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1-44 of 44
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Simon Farnaby was born on 2 April 1973 in Darlington, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Paddington 2 (2017), Wonka (2023) and Mindhorn (2016). He is married to Claire Keelan. They have one child.- Actor
- Additional Crew
A gaunt, intense character actor of striking presence, Richard Gibbon Hurndall was educated at Scarborough College and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He acted professionally from 1930, initially in repertory theatre and later with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, his roles including Orlando in "As You Like It", Bassanio in "The Merchant of Venice" and Laertes in "Hamlet". Richard's powerful voice and precise diction were also perfectly suited to working in radio. Between 1949 and 1952, he was a member of the BBC radio drama repertory company. In October 1958, he took over as host of Radio Luxemburg's half-hour British version of Edward R. Murrow's "This I Believe". A year later, he was well cast as Sherlock Holmes in a BBC radio adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Sign of Four", transmitted over five weekly episodes.
From 1946, Hurndall made sporadic television appearances, but did not fully take to the medium until the mid 1960's. His incisive personality, combined with a natural ability to adopt diverse accents and dialects, led to him being cast as doctors, magistrates, aristocrats, and other authority figures of various ethnic backgrounds. By contrast, he was equally effective as a debonair underworld figure, Henry Mackleson, in Spindoe (1968). On the humorous side, he essayed a campy, effete antiques dealer in an episode of Steptoe and Son (1962) ("Any Old Iron?"); and alternated being sinister and droll, as Carne, a German general masterminding a rather unusual invasion of a Cornish fishing village at the onset of World War I, in the hilariously funny Ripping Yarns (1976) adventure, "Whinfrey's Last Case" .
His best known role was also destined to be one of his last. On the strength of his appearance in an episode of Blake's 7 (1978), Hurndall was cast as the First Doctor (formerly played by the late William Hartnell) in the 1983 feature length Doctor Who (1963) reunion special The Five Doctors (1983). The series' continuity adviser, Ian Levine, had spotted a resemblance between the two actors, an opinion with which Hartnell's widow apparently concurred. By his own admission, Hurndall entered the project with a measure of ambiguity, having had limited exposure to science fiction, or Doctor Who (1963), for that matter. Ultimately, he conformed perfectly to Hartnell's precise idiosyncratic mannerisms and intonation - a performance which proved more than adequate to the original. Sadly, Hurndall died within a few months of The Five Doctors (1983) going to air.- Actor
- Writer
Peter Sandys-Clarke was born on 11 July 1981 in Darlington, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Napoleon (2023), The Charles Dickens Show (2012) and What's Love Got to Do with It? (2022).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mary Lawson was born on 30 August 1910 in Darlington, Durham, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Can You Hear Me, Mother? (1935), Toilers of the Sea (1936) and D'Ye Ken John Peel? (1935). She was married to L.C. Beaumont. She died on 6 May 1941 in Liverpool, England, UK.- Ciaran Dow Jones was born on 2 July 1985 in Darlington, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Weapon (2020), Shameless (2004) and The Nature of Daylight (2016).
- Producer
- Writer
- Production Manager
Anthony Havelock-Allan produced some of the best known and critically acclaimed films of British cinema, including In Which We Serve (1942), Brief Encounter (1945), Blithe Spirit (1945) and Great Expectations (1946). The films were commercial triumphs for Two Cities and Cineguild production companies, making Havelock-Allan one of the most influential producers in the British film industry. He is also remembered for two films he made starring his then-wife Valerie Hobson: the melodrama Blanche Fury (1948) and The Hideout (1948), which introduced Howard Keel to the screen.
Born at Blackwell Manor, Darlington, England, Havelock-Allan was educated at Charterhouse. Having turned down a career in the army he worked as a stockbroker and nightclub manager before becoming a casting director. In the early 1930s he spent two years producing "quota quickies", low-budget, quickly-made films--often in six days or less--made for Paramount-British in order to satisfy a British government requirement that a certain percentage of films shown in Britain had to be made in Britain. While these "quickies" were made for little money and varied greatly in quality, they did provide a valuable training ground for directors such as Michael Powell and such cameramen Ronald Neame (later to become a top director). Many of them also featured then unknown actors, such as Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford. In 1942 he produced one of the most famous of all flag-waving war films: Noël Coward's In Which We Serve (1942), co-directed by Coward with David Lean. The naval epic was a thinly disguised saga of the maritime exploits of Lord Louis Mountbatten and included definitive performances from Bernard Miles, Celia Johnson and John Mills. A year later he formed the creative partnership of Cineguild Productions with Noel Coward, David Lean and Ronald Neame, which made This Happy Breed (1944), Blithe Spirit (1945) and Brief Encounter (1945), an adaptation of Coward's play "Still Life". Cineguild broke up in 1949 and Havelock-Allan formed Constellation Films, an independent production company financed by the Rank Organisation. With that company he made Paul Gallico's Never Take No for an Answer (1951).
In 1960 Havelock-Allan and Lord Brabourne formed British Home Entertainment, which sought to introduce pay-TV into Britain. The company was sold in 1969 after the closure of a trial service. Havelock-Allan's later films included Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968) and David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970).- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Olly Smith was born on 18 September 1974 in Darlington, England, UK. He is a writer and actor, known for Bounty Hamster (2003), Zombie Hotel (2005) and The Koala Brothers (2003).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Zoe Birkett is a 16 year old A-level student from Darlington, UK. Born to parents Tracy and John Birkett, she attended Carmel High school in Darlington. She reached the final four in the hit TV show Pop Idol (2001) where she sang hits such as Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Mikey Altoft was born on 17 July 1987 in Darlington, Durham, England, UK. He is an assistant director and actor, known for Johnny English Strikes Again (2018), Pieces (2024) and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Toby Gaffney was born on 1 August 1972 in Darlington, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and director, known for One Last Walk (2012), Supernova (2020) and The Winter Warrior (2003).- Director
- Actor
George Ward was born on 30 November 1993 in Darlington, Durham, England, UK. He was a director and actor, known for Cherry Valentine: Iconic (2021), Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud (2022) and RuPaul's Drag Race UK (2019). He died on 18 September 2022 in Hornsey, London, England, UK.- The adopted son of Jack and Hannah Graham, William, whose given name was Edward, was born in Darlington, Co. Durham. He studied dancing from an early age and later performed with Don Sorrento's Accordion Band and a concert party. Aged 13 he entered and won a Carroll Levis talent show at the Darlington Hippodrome. He then toured with the Levis show for a year. He was one of a thousand boys to audition for the title role in "Just William's Luck" and then played the part again in "William Comes to Town". He also played William on stage. After National Service (in the Medical Corps in 1950) William worked as a dancer and choreographer at London's Windmill Theatre until its closure in 1964. He then appeared in the Sandy Wilson musical, "Divorce Me, Darling", at the Players and Globe Theatres, London, and in TV commercials for Omo washing powder. His last show business work was as one half of dance act Graham and Shack, who appeared on TV's "Opportunity Knocks" and later at the Crazy Horse in Paris and in pantomime with Bruce Forsyth. He retired in 1970 and after running several small businesses, including a post office in Kensington, London for 7 years and a sweet shop in Taplow, Bucks., William retired to Exmouth, Devon. His wife, Brenda, died after 54 years of marriage. The couple had three sons and ten grandchildren. In 2013 William was filmed for the BECTU History Project and interviewed by me for the industry journal "The Veteran".
- Actress
Minnie Chaplin was born as Minnie Gilbert. She was an actress, known for A Dog's Life (1918), A Submarine Pirate (1915), A Lover's Lost Control (1915), Gussle Tied to Trouble (1915), Gussie's Backward Way (1915), and Gussle Rivals Jonah (1915). She was married to Syd Chaplin sometime before 1914 in England. She died in September 1936 in France after surgery for breast cancer.- Additional Crew
- Producer
- Writer
David Bodycombe was born on 10 September 1973 in Darlington, England, UK. He is a producer and writer, known for The Crystal Maze (1990), Armchair Detectives (2017) and Horizon (1964).- Composer, conductor and pianist. He began his career by conducting and playing piano with a small group at first and later with a large orchestra in night clubs, theatres and on records. Joining ASCAP in 1964, his popular-song compositions include "Stop Pretending", "Since I Fell for You", and "Please, Mr. Miller".
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
- Producer
Matt Fitzsimons was born in Darlington, Wisconsin, USA. Matt is known for Blackout (2012), 10.5 (2004) and The Storm (2009).- Paul Robinson was born on 6 December 1978 in Darlington, Durham, England, UK. He has been married to Annie Robinson since 30 December 2010. They have two children.
- Charles Palmer was born on 7 February 1909 in Darlington, Durham, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982), Read All About It! (1979) and The Unforeseen (1958). He was married to Karoline Gach. He died in 1987 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
William Corlett was born on 8 October 1938 in Darlington, Durham, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1960), The Agatha Christie Hour (1982) and Emmerdale Farm (1972). He died on 16 August 2005 in Sarlat-la-Canéda, Dordogne, France.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Born in Durham, England in 1971, Christopher's family moved to Southern Ireland at age 6 where he spent a short time modeling clothes for a number of Irish catalogues. His break into the film industry came a year later after a producer, whilst at a photo shoot, spotted him and invited him to screen test for an Irish TV soap.
Amongst his many successes as a child actor, Chris performed as Artful Dodger in a nationwide tour of Oliver! (Bill Kenwright Ltd.) and appeared in numerous television shows both in England and Ireland. But fearing this was affecting his academic work, Christopher's father directed him to concentrate more on school and so he slowly broke away from his success on the film and theater circuit.
Remnants of Christopher's acting bug stayed with him through university where he studied double major in Psychology and English Literature. He spent summer vacations from university in work at North American summer camps, largely directing youth theater and teaching children how to act.
Back at home, he taught drama as a volunteer for a local society and began directing plays and musicals for them. At last, Chris had found the place he felt most comfortable and most capable. Unfortunately, Chris still did not recognize this as his career intention. After leaving university he started teaching full time to pay the bills whilst receiving professional actors coaching at the London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art.
In 1997, Christopher bought himself his first movie camera, after already possessing a long-time interest in photography. After much playing around and making short amateur films, the penny finally dropped.
After some initial training, a local councilor asked him to make a documentary for the town's major river festival event that is held once every two years. Chris employed a small crew to help him make the film and here began his foray into a world behind the camera.
He spent the next two years learning everything he could about directing for film and editing before being introduced to a promoter at EMI Records in London. They had signed a new artist and wanted Chris to follow him around on tour and make a promotional video for them.
Such was the success of this film that aired on British television, that Christopher was encouraged by many to pursue a career as a filmmaker. With still much to learn and no formal training, Chris decided to go to film school and concentrate on directing fiction.
Christopher continues to act in various roles but is passionate about his directing career. To date he has directed television commercials, short films, music promos and music videos.- Derek Dene was born on 22 April 1935 in Darlington, County Durham, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Aladdin (1971), The Good Old Days (1953) and Let's Laugh (1965). He died on 17 July 1988 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
- Edna McKay was born on 27 June 1910 in Darlington, County Durham, England, UK. She was an actress, known for En forbryder (1941). She died on 9 October 1991.
- Owen Fellows was born on 20 March 1894 in Darlington, County Durham, England, UK. He was an actor, known for ITV Television Playhouse (1955). He died on 14 March 1959 in Charlwood, Surrey, England, UK.
- Composer
- Actor
- Writer
Dave Bainbridge was born in 1959 in Darlington, Durham, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Eye of the Eagle (2005), Celestial Fire (2017) and Live in the Studio (2018).- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Dan Fitzsimons is an American screenwriter who has written a miniseries and two television movies. He co-wrote the miniseries Blackout (2012) and wrote the TV movie Desolation Canyon (2006). He received the story credit for Ring of Death (2008) and was an associate producer for the horror film The Season (2008) which was an official selection at Screamfest 2008. In addition, he has published The Eden Project, a series of young adult post-apocalyptic novels.
In 2007, Fitzsimons' screenplay for Desolation Canyon was a finalist for The Best Western Drama Script (Fiction) at The Spur Awards.
Fitzsimons grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin and moved to California in his early 20s. He left his job as a Beverly Hills stock broker to work in the film industry, including an early job as an assistant at Jerry Bruckheimer Films.