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- Bill Tarmey was an English actor, singer and author, best known for playing Jack Duckworth in the soap opera Coronation Street. First appearing in the role in November 1979, he played it continually from 1983 to 2010.
Tarmey was born in Ardwick, Manchester, Lancashire. Shortly after his birth, he moved with his family to live in Bradford, Manchester, where he was also educated. Following the death of his father William in 1944 whilst driving an ambulance at the Battle of Arnhem during the Second World War, his mother Lilian remarried, to Robert Cleworth. Tarmey attended the Bradford Memorial School and the Queens Street School (which became the Philips Park Secondary Modern School). On leaving school, he was apprenticed to his stepfather, who was an asphalt spreader by trade. He also worked in the construction industry for a number of years.
In 1968, Tarmey gave up his job in the building industry to work as a nightclub singer and entertainer. In order to supplement his income, he took on work as an extra on shows such as Coronation Street, amongst others. Despite suffering a serious heart attack in 1976 and a stroke in 1977, he was eventually offered the role of Jack Duckworth, a character who would go on to become an institution in British soap operas. He underwent quintuple bypass surgery in 1987, and had a pacemaker fitted after suffering a second heart attack in 2002, which was used as a storyline in Coronation Street (1960) to explain his absence. He also developed sleep apnoea, disrupting his breathing while asleep.
Tarmey was an extra in the Granada TV adaptation of King Lear (1983) which starred Laurence Olivier in the title role.
He was an accomplished singer and released several albums. Three of them (A Gift of Love (1993), Time for Love (1994) and After Hours (1996)) appeared in the UK Albums Chart.
He was the subject of This Is Your Life (1955) in 1992 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel on the set of Coronation Street (1960). He also appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank.
In April 2006, when he turned 65, Tarmey announced he was thinking of retiring, which prompted letters of protest from fans. In 2009, he wanted to leave his role in the long-running television series, Coronation Street, due to his multiple health problems, which included severe breathing problems. The show's producers, however, persuaded him to stay until the 50th anniversary, in December of the following year. News of his departure was announced on 9 April 2010. Tarmey's departure was pushed forward to the 8 November 2010 episode because of his declining health; in this episode Jack died asleep in his chair in a manner similar to the death of Vera (although Jack had a storyline illness). This was revealed in What's On TV and several other television guides for that week. Tarmey was the second longest serving male actor in the show.
In a March 2011 interview with Nigel Pivaro Tarmey revealed he also had to leave the series because his son Carl had been diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2009.
Tarmey's autobiography, Jack Duckworth and Me: My Life on the Street and Other Adventures, was published in 2010.
In 1955, he met his future wife Ali in the local youth club. They wed in 1962, and had two children: Carl (born 1966) and Sara (born 1970). Tarmey suffered from poor health for many years, having a heart attack at the age of 35 and also a stroke when he was 36. He had heart bypass surgery twice, once in 1987 and again (following another heart attack) in 2002. He and his wife Ali lived in Ashton-under-Lyne. Despite his multiple health problems, Tarmey refused to quit smoking. In May 2011 Tarmey revealed that he needed to undergo further heart surgery.
A Coronation Street spokesman confirmed that Tarmey died in Tenerife from a heart attack on the morning of 9 November 2012 at the age of 71, exactly two years and one day after his character Jack Duckworth died. - Director
- Writer
- Editor
Harald Reinl was born on 9 July 1908 in Bad Ischl, Austria-Hungary [now Upper Austria, Austria]. He was a director and writer, known for Face of the Frog (1959), Chariots of the Gods (1970) and Night on Mont-Blanc (1951). He was married to Daniela Delis, Karin Dor and Corinna Frank. He died on 9 October 1986 in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain.- Producer
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Sultry, buxom and shapely blonde looker Eve Meyer was born Evelyn Eugene Turner on December 13, 1928 in Griffin, Georgia. Eve was a popular high profile pin-up model throughout the 50s who was the Playmate of the Month in the June, 1955 issue of "Playboy." Other men's magazines Meyer did pictorials for and/or graced the covers of are "Bold," "Scamp," "Caper," and "Modern Man." She often worked as a model for glamor photographer and independent adult filmmaker Russ Meyer. Eve was married to Meyer from 1952 to 1969. She made her film debut with an uncredited bit part in the 1955 feature "Artists and Models." Eve played the titular role in the Meyer movie "Eve and the Handyman." Moreover, she worked as an associate producer on such Meyer films as "Lorna," "Mudhoney," "Motor Psycho," "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!," "Vixen!," "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls," and "The Seven Minutes." Eve Meyer was a successful businesswoman when her life was tragically cut short at age 48 in the Tenerlife airplane disaster in the Canary Islands on March 27, 1977.- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Paul Esser was born on 24 April 1913 in Kapellen, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for The Merry Wives of Windsor (1950), Rotation (1949) and Pippi Longstocking (1969). He was married to Eleonore. He died on 20 January 1988 in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
François de Roubaix was born on 3 April 1939 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was a composer and actor, known for The Samurai (1967), Commentçavaj'menfous ou Les malentendus (1976) and La haine (1995). He was married to Lorraine De Roubaix. He died on 21 November 1975 in Los Cristianos, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Probably the most important musician to be born in Cuba, Ernesto Lecuona was already playing piano at age 5. He obtained his master in piano with a gold medal at the National Conservatory when he was barely 17 years old. Among his teachers were Antonio Saavedra (a disciple of Ignacio Cervantes), Joaquin Nin and the Dutch composer Hubert de Blanck who resided in Havana. When his father died, young Lecuona was forced to work playing piano in silent-movie bistros in order to help the family finances. As he became known as a concert pianist he also started composing. In spite of being a classical pianist, early on Lecuona showed interest in popular music and composed "La Comparsita" and other dance pieces which defined Cuban music by uniting the Spanish-European musical tradition with African rhythms. In 1917 he made his first recordings in New York, where he settled for a while, but in 1918 he was back in Cuba to found the Instituto Musical de La Habana. He composed his first operetta in 1919 and became wildly successful in this genre, turning out more than 50 staged musicals. In 1927 he unveiled his "Malaguena" at the Roxy Theater in New York with enormous success (fellow composer Ravel exclaimed, "It is more beautiful and melodic than my 'Bolero!'").
The hit parade success in 1929 of "Siboney" marked another milestone in Lecuona's career and he became known as the "Cuban Gershwin." This encouraged him to form the "Orquestra Cubana", which quickly became a favorite ensemble worldwide. During a tour of Spain, the composer had to leave the orchestra for health reasons and went back to Cuba for a needed rest. The group, now under the direction of Armando Orechife, change its name to "Lecuona Cuban Boys" and continued touring the world for many years, even appearing in films.
In the late 1930s and 1940s Lecuona wrote several soundtracks for films at MGM, 20th Century-Fox and Warner Bros. The love theme for Always in My Heart (1942) became a huge hit, with more than 1,000 versions recorded by vocalists and orchestras. By the end of World War II Lecuona had built an impressive catalog of music, which included 400 songs, 176 pieces for piano, 52 operettas, zarzuelas and musical revues, 31 orchestral works, 11 soundtracks for the cinema, 5 ballets, one trio and an opera. It was obviously time to relax and enjoy the fruit of his labors, so he spaced out his musical commitments and dedicated himself to gardening and the breeding of tropical birds. Although quite wealthy, Lecuona preferred a simple lifestyle and was very proud of his roses and fruit trees. He detested politics but was notoriously generous: he financed, with his own money, various artists' associations including, with maestro Gonzalo Roig, the founding of Sociedad Nacional de Autores, devoted to protecting the copyrights of Cuban musicians.
When 'Fidel Castro (I)' (v) came to power, Lecuona, along with hundreds of thousands of Cubans, went into exile. He settled in Tampa, Florida, and it's possible that he later moved to New York, where he led a quiet life hoping for the end of the communist dictatorship on his beloved island. In 1963 he traveled to the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain to attend a tribute being held in his honor and died there on November 23rd. His body was claimed by the government of Malaga, Spain, which wanted to bury the immortal composer of "Malaguena" in their land; it was also claimed by the Cuban government, which hoped to cover up the fact that its most prestigious artist was in exile. Cuban organizations in Miami protested the move and Lecuona's body rests today at the Westchester Cemetery in New York.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Bill Hibbert was born on 17 January 1932 in East Molesey, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Permissive (1970). He was married to Lily Marina Bell. He died on 20 August 2016 in Los Realejos, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.- Jose Zambrano was born on 28 November 1963 in Carora, Lara, Venezuela. He was an actor, known for La sustituta (1989), Amaneció de golpe (1998) and Yo compro esa mujer (1990). He was married to Elizabeth Morales. He died on 27 February 2021 in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
- Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten was born on 5 February 1927 in Lisse, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands. He was married to Henriëtte Veldhuyzen van Zanten-Segers. He died on 27 March 1977 in Tenerife, Spain.
- Actress
- Director
- Soundtrack
Mary Carmen was born on 4 May 1943 in Cuenca, Spain. She was an actress and director, known for Blood and Black Lace (1964), El aviso inoportuno (1969) and La graduada (1971). She was married to Manuel Almanzor Losada. She died on 15 June 2023 in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain.- Production Designer
- Actor
Götz Loepelmann was born on 24 December 1930 in Berlin, Germany. He was a production designer and actor, known for Eiszeit (1975), Hedda Gabler (1978) and Baumeister Solness (1984). He was married to Grischa Huber and Rita Herms. He died on 31 August 2017 in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Dunia Ayaso was born in 1961 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. She was a writer and director, known for The Island Inside (2009), El grito en el cielo (1998) and Descongélate! (2003). She died on 28 February 2014 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.- Terry Denton was an actor, known for The Goodies (1970), Seaside Special 87 (1987) and New Faces (1973). He died on 5 November 1993 in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Antonio José Betancor was born in 1942 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. He was a director and writer, known for Mararía (1998), Valentina (1982) and 1919, crónica del alba (1983). He died on 3 October 2006 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.- Luis Molowny was born on 12 May 1925 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. He was an actor, known for Historias de la radio (1955), Saeta rubia (1956) and Once pares de botas (1954). He died on 12 February 2010 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Claudio Nicolai was born on 7 March 1929 in Kiel, Germany. He was an actor, known for Pique Dame (1981), I Commedianti (1965) and Boccaccio (1964). He died on 11 May 2020 in La Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.- Leslie P. Davies was born on 20 October 1914 in Crewe, Cheshire, England, UK. She was a writer, known for The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972), Journey to the Unknown (1968) and Project X (1968). She was married to Winifred Tench. She died on 6 January 1988 in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
- A.C. Astor was born on 14 July 1890 in Carlisle, Cumbria, England, UK. He was married to Ivy Mary Eldridge. He died on 17 March 1966 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
- Rafael Arozarena was born on 4 April 1923 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. He was a writer, known for Mararía (1998). He died on 30 September 2009 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
- Producer
- Director
Dennis Monger was born on 23 October 1919 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for She Stoops to Conquer (1956), Garrison Theatre (1953) and The British Academy Awards (1956). He died on 14 April 1990 in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Don Marino Baretto was an actor, known for Under Your Hat (1940), Kaleidoscope (1935) and Intimate Cabaret (1937). He died on 3 November 1995 in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain.