thrust action films such a ' The Pirates of Blood River', 'The Secret of Blood Island', 'The Devil Ship Pirates, The Devil Rides Out' and 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed'- Actor
- Producer
He was born in Pakistan, the youngest son of an eye surgeon who moved to London to join Moorfields Eye Hospital. Art determined early on that he was English and never learned to speak Urdu or Hindi. He studied at Guildhall Drama School and while there got a part as a Buddist monk in a Peter Hall directed film and acted at the Old Vic and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He shot to fame playing an English public school educated Indian in 'The Jewel in the Crown'. He married the actress Gina Rowe whom he met at drama school and they have two daughters, Jessica and Keira.- Director
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Arthur Crabtree (1900-1975) was born in Shipley, Yorkshire where he gave up a safe job with a local firm of engineers to become a clapper boy at Elstree Studios. He had always been interested in photography and at the age of 29 he took a calculated risk, which paid off, when sound hit the British studios .From being a lowly clapper boy he rose to become an assistant to a young and up coming director called Alfred Hitchcock learning all he could. Ten years later he moved to Gainsborough Studios where he became a cameraman and then a lighting director working on such films as Kipps (1940) ,The Man in Grey (1943), and Fanny by Gaslight (1944). After that he was noticed by Maurice Ostrer who promoted him to director for Madonna of the Seven Moons' This milestone in British film history had a cast that included Phyllis Calvert and Stewart Granger and caused great queues at cinemas when it was screened in 1945, Subsequent films by Arthur included Lilli Marlene and Hindle Wakes. His last film was Horrors of the Black Museum in 1959 after which he retired- Arthur who was known as AJ and would later become known as Stan Laurel's father, arrived in Bishop Auckland in 1889 with running a tent theatre but in Bishop he revived the Eden Theatre and developed a chain of theatres while writing his own plays and touring with his own company. He did well enough to be able to move from rented rooms in High Tenters St to a double fronted house in Waldron St where his wife had a son, Arthur Stanley Jefferson who would later become to be known world wide as Stan Laurel. July 1896 AJ left Bishop and moved his family to North Shields to concentrate on his Northern theatres and converted the attic in the family home into a mini theatre for his son and his friends. but during a mock fight a parrafin lamp, used for footlights was knocked over causing a fire which AJ managed to put out, That was the first and only production of the Stanley Jefferson Amateur Dramatic Society. In August 1901 AJ took over the Glasgow Metropole Theatre and took his family North but Stan was sent to King James 1 Grammar School in Bishop Auckland as a boarder. Stan recalled that a teacher named Bates, after the kids had gone to bed, would take him to his private quarters where some other masters were relaxing and have Stan entertain them, so earning numerous privileges and a blind eye to his lack of educational progress causing his father to have him moved to Gainford Academy near Darlington with no improvement so at 13 it was back to Glasgow to study theatre management under his father. Stan made his professional debut aged 16 and before he was 20 had signed up with Fred Karno's company of comedians. Soon he was in America as Charlie Chaplin's understudy. AJ mean while had in 1923 become the manager of the Eden Theatre having been asked by the owners to take it over after all previous managers had failed to make it work. AJ, now remarried after the death of Stan's mother claimed to be 60 but local opticians soon worked out that he was 67, Sadly not enough people attended the Eden and it eventually closed in February 1925 with a debacle involving Mrs Patrick Campbell. 30 years earlier she had been the greatest West End actress of her day making her name in Sir Arthur Wing Pinero's play The Second Mrs Tanqueray. She was the first Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion.
- Arthur P. Jacobs is best known for producing the "Planet of the Apes" series. He bought the rights to Pierre Boulle's novel Monkey Planet in 1963. Many film studios passed on the project, stating that the concept was unfilmable. Jacobs persevered, and the film was released in 1968 to wide popular acclaim. Jacobs cast his wife, starlet Natalie Trundy, in various roles in the four Apes sequels. Jacobs suffered from heart problems and died at the age of 51 in 1973, shortly after the final Apes film hit the theaters. An excellent character study of Jacobs can be found in John Gregory Dunne's The Studio.
- Arthur started off as a cadet clerk in the police force before spending 4 years in the navy during the war after which he became a student teacher then changed course and joined the Bradford Civic Theatre School to train as an actor, He was in repertory at Bristol Old Vic, Northampton and Birmingham and with Orson Welles in Othello in London's West End.. He appeared in at least two films Charlie Bubbles and Privilege. His television appearances include Z Cars, The trouble-Shooters, United, Coronation Street but is best known for Emmerdale Farm (now just known as Emmerdale) in which he was one of the original cast. Married to a former pottery teacher, they have two sons. t
- The youngest of three daughters born to iron and steel merchant William 'Copper' Hicks and Hester, She was educated at a girls school in Shrewsbury where she appeared as the Duke of Gloucester in Richard of Bordeaux and as Bottom in A Midsummer Nights Dream, She served as a land girl during WWII and trained for the theatre at the Webber Douglas School in London and graduated in 1947, She made her stage debut in Written For a Lady at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool which transferred to the Garrick Theatre in London followed by work at the repertory theatres at New Brighton and Hammersmith
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Barbara was born in Oldham, Lancashire and left school at 15 to work as a post office telegraphist them in offices, factories and shops, After some amateur acting she joined Oldham Repertory and spent many years with them and touring companies plus work on radio and television. After quite a bit of television work she joined Coronation Street in 1972 playing Rita Fairclough- Although born in London the family moved to Newcastle Upon Tyne where she started acting at the age of 4 and led to her doing repertory with Harry Hanson which gave her a complete mastery of drama, comedy, singing, dancing and accents giving her the keys to versatility, adaptability and humour as she involved herself into every portrayal which she did in two periods as the leading lady at the Palace Theatre . Westcliffe. She made many appearances in London's West End - The Love Match with Arthur Askey at The Palace and Victoria Palace,' Anne of Green Gables'at the Garrick, 22 months as Mrs Price - Ridley in Agatha Christie's 'Murder at the Vicarage' ,then a long run in 'The Canterbury Tales at the Phoenix and the revival at the Shaftsbury, at one point taking the lead as the Wife of Bath. Around London there were many appearances and pantomimes at the Players plus comedy seasons at Blackpool in comedies - 'Who's Your Funny Friend' with Jimmy Jewel and Ben Warris and 'Friends and Neighbours' with Arthur Askey which transferred to London. Television work included many comedies such as 'Meet the Wife'. 'Terry and June', 'The Two Ronnies', and three series of 'Blackadder'.
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Legendary EastEnders actress and Carry On star Barbara Windsor was born Barbara Ann Deeks in Stepney, London, the daughter of Rose (Ellis), a dressmaker, and John Deeks, a costermonger. She was a bright pupil at school and her parents wanted her to go to university, but after her first taste of show business, when her grandmother took her backstage at a theatre, she decided acting was what she wanted to do.
Her mother spent all her savings on a place at the Aida Foster Acting School, where Barbara made her stage debut in Aida's 1950s pantomime at the Golders Green Hippodrome. Aida's tutors tried to iron out her Cockney accent but luckily they didn't succeed. In 1952, she was cast as one of the orphans in the musical "Love from Judy", which opened at London's Saville Theatre. With the show's star, she made her television debut in "Variety Parade". Two years later in 1954, she made her film debut as a school girl extra in "The Belles of St. Trinians", and by 1957, she was performing at London's Winston's Club with Amanda Barrie. The producer Joan Littlewood, who was committed to working class theatre, spotted her at an audition and in 1960 gave her the role which changed her life - Rose in "Fings Ain't What They Used to Be" at London's Garrick Theatre where it ran for two and a half years, during which she appeared in the sitcom The Rag Trade (1961).
As a result of the success of "Fings", Littlewood cast her in the film Sparrows Can't Sing (1963), which was seen by producer Peter Rogers who offered her roles in "Carry On" films, the first of which was Carry on Spying (1964). In 1964, She appeared in Joan's stage version of 'Oh! What a Lovely War' on Broadway and toured America with it. On her return, she was cast in the West End production of Lionel Bart's ill fated musical "Twang", which closed after a short run allowing her to take a role in "Come Spy with Me" with Danny La Rue at London's Whitehall Theatre. During the run, she had a complete change in playing one of the Ripper's victims in the film A Study in Terror (1965), then it was back to lighthearted roles in such films as Carry on Doctor (1967) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and in 1968, a British tour with Frankie Howerd in "The Wind in the Sasafras Tree". In late 1969, Ned Sherrin cast her as the music hall legend Marie Lloyd in "Sing a Rude Song" which opened at the Greenwich Theatre before transferring to the West End's Garrick Theatre.
Windsor did become well known in the London theatrical scene, but it was the "Carry On" comedies that made her a star. Although she appeared in only nine films in the long-running series (she left because she thought they were getting too risqué), she made such an impression as the basically good-hearted but dizzy sexpot that many of the series' fans believe she was in many more than she actually was. She almost didn't get the role originally, as she and series regular Kenneth Williams took an instant dislike to each other, but that was soon overcome and they became lifelong friends.
After she left the series, she continued her stage and film work, and became a regular in a long-running British soap opera, EastEnders (1985) as the matriarch of The Queen Victoria - Peggy Mitchell, which she played in over 1,500 episodes. She wrote two autobiographies, "Barbara - the Laughter and Tears of a Cockney Sparrow" and "All of Me - My Extraordinary Life". She was awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2000 Queen's New Years Honours for her services to entertainment. She was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Queen's New Years Honours for her services to entertainment and to charity.
Dame Barbara Windsor died of Alzheimer's disease on December 10, 2020, in London. She is survived by husband Scott Mitchell.- Born in Wingate, County Durham on the 10th August 1930 he was educated at Stockton on Tees Grammar School and Manchester University then spent a number of years in the Eastern Mediteranean region teaching English in Athens and Istanbul. He turned to writing with his first novel, 'The Partnership' being published in 1966 followed by 'The Greeks Have a Word For It' in 1967. Following his 13th novel - 'Losing Nelson' - he spent 15 months as Writer in Residence at Liverpool University . He bought the film rights to ' The Stone Virgin' but it was never made. He wrote the scripts for 'Sacred Hunger', a series for Channel 4 but it was canceled.
- It could be said that she was born into show business as her uncle was the film director Nicholas Roeg and her parents the actors Barry Sinclair and Nicola Sinclair. So it never occurred to do anything else other than act particularly when he was educated at the Arts Educational School although she neglected the dancing lessons having broken her leg in a riding accident when she was 12. She married the actor Paul Geoffrey and had a son Alexander.
- Writer
- Actor
- Music Department
He was born Alfred Hawthorn Hill. It was his grandfather who introduced him to Burlesque Shows and the theatre from where the young Benny Hill was to draw much of his comic inspiration. After his national service with the army during WW2, Benny came to London, adopted the stage name Benny Hill (in homage to his all time favourite comedian Jack Benny) and began appearing in variety shows. He briefly formed a double act with Reg Varney and did radio shows. But it was his talent for impressions and comic timing that were to give him his first big break on TV with the show "Hi There" in 1949. The Benny Hill Show (1955) began in 1955. Its pioneering combination of cheeky humour, songs and impressions were to make it a hit for the next 40 years.
Benny also broadened his career with cameo appearances in films such as The Italian Job (1969), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965). He also had a hit record in 1971 with "Ernie The Fastest Milkman In The West". In 1979 The Benny Hill Show (1955) was shown in America for the first time and Benny went on to become one of the biggest stars on US TV. The show itself has been seen in 109 countries and won a BAFTA as well as Golden Rose Of Montreaux Award. Benny Hill's TV career came to an end in 1989, when his show was dropped, but his popularity continued and he completed a US TV special, Benny Hill's World Tour: New York! (1991) shortly before his death in 1992.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
He had an impressive sporting background, Ay high school in Canada he was boxing champion and qualified as a runner for the Junior Olympics, The sport he really shone at was basketball, He qualified for the Olympic Games but never made it because at the time he was working for a radio station in Vancouver which was struggling with 3 announcers on a 24 hour schedule and he was told that if he went it would be the end of his career. He said that it was one of the hardest decisions of his life but he stayed.He once played against the Harlem Globetrotters and his team lost, He has also played a vicious seven a side Canadian game called Box Lacrosse. Today tennis is the only sport he plays regularly except for the odd game of golf or bar billiards at which he is an expert and has a table in his flat, He is an above average tennis player and is a member of Londons 2 most famous tennis clubs - Queens and Hurlingham, He says he often regrets not taking the sport up professionally- Actor
- Soundtrack
A RADA scholar who was spotted by Laurence Olivier, Bernard Bresslaw got professional security from the "Carry On" films but was typecast (as TV's The Army Game (1957) had done earlier). He was beginning to extend himself through stage work when, in 1993, just before a performance in "The Taming Of The Shrew" in Regent's Park, London, he had a heart attack and died at the age of 59.- He was educated at Rugby where he became interested in acting. He spent a year in Canada studying agriculture then returned to England and taught at a prep school in Surrey. In 1950 he joined the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and on completing the course joined and toured with Dundee Repertory Theatre.
- He was in a play at Stockport's Theatre Royal when he met 'Teddy', who had been training at the Manchester Ballet School, and had gone back stage . They were married some months later when he was in rep in Halifax. He was called up for war service in June 1940, just after their 3rd child had been born, and spent 5 years with the 1st Battalion Loyals Regiment serving in North Africa and Demobbed as a corporal he returned to rep but with productions often not being forth coming was forced to take other work such as working on building sites, and in an ice cream factory, 3 years delivering bread and a year running a Manchester pub, which was a disaster. In between he managed to get small parts on television then in 1958 he got a staff job with Granada Television as an announcer and did the first announcement for the opening episode of Coronation Street little knowing that some years hence he would be appearing in it. He's married with 5 children - Brian,Ann,Peter, Diana and Michael. His father was a diamond cutter with a jewellery firm.
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Beryl Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in industrial Manchester, England. She left home at the age of 16 to go and work in a shop. She lasted 6 weeks. She applied for and was accepted in a revue in the Summer season in Bridlington. She had no formal training but joined the National Theater in London as a comedy actress. Her first big success came in the BBC radio show "Educating Archie" (a ventriloquist - on the radio). She played the naughty schoolgirl, Monica, and later, the Brummie Marlene. Her film roles were few and far between, but always well received. She transferred her Tony award winning performance of the lesbian radio star to the screen in The Killing of Sister George (1968). But she was best known and loved for her (slightly tipsy) older ladies such as in The Beiderbecke Tapes (1987) and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979).- Although he'd appeared in a number of films he didn't become publicly known until he played the part of Snudge in The Army Game tv series and then the series of Bootsie and Snudge, playing Snudge for about 6 years then going on to do the series of Barney is My Darling with Irene Handl, While being known for his television work he made about 5 films and dozens of television appearances in straight plays and other series such as The Avengers
- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
This English actor was born of humble, working class beginnings and became well-known for playing the same kind of blokes on both film and TV. Born William Rowbotham, he was the son of a tram driver and laundress. He knew early on that entertaining was the life for him. He worked in odd jobs as a printer's apprentice and band vocalist to make do and, when he became of legal age, started playing drums in London nightclubs and toured music halls with his own cabaret act to pay for acting classes. He entertained at Butlin's holiday camps and performed in repertory, joining the Unity Theatre where he attained respect as a stage producer. His career was interrupted by military service with the Royal Army Ordinance Corps and was injured in an explosion during battle training course.
Returning to acting, he was taken to post-war films after notice in a play. He started making a blue-collar character name for himself in such films as Johnny in the Clouds (1945), Secret Flight (1946), When the Bough Breaks (1947), Maniacs on Wheels (1949), The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952), The Square Ring (1953) and PT Raiders (1955). He continued to perform in the theatre limelight and peaked in roles with Katharine Hepburn in "As You Like It" in 1950, and with "The Threepenny Opera" and "The Mikado", which made sturdy use of his musical talents. A writer at heart, he penned songs, musicals and plays over the years. Partnered with Mike Sammes, he wrote songs recorded by Pat Boone, Harry Secombe, Engelbert Humperdinck, and Sir Cliff Richard, who made a hit of his 1980 song "Marianne". In the 60s, he produced the stage musical, "The Matchgirl", and focused heavily on film slapstick with the "Carry On" series, adding also to the lowbrow fun found in the comedy On the Fiddle (1961). TV stardom and a sense of renewed career came late after landing the role of "Compo" in the BBC's Last of the Summer Wine (1973) series in 1973, his scruffy, mischievous charm endearing audiences for decades.
Bill was awarded the MBE in 1976 for his steadfast work for the National Association of Boys Clubs and for his role as chairman of the Performing Arts Advising Panel. He was also awarded an honorary degree by Bradford University in 1998. For the rest of his life, Bill would be identified with the lovable scamp "Compo", complete with woolly hat and threadbare jacket.
Most fittingly, when he died of pancreatic cancer in 1999, he asked to be buried in the Yorkshire village of Holmfirth, where the TV series was filmed and the townspeople had taken him close to their hearts. Married twice, his actor/son Tom Owen joined the "Last of the Summer Wine" series in 2000.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
He made his film debut in The Conspirator in 1949 and went on to starring roles in such as Geordie and The Bridal Path, He's probably better known though for the animal films which he made with his actress wife Virginia McKenna such as Born Free, An Elephant Called Slowly and Ring of Bright Water, His sister was the actress Linden Travers and his niece is the actress Penelope Wilton- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Billie Whitelaw first appeared on the radio aged 11. She made her theatrical debut in 1950 and in films from 1953. She has made a speciality of playing intense, single-purposed women. Also, (on stage), she has appeared in many of the stranger plays by Samuel Beckett.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Billy's first contact with music was as a boy chorister at St Margarets, Westminster, When the first world war came along he gave a false age to a recruiting sergeant and found himself in the Dardenelles at the age of 15 but when this was discovered he was shipped back home where he went off and joined the Royal Flying Corps and became a pilot, He often talked about those days which were clearly some of the happiest.of his life but always a key note was one of enthusiasm and never one of nostalgia, After the first World War he worked his way to the top the hard way While he was trying to get established he worked as a bus conductor and played football for Brentwood and Wimbledon and also did some boxing. By the late 20's he was at the top of his profession as a band leader His success allowed him to indulge in his three passions flying messing about in boats and motor racing, becoming one of the great personalities at Brooklands and his trophy case in his house was tangible evidence of his skill as a driver. He was in deed top of the bill in everything that he did He first broadcast as far back as 1924 at the Wembley exhibition and his radio show became as much a part of the English tradition as Sunday lunch,- Writer
- Actor
- Music Department
One of British TV's most popular performers with a career that spanned over four decades, funny-man Bob Monkhouse started off as a radio broadcaster (1947) and stand-up comic. He earned success early on as a gag writer, partnering with Denis Goodwin.
In 1953, the duo won their own TV show called Fast and Loose (1954), which was sketch-comedy based. A nightclub comedian to boot, he also pursued films on occasion appearing in such slapstick dillies as Carry on Sergeant (1958), Dentist in the Chair (1960), Dentist on the Job (1961) and A Weekend with Lulu (1961). But TV would be his prime venue, and he moved quite easily into various parlor game and variety show hosting duties.
For Love or Money (1959) was his first, a Brit version of "Candid Camera". Along the way, he found emceeing chores with The London Palladium Show (1966), The Golden Shot (1967) (which made him a household name), Celebrity Squares (1975) (based on The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965)), Family Fortunes (1980), "The $64,000 Question", Opportunity Knocks (1956), The National Lottery (1994), and many others. Monkhouse died in 2003 of prostate cancer.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Contrary to popular belief, Bobby Vee was not one of the flood of Italian-American rockers to come out of the New York-New Jersey-Philadelphia area in the '50s and '60s. He was born Robert Velline in Fargo, ND, and, although he started playing music when he was just a young teenager, it was country music, not rock. However, he, his brother and some friends eventually formed a rock band, "The Shadows", and began to attract some attention in the Fargo area. His big "break" came when rock legends Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly died in a plane crash in 1959 en route to a concert in Minnesota. The concert's promoters decided to put on the show anyway, and asked for help from local talent. Bobby, who knew the words to all of the songs that were to be played, found himself on stage and, at 15 years old, began his career as a rock star. He and his group had a local hit with "Susie Baby", which came to the attention of executives at Liberty Records in Hollywood, and he and The Shadows were signed to the label. The next few records they cut went basically nowhere, however, and Liberty was all set to cancel their contract when a DJ in Pittsburgh played the "B" side to one of their records, a remake of an old ballad by The Clovers called "Devil or Angel". It became a hit in Pittsburgh and then spread throughout the Northeast, eventually hitting #6 on the national pop charts. Liberty then signed Vee to a five-year contract. He had a string of hits for the label, such as "Take Good Care of My Baby", "Rubber Ball", "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" and "Come Back When You Grow Up, Girl".- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Composer Brian Bennett is the three times winner of the Ivor Novello Award. Initially achieving fame as drummer with The Shadows, he has since forged a career as one of Britain's leading writers of music to picture.
Brian was born in London in 1940 and by the late 1950s was one of the most sought-after percussionists around. He was drummer in residence at the legendary '2 Is' in Soho and a regular on Jack Good's ground breaking TV show Oh Boy.
In 1961, he was invited to join Cliff Richard and The Shadows and wrote many of the hit songs from the films, including Summer Holiday (for which he won his first Ivor Novello award), Wonderful Life and Finders Keepers.
In the 1970s, he became Cliff Richard's musical director and formed The Brian Bennett Orchestra touring the world including the first concerts to be staged in Russia. By the mid 1970s, Brian was in demand as an arranger, conductor and record producer and had already started composing for film and television.
During the 1980s, he was awarded his second Novello award (for 25 years services to music) and was busy writing and recording music for a wide range of programmes including Dallas, Knotts Landing, Pulaski, The Royal Wedding, BBC Golf theme, The Sweeney, Dennis Hopper's film The American Way and Ellen Barkin and David MacCallum's Terminal Choice.
In 1990, he won his third Ivor Novello award for Best Score For A Television Series (The Ruth Rendell Mysteries). From the 1990s to 2000, he was in demand more than ever, recent commissions including the long-running series The Knock, Nomads of the Wind, Global Sunrise, The Harpist, David Jason In His Element, Living Britain and Dirty Work.
In 2001, Brian was the proud recipient of the Gold Badge Award given by the British Academy of Composers & Songwriters Society. He also won the Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards 2000/2001 for Best Original Title Music for Murder In Mind.
He lives and works in Hertfordshire where he runs his own recording studio and record label.