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1-41 of 41
- Actress
- Soundtrack
The daughter of a musical conductor, fair-haired, matronly Brenda de Banzie appeared in around 40 films. As the result of two outstanding performances she became an unexpected star when well into her middle age. Brenda first came to public notice as a sixteen year old chorus girl on the London stage in "Du Barry Was a Lady" in 1942. By that time, she had already been treading the boards in repertory for some seven years. The theatre was, first and foremost, her preferred medium. In the early 1950s, she had an excellent run of top-billed performances at the West End which included "Venus Observed" with Laurence Olivier, and "Murder Mistaken", in which she played a wealthy hotel owner whose husband is plotting to bump her off for her money. For this, she won the coveted Clarence Derwent Award as Best Supporting Actress.
Critical plaudits tempted her to try her luck on screen, so Brenda eventually made her celluloid debut in Anthony Bushell's murder mystery The Long Dark Hall (1951). Her performance -- as a rather vulgar and dowdy boarding house landlady -- drew good notices, including one from Bosley Crowther of The New York Times. In 1954, director David Lean cast Brenda in her defining role as Maggie Hobson, an ambitious spinster, opposite Charles Laughton and John Mills in Hobson's Choice (1954). As it turned out, she pretty much stole every scene from her illustrious co-stars. Rather surprisingly, a BAFTA eluded her. In 1958, Brenda landed the prize role of Phoebe Rice, the bitter, alcoholic wife of a second-rate music hall performer (played superbly by Olivier) in John Osborne's The Entertainer (1960). She recreated her performance for Broadway and for the film version in 1960 and received a Tony Award nomination. Sadly, despite such promise her stock did not improve thereafter and she was relegated for the remainder of her career to matronly character roles. Brenda passed away on the operating table during surgery for a non-malignant brain tumor in March 1981.- Tony Steedman was born on 21 August 1927 in Warwickshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), Citizen Smith (1977) and Scrooged (1988). He was married to Judy Parfitt and Ann Steedman. He died on 4 February 2001 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.
- He could have been described as the "British Vincent Price". This distinguished actor was probably best known for his voice work. His low, resonant and mellifluous tones were employed to chill and excite for at least half a century. His most famous radio role was as "The Man In Black", back in the late 1940s, but he was making radio appearances as late as 1980 in "The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy", and undoubtedly later, and was in the BBC Television Shakespeare in the year of his death, at 77.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Corey Fischer is an actor, writer, director and teacher who has been creating and performing theatre for five decades with a focus on collaborative creation, performance and improvisation. His work has often included mask, puppetry and music. Most recently, he played Shimon Peres in Marin Theatre Company's acclaimed west-coast premiere of "Oslo." In 2016, performed his own solo play with music, "Lightning in the Brain," developed with and directed by Naomi Newman. Lightning ran for eight weeks at The Marsh, San Francisco's celebrated solo performance venue.
In 1978, with Albert Greenberg and Naomi Newman, Fischer co-founded Traveling Jewish Theatre, with whom he worked for 34 years until it closed in May, 2012. He collaborated on more than two dozen works for TJT. His solo show, "Sometimes We Need a Story More Than Food" was one of the Los Angeles Times' ten best productions of 1993 and won a Marin county playwriting fellowship. In 1999 he received a Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays award for his play, "See Under: Love." (Since then it was published in Nine Contemporary Jewish Plays, University of Texas Press) Recent playwriting commissions include,"I'm Calling the Police," inspired by a story by psychiatrist and author Irvin Yalom and Robert Berger and "In the Maze of Our Own Lives," based on the history of the Group Theater. In 2007, Corey played Willy Loman in TJT's groundbreaking production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," directed by Aaron Davidman. The company's first production of a classic American play received glowing reviews and was on several "best productions" of the year lists.
Later in 2009, Corey played the inscrutable Rabbi Saunders in "The Chosen" at the South Bay's TheatreWorks/Silicon Valley. At the end of 2012, he directed Brecht's "The Good Person of Setzuan" at California State University, East Bay.
Before founding TJT, Corey worked in film, television and theatre in Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver, B.C.. Along the way, he worked with the legendary acting teacher, Jeff Corey, improvisational innovator Del Close and visionary directors Robert Altman (Corey had featured roles in Altman's M*A*S*H, "Brewster McCloud" and "McCabe and Mrs Miller") and Joseph Chaikin.
Robert Hurwitt, senior drama critic (retired) for the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote that Fischer is "One of the Bay Area's acting treasures." Fischer also teaches, coaches and consults with individuals and groups.- John Cliff was born on 26 November 1918 in Swainsboro, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for The Money Jungle (1967), The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962) and The Milkman (1950). He died on 12 May 2001 in Hayward, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Andrew Tourell was born on 18 January 1946 in Islington, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), Waiting for God (1990) and Dixon of Dock Green (1955). He died on 17 January 2004 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.- Writer
- Producer
Stanley Dubens was born on 8 April 1920 in Willesden, Middlesex, England, UK. He was a writer and producer, known for Modesty Blaise (1966). He died on 14 January 1996 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.- Alec Wallis was born on 2 December 1920 in Lewisham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), Inside Out (1985) and Little Dorrit (1987). He died on 12 August 2004 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.
- Trained as a Russian cavalry officer (graduate of the Grand Duke's Miltary Academy in 1913), Konovaloff emigrated from Russia after the Communist seizure of power and victory in the Russian Civil War. The "White Army" lost and its officers, like Konovaloff, sought political asylum abroad. After considering England, he eventually decided to migrate to the USA. Although he claimed to have held the rank of colonel in the Russian Army, once in the USA. he somehow picked up the pseudonym of "Major Nichols." In the 1920s Hollywood was turning out countless westerns requiring many horses and riders, and ex-cavalrymen from the White Russian Army were much in demand for their equestrian skills. As Konovaloff eventually matured, he was cast in higher military ranks, even generals. (Compare Emil Jannings' character in the 1928 "Last Command.") Konovaloff seems to have worked mainly for MGM in the late 1920s, unfortunately without official screen credit, although his obituary states he acted in at least 2 Garbo vehicles for MGM, "Love" and "Mysterious Lady." For a time in the 1930s he was hired by Paramount, and also worked for other, lesser studios. Ironically, his official screen credits, numbering four, identify him by his true name, "Konovaloff," only in one film, and under his pseudonym, "Major Nichols," in three films. His grandson, also named Nicholai Konovaloff in honor of the old man, now works as a photographer in Sacramento, California. His help was indispensable in putting together this biographical sketch.
- Production Manager
- Producer
- Writer
John Croydon was born on 3 November 1907 in London, England, UK. He was a production manager and producer, known for First Man Into Space (1959), The Projected Man (1966) and The Haunted Strangler (1958). He died in February 1994 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.- Lynn Tracy was born on 21 February 1936. She was an actress, known for Curse of the Demon (1957) and Miracle in Soho (1957). She was married to Charles Juroe. She died on 23 August 2001 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, Englnsd.
- Kenji Shibuya was born on 16 May 1921 in Utah, USA. He was an actor, known for Kung Fu (1972), Days of a Bawdy Ballad (1983) and Stampede Wrestling (1957). He was married to Janet. He died on 3 May 2010 in Hayward, California, USA.
- Daniel Murray was born on 10 August 1965 in Cuckfield, Sussex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist (1980), The Sunday Drama (1977) and To the Lighthouse (1983). He died on 4 August 1999 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.
- David Hume was born in 1906 in Manchester, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Crime Unlimited (1935), Death Cell (1941) and Too Dangerous to Live (1939). He died on 6 February 1945 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.
- Julie Connell was born on 15 April 1966. She died on 22 April 1984 in Hayward, California, USA.
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Douglas Kentish was born on 20 October 1928. He was a producer and assistant director, known for Entertaining Mr Sloane (1970), Nightlights (1952) and Food for Thought (1984). He died on 14 November 2009 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.- Clare Harris was born on 30 June 1889 in Bundoran, County Donegal, Ireland. She was an actress, known for What Happened to Harkness? (1934) and The Jewel (1933). She was married to Wallett Waller. She died on 5 July 1949 in Haywards Heath, Sussex, England, UK.
- F. Vivian Dunn was born on 24 December 1908 in Jabalpur, Central Provinces, British India. He was married to Margery Halliday. He died on 3 April 1995 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.
- Kay Woodman was born on 7 April 1925 in Romford, Essex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for All Creatures Great & Small (1978) and Quiet Revolution (1956). She was married to Valentine Dyall. She died on 22 November 2003 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.
- Diana Morrison was born on 6 June 1914 in Fulham, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Swiss Family Robinson (1939), Cuckoo College (1949) and Cinderella (1950). She died on 15 January 2000 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.
- Lester Fisher was born on 24 February 1921 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He died on 22 December 2021 in Hayward, Wisconsin, USA.
- Sheila McCarthy was born on 19 July 1913 in Greenwich, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Sleeping Princess (1939), Job (1936) and The Rake's Progress (1939). She died on 10 December 2003 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.
- Geoffrey Gorer was born on 26 March 1905 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. He died on 24 May 1985 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.
- Stunts
Clement K. Phillips was born on 20 July 1900 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He died on 4 October 1928 in Hayward, California, USA.- John Deverell was born on 30 May 1880 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Divine Spark (1935), Because of Love (1936) and John Forrest Finds Himself (1920). He died on 2 March 1965 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, UK.