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Simon Oates was born on 6 January 1932 in Canning Town, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doomwatch (1972), Doomwatch (1970) and The Mask of Janus (1965). He was married to Jaki Eastoe. He died on 20 May 2009 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Godfrey James was born on 16 April 1931 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Aphrodite Inheritance (1979), The Legend of King Arthur (1979) and Trial (1971). He died on 29 October 2019 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

At his first school in Bournemouth he used to stand outside the Pavilion Theatre listening to the Follies shows and learning the songs. At 9 he entered a song contest at the Rank Cinema in Sydenham and sang 'Eat More Fruit' In 1939 while in the army at Lincoln a friend came back from leave and remarked about the black out. Hubert said 'I'm going to get lit up when the lights go up in London' and thought it would make a good song. He'd previously done odd lyrics. Three years later it was featured in a West End show After the war he read a lot of Jerome K Jerome on the radio in 'Let's Go Jeroming' He did 18 years of 'Thanks For the Memory' and in the 60's wrote the musical version of 'Three Men in a Boat'.

Derek Ware was born on 27 February 1938 in Manchester, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Willow (1988) and The Italian Job (1969). He died on 22 September 2015 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Violet Farebrother was born on 22 August 1888 in Grimsby, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Easy Virtue (1928), Three's Company (1953) and Rheingold Theatre (1953). She died on 27 September 1969 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK.

Charles Webb was born on 9 June 1939 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was a writer, known for The Graduate (1967), The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971) and Hope Springs (2003). He was married to Eve "Fred" Rudd and Eve ("Fred") Rudd. He died on 16 June 2020 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Joe Black was born on 6 May 1918 in Yeadon, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Shillingbury Tales (1980), Come Back Mrs. Noah (1977) and Red Letter Day (1976). He died on 12 August 1999 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Geoffrey Parsons was an English lyricist most famous for writing the lyrics for "Smile", a song that is generally associated with the great Charlie Chaplin.

Parsons worked at the Peter Maurice Music Company which was run by James Phillips (aka John Turner). The PMMC was especially known for adapting foreign songs into the English Language.

Parson was assigned many songs which he would then adapt into English or write lyrics to songs which were otherwise instrumental. After writing the lyrics, they would then have to be approved by the boss James Phillips. Generally, Phillips would make a few minor changes, then would publish the songs with lyrics listed by "John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons". Though Parsons had to share the bragging rights with his boss, they went on to write several more songs "together".

In 1955, Parsons penned what would become his most famous lyrics. Working for his boss, he wrote the poignant lyrics to a song Charlie Chaplin had composed for an earlier film, "Modern Times". When the movie was released in 1936, the music quickly become associated with Chaplin and his films. Parsons (perhaps taking inspiration from Chaplin's sad life and his later success at comedy) wrote the lyrics to "Smile". After a few tweaks by the boss, the song was then published as "Smile", Music by Charlie Chaplin and Lyrics by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons. Capturing the essence of Chaplin and evoking the sad smile of his character, the lyrics start off by encouraging the listener to "Smile though your heart is aching, Smile even though it's breaking ..."

A year later, Parsons worked with Robert Mitchell to write the lyrics for a pantomime of "Babes in the Woods" at Unity Theatre in London. He also went on to write lyrics for several other songs which became standards of the times, including "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", "Eternally" (set to another Chaplin tune), "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)", "The Little Shoemaker", "Mama", "Oh! My Pa-Pa", and "La Seine".

Though he enjoyed a relatively successful career as a lyricist, no other work grew to fame as "Smile". It was first recorded by Nat King Cole in 1954 and enjoyed immediate success. It has since been covered by several other major artists as well and is now touted as a classic standard.

Without a doubt, the lyrics and music of this sentimental song will forever live on as one of the most quintessential songs in American history.

Val Gielgud was born on 28 April 1900 in South Kensington, London, England, UK. He was a writer and producer, known for Danger in Paris (1937), Regal Cavalcade (1935) and Death at a Broadcast (1934). He was married to June Bailey, Monica Grey, Rita Grapel, Barbara Dillon and Natasha Mamontoff. He died on 30 November 1981 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK.

Derek Elphinstone was born on 15 October 1913 in Guildford, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Red Shoes (1948), The Four Feathers (1939) and Distant Trumpet (1952). He was married to Daphne Elphinstone. He died on 19 February 1999 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Russ Conway was born on 2 September 1925 in Bristol, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Meet the Wife (1963), A Weekend with Lulu (1961) and The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull (1959). He died on 16 November 2000 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK.

Patricia Kneale was born on 17 October 1925 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for A for Andromeda (1961), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and Thriller (1973). She died on 27 December 2008 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Sandy Powell was born on 30 January 1900 in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Cup-Tie Honeymoon (1948), I've Got a Horse (1938) and Can You Hear Me, Mother? (1935). He was married to Kay White, Katie Hughes and Peggy Whitty. He died on 26 June 1982 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK.

Kenneth Strong was born on 9 September 1900 in Montrose, Angus, Scotland, UK. He died on 11 January 1982 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Cyril Connolly was born on 10 September 1903 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Dig This Rhubarb (1963), The Silence of the Sea (1946) and This Week (1956). He was married to Deirdre Craven, Barbara Skelton and Jean Bakewell. He died on 26 November 1974 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Hatton Duprez was born on 10 March 1917 in Brentford, Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Adventures of the Sea Hawk (1958), The Only Way (1948) and A Gunman Has Escaped (1948). He died in 1990 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK.

Norman Ginsbury was born on 8 November 1902 in Whitechapel, London, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Magic Bow (1946), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and Affairs of a Rogue (1948). He died on 15 October 1991 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Maggie Guess was born on 4 November 1945 in Eton, Berkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Goodnight Sweetheart (1993), The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2001) and Father Matthew's Daughter (1987). She died on 16 August 2014 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK.

Wally K. Daly was born on 13 November 1940 in Grangetown, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Juliet Bravo (1980), Casualty (1986) and Byker Grove (1989). He was married to Pauline Baker. He died on 30 April 2020 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Pauline Williams was born on 8 September 1922 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for A Spy at Evening (1981), Cluff (1964) and Thirty-Minute Theatre (1965). She was married to Leslie Sands and Harry Geldard. She died on 7 May 2003 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK.

Henry Stamper was born on 2 March 1937 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Avengers (1961), BBC2 Playhouse (1973) and Oliver Twist (1985). He died on 18 January 2009 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK.

Anne Clune was born on 11 January 1934 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Oblong Box (1969), Night of the Prowler (1962) and Love Is a Splendid Illusion (1970). She died in 1994 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Fyfe Robertson was born on 19 August 1902 in Edinburgh, Lothian, Scotland, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for What a Whopper (1961), Three Rousing Tinkles (1966) and Londoners (1965). He was married to Vera Ford and Elizabeth Smith. He died on 4 February 1987 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.

Leading composer-conductor of familiar orchestral music and a famed British organist. Born of Russian parents at 27 Tottenham Court in London, his father, Morris Torchinsky, was a professional trombonist and encouraged his son to excel. Sidney studied piano at the Blackheath Conservatoire, then became accompanist to violinist Albert Sandler and an organist at cinemas including the Regal, Marble Arch, Edmonton, the Regal Kingston, and finally the new Gaumont State in 1937, making many records, broadcasts and personal appearances. He joined the Royal Air Force as an air gunner in 1940 and was stationed near Blackpool where he continued to record at the Opera House. Subsequently he was commissioned as an RAF Squadron Leader and conducted the RAF Concert Orchestra where his talents for composing and orchestral arranging were honed. At about the time he composed the music for the BBC's radio series "Much Binding in the Marsh", he was discovered by production-music publishers as a source for quality mood-music compositions. From 1946 on, he contributed and conducted (with the Queen's Hall Light Orchestra ) many instrumental works for the Chappell's catalog under both his own name and the 'Denis Rycoth' pseudonym (an anagram). From 1947 to 1949, he also conducted the New Century Orchestra until a British Musicians' Union ban put an end to that collaboration. In 1953, the BBC's popular "Friday Night is Music Night" was launched, with Sidney Torch conducting the BB Concert Orchestra for nearly twenty years until his 1972 retirement. Before then he had conducted numerous celebrity concerts at such venues as the Royal Festival Hall in London and others. His personality has been described by some of his instrumentalists and choral singers as tyrannical, and in a rare 1983 interview he admitted to being "cruel" in his professional dealings but added that in his opinion the final results may have been beneficial and that those he targeted may have been the better for it. His light-orchestral works are still very-often heard today, and American audiences remember his music from movie trailers, especially from drive-in theatres.

Barry Johns was born on 4 January 1927 in Battersea, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Comedy Playhouse (1961). He was married to Juli Castell. He died on 5 February 2008 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.