Roy Kinnear
Encyclopedia
Roy Mitchell Kinnear was an English
character actor
. He is best remembered for playing Veruca Salt's father, Mr. Salt, in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
, Lancashire
, England, the son of Annie Smith (née
Durie) and Roy Muir Kinnear
. His father was a dual international both for rugby union and league - having played for and Great Britain national rugby league team
international, making one Lions
appearance and three for Other Nations
, and scoring 81 tries in 184 games for Wigan
; he collapsed and died while playing rugby union
with the RAF
in 1942, at age 38. Scotland Rugby League
have named their Student Player of the Year Award after him.
Kinnear was educated at George Heriot's School
, in Edinburgh
. At the age of 17, he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
; however, National Service
conscription
brought an interruption to his studies.
theatre, when he appeared in a show at Newquay
; and in 1959 he joined Joan Littlewood
's Theatre Workshop
at the Theatre Royal Stratford East
, performing in both the 1960 play and 1963 film of Sparrows Can't Sing
. He continued to work on stage and radio before gaining national attention as a participant in the television show That Was The Week That Was
. He later appeared in many films and UK TV shows including comedies Doctor at Large, Man About The House
, George and Mildred
, The Dick Emery
Show (as the long suffering dad to Emery's gormless bovver boy character, Gaylord) and starred in Cowboys, a sitcom about builders. His best-known films are those he made with director and close friend Richard Lester
: Help!
, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum
, How I Won the War
, The Bed-Sitting Room
, and the Musketeer
series of the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared, along with Christopher Lee in the Hammer Horror film Taste the Blood of Dracula
(1970). He played the father of spoiled rich girl
Veruca Salt in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
(1971), an adaptation of Roald Dahl
's children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
. He guest starred in The Goodies'
episode "Rome Antics", in which he appeared as the Roman Emperor. He narrated and provided voices for the stop-motion children's television show Bertha
. He appeared in two music videos for Mike + The Mechanics ("All I Need Is a Miracle
" and "Taken In
") as the band's manager, the former of which saw him reunited with his Help! co-star Victor Spinetti
.
He narrated Towser
and Bertha
, voiced Pipkin in the 1978 film Watership Down
and voiced Texas Pete's henchman Bulk in SuperTed
(also with Victor Spinetti who also voiced the evil Texas Pete).
Kinnear's name cropped up regularly on the stage; in his later life he appeared in productions such as The Travails of Sancho Panza - playing the title role, and in The Cherry Orchard
, in 1985. In 1987 Kinnear starred in the ITV sitcom Hardwicke House
, but the show caused such a storm of protest it was cancelled after just two episodes.
His final completed roles was were in A Man for All Seasons
(1988) a made-for-television film directed by and starring Charlton Heston
, John Gielgud
and Vanessa Redgrave
, and as a patient in the BBC1 hospital drama Casualty
. Following his sudden death, that episode was postponed. It finally aired in August 1989.
. They had three children, including TV and theatre actor Rory
and casting director Kirsty. Their eldest daughter, Karina, was born with cerebral palsy.
in Toledo
, Spain
, and sustained a broken pelvis. He was taken to hospital in Madrid
but died from a heart attack the next day. He was 54 years old. Kinnear's remains were returned to England, where he is buried in East Sheen
Cemetery.
After his death, Kinnear's family demanded an official investigation into the level of medical care he had received in Spain. Director Richard Lester
decided to quit the film business as a direct result of Kinnear's death.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
. He is best remembered for playing Veruca Salt's father, Mr. Salt, in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Early life
Kinnear was born in WiganWigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England, the son of Annie Smith (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Durie) and Roy Muir Kinnear
Roy Muir Kinnear
Roy Muir Kinnear was a Scottish dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s and 30s, who at representative level played rugby union for British Lions, and , and at representative level played rugby league for Great Britain and Other...
. His father was a dual international both for rugby union and league - having played for and Great Britain national rugby league team
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
international, making one Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
appearance and three for Other Nations
Other Nationalities rugby league team
The Other Nationalities rugby league team regularly played international, and also county, rugby league football teams in Europe from 1904 to 1975. The team, created in 1904 to play England in the first ever rugby league international match, was at first made up of Welsh and Scottish players...
, and scoring 81 tries in 184 games for Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
; he collapsed and died while playing rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
with the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in 1942, at age 38. Scotland Rugby League
Scotland Rugby League
The Scottish Rugby Football League is the governing body for rugby league football in Scotland. It administers the Scotland national rugby league teams jointly with the Rugby Football League....
have named their Student Player of the Year Award after him.
Kinnear was educated at George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School is an independent primary and secondary school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, with around 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff and 80 non-teaching staff. It was established in 1628 as George Heriot's Hospital, by bequest of the royal goldsmith George...
, in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. At the age of 17, he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
; however, National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
brought an interruption to his studies.
Career
In the 1950s Kinnear began a career in repertoryRepertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
theatre, when he appeared in a show at Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
; and in 1959 he joined Joan Littlewood
Joan Littlewood
Joan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
's Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
at the Theatre Royal Stratford East
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
, performing in both the 1960 play and 1963 film of Sparrows Can't Sing
Sparrows Can't Sing
Sparrers Can't Sing is a 1962 British film. Based on a 1960 play, it was directed by Joan Littlewood and was from a story by Stephen Lewis. The producer was Don Taylor and the incidental music was composed by Stanley Black...
. He continued to work on stage and radio before gaining national attention as a participant in the television show That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, is a satirical television comedy programme that was shown on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost...
. He later appeared in many films and UK TV shows including comedies Doctor at Large, Man About The House
Man About the House
Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of...
, George and Mildred
George and Mildred
George and Mildred is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television that aired from 1976 to 1979. It was a spin-off from Man About the House and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as an ill-matched married couple, George and Mildred Roper...
, The Dick Emery
Dick Emery
Richard Gilbert "Dick" Emery was an English comedian and actor. Beginning on radio in the 1950s, an eponymous television series ran from 1963 to 1981. He was the brother of Ann Emery.-Life and career:...
Show (as the long suffering dad to Emery's gormless bovver boy character, Gaylord) and starred in Cowboys, a sitcom about builders. His best-known films are those he made with director and close friend Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
: Help!
Help! (film)
Help! is a 1965 film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Help! was the second feature film made by the Beatles and is a...
, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a 1966 farce musical comedy film, based on the stage musical.Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus – specifically Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus and Mostellaria – it tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus...
, How I Won the War
How I Won the War
How I Won the War is a black comedy film directed by Richard Lester, released in 1967. The film stars Michael Crawford as bungling British Army Officer Lieutenant Earnest Goodbody, with John Lennon , Jack MacGowran , Roy Kinnear and Lee Montague as soldiers under his command...
, The Bed-Sitting Room
The Bed-Sitting Room (film)
The Bed-Sitting Room is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Richard Lester and based on the play of the same name. It was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:...
, and the Musketeer
The Three Musketeers (1973 film)
The Three Musketeers is a 1973 film based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was directed by Richard Lester and written by George MacDonald Fraser . It was originally proposed in the 1960s as a vehicle for The Beatles, whom Lester had directed in two other films...
series of the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared, along with Christopher Lee in the Hammer Horror film Taste the Blood of Dracula
Taste the Blood of Dracula
Taste the Blood of Dracula is a British horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions and released in 1970. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, and was directed by Peter Sasdy...
(1970). He played the father of spoiled rich girl
School diva
A school diva is a popular culture reference for a well-liked or worshipped female student, whether in elementary school, middle school, or high school, who sees herself as an alpha female...
Veruca Salt in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
(1971), an adaptation of Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
's children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....
. He guest starred in The Goodies'
The Goodies (TV series)
The Goodies is a British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s. The series, which combines surreal sketches and situation comedy, was broadcast by BBC 2 from 1970 until 1980 — and was then broadcast by the ITV company LWT for a year, between 1981 to 1982.The show was...
episode "Rome Antics", in which he appeared as the Roman Emperor. He narrated and provided voices for the stop-motion children's television show Bertha
Bertha (TV series)
Bertha is a British stop motion animated children's television series about a factory machine. It was produced by Woodland Animations and aimed primarily at pre-school children.-Story:...
. He appeared in two music videos for Mike + The Mechanics ("All I Need Is a Miracle
All I Need Is a Miracle
"All I Need Is a Miracle" is a pop rock song performed by Mike + The Mechanics. Written by guitarist Mike Rutherford and producer Christopher Neil, it was first included on their 1985 self-titled debut album, and later released as a single, where it reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in...
" and "Taken In
Taken In
"Taken In" is a pop rock song performed by Mike + The Mechanics. Written by guitarist Mike Rutherford and producer Christopher Neil, it was the third single released in June 1986 from their 1985 self-titled debut album, and the third to become a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100...
") as the band's manager, the former of which saw him reunited with his Help! co-star Victor Spinetti
Victor Spinetti
Victor Spinetti is a Welsh comic actor.-Early life:Spinetti was born in Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Wales of Welsh and Italian heritage from a grandfather who was said to have walked from Italy to Wales to work as a coal miner...
.
He narrated Towser
Towser
Towser is the creation of children's writer and illustrator Tony Ross about a clever dog called Towser. The books were published by Anderson Press and was later adapted into a children's television show.The show is narrated by Roy Kinnear....
and Bertha
Bertha (TV series)
Bertha is a British stop motion animated children's television series about a factory machine. It was produced by Woodland Animations and aimed primarily at pre-school children.-Story:...
, voiced Pipkin in the 1978 film Watership Down
Watership Down (film)
Watership Down is a 1978 English adventure drama animated film written, produced and directed by Martin Rosen and based on the book by Richard Adams. It was financed by a consortium of British financial institutions...
and voiced Texas Pete's henchman Bulk in SuperTed
SuperTed
SuperTed is a Welsh teddy bear who has magical super powers. He along with his friend Spotty try to do good. SuperTed was a series of stories created by Mike Young who eventually created a television series based on those stories.-Creation:...
(also with Victor Spinetti who also voiced the evil Texas Pete).
Kinnear's name cropped up regularly on the stage; in his later life he appeared in productions such as The Travails of Sancho Panza - playing the title role, and in The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
, in 1985. In 1987 Kinnear starred in the ITV sitcom Hardwicke House
Hardwicke House
Hardwicke House was a 1987 seven-episode sitcom produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. It was so negatively received that only the first two episodes were transmitted.-Plot and episode titles :...
, but the show caused such a storm of protest it was cancelled after just two episodes.
His final completed roles was were in A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons (1988 film)
A Man for All Seasons is a 1988 television movie about Thomas More, directed by and starring Charlton Heston. It is based on the play of the same name by Robert Bolt, which was previously adapted in the Academy Award-winning 1966 film...
(1988) a made-for-television film directed by and starring Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
, John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
and Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
, and as a patient in the BBC1 hospital drama Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
. Following his sudden death, that episode was postponed. It finally aired in August 1989.
Personal life
Kinnear was married to actress Carmel CryanCarmel Cryan
Carmel Cryan is a British actress, best known for the role of Brenda Boyle in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders.-Life and career:Cryan was born in London. She was married to the actor Roy Kinnear, until his death in 1988...
. They had three children, including TV and theatre actor Rory
Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear is an award-winning English actor who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.-Early life:...
and casting director Kirsty. Their eldest daughter, Karina, was born with cerebral palsy.
Death
On 19 September 1988, Kinnear fell from a horse during the making of The Return of the MusketeersThe Return of the Musketeers
The Return of the Musketeers is a 1989 film adaptation loosely based on the novel Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is the third Musketeers film directed by Richard Lester, following 1973's The Three Musketeers and 1974's The Four Musketeers...
in Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and sustained a broken pelvis. He was taken to hospital in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
but died from a heart attack the next day. He was 54 years old. Kinnear's remains were returned to England, where he is buried in East Sheen
East Sheen
East Sheen, also known as 'Sheen', is an affluent suburb of London, England in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It forms part of the London post town in the SW postcode area....
Cemetery.
After his death, Kinnear's family demanded an official investigation into the level of medical care he had received in Spain. Director Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
decided to quit the film business as a direct result of Kinnear's death.
Legacy
In 1994 the Roy Kinnear Trust, which was inspired by his daughter Karina, was founded to help improve the life of young adults with physical and mental disabilities.Filmography
|
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother is a 1975 English/American comedy film with Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Roy Kinnear and Leo McKern. The film was Wilder's directorial debut.... Royal Flash (film) Royal Flash is a 1975 film based on George MacDonald Fraser's second Flashman novel, Royal Flash. It starred Malcolm McDowell as Flashman. Oliver Reed appeared in the role of Otto von Bismarck, Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg, and Florinda Bolkan played Lola Montez... One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing is a 1975 British comedy film, which is set in the early 1920s, about the theft of a dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History Museum. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. The title is a parody of the... Eskimo Nell (film) Eskimo Nell, a.k.a. The Ballad of Eskimo Nell a.k.a The Sexy Saga of Naughty Nell and Big Dick , is a 1975 British film directed by Martin Campbell and produced by Stanley Long... The Amorous Milkman The Amorous Milkman is a 1975 British comedy film directed by Derren Nesbitt and starring Julie Ege, Diana Dors and Brendan Price. A young milkman enjoys a number of adventures with bored woman on his round.-Cast:* Julie Ege as Diana* Diana Dors as Rita... Not Now, Comrade Not Now, Comrade is a 1976 British comedy film directed by Ray Cooney. It was a very loose follow up to the 1973 farce Not Now, Darling. It featured a number of British comedy actors of the era including Leslie Phillips, Windsor Davies, Don Estelle and Ian Lavender.-Cast:* Leslie Phillips as... The Last Remake of Beau Geste The Last Remake of Beau Geste is a 1977 American historical comedy film. It starred and was also directed and co-written by Marty Feldman. It is a satire loosely based on the novel Beau Geste, a frequently-filmed story of brothers and their adventures in the French Foreign Legion. The humor is... Ripping Yarns Ripping Yarns is a British television comedy series, shown on BBC 2 from 1976 to 1979. It was written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame... Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is a 1977 film, the third of a series of films by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie – the white Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own.-Plot:... The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978 film) The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1978 British comedy film spoofing The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It starred Peter Cook as Sherlock Holmes and Dudley Moore as Dr. Watson... Watership Down (film) Watership Down is a 1978 English adventure drama animated film written, produced and directed by Martin Rosen and based on the book by Richard Adams. It was financed by a consortium of British financial institutions... The London Connection The London Connection is a 1979 film directed by Robert Clouse. It stars Jeffrey Byron and Larry Cedar.-Cast:* Jeffrey Byron as Luther Starling* Larry Cedar as Roger Pike* Roy Kinnear as Bidley* Lee Montague as Vorg* Mona Washbourne as Aunt Lydia... Quincy's Quest Quincy's Quest is a 1979 British family film directed by Robert Reed and starring Tommy Steele, Mel Martin and Charles Morgan. In a department store the unwanted toys are set to be destroyed. One of the rejects, a doll named Quincy, goes on a quest to find the store Santa Claus who is the only... Hawk the Slayer Hawk the Slayer is a sword and sorcery movie directed by Terry Marcel and starring John Terry and Jack Palance. The protagonist is Hawk, a hero in the Dark Age, where the Evil ruled the world.-Plot summary :... Cowboys (TV series) Cowboys was a British TV sitcom that aired on the ITV network during the early 1980s.The show was created by Peter Learmouth whom would go on to create Granada TV sitcom "Surgical Spirit and starred Lancastrian Character-actor Roy Kinnear as "Joe Jones" "whose small building firm hardly seems to... Rhubarb Rhubarb Rhubarb Rhubarb is a 30 minute television comedy special made by Thames TV and transmitted in 1980. The special is a re-make of Eric Sykes' 1969 film, Rhubarb.-Plot:... If You Go Down in the Woods Today If You Go Down in the Woods Today is the name of a British TV film comedy released in 1981, written, directed and starring Eric Sykes, also featuring Robin Bailey and Norman Bird amongst a cast of dozens. The film, produced by Thames TV, has been described by Sykes as 'a comedy thriller, an Agatha... The Boys in Blue The Boys in Blue is a 1982 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Tommy Cannon, Bobby Ball, Suzanne Danielle and Roy Kinnear. It is loosely based on the 1938 Will Hay film Ask a Policeman... SuperTed SuperTed is a Welsh teddy bear who has magical super powers. He along with his friend Spotty try to do good. SuperTed was a series of stories created by Mike Young who eventually created a television series based on those stories.-Creation:... Anna Pavlova (film) Anna Pavlova is a 1983 biographical film directed by Emil Loteanu and starring Galina Belyayeva, James Fox and Sergey Shakurov. It depicts the life of the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. It was a co-production between Britain and the Soviet Union... Towser Towser is the creation of children's writer and illustrator Tony Ross about a clever dog called Towser. The books were published by Anderson Press and was later adapted into a children's television show.The show is narrated by Roy Kinnear.... Squaring the circle Squaring the circle is a problem proposed by ancient geometers. It is the challenge of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle by using only a finite number of steps with compass and straightedge... The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood is a parody film of the story of Robin Hood.-Plot:In not-so-merry-old-England during the 13th Century, the neurotic Prince John sits on the throne, supported by his evil henchman, Sir Guy of Gisbourne and constantly ridiculed by his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine... Bertha (TV series) Bertha is a British stop motion animated children's television series about a factory machine. It was produced by Woodland Animations and aimed primarily at pre-school children.-Story:... Hardwicke House Hardwicke House was a 1987 seven-episode sitcom produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. It was so negatively received that only the first two episodes were transmitted.-Plot and episode titles :... Just Ask for Diamond Just Ask for Diamond is a 1988 British comedy crime film directed by Stephen Bayly and starring Colin Dale, Saeed Jaffrey and Dursley McLinden. A pair of brothers are paid to take care of a confectionary box, but soon come under pressure from various people seeking its contents... A Man for All Seasons (1988 film) A Man for All Seasons is a 1988 television movie about Thomas More, directed by and starring Charlton Heston. It is based on the play of the same name by Robert Bolt, which was previously adapted in the Academy Award-winning 1966 film... The Return of the Musketeers The Return of the Musketeers is a 1989 film adaptation loosely based on the novel Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is the third Musketeers film directed by Richard Lester, following 1973's The Three Musketeers and 1974's The Four Musketeers... The Princess and the Goblin (film) The Princess and the Goblin is a 1992 European animated fantasy film directed by József Gémes. It is an adaptation of 1872 novel of the same name by George MacDonald.... |
Theatre (partial)
- Make Me an Offer
- Sparrers Can't SingSparrows Can't SingSparrers Can't Sing is a 1962 British film. Based on a 1960 play, it was directed by Joan Littlewood and was from a story by Stephen Lewis. The producer was Don Taylor and the incidental music was composed by Stanley Black...
- The Clandestine MarriageThe Clandestine MarriageThe Clandestine Marriage is a comedy by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick, first performed in 1766 at Drury Lane. The idea came from one of William Hogarth's engravings.-Plot summary:...
- The Travails of Sancho Panza
- The Cherry OrchardThe Cherry OrchardThe Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...