British Actors Archives - Page 65 of 128

Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren. TCM Overview

Helen Mirren is a stunning actress whose cinema career was sparodic until she reached middle age and suddenly major roles came her way which brought her from cult favourtie into the movie mainstream. She was born in Chiswick, Middlesex in 1945. Her first film role was in “Age of Consent” made in Australia with James Mason in 1969. In 1980 she delivered a wonderful performance in the British gangster thriller “The Long Good Friday” as the mistress of Bob Hoskins. In 2006 she won an Oscar for her performance in the title role in “The Queen”. In 2010 she played Ida in the remake of “Brighton Rock”. She is married to film director Taylor Hackford.

TCM overview:

From the age of 13, when she played Caliban in a school production of “The Tempest,” Helen Mirren knew she wanted to become an actress. Despite her working-class upbringing and her less-than-supportive parents, Mirren emerged to become one of the most celebrated and decorated British actress of her time. With a combination of poise, confidence, intelligence and undeniable sex appeal, Mirren became famous for her challenging performances on stage and screen that often included removing her clothes, a public exhibition that sometimes stood in the way of her work. Nonetheless, Mirren turned in exquisite performances onstage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, before making a name in film and on television. But true stardom eluded her until she landed what became her signature role, playing a police inspector battling sexism and a troubled personal life in “Prime Suspect” (PBS, 1990), a role she returned to with frequency throughout the years. Mirren then reached the top of her game in 2006 when she won a slew of awardsw – including an Oscar – for her complex portrayal of Elizabeth II in “The Queen” (2006). Not only did Mirren affirm her status as a high-caliber actress, but she proudly relished the renewed attention to her allure, which aroused a new generation of fans accustomed to actresses less than half her age.

Born Helen Lydia Mironoff on July 26, 1946 in Chiswick, England, Mirren was raised in Ilford and Southend-on-Sea by her Russian émigré father, Peter, who played the viola with the London Philharmonic prior to World War II and later became a civil servant with the Ministry of Transport, and her mother, Kathleen, a housewife and butcher’s daughter. Three generations before Mirren, the Mironoff family were well-heeled Russian aristocrats with strong ties to industry and the military. In fact, her paternal grandfather, Pytor, was a nobleman, diplomat and arms dealer, while his mother was a countess whose family was mentioned in Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Mirren, on the other hand, grew up relatively poor with parents who were Communists before the war and despised the British class system for their entire lives. She also had little exposure to the outside world because the family had no television and made no trips to the movies. When she was nine, her father changed the family name, while Mirren and her younger sister, Katherine attended St. Bernard’s Convent, a strict environment that was run by nuns who prohibited short skirts, sex education and contact with boys.

Though her freedom was limited, Mirren received a strong education and developed a deep-rooted independence that carried her well throughout life. After graduating, Mirren harbored ambitions to become an actress, but her mother scoffed at the idea. Instead, Mirren joined her sister on scholarship at a teacher’s training school in London. But on the sly, she auditioned for and earned a spot with the National Youth Theatre. When she was 18, Mirren was cast as the famed Egyptian queen in William Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” at London’s Old Vic Theatre. By the time she was 20, she was a company member at the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she excelled in her numerous appearances in the Bard’s cannon. Though petite and blonde, Mirren exuded confidence and a sultry appeal, leading one journalist to label her as “The Sex Queen of Stratford” for her charged portrayals and her penchant for doffing her clothes, as she did as Cressida in “Troilus and Cressida” (1968) and in her first major film role, “Age of Consent” (1969).

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Despite her propensity for baring all on stage and screen, Mirren did carry a degree of embarrassment, which may have been the impetus for seeking physical liberation. In 1972, Mirren took leave from the RSC to do an international tour with Peter Brook’s experimental theatre company, with whom she traveled the world and even spent three months performing in African villages. Following a turn as a beautiful bohemian in “O Lucky Man!” (1973), starring Malcolm McDowell, she delivered a searing performance as Lady Macbeth in a 1974 Royal Shakespeare Company production of the Bard’s masterwork. She had a breakout performance as the drunken Maggie Frisby in David Hare’s musical play, “Teeth ‘n’ Smiles” (1975), which was staged at London’s famed Royal Court Theatre. Also that year, she gave a much ballyhooed performance as Nina in a revival of Anton Chekov’s “The Seagull,” a role that allowed her to combine her intelligence with her sensuality, which eventually came to be her hallmark. She soon followed with two more acclaimed Shakespeare performances, playing Queen Margaret in “Henry VI” (1977) and Isabella in “Measure for Measure” (1979).

After several years absent, Mirren returned to the big screen for what became perhaps her most notorious film, “Caligula” (1979), a lavish, but abysmal combination of horror and porn disguised as an historical epic that was most famous for the high-profile financing from Penthouse founder Bob Guccione. Despite the graphic violence and sexual content, Mirren managed to bring a measure of grace to her part as Caesonia, the most promiscuous woman in Rome. Meanwhile, Mirren came into her own as a film actress, beginning with her strong turn as the lover of a gangster (Bob Hoskins) in “The Long Good Friday” (1979). She lent an appropriately seductive air to the evil Morgana in “Excalibur” (1981), John Boorman’s revisionist take on the Arthurian legend, then returned to her stage roots for a series of appearances in televised Shakespeare plays. Back on the stage, she gave a bravura performance as Moll Cutpurse in “The Roaring Girl” (1983), which was staged at both the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Barbican Theatre in London.

Mirren hit new heights with the politically-themed thriller, “Cal” (1984), turning in a memorable performance as the widow of a British soldier who unwittingly falls in love with the Irishman (John Lynch) responsible for his death. Although she earned the Cannes Film Festival prize as the year’s best actress, she failed to garner the same attention when the film was later released in the United States. She had the opportunity to draw upon her heritage as a Russian astronaut in “2010” (1984), then as Mikhail Baryshnikov’s lover in “White Nights” (1985) – the latter of which introduced Mirren to director Taylor Hackford, who became her off-screen companion and soon after, her husband. Mirren was formidable as the wife who follows her husband to Central America in Peter Weir’s “The Mosquito Coast” (1986), but few saw the film during its theatrical release, despite a headlining Harrison Ford. Continuing to impress on the big screen, she was excellent as a painter who catches the attention of an unscrupulous spy (Ben Kingsley) in “Pascali’s Island” (1988), then rounded out the decade with a fine turn as the long-suffering spouse of an abusive criminal (Michael Gambon) in “The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover” (1989).

In 1990, Mirren discovered her signature role when she was cast as Detective Inspector Jane Tennison in the superb television movie, “Prime Suspect.” Tennison was an inspired creation: a middle-aged detective trying and mostly succeeding to make it in a man’s world while balancing her sometimes turbulent personal life. The first series proved so popular that Tennison was revived for several more installments over the years. Mirren earned three consecutive BAFTA Awards (1991-93) and several Emmy nominations for the role, including a win in 1996 for Outstanding Lead Actress. During the run of “Prime Suspect,” Mirren found herself in high demand, leading to a role as the loyal queen to the increasingly irascible monarch (Nigel Hawthorne) in the film “The Madness of King George” (1994). Her stellar performance netted her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination in 1994, followed by a win for Best Actress at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. She remained regal for “Royal Deceit/Prince of Jutland” (1994), a drama which purported to tell the story about the true events that inspired Shakespeare’s greatest work, “Hamlet.”

Moving into the production side, Mirren served as an associate producer on “Some Mother’s Sons” (1996), in which she starred as the parent of a man arrested and imprisoned for alleged ties to the IRA. She did the same double duty as associate producer and star on the television drama “Painted Lady” (PBS, 1997), playing a faded rock singer who becomes an amateur sleuth. Rounding out the century, Mirren earned a second Emmy playing the titular philosopher “The Passion of Ayn Rand” (Showtime, 1999) and brought humanity to the titular harridan educator in “Teaching Mrs. Tingle” (1999). Meanwhile, on the big screen, she played a dotty horticulturist in the genial comedy “Greenfingers” (2000), before making her directing debut with “Happy Birthday” (2001), a segment of the Showtime “Directed By” series, “On the Edge.” Mirren had two of her best screen roles in 2001, playing the officious housekeeper of an English estate in Robert Altman’s excellent upstairs-downstairs drama, “Gosford Park,” then as the widow who refuses to accompany her deceased husband’s friends as they go to spread his ashes in “Last Orders.” The former brought the actress her second Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress.

Mirren next starred in “Georgetown” (CBS, 2002), a well-regarded pilot in which she played a shrewd Washington hostess and newspaper mogul, described as a cross between publisher Katharine Graham and party hostess Pamela Harriman. Unfortunately, the series failed to make the cut for the fall season. Meanwhile, she enjoyed two standout turns in a pair of particularly high-quality television productions, “Door to Door” (2002), playing the mother of the mentally challenged salesman (William H. Macy), and “The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone” (2003), playing the failing star whose life is upended by the death of her husband while vacationing in Italy in the telepic inspired by Tennessee Williams’ novella. The projects earned her a pair of 2003 Emmy nominations – for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Lead Actress, respectively – as well as back-to-back Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe nominations as Best Actress in 2003 and 2004. Also in 2003, Mirren had the distinction of being named a Dame of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June of that year.

Back on the big screen, Mirren led the ensemble cast of the sprightly British comedy “Calendar Girls” (2003), inspired by the true story of the Rylstone Women’s Institute in North Yorkshire, a group of everyday women who decided to pose nude for their annual calendar to raise funds for Leukemia research, inspiring sales that outdid even the sexiest of celebrity calendars. Even though she was well into her fifties, Mirren managed to drop many jaws when she once again doffed her clothes, proving that sexiness was not exclusive to young women. “[F]or a long time it was very hard for people to see past my physical outward appearance. I was a blond girl with big tits. I hated that image,” she once said to The New Yorker. Meanwhile, her strong and sassy performance earned Mirren a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Mirren next appeared in a small, but scene-stealing role as Dominique, queenly head of a Manhattan modeling agency where Kate Hudson works in “Raising Helen” (2004).

All throughout the 1990s, Mirren continued to divide her time between the stage and screen, making her Broadway debut in “A Month in the Country” (1995), then returning to the London theater in “Collected Stories” (1999) and “Orpheus Descending” (2000). She returned to Broadway opposite Ian McKellen in “Dance of Death” (2001) and received a nomination for a Tony award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role the following year. She was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2001 for Best Actress for “Orpheus Descending” at the Donmar Warehouse, while her London performance in 2003-04 as the murderous Christine Mannon in “Mourning Becomes Electra” earned a nomination for another Olivier. She returned to the big screen in “The Clearing” (2004), playing the victimized wife of a wealthy executive (Robert Redford) kidnapped by a disgruntled employee (Willem Dafoe), then voiced the supercomputer Deep Thought in the long-awaited, but deeply unsatisfying adaptation of Douglas Adams’ comic sci-fi adventure, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” (2005).

After a misstep as an assassin in the dismal noir thriller “Shadowboxer” (2005), Mirren once again displayed her extraordinary poise and talent in “The Queen” (2006), movingly portraying Queen Elizabeth II in a quiet, guarded performance the earned the actress serious Oscar buzz after its release. Set during the crisis that gripped England after the untimely death of Princess Diana, “The Queen” pits Elizabeth against the newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen), who rightly believes that the Queen’s isolation and refusal to publicly mourn the People’s Princess might threaten to shake up the monarchy, despite it being technically proper for the Royal Family to mourn in private. Ultimately torn between responsibility and emotion; custom and action, the Queen battles Blair both publicly and privately, along the way realizing that she has lost touch with her subjects. Mirren earned critical adulation and recognition across the board for her performance in “The Queen,” winning awards from several film and critic associations and a Golden Globe for Best Actress. But her greatest triumph was undoubtedly her first Academy Award, which she earned in 2007 at the age of 60.

In an ironic turn, Mirren next won a Golden Globe for her performance in “Elizabeth I” (HBO, 2006), a widely honored miniseries that depicted the public and personal life of the Virgin Queen during the second half of her rule, focusing on how she coped in a male-dominated world. Meanwhile, Mirren earned a third Golden Globe nomination and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for “Prime Suspect: The Final Act” (PBS, 2006). The seventh installment of the long-running series found a tired Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison on the verge of retirement and having to contend with the grisly murder of a pregnant 14-year-old girl. After a co-starring role as the mother of treasure hunter Ben Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) in “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets” (2007), Mirren released a memoir, In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures, then co-starred in the children’s fantasy, “Inkheart” (2009). Mirren next essayed a tough newspaper editor opposite Russell Crowe in the political thriller “State of Play” (2009) and continued to tackle challenging roles with her portrayal of Sofya Tolstoy, wife of author Leo Tolstoy, in the German-produced biopic, “The Last Station” (2009), for which she would also be nominated for a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild award, an Independent Spirit Award and an Oscar for Best Actress.

The same year found Mirren essaying a feminized Prospera in Julie Taymor’s screen production of “The Tempest” (2009), which the tireless actress followed by taking first billing in “The Debt” (2010), a thriller about Israeli agents tracking down a notorious Nazi war criminal. Sticking within the espionage genre, Mirren turned action hero alongside Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich for “RED” (2010), which featured the four stars as a group of former government assassins fighting back against the CIA after they are targeted for elimination. After hosting a 2011 episode of “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 1975- ), Mirren had a bit of a misstep when she played the nanny of overgrown man-child Arthur Bach (Russell Brand) in the critically derided remake of “Arthur” (2011). Following a starring role in the Hungarian-made drama “The Door” (2011), Mirren portrayed Alma Reville to Anthony Hopkins’ Alfred Hitchcock in the behind-the-scenes showbiz biopic, “Hitchcock” (2012), which delved into the couple’s complex relationship during the Master’s tumultuous attempt to make “Psycho” (1960). She received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her work in the film. The above TCM overview can be viewed online here.

Bob Hope was one of the best loved comedians on film. He was born in London in 1903. His family moved to the U.S. when he was an infant. He bagn his long career on film in 1934 in the short “Going Spanish”. Throught his career he starred in such movies as “The Big Broadcast of 1938”, “The Cat and the Canary”, “My Favourite Blonde” in 1941, “The Princess and the Pirate” and “The Road to Hong Kong”. His leading ladies included Madeleine Carroll, Lucille Ball, Audrey Dalton, Hedy Lamarr and Lana Turner. He died in 2003 at the age of 100.

TCM Overview:

Over the course of a career that spanned more than 60 years, actor-comedian- humanitarian-noted golf enthusiast, Bob Hope came to be regarded as not only a legendary entertainer, but a veritable American institution. Getting his start on the vaudeville circuit of the late-1920s, he eventually broke through on the Broadway stage in such productions as 1933’s “Roberta” and 1936’s “Red, Hot and Blue.” He began hosting his own long-running radio program on NBC the following year and by 1938 had made the jump to Hollywood. Although he would eventually appear in more than 50 feature films, the funnyman with the ski-slope nose would be most remembered for his wise-cracking antics alongside his perfect foil Bing Crosby and their sarong-clad lust object Dorothy Lamour in “Road to Singapore” (1940) and the successful franchise it spawned. In addition to the seven highly popular “Road to ” movies, Hope also proved to be a top box office draw as a solo act in comedies like “The Princess and the Pirate” (1944) and “The Paleface” (1948). Beginning in the early-1940s and continuing well into the 1990s, Hope – ever-present golf club in hand – was a welcome comic relief for troops stationed abroad in times of war and peace as he tirelessly toured with the USO during World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars and beyond. By the time the venerable entertainer reached his 100th year, generations of fans could only express their gratitude with a refrain from Hope’s most popular tune, “Thanks for the Memories.”

Born Leslie Townes Hope on May 29, 1903 in Etham, London, U.K., he was the fifth of seven sons born to William Henry Hope, an English stonemason, and Avis Townes, an aspiring concert vocalist of Welsh descent. William and Avis brought their young family to the U.S. in 1907, soon settling in Cleveland, OH. Throughout his youth, Hope took on a wide variety of odd jobs to bring in extra money – everything from running deliveries and selling newspapers, to hustling pool. From an early age, however, it was clear that young Leslie had ambitions as an entertainer. He took dance lessons after school, often picking up an added bit of income as a street performer near Cleveland’s Luna Park. In his teens, Hope even dabbled in professional boxing – going by the moniker of “Packy East” – prior to starting a vaudeville dance team at age 18 with his girlfriend. A later act with friend Lloyd Durbin had Hope opening for future silent film star Fatty Arbuckle at the Bandbox Theater. One year later, he and his latest partner, George Byrne, toured the East Coast extensively, playing several major venues in New York. Hope and Byrne made their Broadway debut with bit parts in the 1927 musical comedy “Sidewalks of New York,” although they did stay with the production long. On the advice of their agent, the comedy duo took some time to retool their act with a show in Pennsylvania. When a last-minute request put Hope on stage as the show’s emcee, he suddenly discovered he was funnier on his own. By 1929, Hope had adopted the unassuming first name of Bob – he felt it had a certain “Hi’ya fellas!” quality to it – and become a solo act.

Hope returned to Broadway with another small role in the musical, “Ballyhoo of 1932” and again in the 1933 musical comedy “Roberta,” which brought him recognition as the smart-aleck crooner, Huckleberry Haines. He made his film debut with the educational short “Going Spanish” (1934) and continued with small efforts like “Paree, Paree” (1934) for the New York based studio, Vitaphone. More work on Broadway came his way with 1934’s “Say When” and a year later, “Ziegfeld Follies of 1936.” Most importantly for Hope’s career, however, was the Cole Porter musical comedy “Red, Hot and Blue” with Ethel Merman and Jimmy Durante in 1936. With his popularity on the rise, the showman started his lengthy career in radio in 1937 as the star of “The Woodbury Soap Hour” for NBC then signed on for “The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope” the following year. Taking on several new sponsors and names throughout the coming years, Hope remained on the airwaves continuously for nearly two decades. Not surprisingly, word of his performance in “Red, Hot and Blue” attracted the notice of Hollywood, and by 1938 Hope had made the move west to Tinseltown.

Impressed by Hope’s crackerjack comic timing, Paramount Pictures soon signed him up for his first starring role in a major feature film, “The Big Broadcast of 1938” (1938), opposite W.C. Fields, Martha Raye and future co-star, Dorothy Lamour. It was in this film that Hope first sang the nostalgic ballad “Thanks for the Memories” for the first time – a song that would become closely associated with the comedian throughout the remainder of his showbiz life. Hope dove into his nascent movie career with his usual gusto, appearing in no fewer than six films over the next two years, among them the lively comedy-mystery “The Cat and the Canary” (1939), co-starring Paulette Goddard. His next project unexpectedly altered the trajectory of Hope’s film career in ways he never could have imagined. Paired with wildly popular crooner Bing Crosby, he starred in the fast-paced comic travelogue, “Road to Singapore” (1940). Originally meant as a vehicle for actors Fred MacMurray and Jack Oakie, it was then offered to the husband and wife team of George Burns and Gracie Allen. When they also declined, the studio gave it to Hope and Crosby with popular exotic actress Lamour brought in to the mix for sex appeal. The duo’s combination of slapstick and witty banter as couple of conmen scheming for a quick buck and Lamour’s affections was an instant hit with audiences and officially made Hope a Hollywood movie star.

Hope regularly made Hollywood’s list of Top Ten box office stars throughout the ’40s and early ’50s, sometimes coming in second only to the ever-popular Crosby. Hope’s onscreen image quickly became that of the comical, quipping coward caught in adventurous situations that – following a series of well-crafted hijinks – lead to him making good and winning the hand of his leading lady. In this vein, he reteamed with Goddard for the comedy hit “The Ghost Breakers” (1940), a film said to have helped inspire Walt Disney in the creation of his Haunted Mansion theme park attraction. Hope, Crosby and Lamour soon reunited for “Road to Zanzibar” (1941), the success of which all but assured the string of “Road to ” movies that followed. Hope continued with a winning mix of solo films and “Road” pictures with such efforts as “My Favorite Blonde” (1942), “Road to Morocco” (1942), “The Princess and the Pirate” (1944), “Road to Utopia” (1945), “My Favorite Brunette” (1947) and “The Paleface” (1948). In the latter film, Hope performed the Oscar-winning song “Buttons and Bows” – his biggest hit recording.

Hope first appeared on television in 1947 when he inaugurated the opening of the first West Coast television station, KTLA Los Angeles, and had appeared on Ed Sullivan’s “Toast of the Town” (CBS, 1948-1971) – later known as “The Ed Sullivan Show” – in 1949. But it was not until he hosted the musical-variety program “The Star Spangled Revue” (NBC, 1950) that he truly appreciated the medium and the visibility it could afford him. Though never committing to a regular weekly show, Hope was seen frequently as a guest host on the spin-off program “All Star Review” (NBC, 1950-54) and the similarly-themed “The Colgate Comedy Hour” (NBC, 1950-55). He made a memorable guest star appearance on the most popular sitcom of the day, “I Love Lucy” (CBS, 1951-57) and took a seat opposite the Great Carson many times on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” (NBC, 1962-1992). Ultimately, Hope became best known on television for his many “Bob Hope Specials” which found him hamming it up with celebrity guests like Frank Sinatra and Brooke Shields and performing duets with popular female vocalists like Olivia-Newton John. His Christmas specials from 1970 and 1971, filmed in Vietnam in front of U.S. troops, drew some of the highest ratings of the dozens of “Bob Hope Specials” the beloved comedian made for NBC over more than three decades.

In 1941, Hope began his lifelong commitment to entertaining U.S. troops when he performed for soldiers stationed at California’s March Field. By 1943, he was traveling with a USO troupe, performing for Allied soldiers throughout war zones in Europe and the South Pacific, often risking his life in the process. In 1948, he entertained military personnel stationed in Berlin for the first time. It was a yearly tradition he continued for nearly three more decades. Hope’s dedication to the troops continued through the wars in Korea and Vietnam, even extending to the Gulf War more than 40 years later. Dubbed “America’s No. 1 Soldier in Greasepaint” by the media, Hope held personal relationships with every Commander in Chief from FDR to Bill Clinton, had both a Navy ship and Air Force plane named after him, and was later named the first Honorary Veteran in a act of Congress. An avid golfer since being introduced to the sport in the 1930s, Hope’s ever-present golf club – carried like a walking stick – became the iconic image of all of his USO performances.

The mainstay of Hope’s career, however, remained the motion picture. Still one of Hollywood’s more dependable box office draws, he impersonated the titular lothario to hilarious effect in “Casanova’s Big Night” (1954) then displayed his considerable talent as a dancer opposite revered Hollywood hoofer James Cagney in the vaudevillian biopic “The Seven Little Foys” (1955). While Hope enjoyed a reputation among his contemporaries as one of the more congenial stars, his outsized personality reportedly clashed with the notoriously acerbic Katharine Hepburn – his co-star in the Cold War comedy, “The Iron Petticoat” (1956). Accused by screenwriter Ben Hecht of reducing Hepburn’s role to increase the size of his own, Hope endured a rare commercial failure with “Petticoat.” A far more amiable relationship existed on the set of his international comedy alongside European beauty Anita Ekberg and cherished French comedian Fernandel in “Paris Holiday” (1958). He appeared opposite his friend Lucille Ball in the critically-acclaimed “The Facts of Life” (1960), a surprisingly sardonic romantic-comedy dealing with infidelity.

Although 10 years had passed since their last outing, Hope and Crosby hit the trail once again for “The Road to Hong Kong” (1962). Infused with bits of James Bond-esque intrigue, it featured young starlet Joan Collins in a role that would have traditionally gone to Dorothy Lamour, although Lamour was seen briefly in a cameo, reportedly at Hope’s insistence. Times and tastes had changed, however, and the latest – also the last – Hope-Crosby “Road” movie failed to generate much attention with filmgoers. The trend continued, with Hope’s solo offerings “Call Me Bwana” (1963), “I’ll Take Sweden” (1965) and “Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!” (1966) being examples of lesser late-career efforts. Hope’s final starring role came with “Cancel My Reservation” (1972), a comedy-mystery co-starring Eva Marie Saint. And although “The Road to the Fountain of Youth,” was in the planning stages at the time, Crosby’s sudden death in 1977 put a definitive end to the long-running franchise. No one was more devastated than Hope, who grieved for his onscreen partner for years. Hope hosted the Academy Awards ceremony for one last time the following year – a duty he had performed 12 times since 1940. His not-so-subtle feigned lust for a statuette of his own became a running gag during these stints, with Hope famously quipping during the 1968 broadcast, “Welcome to the Academy Awards, or, as it’s known in my house, Passover.” Although never nominated specifically for his acting work, Hope was presented with several honorary Oscars over the years, including a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

At the spry age of 82 and after appearing in more than 50 feature films, Hope delivered one more cameo in, “Spies Like Us” (1985), a globe-trotting comedy starring Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd that owed much to Hope and Crosby’s “Road” movies. Following the airing of his final television special, “Bob Hope . . . Laughing with the Presidents” (NBC, 1996), he formally and amicably ended his association with NBC, one that had lasted for nearly 50 years, declaring himself “a free agent” with his usual optimistic good humor. In his twilight years, Hope continued to enjoy his greatest passion outside of longtime wife Dolores Hope – the game of golf. One of the country’s biggest proponents of the sport – which he waxed poetic about in Confessions of a Hooker: My lifelong Love Affair with Golf, just one of his 16 published books – the Bob Hope Desert Classic, held yearly in Palm Springs, became a staple on the Pro Am circuit.

Hope’s interest in sports, however, was not limited to golf. For a time he held a portion of ownership in both the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers NFL franchises. Never forgetting his hometown, he was also a co-owner of his beloved professional baseball team, the Cleveland Indians. Long considered one of Hollywood’s richest performers, his investments and holdings in oil, real estate and dozens of other business ventures led to an estimated net worth of as much as $500 million. Wealthy as he was, Hope was also revered as one of entertainment’s greatest philanthropists, raising millions of dollars for charities via the Desert Classic and acting as honorary chairman for the non-profit group, Fight for Sight. Cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most honored entertainer of all time, the more than 2,000 accolades Hope received during his lifetime included a Kennedy Center Award, the Medal of Merit, a Congressional Medal, and the Distinguished Public Service Medal of the U.S. Department of Defense, the highest award the military can bestow upon a civilian. The U.K.-born Hope was knighted by the Queen of England in 1998 and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory by Pope John Paul II that same year. The fact that Hope was given four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film, television, radio and theater came as no surprise.

With his eyesight having deteriorated to the point that he could no longer read cue cards during a performance, Hope made few public appearances after the turn of the century. In 2000, he was admitted to the hospital for gastrointestinal bleeding and again in 2001 to recuperate from pneumonia. But despite two separate prematurely released obituaries in the years just preceding it, Hope celebrated his 100th birthday in May 2003. Although too frail to make an appearance for a public celebration, the comedian was reportedly overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection that came in from all corners of the globe. Two months later, Hope died quietly from complications due to pneumonia at his home in Toluca Lake, CA on the evening of July 23, 2003. With his wife of nearly 70 years by his side, Hope’s death brought to a close one of the town’s happiest marriages, but more importantly, one of Hollywood’s greatest success stories, with the comic having excelled in every genre and been the object of affection generation after generation.

By Bryce P. Coleman

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

Flora Montgomery was born in 1974 in Northern Ireland. She made her television debut in 1995 in an episode of “The Governor”. Other television appearances were on “Heat of the Sun”, “Mosley” and “Lewis”. Films include “When Brendan Met Rrudy” in 2000 and “Goldfish Memory” in 2003.

IMDB entry:

Theatre has been as prevalent in Flora’s career as film and television. She won the Irish Times Best Actress Award for her role as the lead in Strindberg’s Miss Julie. Other ‘classic’ roles include Yelena in Chekov’s Uncle Vanya, Ophelia in Hamlet and Katherina in Taming of The Shrew. She has worked with many contemporary playwrights such as Neil LaBute who directed her in his monologue ‘Bash’. She performed in the world premier of ‘The Reckoning’ a two-hander with Jonathan Pryce, and also in the award winning Dinner, both in the West End. Flora has also recorded numerous radio plays, most recently the Oscar winner Frederic Raphael’s Glittering Prizes. Flora grew up by the shores of Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. She was educated in Belfast and London, and trained in Dublin.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: self

2003: Named as one of European films’ Shooting Stars by European Film Promotion. She is a descendant of Scottish laird Sir Hugh Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery, known as one of the “founding fathers” of the Ulster-Scots. Daughter of William Howard Clive Montgomery of Rosemount House and of Greyabbey, Newtownards, Ards, County Down, Ulster, and second wife (m. 4 Dec 1965) Daphne Bridgeman (b. 9 Apr 1940) of the Viscounts Bridgeman and of the Earls of Bradford, Viscounts Newport, Barons Bradford and Bridgeman Baronets, of Great Lever, who is a descendant of Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII. Her older brother and sisters are Hugh Geoffrey Clive Montgomery (b. 27 Sep 1966, married at Dunkeld Cathedral, Dunkeld, Perthshire, 5 Sep 2009 to Laura Campbell), Rose Evelyn Montgomery (b. 26 May 1968) and Frances Mary Montgomery (b. 29 May 1970, married 3 Sep 1994 to Mark Henry Leo Adams, b. 8 May 1966).

The above IMDB entry can also be accessed online here.

Roger Allam was born in 1953 in London. His film debut was in “Wilt” in 1990. He was particulasrily effective in “The Wind that Shakes the Barley”. Currently to be seen in the popular detective series “Endeavour”.

“Guardian” interview by Laura Barnett in 2014:

What first drew you to acting?
I went to this very odd school, Christ’s Hospital – like Eton for poor boys. I remember seeing a school production of The Birthday Party and finding its environment strangely menacing and hostile, rather like school. Then I saw Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the Old Vic, and found it adult and thrilling. That’s what really caught me.

What was your big breakthrough?
I don’t think I’ve ever had one.

You’ve had parts in musicals, TV and film. Should an actor always be open to new things?
Yes. There’s a particularly British way of going about things that I rather like, which is very different to the American way. It comes out of the amateur rep tradition of actors thinking: “Well, I’m only 26, but I’ll put on a beard and have a go at King Lear.”

Which of your roles has been most challenging?
Macbeth. I’ve done it twice: the last time at Stratford, in a production that wasn’t very well received. It was a challenge just to keep going. Playingthe drag queen Albert in La Cage Aux Folles presented another difficulty: I had to ask my beloved to help me shave my entire body once a week with a beard trimmer.

Which artists do you most admire?
Lucian Freud. At the last exhibition of his paintings, I was overwhelmed by the strange, obsessive intensity of his gaze. The fact that he could give his whole life up to art, whether he was rich or poor, seemed extraordinary. By comparison, it made me feel like I hadn’t been remotely serious.

What’s the biggest myth about acting?
That you have to be in character all the time. For me, acting is like a pool you dive into. If you’re lucky, you find what you need, then get out again.

Complete this sentence: At heart, I’m just a frustrated …
Fred Astaire.

What’s the worst thing anyone ever said about you?
I haven’t the faintest idea. I’ve had some bad reviews, but not as bad as the things I could imagine for myself.

What’s the greatest threat to the arts today?
That sponsorship is becoming overwhelmingly the way things are done. When the National Theatre was built, it was a public building. If you wander round that building now, there are bits hived off for people who pay more money. That’s happening across the arts.

Is there anything about your career you regret?
Loads, but I can’t possibly tell you.

How would you like to be remembered?
As a good actor.

Born: London, 1953

Career: Best known for his stage workat the RSC and National Theatre, and the original LondonLes Misérables. Film and TV includes Tamara Drewe, Game of Thrones. The Thick of It and Endeavour.

High point: “So many. Playing Falstaff above all.”

Low point: “I’ve done plenty of shit just to earn a bit of cash – the people I most admire, Paul Scofield and Mark Rylance, have always done what they’ve wanted to do.”

The above “Guardian” interview can also be accessed online here.

Claire Goose was born in 1975 in Edinburgh. She is best known for her role in the long running television series “Waking the Dead”. She was recently in the series “Exiles”.

“Metro” article:

I don’t think I could have done this role if I wasn’t a mother,’ says Claire Goose.

‘It really made me feel the pain of the woman I’m playing. I think being a mother has made me a better actress.’

Goose, a former star of Casualty and Waking The Dead, and a lads’ mag favourite back in the day, is talking about Jane, the troubled woman she plays in ITV thriller Undeniable. The plot hinges on the grown-up Jane believing she’s spotted the man who killed her mother – 23 years after the event.

It’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it, to believe a five-year-old could recognise a killer so long after it happened? Goose disagrees. ‘It was a horrible killing, a brutal moment,’ she says. ‘Something so horrible, I don’t think you’d ever forget it.

‘I felt a very strong emotional connection with Jane because she tapped into the utter terror a parent has about anything happening to her children. This is the other way round but it’s the same feeling. I don’t think I knew that pain before I had my own kids [she has two daughters under five]. Being a parent has totally opened me up as a person.’

The canny game Undeniable writer Chris Lang plays is that we’re not quite sure whether Jane has spotted the right man or not. The accused, a respected oncologist (played by Peter Firth) seems an unlikely killer and Jane, we learn, has a history of mental instability and pointing the finger in the wrong direction.

‘That sense of doubt to the story is one of the things that really appealed to me,’ says Goose. ‘There were fantastic scenes in this that I was looking forward to playing from the moment I got the script. Jane is off her meds and we had long discussions about what had happened in her life up to that point. If it keeps you guessing, it’s succeeded.’

It’s a meaty, heavy-duty role for an actress who first rose to fame as nurse Tina Seabrook in Casualty when she was just 22 – and won her an army of admirers courtesy of a racy photoshoot in FHM.

She figured in the magazine’s 100 Sexiest Women In The World poll in the late 1990s. Does she think that might have stopped her being taken seriously as an actress? She gives a carefree shrug.

‘I don’t think it stopped me getting any parts – at least not that I’m aware of,’ Goose answers breezily. ‘I don’t regret that or mind talking about it at all. A friend talked me into it because I’m in the habit of trying to avoid risk, so it pushed me out of my comfort zone. I don’t think I was ever overexposed.’

Claire Goose as Tina Seabrook in Casualty (Picture: BBC)

These days, though, she shuns anything with the tag of celebrity attached. ‘I wouldn’t be interested in doing things like I’m A Celebrity in the jungle, those things where you don’t do anything, it would drive me mad,’ says Goose.

‘I was asked to do MasterChef and I was tempted because I’m not a bad cook. But I just don’t want that pressure, I hate being judged.’

Does that mean she takes badly to poor reviews? ‘That’s different, because you’re a different person when you’re acting,’ she says. ‘And it’s something I know I can do.’

Goose credits Waking The Dead for pushing her career in a weightier direction and she had a part in acclaimed thriller Exile, playing John Simm’s lover. Undeniable, though, gives her a chance to stretch her acting skills and show her in a new light. She’d taken a career break to have her children but was itching to get back in the acting saddle.

‘Undeniable came along at just the right time,’ she says. ‘I’d had time with the kids and I had the energy to take on something like this. It was a month’s filming, pretty intense, but I found it stimulating and challenging.’

Goose married producer Craig Woodrow in 2007 and they make a strong team. ‘He’s a strong critic, which is great for me, I can take it,’ she says. ‘He’s a producer now but trained in drama and he thought the pace of Undeniable was fantastic. He’d have told me if he didn’t think it was any good.’

To her credit, the elfin Goose is convincingly playing ten years younger than her age – Jane is 28, she’s recently turned 39 – without the need for make-up or tricks.

‘I did ask: “Do you think we should push Jane’s age up?”’ she points out. ‘But they didn’t want to make the gap between the murder and her spotting the man she thinks is the killer any wider. And everybody thought I could pass for 30, so I was pretty pleased with that.’

Then, all of a sudden, she’s dashing off to appear onstage that night opposite Les Dennis in a touring production of A Perfect Murder, just a tad ironic given Undeniable’s subject matter. ‘Oh it’s not the same at all, it’s a black comedy,’ she says. ‘It’s fun to play.’

I’m kicking myself because I’ve missed my chance to pitch her my big idea for her next drama. Given she peaked at No.29 in 2000’s FHM Sexiest Woman poll, how about a serial thriller called FHM (Female Homicidal Maniac) in which each week she bumps off numbers 28 to one, so she can finally take the crown? Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it…

The above “Metro” article can also be accessed online here.

John Justin obituary in “The Guardian” in 2002.

John Justin was born in 1917 in London the son of a wealthy Argentine family. He made an enormous impact with hi first film, the classic “Thief of Bagdad” in 1940. The firm was starred in the UK but with the outbreak of World War Two, the filming was continued in Hollywood. Justin starred with June Duprez and Sabu and they all received critical praise for their roles. Other films included “The Gentle Sex” in 1943 with Joan Greenwood and Lilli Palmer and “The Man Who Loved Redheads” opposite Moira Shearer in 1955. Two years later he starred opposite Dorothy Dandridge in the star filled “Island in the Sun”. He died in 2002 leaving three daughters from his marriage to actress Barbara Murray.

“Guardian” obituary:

Eric Shorter
The Guardian, Friday 6 December 2002 01.01 GMT

The stage and film actor John Justin, who has died aged 85, first came to prominence with his appearance in the 1939 blockbuster, The Thief Of Baghdad. A lighter-hearted actor than producers expected in heroic roles, he mischievously mocked the audition for his part as Prince Achmad with the young Indian actor Sabu. “We never supposed that we should be cast,” he recalled -but Prince Achmad was one of his better screen roles.What brought Justin British stardom was the character of test pilot Philip Peel in David Lean’s The Sound Barrier (1952), especially his affecting scenes with Dinah Sheridan; and as Terence Rattigan’s romantic hero in the Harold French film, The Man Who Loved Redheads (1954). That year, too, he was the lead in the thriller, The Teckman Mystery. In 1957, he featured in Robert Rossen’s Island In The Sun.

But Justin was an actor who used the screen to subsidise his stage acting. He was tall, slim, golden-voiced, and had a rarely exploited instinct for comedy. Often appearing in children’s classics, he first played Captain Hook, and Mr Darling in Peter Pan, at the old Scala Theatre in Charlotte Street, London, at Christmas 1949, and made a charming, headmasterly Badger in Toad Of Toad Hall 15 years later at the Queen’s. When he once erroneously intoned, “It’s only half past December,” as he picked up an hour-glass, the line was deemed worthy of AA Milne, and incorporated into the script.

Born in London, Justin was a farmer’s son, educated at Bryanston school, Dorset. He resolved to make a life in theatre – although dyslexia proved a setback at rehearsals – and began his career in his teens at Plymouth Repertory. At Liverpool Rep, his name was shortened from Justinian de Ledesma to Justin; and, when he sought training at Rada in 1937, he reckoned it “no more than a finishing school for girls” – and soon left to join John Gielgud’s repertory company. There, he felt so inferior that he asked Dodie Smith, the author of Dear Octopus – in which he appeared in 1938 – if he should give up. “Carry on,” she said. “I would.”

With The Thief Of Baghdad, Justin had signed a seven-year contract with Alexander Korda but, in 1940, he joined the RAF. While serving as a pilot instructor, he acted in two semi-documentary propaganda films, The Gentle Sex (1943), with Leslie Howard, and the Boulting Brothers’ Journey Together (1944), with Edward G Robinson.

In 1948, he did a stint at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon, where he played the Dauphin in King John, Lorenzo in the Merchant Of Venice, Florizel in The Winter’s Tale, Cassio to Godfrey Tearle’s Othello and Horatio to Paul Scofield’s Hamlet, when he was dubbed “honesty’s core”. As Paris, in Troilus and Cressida, he was “lovely to hear throughout”.

In the West End, Justin was a rudely outspoken young man in Benn Levy’s Return To Tyassi (1950, Duke of York’s), Chekhov’s beautifully-mannered doctor in Uncle Vanya (1952, Arts) and an elegant Frenchman in Jean Anouilh’s Dinner With The Family (Oxford Playhouse and New, now Albery, 1957).

Two seasons later, he joined the Old Vic, where his parts included Mellefont, in Wycherley’s The Double Dealer, Orlando in As You Like It, and John Worthing in The Importance Of Being Earnest. In 1963, he played Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, in Regent’s Park, and, at the same theatre in 1965, he was the banished duke in As You Like It.

Between 1963 and 1970, he made no film appearances, and only a further nine until his last in 1983 – they included Ken Russell’s Liztomania and Savage Messiah, and Michael Winner’s ill-starred Big Sleep remake.

Dismissing his film career as “a mistake,” Justin continued to relish stage work, which included Willy Loman in Death Of A Salesman (Northampton, 1965) and Prince Escerny and Puntschu in Lulu (Royal Court and Apollo, 1971). He was in Old Fruit (King’s Head, Islington, 1974). He toured South Africa in Who Killed Santa Claus? (1971), the regions as Winston Churchill in A Man And His Wife (1974), and West Germany in recitals of Blake and Shakespeare. The first of several television appearances was in a 1949 BBC staging of Antigone.

In 1952, Justin married Barbara Murray; they divorced in 1964. He is survived by his wife Alison, whom he married in 1970, and three daughters from his first marriage.

·John Justin, (John Justinian de Ledesma) actor, born November 24 1917; died November 29 2002

The above “Guardian” obituary can also be accessed online here.

Theo James was born in 1984 in Oxford. He made his television debut opposite Billie Piper in “A Passionate Woman” in 2010. He was featured in “Downton Abbey” as Turkish diplomat Kemal Parnuk. He will be seen shortly in the televsion verion of John Braine’s “Room at the Top”. His films include “Red Tails” and “Underworld Awakening”.

TCM overview:

Theo James was part of the new wave of talented British actors storming American shores, snapping up sitcoms and starring roles in their wake. From clean cut Oxford boy to New York City cop, James proved his versatility on the procedural crime drama, “Golden Boy” (CBS, 2013-). Still a fresh face on the small screen, James made quite the impression on American audiences with a small but memorable role on the hugely popular period drama, “Downton Abbey.” (PBS, 2010-) James played the dashing young Turkish diplomat Kemal Pamuk, who deflowers the female lead and then promptly dies, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase, “la petite mort.” With his exotic features, it’s no surprise James passed for a foreign diplomat, although his heritage lies in Greece rather than Istanbul.

Born Theodore Peter J. K. Taptiklis, he goes by one of his many middle names, James. Son of Jane and Phillip Taptiklis, James was born on December 16, 1984 in Oxford, England. As a child he attended Aylesbury Grammar School and as a young adult, he pursued and earned a degree in philosophy from the University of Nottingham. After completing his undergraduate studies, he trained for the stage at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and from there, pursued acting outside of the stage. James made his television debut on the mini-series “A Passionate Woman” (BBC, 2010), starring opposite Billie Piper, of “Dr.Who” fame. In his final year of school, James was offered a small part in Woody Allen’s “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger” (2010), alongside Hollywood heavyweights Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts and Josh Brolin. Not a bad start for a drama kid still in school.

After graduating, James appeared in six episodes of the horror series “Bedlam” (Sky Living, 2011), and earned a part as an insufferable nightclub representative in “The Inbetweeners Movie” (2011), a British film adaptation of the popular coming-of-age raunchy TV series akin to “Superbad” (2007). The actor then built up quite the resume, despite his relatively short tenure in the industry. His second Hollywood feature had him don his best leather to star opposite Kate Beckinsale in the vampire sequel, “Underworld: Awakening” (2012). As a fresh import to the States, James did his homework for his next role as a hotheaded, young detective rising up the ranks of the NYPD for the cop drama, “Golden Boy.” After logging some time in plenty of squad cars, the U.K. expat got a feel for how the boys in blue really operate.

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

James Purefoy was born in 1964 in Taunton, Somerset. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1988. He has had an extensive stage career and in 2011 was one of the leads in “Flare Path” by Terence Rattigan at the London’s Theatre Royal, Haymarket. His movies include “Vanity Fair” and in 1999, “Mansfield Park”.

TCM overview:

A dashingly handsome, dark-haired actor hailing from Somerset, England, James Purefoy did extensive stage and television work in his native country beginning in the mid-1980s before breaking out with significant film roles at the close of the 90s. The performer made his professional acting debut as Alan Strang in a 1986 stage production of “Equus” and subsequently joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he was featured in productions including “The Tempest” and “Macbeth”. Looking to make the move to screen work, but finding little in the way of film roles, Purefoy began a successful television run with a co-starring role on the Granada-CV series “Coasting”, chronicling a theme park owned by two brothers in Blackpool. In 1991, he made his debut on American television when PBS broadcast “The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes” as a presentation of “Mystery!” His supporting role in the British miniseries “The Cloning of Joanna May” landed him back on the small screens of USA when it was aired on A&E in 1992, and the following year he was featured in the three-part miniseries “Calling the Shots” on PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre.”

Purefoy made his feature acting debut in “Feast of July,” a period drama produced by Merchant Ivory. This debut didn’t immediately jump-start a film career, and Purefoy instead spent his time performing with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and acting in television productions including the popular British period action series “Sharpe” and the British TV adaptation of “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” (1996). He returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company to act in Simon Callow’s 1996 staging of “Les Enfants du Paradis.” The following year, he reappeared on British small screens with a co-starring role in the critically lauded miniseries “A Dance to the Music of Time.”

1998 saw the actor return to features with a pivotal supporting role as an appealingly rugged but sensitive heterosexual upon whom a gay acquaintance (Kevin McKidd) develops a crush in Rose Troche’s winning and fresh “Bedrooms & Hallways”. Becoming something of a crush object himself thanks to the charming role, Purefoy went against type and bulked up to play the downwardly spiraling drunk Tom Bertram in Patricia Rozema’s somewhat revisionist take on Jane Austen’s “Mansfield Park” (1999). The actor returned to the stage with “Four Knights in Knaresboro,” a dark comedy produced at Kilburn’s Tricycle Theatre the same year he was featured in the independents “The Lighthouse” and “Women Talking Dirty” (all 1999).

Purefoy kicked off 2000 with an appearance in the British miniseries “Metropolis” and made the most of a supporting turn as a seductive actor who strikes the fancy of the hormonal J ly Richardson in Ben Elton’s less-than-impressive feature directorial debut “Maybe Baby.” He again appeared on American television, portraying Carrasco in the TNT original “Don Quixote”, while his delightfully sincere supporting turn as the Black Prince of Wales suitably impressed with the skills of the lowly squire (Heath Ledger) in “A Knight’s Tale” (2001) introduced him to an even larger USA audience. A co-starring role in the eagerly-awaited action thriller “Resident Evil” (2002) would prove the actor’s breakthrough with the American audience. Later that year, he starred in the small screen remake of Thomas Hardy’s novel “The Mayor of Casterbridge” (A&E, 2003).

Purefoy next appeared in the European films “Photo Finish” (2003), “George and the Dragon” (2004) and “Blessed” (2004) before garnering much attention from Hollywood in his next role, playing Reese Witherspoon’s high-born lover Rawdon Crawley in director Mira Nair’s stylish 2004 adaptation of the classic William Thackery novel “Vanity Fair.” Purefoy was then cast as a regular in his first television series, portraying Marc Antony in HBO’s sprawling historical epic, “Rome” (2005- ). The role of the loyal foot soldier to Julius Caesar (Ciarán Hinds) gave Purefoy romantic notions of playing a noble character. But the truth, as always, was stranger than fiction. The real Marc Antony, however, was a wild man-a drunken party animal who enjoyed his women as much as battle-making the character “great fun to play.”

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

Joanna David.

Joanna David was born in 1947 in Lancaster. Made her film debut in 1969 in “The Smashing Bird I Used to Know”. Has had a very profilic career on the stage and on television. Other films include “Sleepwalker” in 1985 and “Secret Friends” in 1991. She is the mother of actors Emilia Fox and Freddie Fox.

2006 interview by Sophie Lam in “The Independent”:

First holiday memoryGoing to Nevin in North Wales when I was about four. On the way, we all got out of the car to have a pee in a field and when we went back the car wasn’t there because the handbrake wasn’t on!

Best holiday?

Staying with my friends the Mortimers at their old farmhouse in Chianti, Tuscany. It’s in a beautiful location surrounded by the most incredible hills, and a complete rest because it’s so hot in the summer you can’t do anything.

Favourite place in the British Isles?

Little Gruinard in Wester Ross on the north-west coast of Scotland. It’s unspoilt, with miles of beautiful sandy coast. We go walking along the marvellous cliffs looking out to the Summer Isles; it’s as if you’re on top of the world.

What have you learnt from your travels?

Take less!

Ideal travelling companion?

I have a continual laugh with Phyllida Law, my great friend. She’s an intrepid traveller and we have been away together before.

Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?

I’m more of a culture vulture. Luckily every summer seems to produce a job, but that makes it hard to travel. However, this year I’ve had four weeks off between jobs so I’ve been able to go up to Scotland and down to Dorset. I have done some wonderful travelling through work too.

Greatest travel luxury?

I went on a trek in Nepal and my luxury was an electric toothbrush. My second luxury is a portable CD player and some Bach.

Holiday reading?

This summer I read Lord Curzon’s biography by David Gilmour. I’m also part of a book club so we read a different book every month.

Where has seduced you?

India and Nepal. I worked in Cochin, Kerala, and it was such a wonderfully mixed culture. Muslims, Hindus, Jews and Christians all live together; it was an education.

Worst travel experience?

In the 1980s, I was stopped at customs at the airport in Moscow and kept back because I was bringing things back from the Stanislavsky Museum. Nobody could speak English and I couldn’t speak Russian. I could hear the last call for the plane and I was hysterical.

Worst holiday?

When I was about eight, I went on a caravan holiday in Abersoch, Wales, with a friend. I was so homesick that I couldn’t eat until the day I knew I was going home.

Best hotel?

The Summit Hotel in Kathmandu was just amazing and it was such a relief to arrive there after trekking. The staff were lovely and so welcoming. From a luxurious point of view I stayed at the Hotel Lancaster in Paris with my husband, which was pretty special.

Favourite walk/swim/ride/drive?

I love swimming and walking along the cliffs at Kimmeridge in Dorset.

Best meal abroad?

Fresh crayfish in the countryside just outside Stockholm.

Dream trip?

I’d like to go to Tibet and see Mount Everest from the opposite side. I’d also like to visit different parts of India.

Favourite city?

Venice knocked me sideways. I’d love to go back. I also fell in love with Cochin.

Where next?

I’d love to go to Peru. I’m thinking of going on a trek to Machu Picchu for the Unicorn Theatre for Children.

The above “Independent” interview can also be accessed online here.

Collection of Classic Brittish Actors

Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren. TCM Overview

Bob Hope

Flora Montgomery

Roger Allam

Claire Goose

John Justin

John Justin obituary in “The Guardian” in 2002.

Theo James

James Purefoy

Joanna David

Joanna David.

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