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1-13 of 13
- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
An English actor active in the theater since 1961, having made few theatrical movies, none of which particularly outstanding, with the exception of John Boorman's Zardoz (1974) and Nigel Cole's popular Calendar Girls (2003), John Alderton has become famous thanks to British television. Appearing in approximately two hundred TV series episodes, TV movies or specials, he is best remembered as the teacher facing the rowdy students in the series Please Sir! (1968), from 1968 to 1972, Thomas, the chauffeur, in Upstairs, Downstairs (1971), between 1971 and 1975, and the narrator and sole voice artist for the English dub of Fireman Sam (1987) from 1987 to 1994.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Julia Deakin was born in 1952 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Hot Fuzz (2007), Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Scoop (2006).- Actress
- Soundtrack
This distinguished theatrical tragedienne will be remembered forever if only for the fact George Bernard Shaw wrote his classic "Saint Joan" work specifically for her. Her over six-decade career allowed for a gallery of sterling, masterful portrayals, both classic and contemporary, performing all over the world including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India and both Western and Eastern Europe. She was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1931, when her career was not quite half over, and in 1970 was made Companion of Honor to Queen Elizabeth.
Born Agnes Sybil Thorndike on October 24, 1882 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, she was the daughter of a minor canon of Rochester Cathedral. She was the eldest of four children. One younger brother, Frank, was killed in WWI action, a tragedy that left her father inconsolable. He himself would die a few months later. Sybil first became a concert pianist until nerve injuries in her hands quickly altered her destiny. She, at brother Russell Thorndike's suggestion, decided upon acting. Russell would later become a novelist and his sister's biographer.
Not a classic beauty by any stretch, Dame Sybil had sharp features, prominent cheek bones and a pronounced chin that gave her a rather severe look. At age 21 she and her brother began professionally in a touring company guided by actor-manager Ben Greet. She performed as Portia in a production of The Merchant of Venice in 1907 while touring in New York. The following year she met playwright George Bernard Shaw while understudying the role of Candida in a tour which was being directed by the writer himself. It was also during this tour that Sybil met and married actor Sir Lewis Casson and solidified one of the most respected personal and professional relationships the acting realm has known. She stayed with The Old Vic for five years (1914-1919) and in 1924 earned stardom as Shaw's Joan of Arc.
Sybil's film career, unlike that of her esteemed contemporary Edith Evans, fell far short of expectations. Silent films recreated some of her finest theatrical experiences, including Lady Macbeth and, of course, Joan of Arc, but she would not evolve into a film star. She was sporadically utilized in later years as a flavorful character support and played a number of queens, dowagers and old crones with equal finesse. Such classic costumed fare would include Major Barbara (1941), The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1947), Stage Fright (1950), Gone to Earth (1950), The Lady with a Lamp (1951), Melba (1953), as Queen Victoria, and The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) in which she managed to grab focus during her scenes with Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. In 1969, Sybil lent her name to the new theatre in Leatherhead, Surrey, which became The Thorndike. Despite her 87 years, she performed in the new play There Was An Old Woman in its first season. It was to be her final theatrical performance. Always a healthy, vigorous woman, she died of a heart attack on June 9, 1976 at the ripe young age of 93. She was survived by four children and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Peter Martin is an English actor (born Gainsborough) who was known in the 1980s for his TV ads for Jewsons Hardware. He played the fish shop man in First of the Summer Wine. He also played 'Charlie the moonlighting gravedigger' in the Beiderbecke Tapes.
He was in The Royle Family as Joe Carroll and played the part of Len Reynolds in ITV's Emmerdale from 2001 until the character's death on 17 May 2007.
He starred in the film Brassed Off and the television series All Creatures Great and Small and Chucklevision. He also was in an episode of Last of the Summer Wine.
He featured in Coronation Street (1960) three times in different roles.
He regularly worked small parts on Victoria Wood television programmes for over 20 years beginning in 1980 with her play Nearly a Happy Ending (1980) and ending with an appearance in an episode of dinnerladies (1998) in 2000.- Actress
- Writer
Kathie Kay was born on 20 November 1918 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Billy Cotton Band Show (1956), A Christmas Night with the Stars (1958) and Remembering Summer (1959). She was married to Archie McCulloch. She died on 9 March 2005 in Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK.- Kathleen Tremaine was born on 29 September 1903 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Lady Vanishes (1938) and The Umbrella (1933). She was married to John Dalton . She died on 10 November 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Michael Proudfoot was born in 1954 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, UK. Michael was a producer and director, known for Equinox (1986), Which Way Up (2017) and Classic Cars (1991). Michael died in January 2020 in Deal, Kent, England, UK.- Producer
- Director
Bill Podmore was born on 15 August 1931 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for Nearest and Dearest (1968), Coronation Street (1960) and Sam (1973). He was married to Gillian Podmore. He died on 22 January 1994 in Cheadle, Cheshire, England, UK.- Christine Foyer was born on 3 October 1952 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, UK.
- Gladys Gordon was born on 22 March 1891 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Up with the Lark (1943). She died on 26 November 1961 in Tooting, London, England, UK.
- Vic Feather was born in 1908 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, UK. He died on 28 July 1976 in England, UK.
- Additional Crew
Emma Pycroft was born in 1976 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, UK. She is known for Dot the I (2003). She died on 9 April 2009 in Westminster, London, England, UK.- Douglas Imbert was born on 20 December 1882 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Antique Brooch (1914). He died on 4 February 1925 in Montana, Valais, Switzerland.