Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-6 of 6
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
In the 1960s and 1970s, Dick Emery was one of the most successful comics on the box. He was voted BBC TV Personality of the Year, thanks to creations such as his toothy vicar, sex-starved spinster Hettie, crusty old Lampwick, outrageously camp Clarence, who coined the phrase: "Hallo honky tonks". Perhaps the most memorable of all was Mandy, a busty middle-aged woman whose repressed nature was usually betrayed by a sudden affectionate slap and a cry of: "Ooh, you are awful. But I like you!".
While his creations left millions howling, in private Emery was a man with a terrible fear of failure. He was often sick before performances and would sleep to escape stage nerves prior to a performance. Bob Monkhouse once incurred his wrath by accidentally waking him before a Royal Variety Performance. Emery exploded in a torrent of abuse as Monkhouse recalled in his book 'Over the Limit'. Emery used to spend hours in analysis, was hypnotised, tried many sedatives and drugs to cure his tension - though the pills scared him as much as the fear of failure.
He once told friend and co-star Roy Kinnear: "I don't just envy the confidence that other comics seem to have, I resent it. I hate them for it, just like my dad did. If there's such a thing as a chip off the old block, it's on my shoulder."
Emery married five times and left his last wife to live with a showgirl 30 years younger than him. His BBC show was axed after 12 years in 1979 and he died four years later.- Producer
- Director
- Actress
Harriet Parsons was born on 23 August 1906 in Burlington, Iowa, USA. She was a producer and director, known for Clash by Night (1952), Susan Slept Here (1954) and The Enchanted Cottage (1945). She was married to King Kennedy. She died on 2 January 1983 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Olive Mercer was born on 15 September 1905 in Hendon, Middlesex [now in Barnet, London], England, UK. She was an actress, known for Wives and Daughters (1971), Dad's Army (1968) and Sex and the Other Woman (1972). She was married to Charles Harry Mercer. She died on 2 January 1983 in Hillingdon, Hillingdon, London, England, UK.
- Alba Múgica was born in 1916 in Argentina. She was an actress, known for Reportaje en el infierno (1959), Con el más puro amor (1966) and Masterworks of Terror (1959). She died on 2 January 1983 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Maria Besendahl was born on 12 November 1901 in Schwerin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Gejagt bis zum Morgen (1957), Great Freedom No. 7 (1944) and The Rabbit Is Me (1965). She died on 2 January 1983 in Schwerin, German Democratic Republic.
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Bernard Stevens was born on 2 March 1916 in London, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Maniacs on Wheels (1949), The Upturned Glass (1947) and The Mark of Cain (1947). He died on 2 January 1983 in London, England, UK.