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1-50 of 128
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Geoffrey began his extensive stage career at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool. He then appeared in several West End productions, such as Say Goodnight to Grandma and Run for Your Wife. He appeared in numerous TV shows, including Coronation Street (1960) and Keeping Up Appearances (1990), where he played the slob Onslow. When not acting, Geoffrey enjoyed sailing, cricket, and music. He died on the Isle of Wight- Michael Sheard was born on 18 June 1938 in Aberdeen, Grampian, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), The Outsider (1983) and Mind Your Language (1977). He was married to Rosalind Allaway. He died on 31 August 2005 in Newport, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Sir Norman Wisdom has become the great British clown in the mold of Sir Charles Chaplin with his little man in the ill fitting suit and cloth cap. His character is an everyman, much put upon but struggling through to a (usually) happy ending. He was brought up in an orphanage after his mother died and his father disowned him. He joined the British Army at age 14 as a band boy and learnt to play the clarinet, drums and xylophone. In 1941, he went to India with the army and became a comedian by clowning around in camp concerts. When demobbed, he returned home and decided to try to get on the stage but couldn't find an agent who was interested in him.
After marrying his fiancee, Freda Simpson, he spent five weeks in America searching for an agent and work without success. On his return to Britain, he eventually found an agent resulting in him making his first stage appearance at Collins Music Hall on December 17, 1946. Over time, his talent and his popularity grew resulting in him making his first major film Trouble in Store (1953) followed by One Good Turn (1955). Before long, he was writing the screenplays for eight of his films, including The Square Peg (1958), Follow a Star (1959), A Stitch in Time (1963) and The Early Bird (1965). In addition to writing the screenplays, he also composed numerous songs including his theme song "Don't Laugh at Me ('Cause I'm a Fool)".- June Harding was born on 7 September 1937 in Emporia, Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for The Trouble with Angels (1966), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963) and The Fugitive (1963). She died on 22 March 2019 in Deer Isle, Maine, USA.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Costume Designer
Hilary Pritchard was born on 16 April 1942 in Isle of Man, UK. She was an actress and costume designer, known for The Thief and the Cobbler (1993), Department S (1969) and The Avengers (1961). She died on 29 July 1996 in Isle of Man, UK.- An immaculate gent of sober appearance and cultivated presence, Bate was seemingly destined to play spymasters and senior civil servants. Lean, pale-eyed and of deceptively mild intonation, he was capable of unnervingly icy composure, never more effectively displayed than as the chameleon-like Soviet mole Kim Philby in ITV's telemovie Philby, Burgess and Maclean (1977). In similar vein, Bate played the enigmatic, debonair American-born spook, Bret Renssalaer, in Len Deighton's Game, Set, and Match (1988). Most famously, he added an authentic touch to the affable, officious Home Office security undersecretary, Sir Oliver Lacon -- "Whitehall's Head Prefect" - in John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979), and its sequel, Smiley's People (1982).
Anthony Bate began working life behind the bar of a hotel owned by his family on the Isle of Wight. After completing his national service with the Royal Navy Volunteers in 1947, he started dabbling in amateur dramatics and then took the next step to formal training at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating a gold medal winner. After the obligatory sojourn in repertory theatre, he made his West End debut in a 1960 dramatisation of the famous 1925 Scopes Trial, "Inherit the Wind", at St. Martin's Theatre. Over the next three decades, he drew many excellent notices for such classical roles as Don Pedro in "Much Ado About Nothing", for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
In occasional films from 1957, Bate popped up as straight man in minor comedies, like Dentist in the Chair (1960). However, in due course, he found his niche to be on the small screen, where he was increasingly sought-after by producers for a wide variety of characters of, either, furtive, stern, starchy, supercilious or sinister disposition. Besides crime and espionage, Bate was a ubiquitous protagonist in screen adaptations from the classics: the obsessive Inspector Javert on the trail of Frank Finlay's Jean Valjeon, in a 1967 version of Victor Hugo's oft-filmed masterpiece; as the intrepid Dr. Livesey of Treasure Island (1977); and as the Knight's Templar, Sir Brian de Bois Guilbert, chief nemesis of Ivanhoe (1970). Another of his outright villains was treacherous London gangster Eddie Edwards, taking advantage of his boss's (Ray McAnally) incarceration to usurp his criminal empire. In Intimate Strangers (1974), Bate was given a rare starring role, as a middle-aged family man, re-evaluating his life after a heart attack. This introspective and nuanced performance was, arguably, one of his best. The cool, unflappable Mr. Bate also portrayed such historical personae as Joseph Stalin, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt and Eduard Shevardnadze -- all with equal vigour and conviction. One of the unsung heroes of British television, Anthony Bate passed away in June 2012 at the age of 84. - He was educated at Rugby where he became interested in acting. He spent a year in Canada studying agriculture then returned to England and taught at a prep school in Surrey. In 1950 he joined the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and on completing the course joined and toured with Dundee Repertory Theatre.
- Yvonne Horner was born on 25 March 1943 in Seaview, Isle of Wight, England, UK. She was an actress, known for One Million Years B.C. (1966), Prehistoric Women (1967) and Baby Love (1969). She was married to Dennis Maher and John Horner. She died on 4 November 1998 in Newport, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
Reginald died at his home in Ryde, Isle of Wight aged 74, where he had lived since the late eighties. While there he did a great deal of work for local charities, especially Haylands Farm, a project for young people with learning difficulties, and the local branch of MENCAP. He is survived by his wife, former actress Rosemary Murray, twin daughters, Rebecca and Alison, sons Adam and Alexander, and son John and daughter Kate from his first marriage.- Actress
- Camera and Electrical Department
Pamela Green was a wonderful woman who began as an artist, spending seven years studying art and painting, including the last four years at St. Martin's School of Art in London. During the late 1950s, when the magazine "Kamera" created by Pamela and George Harrison Marks became hugely successful, Pamela would be busy finding and training other models to appear in the magazine. Later in her career, she would advise other models and actresses about using make-up, lighting, and costumes. She would often work behind the scenes with her life partner Doug Webb on British films and TV. One of the original dam busters, Webb worked as a stills photographer. You can see his work firsthand in The Killing of Sister George (1968), Krull (1983), Perfect Friday (1970), and The Promise (1979), among several other films.
Indeed, when Pamela was auditioned for the role of Millie in Michael Powell's film Peeping Tom (1960) in 1959, she did so at her own studio, which meant Powell had a firsthand experience of the type of sets and costumes Pamela had created for many of her most famous shoots with Harrison. Powell was so enamored of her Rita Landre persona that he later incorporated several of Pamela's images and designs into the fabric of his film. Much of what you see in the film during Pamela's scenes are her own creations and were used in "Kamera" magazines and calendars. And that magazine is now very much a collectors' item along with the early postcards.
Pamela would reissue these postcards during the 1990s, and they were again hugely successful. From her home in the Isle of Wight, Pamela attended various shows, and met and greeted fans. She hoped publish a book of Doug Webb's brilliant photography. Funnily enough, Doug only began shooting his wonderful nudes of Pamela when he noticed her trying to shoot her own photos using a camera that she had specially mounted with a mirror so that she could shoot nude photographs by herself. This sums up the wonderful ingenuity, the drive, and the creativity of this beautiful woman. Late in life, the same natural beauty she was when she first shed her clothes in that cold Art Studio back in 1949, you can only marvel at her brilliant career.
On May 7, 2010, Pamela died after a battle with leukemia. She had many friends and fans across the globe and was celebrated on Yahoo with a fan club as well as her own Web site. She will be much missed by us all.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Gilbert Taylor was born on 21 April 1914 in Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire, England, UK. He was a cinematographer and director, known for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Flash Gordon (1980) and The Omen (1976). He was married to Dee Vaughan and Eileen Donnelly. He died on 23 August 2013 in Newport, Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Dan Fogelberg was born on 13 August 1951 in Peoria, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for About Schmidt (2002), Urban Cowboy (1980) and FM (1978). He was married to Jean Marie Mayer-Dailey, Anastasia Savage and Margaret Ellen Slaymaker. He died on 16 December 2007 in Deer Isle, Maine, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Bella Emberg was born on 16 September 1937 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for History of the World: Part I (1981), Doctor Who (2005) and Pompidou (2015). She died on 12 January 2018 in Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Frequently bearded Scottish character actor John Stahl became best known for playing Lord Richard Karstark, an erstwhile ally but subsequent betrayer of Robb Stark, in seasons two and three of HBO's Game of Thrones (2011). A classically trained thespian, Stahl also acted in many theatrical productions and had stints at the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the National Theatre. Trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he first worked as an assistant director for a stage company. He appeared on screen from 1976, initially coming to prominence as Tom Inverdarroch Kerr, a recurring character in the British soap Take the High Road (1980) set in the fictional Scottish village of Glendarroch. In 2016, Stahl was cast as Scottish regent Murdac (or Murdoch) Stewart (1362-1425) in Rona Munro's play James I, which opened in Edinburgh and subsequently toured New Zealand, Australia and Canada. A fervent supporter of Scottish independence, Stahl died on the Isle of Lewis on March 2 2022.
- Valerie Gaunt was an English actress who had a brief acting career in the 1950s. She is primarily remembered for portraying an unnamed Vampire Woman in an horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. Her role was the studio's first vampire character with visible fangs.
Little is known about Gaunt's background. She was trained as an actress in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), a drama school located in London. She graduated in 1951, and worked primarily in repertory theatre. In 1956, she had a guest-star role in the police procedural television series "Dixon of Dock Green" (1955 -1976). The series focused on an old-fashioned "bobby" (policeman) who investigated petty crime cases in the East End of London.
The film director Terence Fisher (1904 - 1980) noticed Gaunt while watching television, and offered her a role in an upcoming horror film. Gaunt made her film debut in Fisher's "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957), the first horror film in color produced by Hammer Film productions. The film was a loose adaptation of the novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" (1818) by Mary Shelley, re-imagined as a "morally ambiguous chamber piece".
Gaunt portrayed Justine, a maid who works for Baron Victor Frankenstein (played by Peter Cushing) and secretly serves as his mistress. When a pregnant Justine attempts to blackmail Victor into marrying her, Victor orchestrates her murder. He is later executed for her murder, with his former mentor refusing to testify on his behalf. Unlike other versions of the Frankenstein story, Victor does not abandon his monster. He is instead trying to use it as a weapon against his enemies.
The film was a box office hit, earning about 8 million dollars at the worldwide box office. Hammer Film decided to produce more gothic horror films, and Gaunt was asked to appear on the next one. She was cast as the Vampire Woman in "Dracula" (1958), a loose adaptation of the novel by Bram Stoker. Her character was loosely based on the three Brides of Dracula from the original novel. Gaunt portrayed the first female vampire depicted by Hammer Film, which later specialized in vampire films. This film was also a box office hit.
Gaunt decided to end her film career just as it was starting. In 1958, she married the stock broker Gerald Alfred Reddington and permanently retired from acting. She was only 26-years-old at the time. Gaunt lived the rest of her life away from the spotlight. In 2016, she died in the Isle of Wight at the age of 84. Despite her brief career, she remains familiar to fans of classic British horror films. Both of her film appearances enjoy enduring popularity, ensuring a measure of fame for Gaunt. - Princess Alexandrina Victoria was born on May 24, 1819 to the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Victoria as she was called was the granddaughter of King George III. When she was less than a year old her father died leaving her mother broke and at the mercy of her brother Leopold, the King of Belgium. Victoria lead a sheltered life in Kensington Palace while growing up. She was not allowed to see anybody besides her mother, half-sister and brother, and the comptroller of the household and reputed lover of the Duchess of Kent, Sir John Conroy. When she was 17 she met for the first time her cousins Albert and Ernest (sons of her mother's brother Ernest) The meeting went well but nothing happened. Several months later Victoria's Uncle King William IV died and she became Queen at the age of 18. Three years later she and Albert met again and this time they fell in love. They got married on Feburary 10, 1840 and In November of that year they welcomed their first child named Victoria. In 1841 they had Albert Edward, who would be Prince of Wales and then Edward VII. Followed by Alice (b. 1843),Alfred (b. 1844), Helena (b. 1846), Louise (b. 1848) Arthur (b. 1850) and Leopold (b. 1853) and Beatrice (b. 1857.) In 1860, though something happened that brought Victoria's world to a stand-still. Her beloved husband died on December 14 after a short illness with Thyphoid. This did not hinder any plans though. Their oldest daughter had been married to the Prussian Prince Fritz for several years by then, but their daughter Alice and son Bertie were almost to be married at the time of their father's death. A few months later Alice married Prince Louis of Hess and several months after that Bertie married Prince Alexandra of Denmark. For the rest of her life Victoria missed Albert and insisted in a funereal like atmosphere in her household. The only thing that could lift her spirits where her 40 grandchildren. On that fateful December 14 of 1878 Victoria lost her daughter, Alice, and mourned her. After several months though she recovered enough to concoct an idea. She would have her son in law Louis marry her daughter Beatrice so that her several grandchildren could be near her. This did not happen though. On January 22, 1901 Victoria died in Osbourn House in the arms of her grandson Kaiser William II. Her children and grandchildren stretched all over the globe, reigning as sovereigns or consorts. From the UK, Germany, Romania, Russia, Greece, and Spain her children and grandchildren would change the face of the world.
- John Tate was born on 5 January 1915 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for On the Beach (1959), Pacific Adventure (1946) and Great Expectations (1967). He was married to Margaret Anne Barton and Neva Carr-Glynn. He died on 19 March 1979 in Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Lesley Duncan was born on 12 August 1943 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. She was an actress, known for What a Crazy World (1963), Margot at the Wedding (2007) and Friends (1971). She was married to Anthony S. R. Cox and Jimmy Horowitz. She died on 12 March 2010 in Salen, Isle of Mull, Scotland, UK.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Coming from a theatrical family, Jack Douglas' entry into show business was as a producer, however, not as a performer. His father was a theatrical producer, and Jack followed in his footsteps at an early age--he produced his first show at 15. Douglas showed no interest in the performing end of the business until one night when one of his actors took ill and, there being no replacement, Douglas put on the character's costume and did it himself. He enjoyed it so much that he soon gave up producing comedies and began performing in them. It wasn't long before he became one of the more recognizable character actors in British films, especially in the "Carry On" series, where he played a variation on his most famous character, a nervous, terrified and perpetually fidgety little man.- Stunts
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Maher was born on 18 June 1929 in London, England, UK. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Department S (1969), My Partner the Ghost (1969) and The Avengers (1961). He was married to Marion Hurlstone-jones, Anne Maher and Dilys Laye. He died on 13 July 2007 in Newport, Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Robert Paynter was born on 12 March 1928 in South London, England, UK. He was a cinematographer and actor, known for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Superman II (1980) and Superman III (1983). He was married to Marjorie Mona Paynter. He died on 20 October 2010 in Isle of Wight, England, UK.- George McDonald Fraser was an expert storyteller and master of the comic novel. His most widely read books chronicle the adult exploits of Harry Flashman (the original cowardly school bully of "Tom Brown's Schooldays"). Though fictionalised, these bawdy adventures are invariably set against an impeccably well-researched and annotated historical background, featuring the dissolute, craven anti-hero in the midst of significant historical events, including the Charge of the Light Brigade, Custer's last stand at the Little Bighorn, the Indian Mutiny, the Opium Wars, the Taiping rebellion, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry and Britain's 1868 punitive Abyssinian campaign. Fraser carefully avoided romanticising the Victorian-era, instead adopting an often brutally realistic, yet highly satirical 'warts and all' approach. Fascinating historical characters abound, ranging from Madagascar's black queen Ranavalona to Otto von Bismarck and Abyssinia's self-styled Emperor Theodore II, brought to life by painstakingly researched detail, proof of the old adage that fact is often stranger than fiction. The swaggering, chauvinistic arch-cad, from whose vantage point the books are written, rides his luck from one harrowing crisis to another and continues to be elevated among Imperial Britain's military elite despite his total lack of merit (not to mention morality). Fraser's wit and craftsmanship as a writer have nonetheless made Flashman into a believable, even compelling central character.
The son of a doctor, Fraser had no direct qualifications as a historian. His interest in writing was likely kindled by frontier service with the British 14th Army in Burma and the Gordon Highlanders in Africa (his personal recollections of the 1944-45 campaign against the Japanese Army appeared in print in 1993 to considerable critical acclaim). After demobilisation, Fraser worked as a sports reporter and journalist in Canada and in his native Scotland, latterly as deputy editor for the Glasgow Herald (1964-69). His first Flashman book, "Royal Flash", was written in 1969. His twelfth (and last), "Flashman on the March", appeared in 2005. In addition, he authored several other novels and collections of short stories, each with a historical perspective. During the 1970's and 80's, Fraser also collaborated on several film scripts, including The Three Musketeers (1973), its sequel The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974) and the 13th James Bond entry, Octopussy (1983). He wrote the screenplays for two of his own novels, the unsatisfactorily filmed Royal Flash (1975) and The Pyrates (1986), a comical swashbuckler set along the Spanish Main and featuring another rakish anti-hero, Colonel Thomas Blood (loosely based on the historical character of that name). The 'Flashman Papers' yet await their true 'discovery' by an enterprising film maker, for they would make for splendid entertainment indeed.
George McDonald Fraser eventually settled on the Isle of Man, at once to find a tax refuge and to withdraw to a place more akin to, as he referred to it, 'England as it used to be'. A Tory of moderate right-wing beliefs and outspoken enemy of political correctness, he died there on January 2 2008 at the age of 82. - Diminutive, softly-spoken British playwright and screenwriter, who usually worked in collaboration. Educated at Charterhouse and Cambridge University, Dighton wrote for the stage until entering films in 1935. After initially working for Michael Balcon at Gaumont-British, he was briefly under contract to Warner Brothers. At Ealing from 1939, he had his most productive spell with popular original screenplays and adaptations from the classics. He is best remembered for two quintessential British comedies, both starring Alec Guinness: Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) and The Man in the White Suit (1951). Another popular farce, The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950), was based on his own hit West End play. Dighton also had a brief tenure in Hollywood, his most popular venture there being the classic romantic comedy Roman Holiday (1953).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Jo Warne was born on 2 January 1938 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Spring & Autumn (1972), EastEnders (1985) and Little Dorrit (1987). She died on 13 January 2017 in Sandown, Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Mary Webster was born in 1935 in Evesham, Worcestershire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950), The Moonstone (1959) and The Secret Agent (1967). She was married to William Slater. She died on 3 October 2014 in Totland, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Kenneth Kendall was born on 7 August 1924 in British India [now India]. He was an actor, known for They Came from Beyond Space (1967), Dead of Night (1972) and Adam Adamant Lives! (1966). He was married to Mark Fear. He died on 14 December 2012 in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Bill Naughton was born on 12 June 1910 in Ballyhaunis, Ireland. He was a writer, known for Alfie (1966), The Family Way (1966) and Alfie (2004). He died on 9 January 1992 in Ballasalla, Isle of Man, UK.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Ronnie Aldrich was born on 15 February 1916 in Erith, Kent, England, UK. He was a composer, known for The Benny Hill Show (1969), The Family Man (2000) and Kill Me Again (1989). He died on 30 September 1993 in Isle of Man, UK.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Kenneth Higgins was born on 26 December 1919 in London, England, UK. He was a cinematographer, known for Georgy Girl (1966), Darling (1965) and Dick Turpin (1979). He died on 22 January 2008 in Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Production Manager
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Location Management
Ian Goddard was born in 1937 in Brentford, Middlesex, England, UK. He was a production manager and assistant director, known for Mad Max (1979), Dead End Drive-In (1986) and Paper Tiger (1975). He was married to Pauline Coe. He died in 2002 in Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Chris Harley was born on 18 November 1946 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He died on 25 February 2015 in Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK.
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
Robert Barr was born on 22 December 1909 in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK. He was a writer, known for The Third Key (1956), Hadleigh (1969) and Gazette (1968). He was married to Jane Connell. He died on 30 January 1999 in Isle of Bute, Refrewshire, Scotland, UK.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
William Slater was born on 27 February 1932 in the UK. He was a director and producer, known for The Regiment (1972), Vendetta (1966) and Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1962). He was married to Mary Webster. He died on 28 April 2006 in Totland, Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Sarah Vernon was born on 25 November 1956 in Lambeth, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Paradise Postponed (1986) and The Bill (1984). She was married to Roy Heather. She died on 13 January 2021 in Isle of Wight.
- Twinkle was born on 15 July 1948 in Surbiton, Surrey, England, UK. She was married to Graham Rogers. She died on 21 May 2015 in Godshill, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Murdo Morrison was born on 5 February 1921 in Borve, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) and The Silver Darlings (1947). He died in 1987 in Isle of Lewis, Scotland, UK.
- Stuart Baggs was born in 1988 in Devon, England, UK. He died on 30 July 2015 in Douglas, Isle of Man, UK.
- Henry De Vere Stacpoole was born on 9 April 1863 in Kingstown, Ireland. Henry De Vere was a writer, known for The Blue Lagoon (1980), The Truth About Spring (1965) and Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991). Henry De Vere was married to Florence Robson and Margaret Robson. Henry De Vere died on 12 April 1951 in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Novelist and dramatist Hall Caine, though largely forgotten now, was a hugely popular writer in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Born Thomas Henry Hall Caine on May 14, 1853, in Runcorn, Cheshire, England, his father was a Manx Man who moved to Liverpool, where he apprenticed as a ship's smith. After Hall's birth (he hated the name Thomas and never used it, even after he was knighted), the family moved back to Liverpool, where young Hall grew up. Hall Caine frequently took many trips to visit the Caine family on the Isle of Man.
He was apprenticed to an architect and surveyor and plied his trade as a surveyor while self-educating himself through wide reading. He became a lecturer and theatrical critic, which introduced him to some influential people such as actor Sir Henry Irving and author Bram Stoker, who dedicated Dracula (1931) to him. He became the secretary, factotum and nurse to Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the last years of the great poet's life.
Aside from a memoir of Rossetti that sold well, Caine's early endeavors in serious literature met with little success. However, when he abandoned literary criticism for romantic fiction (in the Walter Scott vein), he became popular. "Shadow of a Crime", an 1885 novel featuring a love triangle, was a best-seller. In 1887 he published a critical book about Samuel Taylor Coleridge that failed, but his return to fiction that same year with The Deemster (1917), a romance set in the Isle of Man, was a hit (a deemster is a judge on the Isle of Man).
In all, he published 15 romantic novels over 40 years. Many had themes influenced by his Christian socialist political sympathies. His popularity was immense, and his 1897 novel "The Christian" (later made into a film, The Christian (1915)) was the first novel to sell over a million copies in the United Kingdom. In August 1902, when King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra visited the Isle of Man, Caine was invited on board the royal yacht as the royal couple toured the island (the queen was a fan). He was a major celebrity in his own right, as well as a celebrated author.
During World War One he wrote propaganda articles urging the United States to join the fight against Germany and her allies. He declined a baronetcy in 1917 but accepted a knighthood, insisting he be styled Sir Caine Hall. After the Great War his popularity began to decline, as his style was considered old-fashioned. His return to fiction in 1921 with "The Master of Man: The Story of a Sin", another romance set in the Isle of Man, did not reach the level of popular success he was accustomed to and was poorly received by critics. He was derided as Victorian.
Many of his novels were made into movies during the silent era. "The Manxman" was turned into The Manxman (1929), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The last film made from a Hall Caine property was The Bondman (1929), also released in 1929. Such was the decline of his reputation and popularity that no sound film has ever been made from his works.
Caine is little remembered today, as his novels are considered badly written; the characterizations are fuzzy and one plot is much like the other. In 1931 G.K. Chesterton wrote his literary epitaph: "Bad story writing is not a crime. Mr. Hall Caine walks the streets openly, and cannot be put in prison for an anticlimax."
He died on August 31, 1931, at the age of 78, the same year that Chesterton dismissed him as a bad writer. He was the father of Sir Derwent Hall Caine, 1st Baronet (1891-1971), actor, publisher and Labour politician. - Actor
- Writer
Shaw Taylor was born on 26 October 1924 in Hackney, London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for More Than Robbery (1958), The Medusa Touch (1978) and The Silver Sword (1957). He was married to Ianette (Jane) Rose McKay. He died on 17 March 2015 in Totland, Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Robert Kingswell was born in 1937 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Screen One (1985), Cribb (1980) and Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987). He died on 21 September 2021 in Ventnor, Isle of Wight, UK.
- Maud Milton was born on 24 March 1859 in Gravesend, Kent, England, UK. She was an actress, known for A Message from Mars (1921), Damaged Goods (1914) and The Criminal (1915). She died on 19 November 1945 in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Billy Whittaker was born on 6 January 1911 in Streatham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Kipps (1960), The Dickie Henderson Show (1960) and Behave Yourself (1962). He was married to Mimi Law. He died on 15 November 1994 in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Geoffrey Reed was born on 14 November 1921 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Avengers (1961), Z Cars (1962) and The File of the Golden Goose (1969). He was married to Joan Francis. He died on 5 September 2008 in Bembridge, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Producer
- Editor
- Actor
Cliff Morgan was born on 7 April 1930 in Trebanog, Wales, UK. He was a producer and editor, known for Sportsview (1954), This Week (1956) and All Your Own (1952). He died on 29 August 2013 in Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dudley Rolph was born on 6 July 1907 in Isleworth, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Down Melody Lane (1943), Lily of Laguna (1938) and Dick Whittington and His Cat (1937). He died on 28 July 1973 in Seaview, Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Raymond Allen was born on 15 March 1940 in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973), Fast Forward (1984) and Dave Allen at Large (1971). He was married to Nancy Williams. He died on 2 October 2022 in Isle of Wight, England, UK.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jet Harris was born on 6 July 1939 in Kingsbury, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The End of the F***ing World (2017), Maroc 7 (1967) and The Match (1999). He was married to Carol DaCosta and Janet Hemingway. He died on 18 March 2011 in Bembridge, Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Writer
- Producer
Walter Greenwood was born on 17 December 1903 in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, UK. He was a writer and producer, known for Love on the Dole (1941), No Limit (1935) and Chance of a Lifetime (1950). He was married to Pearl Alice Osgood. He died on 13 September 1974 in Isle of Man, UK.- Writer
- Actor
Robert McCloskey was born on 15 September 1914 in Hamilton, Ohio, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Case of the Cosmic Comic, Hidden Pages (1954) and ABC Weekend Specials (1977). He was married to Margaret (Peggy) Durand. He died on 30 June 2003 in Deer Isle, Maine, USA.