Coronation Street is Britain's longest-running television soap opera, and the UK's consistently highest-rated show. It was created by Tony Warren and first broadcast on the ITV network on Friday December 9, 1960. The working title of the show was 'Florizel Street', but Agnes, a tea lady at Granada Television, Manchester, (where Coronation Street is produced) remarked that 'Florizel' sounded too much like a disinfectant.
Coronation Street (commonly nicknamed "Corrie", "Coro St" or "The Street") is set in a fictional street in the fictional industrial town of 'Weatherfield' which is based on Salford, now part of Greater Manchester. (A Coronation Street does exist in Salford). Its principal rival soap opera is BBC1's EastEnders.
The show's iconic theme music, a brass-band throwback to the sounds of the 1940s, was written by Eric Spear and has been only slightly modified since the show's beginning.
Coronation Street can be seen on ITV1 on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:30p.m. There is also an extra episode on Monday night at 8:30 p.m. Repeat episodes (and specials) can be seen on ITV2, with the omnibus usually shown on Sundays.
Granada and ITV executives, as well as the people in charge of distributing the show overseas, have called (and still call, as of 2006) Coronation Street the world's longest-running soap opera. The Guinness Book of Records recognises American soap opera Guiding Light as the world's longest-running soap opera, with over fifty years on television and an extra fifteen on radio.
Scheduling
The programme is currently shown in five episodes on four evenings a week on British television: on Mondays at 19.30 and 20.30 (with the current affairs programme Tonight with Trevor MacDonald in between the two episodes), and at 19.30 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when the BBC1 soap EastEnders goes out at 19.30, the "Corrie slot" on ITV is filled by regional programmes. EastEnders is broadcast four times a week on the BBC (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday).The soaps clashed in August 2001 however and EastEnders won the tussle, since then the two soaps have had no further clashes and ITV has agreed with the BBC that the shows will not clash again. In 1981, over 24 million people in the United Kingdom watched Ken Barlow marry Deirdre Langton — more than the number of people who (just two days later) saw The Prince of Wales marry Lady Diana Spencer. Since then, viewing figures have declined: Ken and Deirdre's remarriage in 2005 attracted 12.9 million viewers. 1 However, this still beat the 8.7 million who watched coverage of the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles earlier the same day. Partly due to the addition of new terrestrial and satellite channels and thus new rival programming, it still remains ITV's most-watched programme, with audiences in excess of 10 million. The show's omnibus is shown on ITV2. Classic Corrie episodes aired on Granada Plus until that channel was closed in November 2004 starting from April 1976, and had reached January 1994 by the time of the channel's closure.
The special Christmas Day episode remains as central to many viewers' Christmas day celebration as the Queen's Speech. The Christmas Day episode that aired in 1987 was one of the most-watched episodes of all time; in the episode, Hilda Ogden left the Street to be a char to her doctor in the country. Nearly 27 million viewers tuned in.
Other countries
Coronation Street is also shown in many countries worldwide, being the centre of the TV schedule of Ireland's independent television station, TV3 Ireland (part-owned by Granada), which simulcasts it with ITV.
In Canada, it moved from a daytime slot on CBC Television to primetime in 2004. In 2005, CBC briefly broadcast eight episodes a week in order to reduce the gap, and during a subsequent labour dispute, CBC broadcast nine (and soon ten) episodes each week. CBC has also, before and during the labour dispute, aired the "Coronation Street Specials". CBC Country Canada, a digital television service operated by CBC, broadcasts older episodes as Corrie Classics. The 2002 edition of the Guinness Book of Records recognizes the 1,144 episodes sold to CBC-owned Saskatoon, Saskatchewan TV station CBKST by Granada TV on 31 May 1971 to be the largest number of TV shows ever purchased in one transaction.
The programme is shown in Australia by the cable and satellite station UK.TV; the episodes are about 18 months behind the UK. This gap is comparable to that for the episodes currently showing in New Zealand on Television New Zealand's TV One. In New Zealand the show consistently rates in the top ten programmes nationally. Channel Nine Perth (Australia) ran episodes of the program from October 2005 until May 2006. The series was aired in the crucial slot of 5.30pm, before the evening news. Low ratings eventually led to the series being moved to earlier in the afternoon, until it was taken off completely on 8 May 2006.
A conspicuous holdout amongst English-language television markets is the United States. The Trio channel aired a few episodes of the serial as a part of special-interest programming project, but a concerted effort to air it in the American market has never materialized. A two-disc DVD compilation was released in America, however, provoking some optimism that a cable channel might be interested in showing the soap. In the early 1970s some episodes were shown on WGBH Channel 2, the public television station in Boston, Massachusetts; while in the early-1980s, USA Network aired Corrie on weekends, but only briefly.
American viewers in the parts of the northern U.S. can view CBC's Coronation Street telecasts. In particular, cable TV subscribers in places including Seattle, Buffalo, parts of Michigan and Plattsburgh are able to view the programme on CBC affiliates. Other Americans near the Canadian border can view the program via over-the-air reception from nearby CBC transmitters.
Dutch broadcaster VARA showed 428 sub-titled episodes on Netherlands TV between 1967 and 1975.
In 2006 the small network Vitaya started broadcasting Coronation Street for viewers in Belgium.
VHS and DVD releases
A 1982 two-part VHS release featured Len Fairclough, Elsie Tanner and Annie Walker reminising about 'Early Days' on the Street, with six full episodes from between 1960 and 1964 featured.
In 1985, to celebrate the serial's 25th anniversary, two video tapes were released, entitled "The Jubilee Years - Part One" and "The Jubilee Years - Part Two". These featured a previously unseen character Alice Hughes revisit the Street to recall upon characters like Ena and Elsie and catch up on 'current happenings'.
In 1987 'The Lives and Loves of Elsie Tanner' was released, with the characters of Mike Baldwin, Emily Bishop and Elsie's daughter, Linda, recalling Elsie's time on the Street. In this production it is hinted that Elsie has died, an event not referred to in the series proper. (Emily tells Linda that she was sorry to hear about her mother.) Pat Phoenix, who played Elsie, had died the previous year.
In 1990, as a celebration for the serial's 30th anniversary, ten video tapes were released, each featuring four episodes from a specific year, introduced by someone who was close to the stories that year. (For example, Betty Turpin's husband Cyril died in 1974, therefore Betty Driver hosted the 1974 tape). These tapes were distributed by Granada Video for viewing in the UK. Also, many VHS tapes were made in the 1990s for the British market, from mail-order company Time-Life Distribution, with each tape consisting of a compilation of footage featuring a particular character (for example, Gail, Rita, the Duckworths). They were made only in PAL format and not distributed in the United States or Canada.
In 2003, a special DVD set called This is Coronation Street was released on Region 1 DVD. On the two-disc set is the 40 Years on Coronation Street one-off special as well as the first five episodes of the programme. In 2004, a Coronation Street: Secrets DVD box set of televised specials was released in both the United Kingdom and Canada, but not in the United States, despite a Region 1 release in Canada.
Granada has also produced a number of straight-to-video spin-off productions, which were screened on television only after having been available in shops for some time, as an incentive to buyers. The first "exclusive" tape, released in 1995 featuring a storyline aboard the QE2, caused a legal controversy when it was later broadcast. Subsequent releases have included carefully worded statements concerning future television broadcasting.
Further releases have included a crossover with Emmerdale, and a United States-set special, Viva Las Vegas!, released on VHS in 1999 and screened on ITV the following year. Written by Russell T. Davies (Queer as Folk, The Second Coming, Doctor Who), the special featured a guest cameo from actor Neville Buswell, who was then living in America, briefly reprising his role as Ray Langton.
In 2005, Network DVD released a box set of 10 DVDs, each featuring eight episodes from each year of 1970s. A matching box set dedicated to the 1980s was released in October, and a 1960s box set is currently scheduled for release in July 2006.
Coronation Street (commonly nicknamed "Corrie", "Coro St" or "The Street") is set in a fictional street in the fictional industrial town of 'Weatherfield' which is based on Salford, now part of Greater Manchester. (A Coronation Street does exist in Salford). Its principal rival soap opera is BBC1's EastEnders.
The show's iconic theme music, a brass-band throwback to the sounds of the 1940s, was written by Eric Spear and has been only slightly modified since the show's beginning.
Coronation Street can be seen on ITV1 on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:30p.m. There is also an extra episode on Monday night at 8:30 p.m. Repeat episodes (and specials) can be seen on ITV2, with the omnibus usually shown on Sundays.
Granada and ITV executives, as well as the people in charge of distributing the show overseas, have called (and still call, as of 2006) Coronation Street the world's longest-running soap opera. The Guinness Book of Records recognises American soap opera Guiding Light as the world's longest-running soap opera, with over fifty years on television and an extra fifteen on radio.
Scheduling
The programme is currently shown in five episodes on four evenings a week on British television: on Mondays at 19.30 and 20.30 (with the current affairs programme Tonight with Trevor MacDonald in between the two episodes), and at 19.30 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when the BBC1 soap EastEnders goes out at 19.30, the "Corrie slot" on ITV is filled by regional programmes. EastEnders is broadcast four times a week on the BBC (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday).The soaps clashed in August 2001 however and EastEnders won the tussle, since then the two soaps have had no further clashes and ITV has agreed with the BBC that the shows will not clash again. In 1981, over 24 million people in the United Kingdom watched Ken Barlow marry Deirdre Langton — more than the number of people who (just two days later) saw The Prince of Wales marry Lady Diana Spencer. Since then, viewing figures have declined: Ken and Deirdre's remarriage in 2005 attracted 12.9 million viewers. 1 However, this still beat the 8.7 million who watched coverage of the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles earlier the same day. Partly due to the addition of new terrestrial and satellite channels and thus new rival programming, it still remains ITV's most-watched programme, with audiences in excess of 10 million. The show's omnibus is shown on ITV2. Classic Corrie episodes aired on Granada Plus until that channel was closed in November 2004 starting from April 1976, and had reached January 1994 by the time of the channel's closure.
The special Christmas Day episode remains as central to many viewers' Christmas day celebration as the Queen's Speech. The Christmas Day episode that aired in 1987 was one of the most-watched episodes of all time; in the episode, Hilda Ogden left the Street to be a char to her doctor in the country. Nearly 27 million viewers tuned in.
Other countries
Coronation Street is also shown in many countries worldwide, being the centre of the TV schedule of Ireland's independent television station, TV3 Ireland (part-owned by Granada), which simulcasts it with ITV.
In Canada, it moved from a daytime slot on CBC Television to primetime in 2004. In 2005, CBC briefly broadcast eight episodes a week in order to reduce the gap, and during a subsequent labour dispute, CBC broadcast nine (and soon ten) episodes each week. CBC has also, before and during the labour dispute, aired the "Coronation Street Specials". CBC Country Canada, a digital television service operated by CBC, broadcasts older episodes as Corrie Classics. The 2002 edition of the Guinness Book of Records recognizes the 1,144 episodes sold to CBC-owned Saskatoon, Saskatchewan TV station CBKST by Granada TV on 31 May 1971 to be the largest number of TV shows ever purchased in one transaction.
The programme is shown in Australia by the cable and satellite station UK.TV; the episodes are about 18 months behind the UK. This gap is comparable to that for the episodes currently showing in New Zealand on Television New Zealand's TV One. In New Zealand the show consistently rates in the top ten programmes nationally. Channel Nine Perth (Australia) ran episodes of the program from October 2005 until May 2006. The series was aired in the crucial slot of 5.30pm, before the evening news. Low ratings eventually led to the series being moved to earlier in the afternoon, until it was taken off completely on 8 May 2006.
A conspicuous holdout amongst English-language television markets is the United States. The Trio channel aired a few episodes of the serial as a part of special-interest programming project, but a concerted effort to air it in the American market has never materialized. A two-disc DVD compilation was released in America, however, provoking some optimism that a cable channel might be interested in showing the soap. In the early 1970s some episodes were shown on WGBH Channel 2, the public television station in Boston, Massachusetts; while in the early-1980s, USA Network aired Corrie on weekends, but only briefly.
American viewers in the parts of the northern U.S. can view CBC's Coronation Street telecasts. In particular, cable TV subscribers in places including Seattle, Buffalo, parts of Michigan and Plattsburgh are able to view the programme on CBC affiliates. Other Americans near the Canadian border can view the program via over-the-air reception from nearby CBC transmitters.
Dutch broadcaster VARA showed 428 sub-titled episodes on Netherlands TV between 1967 and 1975.
In 2006 the small network Vitaya started broadcasting Coronation Street for viewers in Belgium.
VHS and DVD releases
A 1982 two-part VHS release featured Len Fairclough, Elsie Tanner and Annie Walker reminising about 'Early Days' on the Street, with six full episodes from between 1960 and 1964 featured.
In 1985, to celebrate the serial's 25th anniversary, two video tapes were released, entitled "The Jubilee Years - Part One" and "The Jubilee Years - Part Two". These featured a previously unseen character Alice Hughes revisit the Street to recall upon characters like Ena and Elsie and catch up on 'current happenings'.
In 1987 'The Lives and Loves of Elsie Tanner' was released, with the characters of Mike Baldwin, Emily Bishop and Elsie's daughter, Linda, recalling Elsie's time on the Street. In this production it is hinted that Elsie has died, an event not referred to in the series proper. (Emily tells Linda that she was sorry to hear about her mother.) Pat Phoenix, who played Elsie, had died the previous year.
In 1990, as a celebration for the serial's 30th anniversary, ten video tapes were released, each featuring four episodes from a specific year, introduced by someone who was close to the stories that year. (For example, Betty Turpin's husband Cyril died in 1974, therefore Betty Driver hosted the 1974 tape). These tapes were distributed by Granada Video for viewing in the UK. Also, many VHS tapes were made in the 1990s for the British market, from mail-order company Time-Life Distribution, with each tape consisting of a compilation of footage featuring a particular character (for example, Gail, Rita, the Duckworths). They were made only in PAL format and not distributed in the United States or Canada.
In 2003, a special DVD set called This is Coronation Street was released on Region 1 DVD. On the two-disc set is the 40 Years on Coronation Street one-off special as well as the first five episodes of the programme. In 2004, a Coronation Street: Secrets DVD box set of televised specials was released in both the United Kingdom and Canada, but not in the United States, despite a Region 1 release in Canada.
Granada has also produced a number of straight-to-video spin-off productions, which were screened on television only after having been available in shops for some time, as an incentive to buyers. The first "exclusive" tape, released in 1995 featuring a storyline aboard the QE2, caused a legal controversy when it was later broadcast. Subsequent releases have included carefully worded statements concerning future television broadcasting.
Further releases have included a crossover with Emmerdale, and a United States-set special, Viva Las Vegas!, released on VHS in 1999 and screened on ITV the following year. Written by Russell T. Davies (Queer as Folk, The Second Coming, Doctor Who), the special featured a guest cameo from actor Neville Buswell, who was then living in America, briefly reprising his role as Ray Langton.
In 2005, Network DVD released a box set of 10 DVDs, each featuring eight episodes from each year of 1970s. A matching box set dedicated to the 1980s was released in October, and a 1960s box set is currently scheduled for release in July 2006.
by P. redeckis June 02, 2006
Born: 20 February 1967
Birthplace: Aberdeen, Washington
Died: 5 April 1994 (suicide)
Best Known As: Lead singer of the group Nirvana
Kurt Cobain was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Nirvana, whose melodic rock songs bridged punk with pop and sold millions of records in the early 1990s. The stripped-down, amped-up anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit" made it to the top of the charts in 1991 and helped "grunge" rock unseat Michael Jackson-style pop. (It also helped put Seattle on the musical map -- Cobain was from the sort-of nearby logging town of Aberdeen, Washington.) The band's albums included Bleach (1989), Nevermind (1991) and In Utero (1993). Nirvana was briefly the hottest band in the world, but Cobain's discomfort with fame, personal demons and battles with drugs quickly caused problems. His status as rock legend was cemented when he committed suicide in 1994, apparently by shooting himself in the mouth with a shotgun.
Cobain married rocker/actress Courtney Love in 1992... The couple had one daughter, Frances Bean, born in 1992... Some fans continue to believe that Cobain was murdered. Though a suicide note was found near Cobain's body, and though the coroner ruled that Cobain's wounds were self-inflicted, these fans feel the suicide was staged, and some also accuse Courtney Love of being involved. This theory has been widely publicized but has never been proved... A 1998 documentary film, Kurt and Courtney, examined their relationship and Cobain's death.
Birthplace: Aberdeen, Washington
Died: 5 April 1994 (suicide)
Best Known As: Lead singer of the group Nirvana
Kurt Cobain was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Nirvana, whose melodic rock songs bridged punk with pop and sold millions of records in the early 1990s. The stripped-down, amped-up anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit" made it to the top of the charts in 1991 and helped "grunge" rock unseat Michael Jackson-style pop. (It also helped put Seattle on the musical map -- Cobain was from the sort-of nearby logging town of Aberdeen, Washington.) The band's albums included Bleach (1989), Nevermind (1991) and In Utero (1993). Nirvana was briefly the hottest band in the world, but Cobain's discomfort with fame, personal demons and battles with drugs quickly caused problems. His status as rock legend was cemented when he committed suicide in 1994, apparently by shooting himself in the mouth with a shotgun.
Cobain married rocker/actress Courtney Love in 1992... The couple had one daughter, Frances Bean, born in 1992... Some fans continue to believe that Cobain was murdered. Though a suicide note was found near Cobain's body, and though the coroner ruled that Cobain's wounds were self-inflicted, these fans feel the suicide was staged, and some also accuse Courtney Love of being involved. This theory has been widely publicized but has never been proved... A 1998 documentary film, Kurt and Courtney, examined their relationship and Cobain's death.
by P. redeckis June 05, 2006
A Brilliant TV Series Cancelled by UPN in the USA in 2002, Network Ten in Australia bought rights to Haunted and broadcast the program in 2005. Starred Matthew Fox as Private Eye Frank Taylor.
by P. redeckis June 04, 2006
Martin Sacks born 16th October 1959, Sydney) is a well-known Australian actor, chiefly known for his 11-year role on Blue Heelers from 1994 to 2005.
Sacks first got into acting after a bit part in an episode of The Love Boat when it was filming in the Pacific. His first role came about in the series The Restless Years in the late 1970s, which started him on the television circuit in Australia. He emigrated to Hollywood in the 1980s, guest starring in series such as thirtysomething, but preferred Australia, and so he returned there after a few years. Also had guest appearances in;Love in Limbo, Encounters, Irresistible Force, Fields of Fire III, All the Way, Touch the Sun: Princess Kate, Slate, Wyn & Me, Tricheuse, La, Emoh Ruo, Stock Squad and The City's Edge.
Against his first instinct, Sacks took the role of Detective P.J. Hasham in the 1994 series Blue Heelers. The show rocketed him to fame, most notably his 7-year "will-they-or-won't-they" relationship with Constable Maggie Doyle (Lisa McCune) which ended with her death in a seventh-season episode.
During the time he starred on the show, Sacks married Kate and had two children, Jack and Ned and had leading roles in two major Australian miniseries: Do or Die and My Husband My Killer (both 2001).
After playing P.J. for eleven years, and being one of only three original cast still on the show in the twelfth season, Sacks left Blue Heelers to spend time with his growing family. His last episode aired on August 10, 2005. Sacks expressly asked the producers not to kill his character, so that he could return for a guest spot in the future. He did not get the chance, however: the show was cancelled in early 2006.
Sacks is also a director, having directed episodes of Blue Heelers, and a short film called Crushed.
Sacks first got into acting after a bit part in an episode of The Love Boat when it was filming in the Pacific. His first role came about in the series The Restless Years in the late 1970s, which started him on the television circuit in Australia. He emigrated to Hollywood in the 1980s, guest starring in series such as thirtysomething, but preferred Australia, and so he returned there after a few years. Also had guest appearances in;Love in Limbo, Encounters, Irresistible Force, Fields of Fire III, All the Way, Touch the Sun: Princess Kate, Slate, Wyn & Me, Tricheuse, La, Emoh Ruo, Stock Squad and The City's Edge.
Against his first instinct, Sacks took the role of Detective P.J. Hasham in the 1994 series Blue Heelers. The show rocketed him to fame, most notably his 7-year "will-they-or-won't-they" relationship with Constable Maggie Doyle (Lisa McCune) which ended with her death in a seventh-season episode.
During the time he starred on the show, Sacks married Kate and had two children, Jack and Ned and had leading roles in two major Australian miniseries: Do or Die and My Husband My Killer (both 2001).
After playing P.J. for eleven years, and being one of only three original cast still on the show in the twelfth season, Sacks left Blue Heelers to spend time with his growing family. His last episode aired on August 10, 2005. Sacks expressly asked the producers not to kill his character, so that he could return for a guest spot in the future. He did not get the chance, however: the show was cancelled in early 2006.
Sacks is also a director, having directed episodes of Blue Heelers, and a short film called Crushed.
Martin Sacks
Blue Heelers
Blue Heelers
by P. redeckis June 04, 2006
John Edward Thaw CBE (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was a British actor who achieved his first starring role in the military police television drama Redcap (1964 – 1966), and subsequently appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles.
Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Longsight, Manchester to parents John and Dorothy. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he was a contemporary of Tom Courtenay.
On leaving RADA, Thaw was awarded a contract with the Liverpool Playhouse. His first film role was a bit part in the 1962 adaptation of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner starring Tom Courtenay; and he also guested in an early episode of The Avengers.
Thaw will perhaps be best remembered for two roles: the hard-bitten Flying Squad detective Jack Regan in the television series (and two films) The Sweeney (1975 – 1978), which established him as a major star in the United Kingdom, and as the quietly-spoken, introspective and bitter detective Inspector Morse (1987 – 2001), with specials in 1995 – 1998 and 2000.
He won two BAFTA awards for Inspector Morse.
He subsequently played liberal barrister James Kavanagh in Kavanagh QC (1995 – 1999), with a special in 2001. Thaw also tried his hand at comedy with his own sitcom called Home to Roost (1985 – 1988).
His only screen projects not considered a popular success were the BBC series A Year in Provence and the LWT series Mitch, in which he played a journalist..
Thaw appeared in a number of films, including Cry Freedom, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Chaplin for director Richard Attenborough.
In 1964 Thaw married Sally Alexander, but they divorced four years later. He married actress Sheila Hancock in 1973 and remained with her until his death from cancer in 2002, aged 60.
Thaw had two daughters: Abigail Thaw from his first marriage, and Joanna Thaw from his second.
In her 2004 autobiography Sheila Hancock revealed the extent of Thaw's alcoholism that had started in the late 1970s and caused problems in their marriage and the gaps in Thaw's career in the early 1980s and later 1990s. Thaw was eventually able to get his alcoholism under control a year before his death.
Thaw was awarded the CBE in 1994.
Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Longsight, Manchester to parents John and Dorothy. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he was a contemporary of Tom Courtenay.
On leaving RADA, Thaw was awarded a contract with the Liverpool Playhouse. His first film role was a bit part in the 1962 adaptation of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner starring Tom Courtenay; and he also guested in an early episode of The Avengers.
Thaw will perhaps be best remembered for two roles: the hard-bitten Flying Squad detective Jack Regan in the television series (and two films) The Sweeney (1975 – 1978), which established him as a major star in the United Kingdom, and as the quietly-spoken, introspective and bitter detective Inspector Morse (1987 – 2001), with specials in 1995 – 1998 and 2000.
He won two BAFTA awards for Inspector Morse.
He subsequently played liberal barrister James Kavanagh in Kavanagh QC (1995 – 1999), with a special in 2001. Thaw also tried his hand at comedy with his own sitcom called Home to Roost (1985 – 1988).
His only screen projects not considered a popular success were the BBC series A Year in Provence and the LWT series Mitch, in which he played a journalist..
Thaw appeared in a number of films, including Cry Freedom, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Chaplin for director Richard Attenborough.
In 1964 Thaw married Sally Alexander, but they divorced four years later. He married actress Sheila Hancock in 1973 and remained with her until his death from cancer in 2002, aged 60.
Thaw had two daughters: Abigail Thaw from his first marriage, and Joanna Thaw from his second.
In her 2004 autobiography Sheila Hancock revealed the extent of Thaw's alcoholism that had started in the late 1970s and caused problems in their marriage and the gaps in Thaw's career in the early 1980s and later 1990s. Thaw was eventually able to get his alcoholism under control a year before his death.
Thaw was awarded the CBE in 1994.
by P. redeckis June 01, 2006
Lee Van Cleef (January 9, 1925 - December 16, 1989) was a movie actor, who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes made him an ideal "bad guy," though he was occasionally cast in a hero's role.
Born in Somerville, New Jersey, Van Cleef served in the United States Navy during World War II and became an actor after a brief career as an accountant. His first film was the classic Western High Noon, in which he played a villain. He also had a bit part as the sharpshooter in the climax of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms around the same time.
Van Cleef played one of Lee Marvin's villainous henchmen in the 1962 John Ford classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, with James Stewart and John Wayne.
He lost the tip of his middle finger on his right hand at some point: this can be seen in the close-up shots of his hand during the gunfights in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
He appeared in several Spaghetti westerns, including in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (both co-starring Clint Eastwood), as well as The Big Gundown and The Sabata Trilogy. Van Cleef also had a supporting role in John Carpenter's cult hit Escape from New York. He also appeared as a villainous swindler in the Bonanza episode, The Bloodline (December 31, 1960), along with 90 movie roles and 109 other television appearances over a 38-year span.
In the early 1980s he played John Peter McCallister, the "first Occidental to become a ninja" in NBC's The Master. The show was later featured on two episodes of the cult hit Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Lee Van Cleef died in Oxnard, California and was interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His gravestone says "Lee Van Cleef Jan 9, 1925 - Dec 16, 1989 'Best of the Bad' Love and Light".
Van Cleef was listed as one of the dedicatees at the end of Quentin Tarantino's 2004 film Kill Bill Vol. 2.
Born in Somerville, New Jersey, Van Cleef served in the United States Navy during World War II and became an actor after a brief career as an accountant. His first film was the classic Western High Noon, in which he played a villain. He also had a bit part as the sharpshooter in the climax of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms around the same time.
Van Cleef played one of Lee Marvin's villainous henchmen in the 1962 John Ford classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, with James Stewart and John Wayne.
He lost the tip of his middle finger on his right hand at some point: this can be seen in the close-up shots of his hand during the gunfights in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
He appeared in several Spaghetti westerns, including in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (both co-starring Clint Eastwood), as well as The Big Gundown and The Sabata Trilogy. Van Cleef also had a supporting role in John Carpenter's cult hit Escape from New York. He also appeared as a villainous swindler in the Bonanza episode, The Bloodline (December 31, 1960), along with 90 movie roles and 109 other television appearances over a 38-year span.
In the early 1980s he played John Peter McCallister, the "first Occidental to become a ninja" in NBC's The Master. The show was later featured on two episodes of the cult hit Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Lee Van Cleef died in Oxnard, California and was interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His gravestone says "Lee Van Cleef Jan 9, 1925 - Dec 16, 1989 'Best of the Bad' Love and Light".
Van Cleef was listed as one of the dedicatees at the end of Quentin Tarantino's 2004 film Kill Bill Vol. 2.
RIP Lee Van Cleef 1925-1989
by P. redeckis June 05, 2006
Jack Wild
Born: 30 September 1952
Birthplace: Manchester, England
Died: 1 March 2006 (cancer)
Best Known As: Jimmie on H.R. Pufnstuf
Jack Wild was still a teenager when he was nominated for an Academy Award for playing the Artful Dodger in the 1968 film of the Charles Dickens tale Oliver. Wild went on to star in the oddly fantastical Saturday-morning series H.R. Pufnstuf and the movie Pufnstuf (1970, with Mama Cass Elliot). Wild lost many years of his later career to alcoholism, but he sobered up and returned to acting in the 1990s. In 2002 he had his larynx (voice box) and tongue surgically removed after being diagnosed with cancer of the mouth; the operation left him unable to speak.
Wild had a small role as one of Robin Hood's merry men in the 1991 Kevin Costner movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves... H.R. Pufnstuf was created by Sid and Marty Krofft, who also produced the Saturday-morning shows Land of the Lost and Lidsville... In a 2005 interview with the BBC, Wild said his cancer was caused by his previous habits: "What I learned very quickly was that my lifestyle had made me a walking time bomb. I was a heavy smoker and an even heavier drinker and apparently together they are a deadly mixture."
Born: 30 September 1952
Birthplace: Manchester, England
Died: 1 March 2006 (cancer)
Best Known As: Jimmie on H.R. Pufnstuf
Jack Wild was still a teenager when he was nominated for an Academy Award for playing the Artful Dodger in the 1968 film of the Charles Dickens tale Oliver. Wild went on to star in the oddly fantastical Saturday-morning series H.R. Pufnstuf and the movie Pufnstuf (1970, with Mama Cass Elliot). Wild lost many years of his later career to alcoholism, but he sobered up and returned to acting in the 1990s. In 2002 he had his larynx (voice box) and tongue surgically removed after being diagnosed with cancer of the mouth; the operation left him unable to speak.
Wild had a small role as one of Robin Hood's merry men in the 1991 Kevin Costner movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves... H.R. Pufnstuf was created by Sid and Marty Krofft, who also produced the Saturday-morning shows Land of the Lost and Lidsville... In a 2005 interview with the BBC, Wild said his cancer was caused by his previous habits: "What I learned very quickly was that my lifestyle had made me a walking time bomb. I was a heavy smoker and an even heavier drinker and apparently together they are a deadly mixture."
Rest In Peace Jack Wild
by P. redeckis June 05, 2006