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Gladys Cooper was the daughter of journalist William Frederick Cooper and his wife Mabel Barnett. As a child she was very striking and was used as a photographic model beginning at six years old. She wanted to become an actress and started on that road in 1905 after being discovered by Seymour Hicks to tour with his company in "Bluebell in Fairyland". She came to the London stage in 1906 in "The Belle of Mayfair", and in 1907 took a departure from the legitimate stage to become a member of Frank Curzon's famous Gaiety Girls chorus entertainments at The Gaiety theater. Her more concerted stage work began in 1911 in a production of Oscar Wilde's comedy "The Importance of Being Earnest" which was followed quickly with other roles. From the craze for post cards with photos of actors - that ensued between about 1890 and 1914 - Cooper became a popular subject of maidenly beauty with scenes as Juliet and many others. During World War I her popularity grew into something of pin-up fad for the British military.

In the meantime she sampled the early British silent film industry starting in 1913 with The Eleventh Commandment (1913). She had roles in a few other movies in 1916 and 1917. But in the latter year she joined Frank Curzon to co-manage the Playhouse Theatre. This was a decidedly new direction for a woman of the period. She took sole control from 1927 until other stage commitments in 1933. She was also doing plays, some producing of her own, and a few more films in the early 1920s. It was actually about this time that she achieved major stage actress success. She appeared in W. Somerset Maugham's "Home and Beauty" in London in 1919 and triumphed in her 1922 appearance in Arthur Wing Pinero's "The Second Mrs. Tanqueray". It was ironic that writer Aldous Huxley criticized her performance in "Home and Beauty" as "too impassive, too statuesque, playing all the time as if she were Galatea, newly unpetrified and still unused to the ways of the living world." On the other hand, Maugham himself applauded her for "turning herself from an indifferent actress (at the start of her career) to an extremely competent one". She also debuted the role of Leslie Crosbie (the Bette Davis role in the 1940 film) in Maugham's "The Letter" in 1927.

In 1934 Cooper made her first sound picture in the UK and came to Broadway with "The Shining Hour" which she had been doing in London. She and it were a success, and she followed it with several plays through 1938, including "Macbeth". About this time Hollywood scouts caught wind of her, and she began her 30 odd years in American film. That first film was also Alfred Hitchcock's first Hollywood directorial effort, Rebecca (1940). Hers was a small and light role as Laurence Olivier's gregarious sister, but she stood out all the same. Two years later she bit into the much more substantial role as Bette Davis' domineering and repressive mother in the classic Now, Voyager (1942) for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress - the first of three. Though aristocratic elderly ladies were roles she revisited in various guises, Cooper was busy through 1940s Hollywood.

She returned to London stage work from 1947 and stayed for some early episodic British TV into 1950 before once again returning to the US, but was busy on both sides of the Atlantic until her death. Through the 1950s and into the 1960s Cooper did a few films but was an especially familiar face on American TV in teleplays, a wide range of prime-time episodic shows, and popular weird/sci-fi series: several Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, and Outer Limits. When Enid Bagnold's "The Chalk Garden" opened in London in 1955, Cooper debuted as Mrs. St. Maugham and brought it to Broadway in October of that year where it ran through March of 1956. Her last major film was My Fair Lady (1964) as Henry Higgins' mother. The year before she had played the part on TV. In the film, the portrait prop of a fine lady over Higgins' fireplace is that of Cooper painted in 1922. She wrote an autobiography (1931) followed by two biographies (1953 and 1979). In 1967 she was honored as a Dame Commander of the Order of British Empire (DBE) for her great accomplishments in furthering acting.

Agatha was born as "Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller" in 1890 to Frederick Alvah Miller and Clara Boehmer. Agatha was of American and British descent, her father being American and her mother British. Her father was a relatively affluent stockbroker. Agatha received home education from early childhood to when she turned 12-years-old in 1902. Her parents taught her how to read, write, perform arithmetic, and play music. Her father died in 1901. Agatha was sent to a girl's school in Torquay, Devon, where she studied from 1902 to 1905. She continued her education in Paris, France from 1905 to 1910. She then returned to her surviving family in England.

As a young adult, Agatha aspired to be a writer and produced a number of unpublished short stories and novels. She submitted them to various publishers and literary magazines, but they were all rejected. Several of these unpublished works were later revised into more successful ones. While still in this point of her life, Agatha sought advise from professional writer Eden Phillpotts (1862-1960). Meanwhile she was searching for a suitable husband and in 1913 accepted a marriage proposal from military officer and pilot-in-training Archibald "Archie" Christie. They married in late 1914. Her married name became "Agatha Christie" and she used it for most of her literary works, including ones created decades following the end of her first marriage.

During World War I, Archie Christie was send to fight in the war and Agatha joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment, a British voluntary unit providing field nursing services. She performed unpaid work as a volunteer nurse from 1914 to 1916. Then she was promoted to "apothecaries' assistant" (dispenser), a position which earned her a small salary until the end of the war. She ended her service in September, 1918.

Agatha wrote "The Mysterious Affair at Styles", her debut novel ,in 1916, but was unable to find a publisher for it until 1920. The novel introduced her famous character Hercule Poirot and his supporting characters Inspector Japp and Arthur Hastings. The novel is set in World War I and is one of the few of her works which are connected to a specific time period.

Following the end of World War I and their retirement from military life, Agatha and Archie Christie moved to London and settled into civilian life. Their only child Rosalind Margaret Clarissa Christie (1919-2004) was born early in the marriage. Agatha's debut novel was first published in 1920 and turned out to be a hit. It was soon followed by the successful novels "The Secret Adversary" (1922) and "Murder on the Links" (1923) and various short stories. Agatha soon became a celebrated writer.

In 1926, Archie Christie announced to Agatha that he had a mistress and that he wanted a divorce. Agatha took it hard and mysteriously disappeared for a period of 10 days. After an extensive manhunt and much publicity, she was found living under a false name in Yorkshire. She had assumed the last name of Archie's mistress and claimed to have no memory of how she ended up there. The doctors who attended to her determined that she had amnesia. Despite various theories by multiple sources, these 10 days are the most mysterious chapter in Agatha's life.

Agatha and Archie divorced in 1928, though she kept the last name Christie. She gained sole custody of her daughter Rosalind. In 1930, Agatha married her second (and last) husband Max Mallowan, a professional archaeologist. They would remain married until her death in 1976.Christie often used places that she was familiar with as settings for her novels and short stories. Her various travels with Max introduced her to locations of the Middle East, and provided inspiration for a number of novels.

In 1934, Agatha and Max settled in Winterbrook, Oxfordshire, which served as their main residence until their respective deaths. During World War II, she served in the pharmacy at the University College Hospital, where she gained additional training about substances used for poisoning cases. She incorporated such knowledge for realistic details in her stories.

She became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956 and a Dame Commander of the same order in 1971. Her husband was knighted in 1968. They are among the relatively few couples where both members have been honored for their work. Agatha continued writing until 1974, though her health problems affected her writing style. Her memory was problematic for several years and she had trouble remembering the details of her own work, even while she was writing it. Recent researches on her medical condition suggest that she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other dementia. She died of natural causes in early 1976.

British character actor Freddie Jones came to the acting profession after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant and acting in amateur theater on the side. To kick off his mid-life career change, Jones attended Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Kent, England, on a scholarship. He then worked in repertory theater, later joining up with the Royal Shakespeare Company and gaining recognition as an actor of exceptional cleverness, intelligence and perception.

His theatrical film debut came in 1967 in Peter Brook's critically acclaimed, Marat/Sade (1967). Two years later, Jones made his mark on the acting world playing "Claudius" in the six-part television miniseries, The Caesars (1968). Based on this performance, he was named "The World's Best Television Actor of the Year" at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in 1969. Also, around this time, Jones gave one of his most touching film performances, that of the "monster" in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), in which he displayed pathos reminiscent of Boris Karloff's monster.

Critical acclaim led him into more prominent roles in television, e.g., The Ghosts of Motley Hall (1976), Children of the Stones (1977), and Pennies from Heaven (1978), as well as in film, e.g., The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970), Antony and Cleopatra (1972), All Creatures Great and Small (1975) and Zulu Dawn (1979). He achieved international recognition as a film actor after appearing in such Hollywood films as Clint Eastwood's Firefox (1982) and David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980), Dune (1984) and Wild at Heart (1990).

Arguably one of his most endearing roles was the frequently drunk reporter "Orlando" in Federico Fellini's The Ship Sails On (1983). His theatrical acting also went well as he was well suited for literary dramas, e.g., Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), Nicholas Nickleby (1977), Silas Marner (1985), Adam Bede (1992), David Copperfield (2000) and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002).

Elizabeth Spriggs was born on 18 September 1929 in Buxton, Derbyshire, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Sense and Sensibility (1995), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Paradise Road (1997). She was married to Murray Manson, Marshall Jones and Kenneth Spriggs. She died on 2 July 2008 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Dahl was born in Wales in 1916. He served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He made a forced landing in the Libyan Desert and was severely injured. As a result, he spent five months in a Royal Navy hospital in Alexandria. Dahl is noted for how he relates suspenseful and sometimes horrific events in a simple tone.

Some of Hordern's finest work was not in films or television but on radio: His performance as Gandalf in the BBC's radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings was arguably the definitive portrayal of that character (contrast Hordern's Gandalf with that of Ian McKellen in the 3-part film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings directed by Peter Jackson).

Ann Lynn was born on 7 November 1933 in Fulham, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Just Good Friends (1983), A Shot in the Dark (1964) and Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973). She was married to Anthony Newley. She died on 30 August 2020 in Oxfordshire, England, UK.

George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in Finchley, north London, in the United Kingdom, to Lesley Angold (Harrison), a dancer, and Kyriacos Panayiotou, a restaurateur. His father was a Greek Cypriot, and his mother was of English background. He first discovered fame as a musician when he and school friend, Andrew Ridgeley, formed the pop group Wham!. Success came fast and furious with their first album, 'Fantastic' (1983) hitting the UK number one spot. Wham! survived for five years and during that time the group notched up four number one singles and two number one albums. Most of their other releases made top three. George also contributed to the Band Aid Single 'Do They Know It's Christmas' (1984), and scored two further solo number one hits with 'Careless Whisper' and 'A Different Corner'.

Following the break-up of Wham!, George went on to have a hugely successful career as a solo artist, his debut album 'Faith' (1987) - and the single of the same name - both achieving instant and international success. The album has since been certified Diamond.

Over the last four decades George has notched up 8 number one albums in the and 13 number one singles in the UK (including Wham!, Band Aid, and the 'Five Live' EP). In the U.S. he has achieved 2 number one albums and 10 number one singles, with numerous other number one hits throughout the rest of the world.

He has performed duets with artists including Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Queen, and Lisa Stansfield, and actively participates in charitable causes, Live Aid and the Freddie Mercury concert for AIDS being just two of the more prominent examples. According to a BBC documentary, George donated more than five million pounds towards various charities. Whilst with Wham!, he donated all the proceeds of 'Last Christmas' (1984) to charity. The single reached number two in the UK and George also performed simultaneously on the number one charity record 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'.

George released the single 'December Song' in 2008 as a free download: his hope was that purchasers would donate money to charity.

He remained in contact with his Wham! partner and long-time friend Andrew Ridgeley until his death in 2016.

Ronnie Barker's remarkable versatility as a performer can be traced back to his time in repertory theatre, where he was able to play a wide range of roles and develop his talent for accents, voices and verbal dexterity. It was during this time that he met Glenn Melvyn, who taught him how to stammer (something he would later use to great effect in the sitcom Open All Hours (1976)). Melvyn also gave Ronnie his break into television by offering him a role in I'm Not Bothered (1956). During the 1960s, Ronnie became well-established in radio, providing multiple voices for "The Navy Lark" and working with comedy great Jon Pertwee. He also became a regular face on television, appearing in The Frost Report (1966) (perhaps most memorably in a sketch about Britain's class system, with John Cleese and Ronnie Corbett) and playing character roles on The Saint (1962) and The Avengers (1961).

In 1971, Ronnie teamed up with Ronnie Corbett again, this time for a BBC sketch series called The Two Ronnies (1971). This series proved enormously popular, continuing until the late 1980s. In addition to "The Two Ronnies", Barker starred on the popular BBC sitcoms Porridge (1974) (as a cockney prisoner) and Open All Hours (1976) (as a stammering Northern shopkeeper). In fact, only Leonard Rossiter could be said to have rivaled him during this time for the crown of British television's most popular comedy star. In 1982, he revived silent comedy in By the Sea (1982). Despite his extrovert performances on television, Barker remained a quiet, retiring individual in his personal life, much preferring to spend time with his family rather than mix with the celebrity crowd. This humility, combined with memories of his extraordinary abilities, meant that he continued to be greatly respected by his fellow professionals. In a BAFTA special shown by the BBC in 2004, stars as diverse as Gene Wilder, Peter Kay and Peter Hall paid tribute to his contribution to comedy and British television in general. Ronnie Barker died on 3 October 2005 after suffering from heart problems.

Talented and diverse Northern Ireland born character actor whose career has embraced British institutions from Raffles to Dr Who.

After apprenticing in provincial theatre this commanding, actor appeared in two contrasting war films in 1968 - The Charge of the Light Brigade and Carry On up the Khyber. His next two roles were equally diverse - appearing in the unusual John Huston directed A Walk with Love and Death, then with cheeky Cockney Tommy Steele in Where's Jack? By this stage his career had gathered some momentum and in 1971 he worked with several luminaries - Peter O'Toole in Murphy's War, Michael Caine and Omar Sharif in The Last Valley and Richard Burton in Villain. In 1973 it was the hard-bitten crime drama The Offence with Sean Connery and he also worked with Joss Ackland and James Cossins in Hitler: The Last Ten Days. That year he also featured in bona fide classic The Wicker Man.

If film work wasn't hugely successful in the next few year, he kept himself working with a variety of roles in television in a diverse range of shows - Emmerdale Farm, Raffles, Return of the Saint. 1980 and 1981 saw roles in a couple of fantasy-spectaculars, Flash Gordon and special-effects bonanza Dragonslayer. It was 1991 before he returned to cinemas in any significant way, though, in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, then in 1997 in another fantasy adventure Kull the Conqueror. Meanwhile he appeared in popular soap opera Eastenders as 'Barnsey' Barnes for 2 years between 1988-90.

Often portrayed as a hardman or heavy onscreen, offscreen Hallam likes gardening!

An English film and television actor best known for his appearance as Duncan in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner.

Sparrow began his career as a stand-up comic before moving to acting with a period with the Royal Shakespeare Company. His first film role was in 1964, in Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, with Christopher Lee. Subsequent films, interspersed between countless TV appearances, included the 1969 sex fantasy Zeta One, Young Sherlock Holmes, and the acclaimed 1988 film The Accidental Tourist starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Geena Davis.

His career enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s, with Sparrow playing key roles in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as the blinded retainer Duncan, 1993's The Secret Garden as gruff gardener Ben Weatherstaff, and the 1995 American coming-of-age film Now and Then as tragic drifter 'Crazy Pete'. In 1998 he starred in Tony Harrison's film Prometheus.

Sparrow's even more prolific TV appearances included regular roles in the soap opera Emmerdale Farm, as two different characters, and the comedy Paris, and guest spots on Hugh and I, Adam Adamant Lives!, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Z-Cars, All Creatures Great and Small, Alas Smith and Jones, Rumpole of the Bailey, Ernie in Birds Of A Feather, and The Bill among many others.

Sparrow is also well known for playing Maurice, a peasant who was threatened to be shipped to the Americas, in the 1998 Cinderella remake Ever After.

One of his more notable guest appearances was in the 1989 episode Danger UXD of the sitcom Only Fools and Horses, which had 16.1 million viewers, as porn shop owner Dirty Barry.

In the 1990s the appeared in the sitcoms One Foot in the Grave (1990) and The Thin Blue Line (1995). His last appearance was in 2000 in an episode of the BBC's medical drama series Doctors.

Moira was born the daughter of Harold Charles King, a civil engineer, in Dunfermline, Scotland. She was educated at Dunfermline High School, Ndola in Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia) and Bearsden Academy, Scotland. She received her professional training at the Mayfair School and The Nicholas Legat Studio. She made her debut in the International Ballet with 1941 and then danced at Sadler's Wells in 1942. From 1942 to 1952 she danced all the major classic roles and a full repertoire of revivals and new ballets. Her first role as prima ballerina was "Sleeping Beauty" at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1946 which was followed by 'Coppelia' and. 'Swan Lake'. She toured the United States with the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1949 and in 1950/51. She toured as Sally Bowles in "I am a Camera" in 1955 and appeared at the Bristol Old Vic as "Major Barbara" in 1956. Although these performances were the start of her secondary career as an actress, she continued her primary career as a ballerina. She has appeared on TV as a ballerina and as an actress

Celia Johnson was an English actress, once nominated for an Academy Award. Johnson was born in the town of Richmond, Surrey in 1908. Richmond was incorporated into Greater London in 1965, as part of an administrative reform. Celia's parents were John Robert Johnson and Ethel Griffiths. Neither of them was involved in show business.

In 1916, 8-year-old Johnson made her theatrical debut, at a performance of the play "King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid". It was a charity performance, to help raise funds for then-ongoing World War I. Nobody intended for her to become a professional actress, but she liked the stage experience.

Johnson attended St Paul's Girls' School in West London, from 1919 to 1926. She graduated at the age of 18. During her school years, Johnson often had acting parts in school plays, and played music in the school's orchestra. Her music teacher at the school was Gustav Holst (1874-1934), a relatively well-known classical composer.

In the late 1920s, Johnson studied acting at both the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and the Comédie-Française in Paris. One of her teachers was French actor Pierre Fresnay (1897-1975). One of her classmates in London was Margaretta Scott (1912-2005)

In 1928, Johnson made her professional debut, cast in a performance of the play "Major Barbara" (1905) by George Bernard Shaw. In 1929, she first performed in London, and in 1931 she first performed in New York City. She made a name for herself as a theatrical actress throughout the 1930s, and married journalist Peter Fleming (1907-1971).

Johnson's career and personal life were derailed by World War II. A hit role as the second Mrs. Winter in a 1940 theatrical adaptation of "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier, was cut short. The theatre where Johnson was performing was damaged through London's bombing by the Luftwaffe. Johnson's widowed sister and sister-in-law moved in with her, bringing their kids with. Having to care for 7 kids (both her own children and her nephews), left Johnson with no time to spare for theatrical tours.

Seeking a way to supplement her income during the War, Johnson started appearing in theatrical films. She started with small parts, but got her first major hit with the family drama "The Happy Breed" (1944), which followed the ups-and-downs in the life of a (fictional) family over a period of several decades. For this role, Johnson received a National Board of Review Award for Best Actress.

In 1945, Johnson was starring in another hit film, the romantic drama "Brief Encounter". It featured her in the role of Laura Jesson, a housewife trapped in a dull and monotonous marriage. Laura falls in love with a new man in her life, Dr. Alec Harvey, and he falls in love with her. With circumstances keep this relationship platonic, until Harvey leaves the country to work abroad. Laura contemplates suicide, but is forced to return to her monotonous life. The role gained Johnson a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

For most of the late 1940s, Johnson was in semi-retirement. She had given birth to two daughters and felt that she needed to devote more time to her family. From the 1950s to her death, Johnson was primarily appearing in theatrical plays and television roles. Her film roles were few, but critically well-received.

In 1982, the 76-year-old Johnson was busy with another theatrical tour. During a day-off from the tour, Johnson returned to her home in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire. She invited friends over to play bridge, but suffered a stroke during the game. She died a few hours later, while still in her home. She left an estate worth £150,557. She was survived by three children.

Johnson's fame as a theatrical actress faded away following her death, as there were few filmed versions of her performances. However, her film roles became available on the home video market, and they have helped introduce Johnson to new generations of fans.

Peter Woodthorpe was educated at Archbishop Holgate's Grammar School in York and attended Magdalene College, Cambridge. He undertook National Service in the Royal Navy and made his debut as a professional actor in the theatre in 1955. His extensive and distinguished stage career included work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, at the Royal Court and on Broadway. An immensely talented character actor, he was made an Associate Member of RADA.

Terence Longdon appeared in four early black and white Carry Ons. His main roles were in the first two films in the series. In 1958, he had a significant supporting turn as Miles Heywood, an upper crust chap who although doing National Service and coming from a military background, did not want to make his career the army. This came as a great disappointment to Eric Barker! Terence then graduated to the role of romantic lead in Carry On Nurse, mainly due to the absence of Bob Monkhouse from this film. In Nurse, Terence played journalist Ted York, holed up in the men's ward at Haven Hospital. Originally he was set the task of writing about what the NHS was really like, however that is soon forgotten when he falls for the charms of Shirley Eaton's Nurse Dorothy Denton.

Longdon missed Carry On Teacher, the next film in the series, but returned to Pinewood for a cameo role as a dodgy confidence trickster who nearly cons Police Constable Kenneth Williams out of his Post Office savings in Carry On Constable. This one scene is a marked change for Terence and this role together with his part in the next film jar slightly. It feels like he is simply being included as a familiar face while being given little to do. In Carry On Regardless, Terence is limited to just a few scenes as one of Sid James' Helping Hands. He barely gets a look in as Kenneths Williams and Connor get the majority of the screen time.

And that was it for Terence and the Carry Ons. Terence recorded audio commentaries for two of his Carry Ons in 2006 and according to him, he was asked to become a series regular after Regardless but turned it down as he wanted to do other things. That would explain why he did not appear in any other series entries. So what else did Terence Longdon get up to in his career?

Terence made his first screen appearance in 1951, playing the role of Metellus in a television play entitled Androcles and the Lion. This was followed by several other roles in the 1950s and early 1960s. He appeared in the following films: Simon and Laura (starring Kay Kendall); Helen Of Troy (with Nora Swinburne and Stanley Baker); Jumping For Joy (with Frankie Howerd); Doctor At Large (with Dirk Bogarde); Another Time, Another Place (with Sean Connery, Lana Turner and a certain Sidney James); What A Wopper (again with Sid James) and perhaps most famously in Ben Hur, playing Drusus.

On television, Terence starred in a children's series called Garry Halliday between 1959 and 1962, playing a Biggles type character who was always off on thrilling missions. He also took roles in such series as The Army Game, Danger Man, Ivanhoe and Emergency Ward 10.

Later in the 1960s, Terence Longdon returned to the theatre and played in several long theatrical runs, both in the West End and further afield. He even spent six months on a tour of the United States with the Old Vic. This meant screen roles became few and far between, although he did appear in an episode of The New Avengers in 1977 alongside Joanna Lumley, Martin Shaw and Lewis Collins. He also popped in films such as The Wild Geese and The Sea Wolves, both in the late 1970s.

On stage, Terence worked in the West End with the likes of Peter Cushing, Stanley Baker, John Gielgud and he even understudied the great Paul Schofield. In the early 1950s he spent three years at Stratford, playing roles that included Cassio in Othello, Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part 1 and Oliver in As You Like It. He later completed over 1000 performances in the West End in the comedy The Secretary Bird.

In 1982 he turned up in the cobbled streets of Weatherfield, playing Wilf Stockwell, a client at Mike Baldwin's denim factory. This brought Wilf into contact with the legendary Elsie Tanner and the pair became rather friendly, much to the dismay of Wilf's wife Dot, played by Barbara Young. Terence then made only rare appearances on the small screen, most notably alongside Victoria Wood in her As Seen On TV series in the late 1980s and also in an episode of The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Terence Longdon more or less retired from acting in 2003.

Terence was born Hubert Tuelly Longdon in Newark-On-Trent, Nottinghamshire, in May 1922. He originally planned to sit exams to enter the Civil Service, however the Second World War broke out and he joined the Fleet Air Arm. It was while in the Air Force that he first became involved in amateur dramatics and encouraged by this experience, he enrolled at RADA after the war ended. Stage work at the Lyceum in Sheffield soon followed.

Terence Longdon married the actress Barbara Jefford in 1953. This union ended in divorce in 1960. He much later married again, this time to Gillian Conyers, in 2004. They were married until his death from cancer in April 2011 at the age of 88.

A blessing or a curse? Every silver lining has a cloud, yet sadly Andrew Roy Gibb had to find that out the hard way. Born the fifth and final child to parents Barbara (17 November 1920-12 August 2016) and Hugh Gibb (15 January 1916-6 March 1992) Andy grew up with his three older siblings dominating the music charts, collectively known as The Bee Gees. Performing at clubs from the age of 13, it was suspected that Andy was to join The Bee Gees, yet Andy always wanted to be his own personality.

Victimised at the many schools he went to by other students who were convinced he had a superiority complex due to his famous brothers, Andy escaped into his music. But it all came too fast and too soon. Andy was performing and making music by the time he was 20 years old, and it was virtually impossible to break away from his brothers shadows when older brother Barry wrote 90% of his songs, and the Bee Gees sang back up vocals on half of his songs. Andy got it all too fast, and his life was intermingled with years of depression that he tried to stay away with booze, drugs and women. While they all may have provided temporary relief, Andy was plagued by depression and the fact that no matter what he did, he could never escape his heritage. Toward the end of his life, Andy vowed to change and reform. He planned to clean up his act and reform. he was dabbling in stage musicals and TV, and he had a new album planned for release. On his 30th birthday he promised the people most dear to him: He was a changed man. Sadly Andy's heart and Andy's body were two very different things, and five days after his 30th birthday his body finally succumbed to the seemingly endless years of alcohol abuse. Andy may have been dead for almost two decades, but his music lives on. Andy Gibb was a legendary music figure, and when listening to some of his hit songs, such as '(Our Love) Don't throw it all away', 'man on fire' and 'I just want to be your everything' you don't hear death, you hear life.

Character actor and familiar face on stage and screen, who starred in films by Ken Loach and Woody Allen. Best known for his performance opposite Helen Mirren in the original Prime Suspect (1991) series. He always brought a truth and integrity to his roles and was an imposing, strong and rugged figure, with a soul and belief in his craft. An absolute legend and a superior talent.

Coming from a musical family - her mother was a concert soprano - Constance Cummings made her show business debut in 1926 in regional stock theater, and by 1928 had appeared in her first Broadway play. Her success in the theater resulted in an invitation to Hollywood, where she went 1931. Although she played in more than 20 films, she was never really comfortble in Hollywood nor satisfied with the parts she was getting, and in 1934 she left for England, UK. She continued her stage and film career there. but few of those films ever made it back to the U.S.

Norman Rodway was born on 7 February 1929 in Dalkey, Ireland. He was an actor, known for Chimes at Midnight (1965), The Empty Mirror (1996) and Out (1978). He was married to Jane Rodway, Sarah Fitzgerald, Mary Selway and Pauline Delaney. He died on 13 March 2001 in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

D'Amico was born in Germany to an American father and a British mother. Raised in the U.K. He first performed on London stage in a 1977 revival of Oliver!, moved briefly to Los Angeles in the early 80s, later returning to the British stage. Mostly known for playing Americans on British TV.

Roland Culver was born on 21 August 1900 in Crouch End, Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Thunderball (1965), Dead of Night (1945) and To Each His Own (1946). He was married to Nan Hopkins and Daphne Rye. He died on 1 March 1984 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

C.S. Lewis was born in 1898 and brought up in a very strict, religious household. While he was quite young, his mother died of cancer but the "stiff upper lip" in favour at the time meant he wasn't allowed to grieve. He became an Oxford don and led a sheltered life. He seriously questioned his religious beliefs and finally left the church. The death of his mother is reflected in "The Magician's Nephew". When an American fan Joy Gresham, came to visit him, they found they enjoyed each others company and she stayed. She was dying of cancer and he was afraid to express his emotions until she convinced him that it was OK to "allow" himself to love her even though it would shortly lead to heartbreak when she died. This was a great writer who dared to examine his emotions and beliefs and record them for the rest of us. Most famous for his childrens book (The Narnian Chronicles) he also wrote a very interesting Science Fiction Trilogy and some of the most intriguing Christian literature. He finally resolved his crisis of faith after tearing apart and fully examining the Christian (and other) religion and re-embraced Christianity.

Roy Boulting was born on 21 December 1913 in Bray, Berkshire, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for Seven Days to Noon (1950), A French Mistress (1960) and The Family Way (1966). He was married to Sandra Payne, Hayley Mills, Enid Munnik, Jean Capon and Marian Angela Warnock. He died on 5 November 2001 in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

John Howard Davies was born on 9 March 1939 in Paddington, London, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for Oliver Twist (1948), Fawlty Towers (1975) and Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969). He was married to Linda Patricia, Dale Mackenzie Tillotson and Leonie Taylor. He died on 22 August 2011 in Blewbury, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Dusty Springfield has been acknowledged around the world as the best female soul singer that Britain ever produced. With her oddly erotic, throaty voice, she racked up a string of hits from the 1960s onwards. Born in London to Irish parents, Dusty grew up in and around London. Her early work included an all-girl trio, "The Lana Sisters" and, then, with her brother Tom Springfield (Dion O'Brien), The Springfields. Inspired by Phil Spector's "wall of sound", Dusty recorded her first pop song "I Only Want to Be with You" in 1963. It reached No. 4 in the charts and was the first song played on the new BBC TV pop show Top of the Pops (1964). The sixties brought a steady succession of top-ten hits and a lifestyle to match. However, Dusty used to campaign to get the little-known American soul singers a better audience in the United Kingdom which led to her own show The Sound of Motown (1965). In 1970, she moved to America and, although she attempted a few come-back tours, they never really worked. However, time in the studio did produce the seminal album, "Dusty in Memphis". A downward spiral of drugs and drink followed for most of the latter seventies but then she overcame these problems and, helped by lifelong fans "The Pet Shop Boys", came back with songs such as "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and the album "Reputation". Cancer was diagnosed in 1994 and, although it was kept at bay for quite a while, it finally got her.