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- Actress
- Soundtrack
Hannah Dominique E. John-Kamen is a British actress. She is known for her roles as Dutch in the Syfy television series Killjoys, Ornela in the HBO series Game of Thrones, F'Nale Zandor in Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, and Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Hannah was born in Beverley, Yorkshire, England, the youngest of three children of a Nigerian forensic psychologist father and a Norwegian fashion model mother. She attended primary school in Kirk Ella and received her secondary education at Hull Collegiate School, and also trained at the National Youth Theatre in London. In 2012, she graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama.
John-Kamen began her professional career in 2011 when she provided her voice for the video game Dark Souls. She then went on to make episode appearances in television series Misfits (2011), Black Mirror (2011), Whitechapel (2012), The Syndicate (2012), The Midnight Beast (2012) and The Hour (2012).
In 2012, John-Kamen landed the lead role of Viva in Viva Forever, a West End musical based on the songs of the Spice Girls. Written by Jennifer Saunders and produced by Judy Craymer, Viva Forever premiered on 11 December 2012 at the Piccadilly Theatre to largely negative reviews. The Daily Mirror, however, praised John-Kamen's performance, noting, "It's a shame a talented cast, especially Hannah John-Kamen's Viva and the rest of Eternity, are let down by a clichéd plot and leaden dialogue." The show was eventually closed on 29 June 2013.
2015 saw John-Kamen land a starring role in SyFy's Killjoys. In 2016 John-Kamen had a guest starring role on HBO's Game of Thrones. In 2016, she appeared in "Playtest", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror. She also appeared in Season two of the UK series The Tunnel, and played Ghost in the superhero film Ant-Man and the Wasp.
On John-Kamen's role in Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, Kristen Tauer wrote: "While much of "Ready Player One" takes place in a virtual reality world, John-Kamen's character is unique in that she is rooted in the reality throughout the film."- Actress
- Soundtrack
The striking actress Anna Maxwell-Martin is a rising star on both stage and screen. Anna had dreamed all her life of becoming an actress even though her family had no background in the arts. She starred in school plays and an acclaimed production of "Breezeblock Park" in the role of Betty.
At the age of 20, she auditioned for the prestigious Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art, the school she had dreamed of attending since childhood but unfortunately, she wasn't accepted. Undeterred, she applied for the London Academy Of Dramatic Art, where she was accepted. Alumni include Donald Sutherland, Rita Wilson, Anthony Head (aka Anthony Stewart Head), Natascha McElhone, plus hundreds more.
While she was training at LAMDA, her father died. Anna wanted to be strong and complete her training, as she was sure her father would have wanted. She used the emotions she felt to breathe life into the more emotional parts she was playing in the plays in which she performed while at drama school including the lead in "Romeo and Juliet," "Three Birds Alighting on a Field," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Mother Clap," and "The Way of the World".
Upon successful completion of the three-year acting program, Anna at age 24 embarked upon a career that has built up gradually over the past four years. She starred in the Trevor Nunn-helmed "Coast of Utopia" and "Dumb Show" at the Royal Court in London with Terry Johnson, but her moment of glory on stage so far has to be her Olivier award-nominated performance in the adaptation of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" as the 12-year-old heroine Lyra.
Though has worked extensively on stage, Anna has graced the big and small screen. Guest appearances in Midsomer Murders (1997) and opposite Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in Doctor Who (1963) and most recently she can be seen in the role of Esther Summerson in the BBC's adaptation of Charles Dickens's book Bleak House (2005) starring Denis Lawson, Johnny Vegas, and Gillian Anderson.
Her film credits include The Hours (2002) with Nicole Kidman, the four-parter BBC drama North & South (2004) as Bessie Higgins, and Penny in Enduring Love (2004) alongside James Bond star Daniel Craig and transatlantic star Rhys Ifans.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Acting chameleon Sir Tom Courtenay, along with Sir Alan Bates and Albert Finney, became a front-runner in an up-and-coming company of rebel upstarts who created quite a stir in British "kitchen sink" cinema during the early '60s. An undying love for the theatre, however, had Courtenay channeling a different course from the aforementioned greats and he never, by his own choosing, attained comparable cinematic stardom.
The gaunt and glum, fair-haired actor was born Thomas Daniel Courtenay into modest surroundings on February 25, 1937, in Hull, East Yorkshire, England, the son of Thomas Henry Courtenay, a ship painter, and his wife, Anne Eliza (née Quest). Graduating from Kingston High School there, he trained in drama at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. His reputation as an actor grew almost immediately with his professional debut in 1960 as Konstantin in "The Seagull" at the Old Vic. Following tours in Scotland and London with the play, Tom performed in "Henry IV, Part I" and "Twelfth Night" (also at the Old Vic) before assuming the title role of Billy from Albert Finney in the critically acclaimed drama "Billy Liar" at the Cambridge Theatre in 1961. The story, which tells of a Yorkshire man who creates a fantasy world to shield himself from his mundane middle-class woes, was the initial spark in Tom's rise to fame.
The recognition he received landed him squarely into the heap of things as a new wave of "angry young men" were taking over British cinema during the swinging '60s. Singled out for his earlier stage work at RADA, he was eventually handed the title role in the war film Private Potter (1963), but it was his second movie that clinched stardom. Winning the role of Colin Smith in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), Courtenay invested everything he had in this bruising portrayal of youthful desolation and rebellion. As a reform school truant whose solitary sentencing for robbing a bakery leads to a reawakening and subsequent recognition as a long distance runner, he was awarded a "Promising Newcomer" award from the British Film Academy, It was Courtenay then, and not Finney, who recreated his stage triumph as Billy Fisher in the stark film version of Billy Liar (1963). British Film Academy nominations came his way for this and for his fourth movie role in King & Country (1964). Vivid contributions to the films King Rat (1965), the ever-popular Doctor Zhivago (1965), which earned him his first Oscar nomination, and The Night of the Generals (1967) followed.
Despite all this cinematic glory, Courtenay did not enjoy the process of movie-making and reverted to his first passion -- the theatre -- beginning in 1966. Displaying his versatility with roles in such classic works as "The Cherry Orchard," "Macbeth" (as Malcolm), "Charley's Aunt," "The Playboy of the Western World," "Hamlet," "She Stoops to Conquer," "Peer Gynt" and "Arms and the Man," he still found scattered work in films, including The Day the Fish Came Out (1967), A Dandy in Aspic (1968) and Otley (1969), but none matched his earlier brilliance. In 1971 he took a self-imposed, decade-long sabbatical from filming.
Forming a sturdy association with the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester that would last over a decade, he continued to impress with lead roles in "The Rivals" and "The Prince of Homburg". Following his huge success as the libidinous Norman in "The Norman Conquests" in London, he made his Broadway debut with "Otherwise Engaged" (1977) and earned a Tony nomination and Drama League Award in the process. It was his second Tony-nominated triumph in "The Dresser" in 1980-1981, however, that lured Courtenay back to films when he was asked to recreate the role for the large screen. The Dresser (1983) co-starred Tom as the mincing personal assistant to an appallingly self-destructive stage star played by Albert Finney (Paul Rogers played the role with Tom on Broadway) who struggles to get the actor through a rigorous performance of "King Lear". Both British actors received Oscar nominations but lost the 1984 "Best Actor" award to American Robert Duvall.
Since then Tom has appeared on occasion in TV and film roles -- usually in support. A few standouts include the films Let Him Have It (1991), Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? (1999), Last Orders (2001) and Nicholas Nickleby (2002), as well as the TV mini-series A Rather English Marriage (1998), for which he earned a British Television Award, Little Dorrit (2008) and the series Unforgotten (2015) for which he won a BAFTA award.
Over the years Sir Tom has excelled in solo stage shows as well. As a chronic alcoholic in "Moscow Stations," he won the 1994 London Critics Circle Theatre and London Evening Standard Theatre awards for "Best Actor." In 2002, he wrote the one-man show "Pretending To Be Me," based on the letters and writings of poet Philip Larkin. In the past decade he has continued to distinguish himself on both the classical ("King Lear," "Uncle Vanya") and contemporary ("Art") stages.
Courtenay's marriage to actress Cheryl Kennedy lasted about a decade (from 1973 to 1982). In 1988 he married Isabel Crossley, a stage manager at the Royal Exchange Theatre in London. He has no children from either marriage. In 1999, Sir Tom Courtenay was awarded an honorary doctorate from Hull University and in 2000 published his memoir "Dear Tom: Letters From Home", which earned strong reviews. Knighthood came a year after that.- Malcolm Storry was born on 13 January 1948 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Princess Bride (1987), The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) and The Last of the Mohicans (1992).
- Lisa Kay was born in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire on February 11, 1971. Lisa originally trained as a ballet dancer from the age of 4 and had a scholarship with the Royal Ballet School for 3 years. After a debilitating knee injury she changed careers and took a 3 year acting course at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has been acting ever since. Lisa is best know for her role as Carol Cassidy in ITV's Heartbeat (1992) as well as roles in Channel 4 / PBS Period drama Indian Summers (2015) and BBC1 dramas Hidden (2011) and Silent Witness (1996). Lisa is also known for her voice work on animation films Chicken Run (2000) and Corpse Bride (2005).
- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Unassuming, innocent-eyed and undeniably ingratiating, Brit comedy actor Ian Carmichael was quite the popular chap in late 50s and early 60s film. He was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England on June 18, 1920, the son of Arthur Denholm Carmichael, an optician, and his wife Kate (Gillett). After receiving his schooling at Bromsgove High School and Scarborough College, he was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and trained there, making his stage debut as a mute robot in "RUR". in 1939. That same year he also appeared as Claudius in "Julius Caesar" and was appearing a revue production of "Nine Sharp" (1940) when his young career was interrupted by WWII. He served in Europe for many years with the Royal Armoured Corps as a commissioned officer in the 22nd Dragoons.
Ian returned to the theatre in 1947 with roles in four productions: "She Wanted a Cream Front Door", "I Said to Myself", "Cupid and Mars" and "Out of the Frying Pan". He also sharpened his farcical skills in music hall revues where he worked with such revue legends as Hermione Baddeley and Dora Bryan. Given his first film bit as a waiter in Bond Street (1948), he continued in rather obscure roles for several years. While he was sincerely capable of playing it serious, which would include roles in the U.S. film Betrayed (1954) starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner, as well as the war-themed adventures The Colditz Story (1955) and Storm Over the Nile (1955), it was his association with late 50s "silly-ass" comedy that gave his cinematic career a noticeable boost. After repeating his stage success (the only cast member to do do) playing David Prentice in the film version of Simon and Laura (1955) opposite Kay Kendall and Peter Finch, he co-starred in a series of droll satires for the Boulting Brothers and Ealing Studios. While he might have been upstaged on occasion by a motley crew of scene-stealers (Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Raymond Huntley, Margaret Rutherford), Ian was sublimely funny himself as the hapless klutz caught up in their shenanigans. Private's Progress (1956), the service comedy which got the whole ball rolling, and its sequel, I'm All Right Jack (1959), along with the Boulting's Lucky Jim (1957) Brothers in Law (1957) and Happy Is the Bride (1958) firmly established Ian as a slapstick movie star.
The inane fun continued into the 60s with ripe vehicles in Skywatch (1960), School for Scoundrels (1960), Double Bunk (1961), The Amorous Mr. Prawn (1962) and Heavens Above! (1963). During the late 1960s and 1970s, he found more fulfillment playing wry, bemused, upper-crust characters on comedy TV, particularly his Bertie Wooster in The World of Wooster (1965) which reunited him with frequent Boulting Brothers co-star Dennis Price as Jeeves, Wooster's chilly-mannered personal valet. Ian's leading role as the Bachelor Father (1970), based on the story of a real-life perennial bachelor who took on several foster children, only added to his popularity. In later years, he was frequently heard on the BBC radio.
Ian made vigilant returns to the comedy stage whenever possible in such lightweight vehicles as "The Tunnel of Love", "The Gazebo", "Critic's Choice", "Birds on the Wing", "Darling, I'm Home", "Springtime for Henry" and appeared in his last musical "I Do! I Do!" in 1968. Earlier, in 1965, he made his Broadway debut starring in "Boeing-Boeing", which lasted only a few weeks. A more successful revival of this show showed up on Broadway in 2008.
Semi-retired since the mid-1980s, Ian continued to show elderly spryness here and there with a smattering of films including The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971), From Beyond the Grave (1974), The Lady Vanishes (1979) and Diamond Skulls (1989). On TV, he was quite popular in the role of the gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey in several crime mystery mini-series: Clouds of Witness (1972), The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1972), Murder Must Advertise (1973), The Nine Tailors (1974) and Five Red Herrings (1975), and had a recurring role on the TV series Strathblair (1992).
To cap his career off, he was honored as an OBE in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List. Made a widower after 40 years by his first wife Jean (Pym) McLean, he married novelist/radio producer Kate Fenton, who is over thirty years his junior, in 1992. He has two daughters, Lee and Sally, from his first marriage. In 1979, his autobiography, "Will the Real Ian Carmichael?...", was published.
A charmer to the end, his last (recurring) appearance was on the TV series The Royal (2003) in 2009. The actor died on February 7, 2010, following a month-long illness.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Nigel Betts was born on 15 October 1963 in Howden, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Ralph & Katie (2022), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and Class (2016).- Leah Brotherhead was born in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. She is known for Hullraisers (2022), Zomboat! (2019) and White Gold (2017).
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Garry Cooper was born in 1955 in Hull, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor and director, known for Quadrophenia (1979), Caravaggio (1986) and P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang (1982).- Shane Zaza was born in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Happy Valley (2014), Press (2018) and Will (2017). He has been married to Robyn Addison since 14 August 2016.
- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Derren Litten was born on 21 December 1970 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. He is a writer and actor, known for Benidorm (2007), The Spa (2013) and The Catherine Tate Show (2004).- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Mark Herman born in 1954 in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England and is an English film director and screenwriter. He is mostly notable for writing & directing the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Mark Herman was educated at Woodleigh School, North Yorkshire. He was late entering the film industry. Aged 27 he was drawing cartoons at art college before becoming involved in drama when he began studying film at Leeds Polytechnic, now the Metropolitan University of Leeds. He then trained as an animator at the National Film School in London. He moved away from animation and continued to study directing. He also wrote lyrics for The Christians. Herman's first feature-length project was Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), a comedy of mistaken identity starring Dudley Moore and Bryan Brown. Next, Herman wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Brassed Off (1996), following the members of a colliery brass band, still struggling to survive a decade after the miners' strike. In Little Voice (1998), adapted by Herman from Jim Cartwright's play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Jane Horrocks reprises the title role of a harried young woman whose only escape lies in the memory of her father and in imitating the singers he admired. This film gave Michael Caine the opportunity for his best performance to date. Purely Belter (2000), adapted by Herman from Jonathan Tulloch's novel The Season Ticket, is the story of two teenage boys trying to get together enough money for a couple of Newcastle United F.C. season tickets. Hope Springs (2003), is an adaptation of New Cardiff. His most recent work is the adaptation of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. It was produced by David Heyman and stars David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga, Sheila Hancock and Rupert Friend. Herman directed and adapted the work.[1] Mark Herman is a fellow of Film and Television Production, York St John University, York, England.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Jemma McKenzie-Brown was born on the 2nd of June 1994 in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. From the age of five she made her parents watch her perform Spice Girls routines, singing and dancing around the house. When Jemma saw an advertisement for the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, home to budding stars, she begged her parents to let her audition for a place at the school. She got through - and the school started opening doors for her.
In 2006, the young starlet played Georgina Pritchard in the much-loved short television series, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard, portraying the daughter of Jane Horrocks character. In 2008, Jemma landed a guest appearance in popular CBBC kids show, M.I.High as Irene in the episode Spy Plane. Jemma lent her voice to radio plays Old Peter's Russian Tales and The Monstrous Mother.
Then the call came for Jemma to take part in a closed audition for the coveted role of Tiara Gold in "High School Musical 3: Senior Year."- Director
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A former salesman and journalist, Ken Annakin got into the film industry making documentary shorts. His feature debut, Holiday Camp (1947), was a comedy about a Cockney family on vacation. It was made for the Rank Organization and was a modest success, spawning three sequels, all of which he directed. He worked steadily thereafter, mainly in light comedies. One of his more atypical films was the dark thriller Across the Bridge (1957), based on a Graham Greene story about a wealthy businessman who embezzles a million dollars from his company, kills a man who resembles him and steals his identity so he can escape to Mexico. It boasted an acclaimed performance by Rod Steiger as the villain and a distinct "noir" feel to it, unlike anything Annakin had done before (or, for that matter, since).
In the 1960s he was one of several British directors--e.g., Guy Green, John Guillermin--who specialized in turning out all-star, splashy, big-budget European/American co-productions, shot on the Continent. He was one of the directors of the epic World War II spectacle The Longest Day (1962) and went solo on Battle of the Bulge (1965), both of which were financial--if not exactly critical--successes. He also directed Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965), which was less successful. His final film was Genghis Khan: The Story of a Lifetime, a film that was started in 1992 under Annakin's direction but never completed. In 2009 it was restarted again and Annakin was hired to assemble the existing footage for release, but died before completing the job. Italian director Antonio Margheriti finished up and the film was released in 2010.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Michael Bilton (14 December 1919 - 5 November 1993) was an English actor best known for his roles in the British television sitcoms To the Manor Born (playing the gardener and sometime butler Ned) and Waiting for God (playing Basil, a septuagenarian satyr).
He attended Hymers College, Hull. In the Second World War he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and was wounded at the Battle of El Alamein. After his recovery he began his acting career in repertory theatre.
He had a strong comedic bent and featured in Keeping Up Appearances, One Foot in the Grave and Grace and Favour (1992). He also appeared in Pennies From Heaven, The Saint, The Avengers, The Prisoner, Quatermass II and The Champions, He also appeared as the doorman at a hotel in Terry and June. He also featured in the Doctor Who stories The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, Pyramids of Mars and The Deadly Assassin. He also appeared as the butler Stevens in "The Adventure of Shoscombe Olde Place" episode of The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes; also notable in the cast was Jude Law as an aspiring jockey. Bilton's film appearances included A Taste of Honey (1961), The Thirty Nine Steps (1978) and The Fourth Protocol (1987), as Kim Philby.
But his most successful television work was as the woman-chasing Basil in three series of Waiting for God, the sitcom set in a retirement home, and as the gardener in a Yellow Pages commercial, going about his tasks with a battered lawn-mower and being called over by his employers to be told of its new replacement just when he thought he himself was about to be pensioned off.
Bilton died on 5 November 1993 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, aged 73.- The venerable British stage and film actor A.E. Matthews was born Alfred Edward Matthews on November 22, 1869 in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The actor nicknamed "Matty" established himself on the British and American stage and in British films, taking up the craft after working as a clerk in a London bookstore. He said that after he learned that the great actor Sir Henry Irving (the first thespian to be knighted) had worked at the store, and used the very same desk he did, he decided to dedicate his life to the theatre.
The former bookseller started at the Princess Theatre as a "call boy," the factotum who calls the actors to the stage. Eventually, he was given acting roles, and appeared on stage with such greats as Ellen Terry (the aunt of Sir John Gielgud and Sir Gerald du Maurier. Matty made his Broadway debut on August 8, 1910 at the Garrick Theatre, in "Love Among the Lions." Later that year he appeared as Algernon Moncrieff in a production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1952) at the Lyceum Theatre. He did not appear again on The Great White Way until 1921, when he played Jerry in the comedy Peg o' My Heart (1922) opposite the legendary American stage actress Laurette Taylor. Later that year he played the eponymous lead in Bulldog Drummond (1929).
A.E. Matthews appeared on Broadway an additional eight times in the 1920s and appeared in seven Broadway productions in the 1930s. Of his appearance in W. Somerset Maugham' comedy "The Breadwinner" in 1931, "Time Magazine" credited his acting with contributing to the success of the comedy, which had problems in its third Act and was described by the "Time" reviewer as "simply a bag of parlour tricks performed by dialog." The reviewer praised "gentle, toothy Mr. Matthews, who somehow suggests the kind old water rat in The Wind in the Willows."
Matty's last appearance On Broadway was in 1949, in William Douglas-Home's comedy "Yes, M'Lord," with a cast that featured a young Elaine Stritch. He appeared in numerous roles on the British stage.
He made his film debut in 1916, in the silent comedy Wanted: A Widow (1916). He appeared in two more flicks in 1916, one in 1918, and two more silent films in 1918 before devoting himself to stage-work. He did not make his talking picture debut until 1934, when he supported George Arliss in The Iron Duke (1934), which also featured Emlyn Williams. He made one more movie in the 1930s, the backstage drama Men Are Not Gods (1936) (1936) which featured a young Rex Harrison. His film career began in earnest in 1941, when he appeared in Anthony Asquith's Quiet Wedding (1941), the propaganda film This England (1941) (again with Emlyn Williams), and Leslie Howard's "'Pimpernel' Smith (1941)_. He appeared in another 41 movies from 1942 to 1960, including The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), _Million Pound Note, the (1956), The Ship Was Loaded (1957), and Around the World in 80 Days (1956).
A.E. Matthews died on July 25, 1960. He was 90. - Jordan Metcalfe was born on 24 May 1986 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Pride (2014), Genie in the House (2006) and The Queen's Nose (1995). He has been married to Laura Elsworthy since 28 July 2018.
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Donald Eccles was born on 26 April 1908 in Nafferton, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Wicker Man (1973), The Theban Plays by Sophocles (1986) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968). He died on 2 February 1986 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK.- Laura Elsworthy was born in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. She is known for Cinderella (2015), Testament of Youth (2014) and Macbeth (2013). She has been married to Jordan Metcalfe since 28 July 2018.
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Lord Rix, who was the president of Mencap since 1980, was also the entertainer behind a hit run of Whitehall farces in London in the 1950s and 1960s.
"Lord Rix was a beloved colleague and friend to so many people with a learning disability and their families," Mencap chief executive Jan Tregelles said. "His passion, zeal and humour will be sorely missed. His tireless campaigning has perhaps done more to improve the lives of people with a learning disability than any other."
Rix announced in 2016 that he was terminally ill and called for the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia for those dying in severe pain.
"Unhappily, my body seems to be constructed in such a way that it keeps me alive in great discomfort when all I want is to be allowed to slip into a sleep, peacefully, legally, and without any threat to the medical or nursing profession," he said in a letter that attempted to explain to his fellow peers in the House of Lords why he no longer opposed assisted dying legislation.
"Only with a legal euthanasia bill will the many people who find themselves in the same situation as me be able to slip away peacefully in their sleep instead of dreading the night."
Offstage, aside from his charitable work, Rix chaired the Arts Council of Great Britain's drama panel from 1986 to 1993 and was responsible for opening up grant funding for a wider mix of performers, more involvement for women and more funding for ethnic minority theatre companies.
Rix, who is perhaps still best known for his roles as crooked bookies or harassed civil servants, was married for 64 years to actor and fellow campaigner Elspet Gray, who died in 2013. They appeared together on stage and screen several times during their long marriage.
They began to take an active interest in the problems faced by people with learning disabilities when their daughter Shelley, the eldest of four, was born with Down's syndrome in 1951. At the time the condition was still referred to as mongolism and there was little support on offer. Rix became involved with Mencap (then the National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and Adults) to try to change this.
The actor, who was born in east Yorkshire, first found acting work at the age of 18 with Donald Wolfit's Royal Shakespeare Company while on deferred service from the Royal Air Force. Only a few months later, he played Sebastian in Twelfth Night in the West End. When his military deferment was extended, he gained more regular stage experience with the White Rose Players in Harrogate. After serving in the RAF, he ended up as a volunteer Bevin Boy, working in Doncaster's coal mines.
Rix made his name as an actor-manager after appearing on tour with Gray in the farce Reluctant Heroes by Colin Morris. He moved his company of comic performers, which included actors Leo Franklyn, Derek Royle, Terry Scott, Andrew Sachs and Rix's sister, Sheila Mercier, who later played Annie Sugden in Emmerdale Farm, into the Whitehall Theatre in 1950, where he enjoyed a long period of popular success, later moving to the Garrick Theatre. Key farces included Dry Rot by John Chapman and Chase Me, Comrade by Ray Cooney, and although this brand of comedy drew big audiences and enjoyed record-breaking runs Rix said he was resigned to not winning much recognition from the serious sector of the profession.
In 1980 theatre critic Michael Coveney expressed regret about critics' attitude to Whitehall farces. "A tradition of critical snobbery has grown up around these plays," he wrote, "partly because they were so blatantly popular, but chiefly because of our conviction that farce, unless written by a Frenchman, is an inferior theatrical species. Once the National Theatre has done its duty by Priestley and Rattigan and others teetering on the brink of theatrical respectability, I suggest they employ Mr Rix ... to investigate the ignored riches of English farce between Travers and Ayckbourn."
One-off TV comedies put on by Rix regularly drew audiences of 15 million or more, but few recordings survive. The actor was made a life peer in 1992. His daughter Shelley died in 2005. His sons are Jonathan and Jamie, a producer and a children's author. His surviving daughter is actor Louisa Rix, with whom he presented Let's Go for the BBC in the late 1970s and early 80s. It was the first television programme designed for people with a learning disability.
Brian Rix, Baron Rix died in August 2016 in England.- Paul Hardwick was born on 15 November 1918 in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Romeo and Juliet (1968), Octopussy (1983) and A Man for All Seasons (1966). He died on 22 October 1983 in London, England, UK.
- Lex Stephenson is a British actor born in Kingston upon Hull, East Yorkshire, of Scots-English descent.
Stephenson started acting at St. Mary's College CDMT in partnership with The Royal Shakespeare Company, where he also studied Law, English Literature and History. He graduated from The Brighton Academy in 2021 and is a member of National Youth Theatre UK and a Masterclass Youth Member of Theatre Royal Haymarket, London.
Stephenson has a number of notable stage and screen credits. He originated the character, Rory for the world premiere of 2 Dumb, a satirical rock musical by West End composer, Stuart Brayson and received critical acclaim as Ash in the UnTapped Award nominated production of Mad(e) directed by Yasmin Sidhwa BEM.
Stephenson made his screen debut in Rank Gong award-winning film, Dirty Nails (2013) and appeared in the BBC One drama series, Age Before Beauty (2018). He starred as Ollie Morrell in the multiple award-winning crime comedy, Low Rollers and appears in Sumotherhood, directed by BAFTA Winner Adam Deacon, with Jennifer Saunders, Peter Serafinowicz and Ed Sheeran.
As a survivor of childhood leukaemia, Stephenson continues to represent and support Children With Cancer UK (registered charity no. 298405). - Patricia Shakesby was born on 6 November 1938 in Cottingham, East Yorkshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Howards' Way (1985), Coronation Street (1960) and Detective (1964). She has been married to Alan Purkiss since 1997.
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Harry Pitch was born on 9 May 1925 in Sculcoates, Hull, Yorkshire East Riding, England, UK. He was a composer and actor, known for The Lair of the White Worm (1988), Widows' Peak (1994) and Night of Passion (1960). He was married to Ruby Simons. He died on 15 July 2015 in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK.- Laura Brattan was born in 1967 in Hull, East Yorkshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Menace (2002) and Heil Honey I'm Home! (1990).
- Rachel James was born on 29 September 1956 in Cottingham, East Yorkshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Practice (1985), All Creatures Great and Small (1978) and Capstick's Law (1989).
- Martin Barrass was born on 22 February 1956 in Kingston upon Hull, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Railway Children (2016), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and Remembrance (1982).
- Jean Kitson was born on 10 August 1928 in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Tales of the Unexpected (1979). She died on 1 July 2020 in the UK.
- Solitaire Mouneimne was born on 23 October 1985 in Hull, East Yorkshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Tanner (2007) and Footsteps (2006).
- John Kirk was born on 9 June 1968 in Hull, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Coronation Street (1960), EastEnders (1985) and Silent Witness (1996).
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
His first opportunity to tread a stage came during the war while serving with the Royal Corps of Signals and toured with Stars in Battledress. On demob he became a tyre salesman but after a year he joined a travelling company called Arena and played almost every theatre outside London. He spent about 9 years as actor and director of Nottingham Playhouse, He did some television , the Charlton Heston film of Julius Caesar before becoming the licensee Amos Brearly in the television series of Emmerdale Farm (now just called Emmerdale} He was educated and brought up at the Sir Joseph Mason Orphanage in Birmingham,- Born in Hull, East Yorkshire, England and spent a short time living in Seaham, County Durham before moving back to Hull.
Interested in acting from an early age but unable to pursue it until the age of 25, having worked in law firms before then and presently.
Loves sci-fi, horror, drama and comedy. A self confessed 'geek'. - Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Joe Longthorne was born on 31 May 1955 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Joe Longthorne Show (1988), Granada Reports (1992) and The Nineteenth Hole (1989). He was married to James Moran. He died on 3 August 2019 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK.- Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Graham Dixon was born on 13 January 1960 in Hull, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Time Team America (2009), King's Christmas (1986) and B & B (1992).- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Paul Morris was born on 12 March 1987 in Kingston-Upon-Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an assistant director and actor, known for Alleycats (2016), Home and Censor (2021).- Animation Department
- Director
- Art Department
Harold Whitaker was born on 5 June 1920 in Cottingham, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a director, known for Heavy Metal (1981), Animal Farm (1954) and Habatales (1959). He died on 26 December 2013 in England, UK.- Actress
Janet Prince was born in Willerby, Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. She is known for Phase (2021), Pleasure Island (2015) and Coronation Street (1960). She has been married to Stephen Frost since 1978.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Stuart Matthewman was born on 18 August 1960 in Hull, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Sea of Love (1989) and Spanglish (2004).- Lionel Davidson was born on 31 March 1922 in Hull, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Kolymsky Heights, Armchair Thriller (1978) and Agent 8 3/4 (1964). He was married to Frances Ullman and Fay Jacobs. He died on 21 October 2009 in London, England, UK.
- Alex Deakin was born in North Ferriby, Kingston-Upon-Hull, East Yorkshire, England, UK.
- Derek Monsey was born on 28 March 1921 in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. Derek was a writer, known for Armchair Theatre (1956) and ITV Playhouse (1967). Derek was married to Yvonne Mitchell. Derek died on 13 February 1979 in Westminster, London, England, UK.
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Katie Jane Garside was born on 8 July 1968 in Buckrose, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. She is an actress and producer, known for Daisy Chainsaw: Hope Your Dreams Come True (1992), Driver: Parallel Lines (2006) and Daisy Chainsaw: Love Your Money (1992).- William Wilberforce was born on 24 August 1759 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. He died on 29 July 1833 in London, England.
- Sebastian Horsley was born on 8 August 1962 in Holderness, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Happy? (2009), The Naked Archaeologist (2005) and SexTV (1998). He was married to Evelynn Smith. He died on 17 June 2010 in London, England, UK.
- Adam Castiel Burke was born on 21 August 1990 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Rise of the Departed (2018).
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jim Radford was born on 1 October 1928 in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. He was an actor, known for Jim Radford: The Shores of Normandy (2019), Good Morning Britain (2014) and The One Show (2006). He died on 6 November 2020 in London, England.- Jane Eccles was born on 19 August 1895 in Nafferton, East Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Jane Eyre (1963), Armchair Theatre (1956) and ITV Television Playhouse (1955). She died on 12 July 1966 in London, England, UK.
- Kim Fenton was born in South Dalton, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He is known for Children of Men (2006), Bugs (1995) and Unmasked Part 25 (1988).
- Writer
- Actor
Steve Coombes was born in Hull, East Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Lovejoy (1986), Vera (2011) and What Rats Won't Do (1998). He died in February 2021 in Ramsgate, Kent, England, UK.- Make-Up Department
- Special Effects
Hayley Young was born on 29 May 1988 in Beverley, East Yorkshire, England, UK. Hayley is known for Official Secrets (2019), G.O.D.Tech (2026) and The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019).