Arthur Basil Radford (25 June 1897 – 20 October 1952) was an English character actor who featured in many British films of the 1930s and 1940s. He is probably best remembered for his appearances alongside Naunton Wayne as one half of Charters and Caldicott, two cricket-obsessed Englishmen who appeared in several films from 1938 to 1949, most famously in Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes.
Mai Elisabeth Zetterling ( May 24, 1925 – March 17, 1994) was a Swedish actress and film director.
She began directing in the early 1960s, starting with political documentaries and a short film called The War Game (1962), which was nominated for a BAFTA award, and won a Silver Lion at Venice. Her first feature film Älskande par (1964, "Loving Couples"), based on the novels of Agnes von Krusenstjerna, was banned at the Cannes Film Festival for its sexual explicitness and nudity. Kenneth Tynan of The Observer later called it "one of the most ambitious debuts since Citizen Kane." It was not the only film she made that would stir up controversy for its frank sexuality (early pioneer on voyeurism).
When critics reviewing her debut feature said that "Mai Zetterling directs like a man," she began to explore feminist themes more explicitly in her work. The Girls, which had an all-star Swedish cast including Bibi Andersson and Harriet Andersson, discussed women's liberation (or lack thereof) in a society controlled by men, as the protagonists compare their lives to characters in the play Lysistrata, and find that things have not progressed very much for women since ancient times.
Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist, and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as Doctor in the House (1954) for the Rank Organisation, he later acted in art-house films. In a second career, he wrote seven best-selling volumes of memoirs, six novels, and a volume of collected journalism, mainly from articles in The Daily Telegraph.
Bogarde came to prominence in films including The Blue Lamp in the early 1950s, before starring in the successful Doctor film series (1954–1963). He twice won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for The Servant (1963) and Darling (1965). His other notable film roles included Victim (1961), Accident (1967), The Damned (1969), Death in Venice (1971), The Night Porter (1974), A Bridge Too Far (1977), and Despair (1978). He was appointed a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1990 and a Knight Bachelor in 1992.
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Cecil Parker (3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English character and comedy actor with a distinctive husky voice, who usually played supporting roles in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969.
Born Cecil Schwabe in Hastings, Sussex, he began his theatrical career in London in 1922 after serving in World War I. He made his first film appearance in 1928 and subsequently became a familiar face in British, and occasionally American films, until his death. He appeared less often on television, but many of his films have remained popular and are often shown.
He acted in two adaptations of A. J. Cronin's novels, The Citadel (1938) and The Stars Look Down (1940), in addition to appearing in The Lady Vanishes (1938) and Under Capricorn (1949), both of the later films were directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Other roles were in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956), Dangerous Moonlight (1941), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), and I Was Monty's Double (1958), as well as the comedies A French Mistress (1960), The Ladykillers (1955), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Court Jester (1955), Indiscreet (1958) and I Believe in You (1952). Parker was also the original Charles Condomine in the West End production of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, a role subsequently played on Broadway by Clifton Webb and in the 1945 film by Rex Harrison.
He often played a touchy senior officer or British upper-class character, and his last two films were true to form: The Magnificent Two (1967) with the British comedy double act Morecambe and Wise and Richard Attenborough's version of Oh! What A Lovely War (1969).
He played an evil, scheming butler on one episode of The Avengers ("The £50,000 Breakfast").
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Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley (13 November 1906 - 19 August 1986) was an English character actress of theatre, film and television.
She is the sister of Angela Baddeley, best known for playing Mrs Hudson in the television series 'Upstairs Downstairs'.
She died in California following a series of strokes on 19th August 1986.
Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 - 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers (1962–64) and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964).
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James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a popular British character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
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Jack Watling is an English actor, who transitioned from a successful film career in the forties to an equally successful television career from the 1960s onwards.
He is the father of the actress Deborah Watling.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Raymond Lovell (13 April 1900 - 1 October 1953) was a Canadian-born film actor who performed in British produced films. He mainly played supporting roles, and was often seen as slightly pompous characters. After a short marriage to Tamara Desni which ended in a divorce, Lovell found love with Margot Ruddock, an actress, singer and poet and they had a daughter, Simone Lovell.
Lovell initially trained as a Doctor at Cambridge University, but gave up medicine for the stage in the 1920s. Description above from the Wikipedia article Raymond Lovell , licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Irene Browne was born on February 23, 1891 in London, England. She was an actress, known for The Red Shoes (1948), Cavalcade (1933) and Pygmalion (1938). She died on July 24, 1965 in London.
British-born leading actress with long stage experience, beginning in 1910 with 'Robert Macaire'. Appeared in the West End production of 'No,No Nanette' (1925), followed by Noel Coward's 'Cavalcade'. She was also in the Hollywood screen version of 'Cavalcade' (1933), but was subsequently relegated to supporting roles and eventually returned to the London stage.
She played Lady Ann(e) Pettigrew in both Berkeley Square (1933) and its remake I'll Never Forget You (1951). Although she played Colin Keith-Johnston, Valerie Taylor and Heather Angel's mother in Berkeley Square (1933), she was only three months older than Keith-Johnston, six years older than Taylor and twelve years older than Angel in real life.
Miss Browne pronounced her first name Eye-REE-nee.
Maurice Denham OBE (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.
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James Hayter (23 April 1907 – 27 March 1983) was a British actor.
He was born in Lonavala, India, brought up in Scotland and died in Spain. His best remembered film roles include Friar Tuck in the 1952 film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men and Samuel Pickwick in The Pickwick Papers of the same year. His rotund appearance and fruity voice made him a natural choice for such roles.
A pupil of Dollar Academy, he became a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, his film career began in 1936 in Sensation, but was interrupted by World War II during which he served in the Royal Armoured Corps. His later career included roles in TV series such as The Forsyte Saga (1967), The Onedin Line and Are You Being Served?. His 1946 television series Pinwright's Progress, shown on the BBC, is recognised as the first real example of the half-hour situation comedy format in the history of British television. He was also the original narrator of the UK television advertisements for Mr. Kipling cakes. In fact, these ads led to his departure from Are You Being Served?; the cake company paid him a significant bonus to withdraw from the series, as they felt his reputation lent an air of dignity to their snack advertisements.
In the film Oliver!, he played Mr Jessop the book shop owner. He appeared in scenes when Dodger steals a gentleman's wallet outside the book shop and also when Oliver is in court charged with the robbery.
Hayter used to have a tree house in his back garden where he would retire of an evening to learn and practise his lines from his current script.
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George Edward Cole, OBE (22 April 1925 - 5 August 2015) was an English film and television actor with a career which ran from the 1940s to the first decade of the twenty first century.
Best known in the role of Arthur Daley in the long-running ITV hit drama show 'Minder', Cole's career began in the role of the young evacuee in the wartime thriller 'Cottage to Let', alongside long-time friend, Alastair Sim, and went onto to encompass over 40 movies, including the popular St Trinian's films, and a host of television roles.
Father of actress Glynis Johns, who appeared with him in The Halfway House (1944) and The Sundowners (1960). Stocky, benevolent-looking Welsh character who became an unexpected star of British movies during WWII, then moved quickly into post-war supports, with one of his fondly-remembered parts being that of the cowering "Bob Cratchit" to Alastair Sim's cold-hearted "Ebenezer Scrooge" in the definitive film version of A Christmas Carol (1951).
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Nora Swinburne (24 July 1902 - 1 May 2000) was a British actress, born Leonora Mary Johnson in Bath, Somerset, daughter of Henry Swinburne Johnson and his wife Leonora Tamar (née Brain).
She married English character actor Francis Lister in 1924, actor Edward Ashley-Cooper in 1934, and actor Esmond Knight in 1946. Her stepdaughter is the actress Rosalind Knight.
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Claud Allister (3 October 1888 – 26 July 1970) was an English actor. After his education at Felsted, in Essex, he appeared in 74 films between 1929 and 1955.
He was born William Claud Michael Palmer in London, England and died in Santa Barbara, California. His interment was located in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
He began his career as a stockbroker's clerk but gave it up and made his stage debut in 1910. He toured England playing minor parts till the war started. He served in WWI and in 1924 went to America to act on the stage. In 1929 he made his film debut where he featured in The Trial of Mary Dugan.
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Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical My Fair Lady (1964).
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Ernest Thesiger, CBE, was an English stage and screen actor. He is best known for his distinctive performance as Dr. Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein.
John Ernest Briggs, MBE was an English actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Baldwin in the soap opera Coronation Street, in which he appeared from 1976 to 2006 and again in 2012 in the Text Santa special as a ghost.