British Actors Archives - Page 91 of 137

Pete Postlethwaite

Peter Postlethwaite was born in 1914 in Warrington, Lancashire. He started his acting career at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. His first major film role was in Terence Davies”Distant Voices, Still Lives” in 1988. He went on to make “In the Name of the Father” as Daniel Day Lewis’s father, “The Usual Suspects”, “Brassed Off” and “The Shipping News”. His final film was “Killing Bono”. He died in 2011.

Gary Brumburgh’s entry:

An odd-looking but quite fascinating bloke with prominent, bony cheeks and almost a rawboned figure, the distinguished character actor Pete Postlethwaite was born Peter William Postlethwaite in 1946 and grew up in Lancashire, England amid middle-class surroundings. He went to college and while completing his studies developed an interest in theatre, to the chagrin of his family. His father, a labourer, wanted him to find a more secure position in life.

A drama teacher initially, he decided to follow his acting instincts full-time and gradually built up an impressive array of classical stage credits via repertory, including the Bristol Old Vic Drama School, and in stints with Liverpool Everyman, Machester Royal Exchange and the Royal Shakespeare Company. By the 80s he was ready to branch out into film and TV, giving a startling performance as a wife abuser in the British film Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988). His highly distinctive features were subsequently put to good use in a number of versatile roles, usually menacing but sometimes humble, and most frequently as working-class types.

By 1993 he had crossed over into Hollywood parts and earned his first Oscar nomination for his superb role as Daniel Day-Lewis‘ father in In the Name of the Father (1993). Other quality roles came his way with The Usual Suspects (1995), Brassed Off (1996), andAmistad (1997). Television has been a creative and positive venue as well with fine work in Sharpe’s Company (1994), Lost for Words (1999) and The Sins (2000). Working equally both here and abroad these days, Postlethwaite avoids the public limelight for the most part and lives quietly in England.

Postlethwaite continued on in films with roles in The Shipping News (2001), The Limit(2004), Dark Water (2005), The Omen (2006), Ghost Son (2007) and Solomon Kane(2009). 2010 was a banner film year for the actor with roles in the popular and/or highly acclaimed films Clash of the Titans (2010), Inception (2010) and The Town (2010). Married and the father of two, Postlewaite died on January 2, 2011, at age 64, following a recurrence of the cancer he had battled two decades earlier.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Spouse (1)

Julie Goodyear was born in 1942 in Lancashire. She is of course best known for her portrayal of Beth Lynch in “Coronation Street”. She made her television debut in 1966 in “The Man in Room 17″ and went on to act in £The Contenders” and “A Family At War”.

“MailOnline” article:

She’s the Rover’s Return most beloved barmaid but actress Julie Goodyear has admitted she regrets returning to Coronation Street for an ill-fated 17 day stint.

The 71-year-old had 22 million viewers tune in when she departed the Street in 1995, before returning to the cobbles seven years later.

But the star quit just a couple of weeks after her much hyped return, explaining in a new interview that it was all down to the major changes in shooting schedules.

Julie has spoken out on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories about her life as Corrie’s Bet Lynch, a role that she’s been playing since 1966.

The actress made her return to the soap in 2002, in what was intended to be a permanent comeback.

A little over a fortnight later though and Julie quit after struggling with the workload.

In an interview for Life Stories to be screened by ITV on Friday, she claimed she had not been told about how the demands of filming had changed since she left the Street seven years earlier.

‘I was asked to go back as a favour. So, yes, I do regret going back,’ Goodyear reveals.

‘What somebody had omitted to tell me, in the transition period, were all the changes that had happened.’ You know, all the older members of cast that had been there, since it had gone through from three to five episodes, had been eased gently into it, and all the new kids coming in weren’t used to working any other way.’

The actress explains that during her seven year break the shooting schedule had changed dramatically:

‘But when I walked in, it was like being on a conveyor belt. We’d always had rehearsal. We’d always had make-up and costume and everything. I had about 27 Rovers scenes and we started at the end. “Sorry, the end?” I was used to beginning at the beginning and building up.’

Despite lasting just 17 days, Julie insists that she made the right decision, and feels no sense of failure: ‘I thought, “It’s time I put my health, for the first time, first.”’

Goodyear, who was last seen on TV screens for the 2012 series of Celebrity Big Brother, also spoke about her fourth husband Scott Brand, whom she married in 2007.

They first met in 1996 when he delivered plaster to a house she was renovating, with the soap star admitting that she only agreed to walk down the aisle again after Scott, 45, proposed to her every day for 11 years.

‘I might renew his contract. He’s been the best of a bad bunch, he really has,’ she says. Asked if she was happily married, she responded: ‘Very.’

The above “MailOnline” can also be accessed online here.

Stephen Yardley was born in North Yorkshire in 1942. He is best known for two television series “The XYY Man” in 1976 and later “Howard’s Way”. His films include “Atlantic Wall” in 1970, “Adolf Hitler – My Part in his Downfall”.

Stephen Murray Wikipedia.

Stephen Murray was born in 1912 in Lincolnshire. He made his movie debut in “Pgymalion” in 1938. Among his film credits are “Master of Bankdam”, “My Brother Jonathan”, “London Belongs to Me” and “The Nun’s Story” in 1959. He died in 1983.

“Wikipedia entry”

A member of Clan Murray headed by the Duke of Atholl, he was born in Partney, Lincolnshire, the son of the Reverend Charles Murray, Rector of Kirby Knowle, Yorkshire, and Mabel (née Umfreville). He was the great-grandson of the Right Reverend George Murray, Bishop of Rochester, while the diplomat Sir Ralph Murray was his elder brother. He was educated at Brentwood School, Essex and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London.^[1] He was also the great uncle of the comedian Al Murray.

Murray found his greatest fame as the new Number 1, later promoted to Lieutenant Commander in The Navy Lark on BBC Radio. His film debut was as the second police officer who interrupts an amorous Eliza and Freddy (Wendy Hiller and David Tree) in Pygmalion (1938). He was Gladstone to John Gielgud‘s Disraeli in The Prime Minister in 1941. He played Dr. Stephan Petrovitch in the 1943 Ealing war film Undercover. Among his other larger film roles were Uncle Henry in London Belongs to Me (1948, heavily made-up to look several decades older) and the lead in Terence Fisher‘s Four Sided Triangle (1953). He once again appeared under heavy make-up as the elderly Dr Manette in A Tale of Two Cities (1958).

Murray made his stage debut at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1933, and he played such parts as Seyton in Macbeth, among smaller roles. He later did seasons at the Malvern Festival and at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where he played Hamlet. He worked at the Old Vic in London with Laurence Olivier and Tyrone Guthrie. He also played at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, and in the West End. At the Westminster Theatre in 1940 he portrayed the title character in John Drinkwater‘s Abraham Lincoln. He was in many of the plays of George Bernard Shaw, and he did later engagements at the Mermaid Theatre in London and at Stratford, Ontario, Canada. His leading roles on television includedSvengali. In 1952 he returned to the Old Vic to play King Lear, and toured Europe in that production. Several years later he also played Lear on radio.

Radio became one of Murray’s most triumphant acting areas. He played Macbeth in 1947 with Flora Robson, a month after playing the part on television (with Ruth Lodge), so different were the two medium’s audiences deemed to be. He played the part again on radio in 1960. He was a fine Leontes in The Winter’s Tale in 1951 with Elspeth March andFay Compton, and again in 1966 with Rachel Gurney and Edith Evans. He played Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens both in 1961 and in 1975. In 1964, he played the title role in the monumental BBC Radio production of Marlowe’s Tamburlaine with Sheila Allen as Zenocrate with Timothy West, Andrew Sachs, Joss Ackland, Gabriel Woolf, Bruce Condell and other leading Shakespearian actors of the day. He did two versions of the BBC radio epic The Rescue by Edward Sackville-West, where he played Odysseus. Other classic ’50s roles included Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, John Gabriel Borkman and Brand as well as Calderon’s The Mayor of Zalamea. However, his longest running part was that of “No 1” inThe Navy Lark in which he starred from 1960 to 1977.

In 1970 Murray played alongside Glenda Jackson in the BBC drama series Elizabeth R about the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In this he played Sir Francis Walsingham, head of Elizabeth’s secret service, and a noted Puritan, whose work exposed the Babington Plot which led to the trial and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. Even in the 1970s he enjoyed the difficult roles, like August Strindberg‘s To Damascus with Zena Walker.

His expressive voice was often anguished and uncertain in his roles, so he was ideal for A Hospital Case by Dino Buzatti, a play which Albert Camus had translated and adapted for the Paris stage. He also did new radio work like Peter Tegel’s Rocklife. In 1970 he was the old Prince Bolkonsky in BBC radio’s War and Peace. He tried his hand at science fiction in radio’s The Tor Sands Experience by Bruce Stewart.

Murray married Joan Alestha, daughter of John Joseph Moy Butterfield, in 1937. He died in London on 31 March 1983, aged 70.

The above “Wikipedia” entry can also be accessed online here.

“Wikipedia” entry:

The Beverley Sisters are a British female vocal trio, most popular during the 1950s and 1960s. The trio comprises eldest sister Joy(born Joycelyn V. Chinery, 5 May 1924),^{[nb 1]}^[2] and the twins, Teddie (born Hazel P. Chinery, 5 May 1927) and Babs (born Babette P. Chinery, 5 May 1927).^[3] Their style is loosely modelled on that of their American counterpart The Andrews Sisters. Their notable successes have included “Sisters“, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and “Little Drummer Boy“.^[4]

They were all born in Bethnal Green, London, the daughters of George Arthur Chinery and Victoria Alice Miles (married 1916), who were known as the music hall act ‘Coram and Mills’,^[5] and are related to the Lupino family of theatre performers.^[6] They were evacuated to Northampton in the Second World War, and, after starting work as typists,^[7]auditioned successfully to take part in an advertising campaign for the malt drink Ovaltine.^[8] Photographer Jock Ware encouraged them to audition for BBC Radio. They did so in November 1944, and met Glenn Miller who – shortly before his disappearance – offered them the opportunity to record with members of his orchestra.^[9] They first appeared in programmes for the Allied Expeditionary Forces, recorded in Bedford.^[10]

Immediately after the war they toured with Eric Winstone and his Orchestra,^[6] and began making regular appearances on the BBC’s early television programmes. They also performed for NBC in the US with surviving members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. After their return to Britain, promoter Val Parnell booked them to appear at the London Palladium with Gracie Fields; although Fields refused, without explanation, to appear with them, the following year they performed with Danny Kaye. The BBC gave them their own television series, initially called Three Little Girls on View but later renamed as Those Beverley Sisters, which ran for seven years and on which they gave live performances of popular songs of the day.^[4]

In 1951 they signed a recording deal with the UK Columbia record label, later moving to the Philips and Decca labels before returning to Columbia in 1960. Their biggest hits on the UK singles chart were versions of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” (no.6, 1953) and “Little Drummer Boy” (no.6, 1959),^[11] which were both Christmas hits.^[4] In 1956, their version of the traditional song “Greensleeves“, orchestrated by Roland Shaw, became their only US chart hit, reaching no.41 on the Billboard pop chart.^[5]^[12] Generally preferring live cabaret and television appearances over recording work,^[5] the song “Sisters”, written by Irving Berlin and originally recorded in 1954 by Rosemary Clooney and her sister Betty, became their theme song;^[4] it has been claimed that Berlin wrote the song for the Beverley Sisters.^[9]

The Sisters are widely credited as having been the highest paid female entertainers in the UK for more than 20 years.^[8]^[9] In 1952, 1958 and 1978, they appeared at the Royal Variety Performance.^[13]^[14]^[15] In January 1961, they appeared on the radio show, Desert Island Discs.^[16] They also appeared on the television show, Stars on Sunday.^[17]

Their career was revitalised in the 1980s, after their children – who had begun performing together as the Foxes – invited them onstage at the London Hippodrome, encouraged by club owner Peter Stringfellow. The three Sisters began performing again for British troops, as well as in gay clubs in Britain, and they produced a new album, Sparkle. They performed as part of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002, and toured with Max Bygraves that year, the 50th anniversary of their appearance at the Royal Variety Performance. They also took part in the D-Day 60th anniversary memorial concerts in 2004.^[4]^[5]^[8]

The Sisters entered the Guinness World Records in 2002, as the world’s longest surviving vocal group without a change in the original line up.^[18] As recently as 2009, the Beverley Sisters appeared in concerts and matinee shows in the United Kingdom. They forged links with the Burma Star Association, as well as McCarthy & Stone, where the Sisters were invited to open each new housing development designed specifically for retired people. However, they are now fully retired, and live close to each other in Barnet.^[9]

Joy married Billy Wright on 28 July 1958 at Poole Register Office; Wright was the first footballer to play for England 100 times. They were married for 36 years until Billy died ofcancer in September 1994.^[19]

In the 2006 New Year Honours list they were each awarded an MBE.^[8]

The above “Wikipedia” entry can also be accessed online here.

Tim Woodward was born in London in 1953. He is the son of actor Edward Woodward. He made his debut in “Galileo” in 1975. His films include James Ivory’s “The Europeans” opposite Lee Remick.

“Wikipedia” entry:

Tim Woodward (born 24 April 1953) is an English actor.

Woodward was born in London, England, the son of actors Edward Woodward and Venetia Mary Barrett. He was educated atHaileybury and Imperial Service College.

He is probably best known for his starring roles in the 1970s BBC drama Wings, as Squadron Leader Rex in Piece of Cake (1988), the 1990s ITV soap opera Families and the 2000s ITV police drama Murder City. He also portrayed Leonard “Nipper” Read of Scotland Yard in the 2008 ITV adaptation of Jake Arnott‘s crime novel He Kills Coppers. He starred in the 1988 mini-series Piece of Cake as the wealthy, eccentric and by-the-book Squadron Leader Rex. He also guest starred with his father Edward and son Sam as aLondon gangster family in a special storyline for The Bill in 2008. Also, he appeared with his father Edward in an episode of American TV’s The Equalizer, where he played Robert McCall’s father in a flashback scene. He is the brother of actors Peter Woodward and Sarah Woodward.

Other TV credits include: The Irish RM, Tales of the Unexpected, Pie in the Sky, Absolutely Fabulous, Prime Suspect, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries—Bribery and Corruption withJames D’Arcy, New Tricks, Midsomer Murders, Murphy’s Law, Rosemary & Thyme and Agatha Christie’s Poirot.

He had a cameo role in William Mager’s short film Stiletto, completed in June 2008.

The above “Wikipedia” entry can also be accessed online here.

Tim Woodward died in 2023 aged 70.

Tina Hobley was born in 1972 in Mill Hill, London. She is currently in BBC”s “Holby City”. Between 1996 and 1998 she was in “Coronation Street”.

“Female First” Interview from 2013:

The big news was announced a few weeks ago that you’re quitting Holby City, how hard of a decision was that to make?

After more than 12 years on Holby it was always going to be an incredibly difficult decision, but I am so excited to see what the future holds for me.

What are you looking to do after you finish filming in September?

I’m looking to have a little bit of fun, a little bit of variety of work and new projects and maybe some travel.

What sort of roles would you like to try?

The reason I am branching out is to explore all avenues, so whether that’s a bit of theatre, film, presenting, we’ll see what the future holds

With such a busy schedule how do you manage to stay in such great shape?

I don’t like the gym, but I love yoga because it combines relaxation and strengthening work so I squeeze that in whenever I can. I’m a firm believer in everything in moderation.

What’s your favourite workouts?

Any form of yoga I’ll try! I’m looking forward to being able to do more of that.

Do you follow a strict diet?

No, not at all, it’s always everything in moderation. I try to be good Monday to Wednesday, and then treat myself towards the end of the week.

Summer holidays are fast approaching, how to do you ensure you’re ready for the beach?

I try to get a few yoga classes in and try to cut down on the carbs before I go.

Tina Hobley is working with Sorelle, a 0% alcohol wine-style drink, to help women get summer ready – @Sorelledrink/ Facebook.com/Sorelledrink

by Taryn Davies for www.femalefirst.co.uk

The above “Female First” interview can also be accessed on line here.

Tom Conti was born in 1941 in Paisley, Scotland. He made his television debut in 1959 in “Mother of Men”. He built up an extensive televise resume before venturing into film. His television successes include “Madame Bovary” in 1975, “The Glittering Prizes” and “The Norman Conquests”. His films include “Reuben, Reuben” which he made in the U.S. and “Shirley Valentine” with Pauline Collins.

Gary Brumburgh’s entry:

Preferring contemporary over classical theatre (with nary a Shakespeare stage credit in sight), one of West End theatre’s most enduring and popular faces of the past four decades has been that of Tom Conti. He was born Thomas Antonio Conti on November 22, 1941, in Paisley, Scotland to a pair of hairdressers (Alfonso, his Italian immigrant father, and Mary McGoldrick, his Irish-Catholic mother). A student at Hamilton Park Catholic School (for boys), he initially trained for a musical career as a classical pianist but switched gears while attending the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Conti’s acting credits began with the Citizen’s Theatre’s 1959 production of “The Roving Boy” at age 18.

Throughout the 1960s he tried to make ends meet on the Glasgow and English repertory stages but gained little momentum despite some scattered TV appearances in between. Unable to find the break to sustain himself, he considered leaving the arts at one point for a steadier career in medicine. While performing in the 1972 play “The Black and White Minstrels” at the Traverse Theatre for the Edinburgh Festival, however, he was spotted and cast in the TV series Adam Smith (1972), thus beginning a more promising streak of work. He would return to the play in 1974 at the Hampstead Theatre, where he also performed in “Other People” (also 1974) and as the title role of “Don Juan” (1976). An earlier London stage debut in 1973 with the acclaimed Christopher Hampton play “Savages” also helped move things along.

Following a number of successful Engish mini-series roles, particularly his slothful Charles Bovary in Madame Bovary (1975), Jewish novelist Adam Morris in The Glittering Prizes(1976), and ever-conquesting Norman in “The Norman Conquest” trilogy by Alan Ayckbourn, Tom reaped huge career rewards under the theatre lights starring as a paralyzed sculptor in both the London and Broadway mountings of the right-to-die play “Whose Life is it Anyway?” in 1979. Among the reaps were the Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Laurence Olivier, and Variety Club Awards; among the rewards was a 1980s film career in starring roles. Despite losing out on recreating his “Whose Life…” role on film (Richard Dreyfuss was granted that opportunity in 1981), Tom absolutely wowed American audiences with his scene-stealing work in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) andReuben, Reuben (1983). He was given the National Board of Review award for his participation in both films, and earned a “leading actor” Oscar nomination for the latter in which he played an alcoholic Scottish writer. To date, he has not received another Oscar nomination or, arguably, been handed comparative film roles since.

Continuing in American films with the lesser-received American Dreamer (1984) andSaving Grace (1986), he failed to nab what seemed quite inevitable — Hollywood screen stardom. He did, however, venture off to find other film projects to star or co-star in over the years — both here and abroad. These have included Shirley Valentine (1989) oppositePauline Collins, Someone Else’s America (1995), Out of Control (1998), Paid (2006) andBlind Revenge (2010) with Daryl Hannah.

Not one to frequent pubs himself, he nevertheless earned glowing reviews disappearing into the lives of two notorious celebrity tipplers — columnist Jeffrey Bernard in “Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell” (1990, 2000, 2006) and bon vivant actor John Barrymore in “One Helluva Life” (2002) — in separate one-man stage shows. A writer as well, the versatile Conti published the thriller novel “The Doctor” in 2004. He has long been married to Scottish actress Kara Wilson (since 1967), who has appeared with him on stage (“Present Laughter” and “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers”, both of which he also directed) as well as TV and film. Daughter Nina is an actress and ventriloquist. The couple maintain residence in London.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Miriam Margoyles was born in 1941 in Oxford. She is a scene stealing character actress who shines in every role she plays. Her movies include “The Awakeing” with Charlton Heston in 1980, “The Apple”, “Yebtl” with Barbra Streisand and “Age of Innocence” with Daniel Day-Lewis which she filmed in the U.S.

IMDB entry:

A veteran of stage and screen, award-winning actress Miriam Margolyes has achieved success on both sides of the Atlantic. Winner of the BAFTA Best Supporting Actress award in 1993 for The Age of Innocence (1993) she also received Best Supporting Actress at the 1989 LA Critics Circle Awards for her role in Little Dorrit (1988) and a Sony Radio Award for Best Actress on “Radio” in 1993. She was the voice of Fly the dog in Babe(1995).

Major credits during her long and celebrated career include Yentl (1983), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), I Love You to Death (1990), End of Days (1999), Sunshine (1999), Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Cats & Dogs (2001), Magnolia (1999) and she was Prof. Sprout inHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).

Most recently Margolyes appeared in Stephen Hopkins‘ The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), Modigliani (2004), István Szabó‘s Being Julia (2004) and Ladies in Lavender (2004) (with Dames Maggie Smith and Judi Dench), which is opening at the NY Tribeca Festival on April 23rd.

Most memorable TV credits include Screen Two: Old Flames (1990), Freud (1984), The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1986), The Black Adder (1983), The Girls of Slender Means(1975), _Oliver Twist (1982) (TV)_, The History Man (1981), Vanity Fair (2004) , Supply & Demand (1997). She was Franny in the CBS sitcom Frannie’s Turn (1992) and starred recently in the Miss Marple episode, “Murder at the Vicarage”.

Stage credits include “The Vagina Monologues”, Sir Peter Hall‘s Los Angeles production of “Romeo & Juliet”, “She Stoops to Conquer” and “Orpheus Descending” (all for Sir Peter Hall), “The Killing of Sister George”, “The Threepenny Opera” (Tony Richardson), Michael Lindsay-Hogg‘s “The White Devil” at The Old Vic, the Bristol Old Vic production of “The Canterbury Tales” and her own award-winning, one-woman show, “Dickens’ Woman”. In the 2002 Queen’s New Years Honours List, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded her the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British) Empire for her services to Drama.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Paul Coates

The above IMDB entry can also be accessed online here.