Coronation Street actress Betty Driver dies, aged 91

Coronation Street actress Betty Driver, who starred in the soap for more than 40 years, has died at the age of 91. Driver joined the ITV soap as barmaid Betty Turpin, later Williams, in 1969. Former co-star Julie Goodyear described her as "a true icon and legend and a very dear friend". ITV said Driver died peacefully in hospital on Saturday. She had already been in showbusiness for more than 40 years, touring the UK as a singer by the age of 12. Driver was appointed an MBE in 1999. Driver had originally auditioned for the role of Hilda Ogden in 1964 but was later persuaded to come out of retirement to audition for the role of Betty. She appeared in more than 2,800 episodes. In January 2011 she told the BBC she would never retire. "I just love working and I will never retire - ever - they'll have to shoot me to get rid of me," she said. "I just love people, you see, and I love the cast." ITV said Driver "died peacefully in hospital" early on Saturday morning. She had been in hospital for six weeks. "She will be sadly missed by everyone who knew her," the spokesman said. 'Foundation' of Rovers William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow in Coronation Street and worked alongside Driver for four decades, said he "loved her dearly". "She was not only a colleague, she was a friend and godmother to my son James," said Roache. "She will be missed in the Street but she will be missed more so as a warm and loving person." Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote I have lost a very dear friend and the Street has lost a very great character” End Quote Actress Barbara Knox Coronation character Rita Sullivan Fellow Coronation Street barmaid Julie Goodyear - character Bet Lynch - said Driver was "the very foundation of the Rovers Return". "It was an honour and a privilege to work with Betty Driver for 25 years. We laughed together, we cried together and never once had a cross word. She was a totally professional actress," she said. "She will be missed and remembered by millions." Barbara Knox, who plays Rita Sullivan in the soap, said: "I have lost a very dear friend and the Street has lost a very great character, a professional to her fingertips - she will be greatly missed." The soap's executive producer Kieran Roberts said Driver was a "wonderful actress and remarkable woman". "It is humbling to think that the 42 years she spent on Coronation Street was just half of her extraordinary career but Coronation Street certainly benefited when she decided to join our show in 1969," he said. "For more than four decades she delighted many millions of Coronation Street fans with her fantastic performance in countless great stories both dramatic and comic. Friend Charles Orr said: "A true legend has left us with enough love and memories to last a lifetime." Driver began performing at the age of eight Elizabeth Mary Driver was born in Leicester but moved to Manchester when she was just two years old. She described an unhappy childhood with little affection given to her or her younger sister Freda. At the age of eight she discovered that she could sing and her mother immediately began forcing her to enter talent contests. When she was just 14 she was given the leading role in the revue, Mr Tower of London, and was spotted by George Formby who cast her in his new film Boots! Boots! Her scenes as a cabaret singer ended up on the cutting room floor but many years later, the film was re-released on DVD with Driver's scenes restored. In 1940 Driver became a big band singer and toured extensively with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) appearing in shows for the troops. After World War II she continued touring and appeared in her own BBC radio show, A Date With Betty, which was broadcast live. She was cast in a series called Pardon the Expression, a comedy spin-off from Coronation Street, before retiring and then appearing on Coronation Street. Driver had a seven-year marriage to singer Wally Peterson, which ended in her late 30s.

David Croft

Obituary:

David Croft, co-writer and producer of classic comedies including 'Allo 'Allo and Hi-de-Hi has died at the age of 89, his family has announced. He died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Portugal. His family called him a "truly great man" in a statement. Croft's military sitcoms It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Dad's Army, written with Jimmy Perry, were hits in the 1970s. He is also credited with Are You Being Served and its 1990s spin-off Grace and Favour. Actor Melvyn Hayes, one of the stars of It Ain't Half Hot Mum, called Croft a "genius" and said it was "a privilege to work with" him. "There were no swear words in his shows. His programmes were the kind of thing you could sit in front of the TV and watch with your grandmother and grandchildren," he told the BBC. Welsh actress Ruth Madoc, who played Gladys Pugh in Hi-de-Hi, also paid tribute to the writer. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote He just knew what tickled people, what made people smile” End Quote Ian Lavender, Captain Pike in Dad's Army "He taught us so much, that was the great thing about him," she told the BBC News Channel. "He'd let you look in the camera lens and he'd teach you about that shot. "He was a very, very clever man and not only did he do television but he slipped so easily into producing, writing and directing theatre, too." Jon Plowman, former head of comedy at the corporation, said Croft "invented a whole genre of comedy that was all his own". "The world is a less funny place for his going," he added. Croft, who was awarded an OBE in 1978 for services to television, worked alongside Jeremy Lloyd on both the department store sitcom and wartime farce 'Allo 'Allo, which was set in Nazi-occupied France. Comedians and writers have taken to Twitter to post tributes. David Walliams wrote: "Such sad news," while Doctor Who writer Paul Cornell added: "His best monument is that his shows are still repeated." Fruitful partnership All of Croft's hits were produced for the BBC, the last being Oh, Doctor Beeching in 1993 - after which he retired from the corporation. A decade later, Croft was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the British Comedy Awards. Croft was born as David John Sharland to stage actress Annie Croft and Reginald Sharland, a successful Hollywood radio actor. He enlisted in the army during World War II, which was to provide some of his later comic inspiration for Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. Wartime sitcom Dad's Army was one of Croft's most enduring creations Dad's Army was the first of his series to come to TV screens, in 1968, and marked the start of his fruitful and long-lived comic partnership with Jimmy Perry. The BBC initially had misgivings about the concept - which followed the fortunes of a Home Guard platoon, the last line of defence should the Germans have invaded Britain during World War II. But the affection with which the characters were treated soon endeared the show to audiences and corporate bosses alike. The series went on to gain the creative partnership a trio of awards from the Writers' Guild of Great Britain in 1969-71. More than 40 years after it was first screened, the sitcom is still being shown. Ian Lavender, who played the hapless Private Pike in the series said Croft was "a great comic writer". "He just knew what tickled people, what made people smile," he told BBC News. "I have never come across anyone in the Home Guard who said Dad's Army was a disgrace. "They say they all had a Mainwaring in their platoon. We were laughing with them, not at them." Among Croft's other achievements, he wrote scripts for numerous well-loved pantomimes and produced television shows in Hollywood and Australia. The statement posted on his official website by his family added: "He was a truly great man, who will be missed by all who had the great fortune of knowing and loving him." It added that he would have been "proud that you had all been watching", a nod to the tagline that appeared at the end of Croft's TV sitcoms.

last-ever episode. of My Family

Cast of My Family 2011

After 11 series in as many years, the Harper family bids farewell in the last-ever episode. Susan and Janey are at a hen party, which is great fun until the bride announces her groom does not want her any more, while family friend Roger is excited about a blind date. The only one at home is Ben, who is babysitting Kenzo - although the grumpy dentist soon finds himself reluctantly going out too. Comedy, starring Robert Lindsay, Zoe Wanamaker, Daniela Denby-Ashe and Keiron Self. Last in the series.

Pam St Clement

Pam St Clement

Actress Pam St Clement, who has played Pat Evans for more than 25 years, is to leave EastEnders later this year, the BBC has announced.

The 69-year-old, who is one of the longest-serving stars of the BBC One soap, said leaving the show would be like "a bereavement".
Pat, known for her dangly earrings and bright make-up, first appeared in 1986.
During her colourful years on the show, the character remarried several times and went to prison.
"I have enjoyed 25-and-a-half wonderful years in EastEnders creating the character of Pat, but feel it's time to hang up her earrings," St Clement said.
"Leaving the EastEnders family will be akin to a bereavement. But I'm looking forward to the other work and life opportunities that I will have the time to pursue."
Pat's most famous storylines in the show have included her rocky relationships with Frank Butcher (Mike Reid), and with her step-daughter Janine (Charlie Brooks).
She also endured a sometimes strained friendship with Peggy Mitchell, who was played by Barbara Windsor.

Pat and Frank  In Eastenders  

It has not been disclosed how the character will exit the soap, although Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer of the programme, said the departure would be "fitting".

Pat and Peggy in Eastenders 

John Yorke, controller of BBC drama production, said: "It's always a sad day when one of our stars leaves EastEnders, but when those stars are as important as Pam St Clement and the character as iconic as Pat Butcher, the blow is doubly hard."
He added that Pat had been "integral" to the programme's success and her earrings had become "part of British culture".
"For most actors that would be legacy enough. The fact that Pam is also a total professional, an endless champion of the programme and a joy to work with is an added bonus."

Peter Falk

Peter Falk 

Peter Falk, the American actor most famous for his role as scruffy TVdetective Columbo, has died aged 83.

The actor died peacefully at home in Beverly Hills on Thursday night, his family said in a statement.
He had been suffering from dementia for a number of years.
Peter Falk won four Emmys for his cigar-chomping role as the deceptively bumbling Columbo, and was nominated for Oscars in 1960 and 1961 for Murder Inc and Pocketful of Miracles.
In the 1987 cult classic The Princess Bride, he played a kindly old man regaling his sick grandson with a fairytale combination of swordplay, giants, a beautiful princess and fearsome rodents of unusual size.
But for most fans, even his best-supporting actor nominations were eclipsed by his incarnation as the sleuth in the shabby mac with no known first name and the killer catch-phrase: "One more thing..."
'Like a flood victim' Columbo first appeared on American TV screens in 1968, and NBC commissioned a series in which the detective appeared every third week from 1971 until it was cancelled in 1977.
The part of its policeman hero had originally been written for Bing Crosby, but Falk made the part his own and continued to make special episodes well into his 70s.
He reportedly turned down an offer to convert it into a weekly series, citing the heavy workload.
The actor bought Columbo's trademark raincoat himself, only for it to be replaced after it became too tattered through its near constant use in the series.
He told one interviewer his shabby detective looked "like a flood victim".
"You feel sorry for him. He appears to be seeing nothing, but he's seeing everything. Underneath his dishevellment, a good mind is at work."
Peter Michael Falk was born in 1927 in New York City, where his parents ran a clothes shop.
He had an eye removed at the age of three due to cancer. He said he learned to live with the ailment after it became "the joke of the neighbourhood".
"If the umpire ruled me out on a bad call, I'd take the fake eye out and hand it to him," Falk told the Associated Press in a 1963 interview.
As an aspiring actor, he was reportedly warned by one agent the false eye would preclude him from working in television. In fact, it became another endearing trait of his most famous character.
Peter Falk had been under 24-hour care for several years.
The actor is survived by his wife of three decades, Shera, and daughters from a previous marriage Catherine and Jackie.
In 2009, Catherine Falk applied to be put in charge of his estate, saying he was suffering from Alzheimer's and that she had been blocked from seeing him for six months.

Donald Hewlett

Donald Hewlett

Donald Hewlett, who was best known for his role in the 1970s BBC sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum, has died aged 90.

The actor, who played Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Reynolds in the show, had been ill for some time, his wife told the BBC.
He died at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in west London on Saturday, Therese McMurray-Hewlett said.
Hewlett was also known for his role as master of the house, Lord Meldrum, in 1990s BBC sitcom You Rang M'Lord?
The actor began his on-screen career with a small part in the 1954 comedy film Orders are Orders starring Peter Sellers, Donald Pleasence and Sid James.
He went on to have roles in numerous TV shows including The Saint, The Avengers, Doctor Who and Coronation Street.
But it was his turn as the commanding officer in It Ain't Half Hot Mum which made his name.
The series, set in British India and Burma towards the end of World War II ran on BBC One from 1974-1981.
Hewlett last appeared on TV in ITV sitcom The Upper Hand in 1995.
He is survived by his wife, Therese, and five children including daughter

 

Miriam Karlin

Miriam Karlin

Actress Miriam Karlin, known to many for her role as shop steward Paddy in TV sitcom The Rag Trade, has died in London aged 85. London-born Karlin was a committed political activist

Actress Miriam Karlin, known to many for her role as 

The actress, who became an OBE in 1975, had cancer and died in hospital.

Born Miriam Samuels in 1925, Karlin was one of Malcolm McDowell's victims in A Clockwork Orange and also had roles in The Entertainer and Room at the Top.

Sir Antony Sher, one of her former co-stars, paid tribute to her as "a great actress [and] a great lady".

Working with Karlin on the play Torch Song Trilogy had been "one of the most enjoyable experiences of my career," he said.

"She gave a tremendous performance as the Jewish mother, full of power and anger, but there was always a twinkle in her eye."

Screen demise

Raised as an orthodox Jew in London, Karlin was a staunch political activist and an active member of actors' union Equity.

  Miriam Karlin as Paddy in  The Rag Trade 

She had been a patron of Dignity in Dying, a body that campaigns for a change to the laws on assisted dying.

The Hampstead-born actress - who lost some family members in Auschwitz - trained at Rada and performed for troops with the Entertainments National Service Association (Ensa).

Karlin played shop steward Paddy in both incarnations of The Rag Trade

Her stage work included engagements with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She also became the first woman to play the traditionally male lead in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker.

The actress frequently played formidable Jewish matriarchs, among them Golde in the original West End production of Fiddler on the Roof.

Karlin appeared as Paddy - known for calling "Everybody out!" at regular intervals - in the original 1960s version of The Rag Trade.

She would later reprise her role when the show was revived by ITV in the 1970s.

It was her startling demise in A Clockwork Orange, though, for which some film fans will remember her best.

As the so-called "Cat Lady", she was beaten to death with a phallic-looking sculpture in Stanley Kubrick's controversial take on Anthony Burgess's novel.

West End theatre producer David Pugh was a friend of Karlin's and remembered her as "a wonderful woman."

Equity spokesman Martin Brown has also paid tribute, remembering her in The Stage as "an absolutely indefatigable campaigner and a marvellous friend".

In a statement, Lord and Baroness Kinnock said the actress had been "superbly talented in roles of every kind".

"Mim was easy to love, an infectious friend, a true comrade and a sparkling spirit."

Doctor Who

A solar tsunami sends the TARDIS hurtling towards a futuristic factory where doppelgangers - known as 'Gangers' - are used to complete jobs deemed too hazardous for humans. When a second wave hits, the Gangers separate and war seems inevitable. Only the Doctor can prevent an escalation of hostilities... but all is not as it seems...

 Doctor Who

 

Betty Driver

Betty Driver

Get well soon: Corrie co-star sources say Betty is doing well Pic: © ITV 

Coronation Street’s Julie Hesmondhalgh has tweeted just hours after co-star Betty Driver was rushed to hospital, reportedly suffering from pneumonia, to reassure fans about the 90-year-old’s health.
Playing long-standing character Hayley Cropper in the soap, the actress tweeted: “Betty is, according to my sources, doing well. I'm sure she's feeling the love! Xxx”
Betty has played barmaid and ‘hot pot’ extraordinaire Betty Williams since 1969 and is well-loved both by her fans and on-screen co-workers.
As an ITV spokesperson confirmed the news of Betty’s ill-health on Thursday (May 11) and wished the actress “a speedy recovery”, the news became a Twitter trend as Corrie celebs joined in to offer their well-wishes.
Kym Marsh said: “Oh no!!! Just heard about Betty driver! I am so hoping she gets well!
“She is a legend and I love her to bits x. Come on Betty u can do it x”
Corrie newbie Chris Fountain also re-tweeted a message of support, saying “Get well soon, Betty Driver!”
Betty was hospitalised last year with a chest infection but was determined to keep her acting life in check and made a return to the small screen.
“I love working on the Street because everyone on it is like my family,” she told The Sun. I don't want to leave at all - I want to die on set."

Elisabeth Sladen

Doctor Who star Elisabeth Sladen, who was also in spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, has died aged 63.
Sladen appeared as Doctor Who assistant Sarah Jane Smith in the BBC television sci-fi series between 1973 and 1976, opposite Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker.
The Liverpool-born actress appeared in four series from 2007 of The Sarah Jane Adventures on children's channel CBBC.
Sladen had been battling cancer for some time and leaves actor husband Brian Miller and daughter Sadie.
The BBC's Jane Frances-Kelly looks back at her life.

20 April 2011 Last updated at 19:14

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Doctor Who actress Elisabeth Sladen dies

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• In pictures: Elisabeth Sladen

Doctor Who star Elisabeth Sladen, who was also in spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, has died aged 63.

Sladen appeared as Doctor Who assistant Sarah Jane Smith in the BBC television sci-fi series between 1973 and 1976, opposite Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker.
The Liverpool-born actress appeared in four series from 2007 of The Sarah Jane Adventures on children's channel CBBC.
Sladen had been battling cancer for some time and leaves actor husband Brian Miller and daughter Sadie.
Theatre work A BBC spokesman said: "It is with much sadness that we can announce Elisabeth Sladen, the much-loved actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and CBBC's The Sarah Jane Adventures, passed away this morning."
Doctor Who star David Tennant told BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat that he had been "bewitched" by the actress's performances in the show when he was a boy.

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Former Doctor Who actor David Tennant remembers Elisabeth Sladen

He added that he would "never forget" working with her when Sarah Jane Smith returned to the show during his tenure as the 10th Doctor.
"Having been such a huge part of my childhood, she was everything you hoped she would be when you met her. She was extraordinary," he said.
John Barrowman, who co-starred with Sladen when she returned to Doctor Who in 2006, paid tribute to the star via micro-blogging site Twitter.
"I loved my time on the Tardis with her. I am proud to have worked with such an icon of the sci-fi world," he wrote.
"Your Doctor Who family are very sad and will miss you and your beautiful smile. She was a delight. Can't tell you how sad I am."
Russell T Davies, creator of The Sarah Jane Adventures, said: "I absolutely loved Lis. She was funny and cheeky and clever and just simply wonderful. The universe was lucky to have Sarah Jane Smith, the world was lucky to have Lis."
Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffat said she had been a "ferociously talented actress".
'''Never meet your heroes,' wise people say. They weren't thinking of Lis Sladen," he added.
"Sarah Jane Smith was everybody's hero when I was younger, and as brave and funny and brilliant as people only ever are in stories.
"But many years later when I met the real Sarah Jane - Lis Sladen herself - she was exactly as any child ever have wanted her to be. Kind and gentle and clever and a ferociously talented actress, of course, but in that perfectly English unassuming way."
Sladen began her career as an assistant stage manager at the Liverpool playhouse.
Her first role on stage was playing a corpse, and she made her screen debut in the 1965 film Ferry Cross the Mersey as an extra.

The actress originally starred in Doctor Who for three years in the 1970s. Here she is alongside Tom Baker

Her first role leading role was Desdemona in Othello, before the actress landed the role of a barmaid in Coronation Street for six episodes.
She has also appeared in several other hit TV shows, including Z-Cars, Public Eye, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Special Branch.
But it was her role in Doctor Who that gained her the most recognition.
Sladen first appeared as Sarah Jane alongside the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, and stayed for three-and-a-half series, also working with Pertwee's successor, Tom Baker.
Her character, a journalist, was renowned for being inquisitive and stronger than some of the Doctor's other assistants.
After her time in the Tardis, Sladen returned to her native Liverpool where she worked in theatre.

She reprised her Doctor Who role on several occasions over the years and was given her own spin-off series on CBBC in 2007, in which she appeared with the most recent two Doctors, David Tennant and Matt Smith.
In 2006, ahead of rejoining Doctor Who, Sladen said of the show: "I think it has lovely layers and I'd defend the programme to anyone.
"I'm very emotionally part of that programme and I think a lot of the people who worked on it are. You used to love going to work every day."
'Brilliant presence' CBBC controller Damian Kavanagh said he was "deeply saddened and shocked by the news of Lis's untimely death".
"Lis brought joy, excitement and a sense of wonder to her many fans in her role as Sarah Jane Smith. She was adored by our young audience and I know all of them will miss her as much as I will," he said.
Keith Jones, the director of BBC Wales, which makes The Sarah Jane Adventures, said: "The Sarah Jane Adventures has been one of the most successful children's programmes on television in recent years - and without Elisabeth Sladen it would not have happened.
"A brilliant presence on screen and on set, she brought the excitement and energy of the Doctor Who family of programmes, of which we are very proud at BBC Wales, to a whole new generation. She will be missed by all at BBC Wales who worked with her."
Sladen's agent Roger Carey described her as a "dear friend".
He said: "She was so positive about life and her natural energy was intoxicating. She couldn't believe her luck when her 

Trevor Bannister

Trevor Bannister

Are You Being Served? star Trevor Bannister has died aged 76, his brother has confirmed.

The actor suffered a heart attack on Thursday at his allotment in Thames Ditton, Surrey, John Bannister said.
The actor was best known for his role as ladies' man Mr Lucas in the 1970s BBC sitcom set in a department store but he also worked in the theatre.
"He was a good lad, we were all very fond of him," Mr Bannister told BBC News.
He added his brother had been doing some repair work on his shed when he became ill.
Frank Thornton, who appeared as Captain Peacock in Are You Being Served?, told the BBC he had "many, many happy memories" of his co-star.
"He was a very good friend over a long time," he said.
"We often met with him and his wife - he was recently at my 90th birthday celebrations in January and that was the last time we saw him. We shall miss him sorely."
Born in Durrington, Wiltshire, and the youngest of three children, Bannister did two year's National Service before going to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
During his career which spanned five decades, he appeared in TV shows including The Avengers, Dixon of Dock Green, The Saint and Z Cars.

Most recently Bannister (left) starred in BBC series Last of the Summer Wine

He also made regular appearances in the theatre and in pantomime.
More recently, the actor had a stint in the long-running BBC series Last of the Summer Wine.
In 2009, the actor led the tributes to his Are You Being Served? co-star Wendy Richard and gave a reading at her funeral.
Speaking to the BBC at the time about his experiences of working on the sitcom, he said: "The joy of that particular show was the fact that most of us had known each other before we came to do it.
"We loved working with each other and had a lot of respect for each other. I think that fun and enjoyment conveyed itself through the screen."
He is survived by his second wife Pam and three sons Simon, Timothy and Jeremy.

Keeping Up Appearances

British sitcom has always been fascinated by snobs, but few were ever as monstrous as Hyacinth Bucket (who insists it's pronounced "Bouquet"), the central character in Roy Clarke's Keeping Up Appearances.

Played with aplomb by Patricia Routledge, Hyacinth is a character with few, if any, saving graces. Her pompous, self-serving attitude makes life miserable for all around her.

Long-suffering husband Richard (Clive Swift) gets the brunt of it, with Hyacinth quick to chastise if he steps out of line ("I don't like you making decisions unilaterally", she tells him).

But there are others in the firing line, including nervous neighbour Elizabeth (Josephine Tewson), her brother Emmett (David Griffin) and Michael the Vicar (Jeremy Gittins).
However, the real ire is reserved for the snob's council estate dwelling sisters: Rose (Shirley Stelfox/Mary Millar) and Daisy (Judy Cornwell).
While the former irks with her man-eating ways, the latter absolutely appalls thanks to her slobbish lifestyle and indolent, scruffy husband Onslow (Geoffrey Hughes).

Sofa-bound, unshaven and absolutely unbowed by his harridan of a sister-in-law, he remained Hyacinth's nemesis across the show's five series.

Deeply formulaic, most episodes involved a phone call from Hyacinth's unseen sister Violet (who turns up in the final series played by Anna Dawson), you know, "the one with the Mercedes, sauna, and room for a pony!" and, at some point, a telephone conversation with off-screen son Sheridan, who's always the cadge for money to pursue his homosexual lifestyle (although that's never recognised by his proud mum).
The series found a large audience in the UK and America, with production only ceasing in 1995 when Routledge wanted to move on to other projects.

Dame Elizabeth Taylor

.. Born in Hampstead, North London, Dame Elizabeth Taylor DBE (middle name is Rosemond) was born on the 27th February 1932. She has an elder brother, Howard Taylor, who was born in 1929.

She was the second child of Francis Taylor & Sara Warmbrodt - two American citizens, originally from Arkansas City, Kansas, that lived in England. Francis Taylor was an art dealer and Sara a former actress. They were married in 1926 in New York City.

Elizabeth Taylor has two sons by Michael Wilding, a daughter by Michael Todd and an adopted daughter

Work

Appearing in her first motion picture at nine years old, Universal then let her contract drop and she was snapped up by MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).

Her first movie for MGM was Lassie Come Home (1943) and she gained favourable reviews and plaudits for her role. On set she met Roddy McDowall and has shared a lifelong friendship. Elizabeth Taylor's first leading role was that of Velvet Brown in the film National Velvet (1944) alongside Mickey Rooney. National Velvet was a great hit with the public and grossed over $4m at the box-office.

Attending school she received a diploma from Los Angeles University High School on January 26, 1950. This was the same year that saw her first marriage - at the age of 18.

In the ten years between 1950 and her first Academy Award, she was nominated for a number of roles including Raintree County (1957), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) with Paul Newman and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) with Katharine Hepburn.

Elizabeth Taylor was to win her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Butterfield 8 (1960). This film co-starred her then husband Eddie Fisher.

She won again for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) which co-starred then-husband Richard Burton.

In 1963, the first $1m role for an actress was her's for the title role in the film Cleopatra. The film was for 20th Century Fox and this was when she first worked with Richard Burton - her fifth and sixth husbands.

He played Mark Antony in the film. They began an affair during the making of the film despite both being married to others at that time. This was the main reason why some considered Elizabeth Taylor the "Scarlet Woman."

Elizabeth Taylor has appeared on television a number of times - alongside none other than her husband Richard Burton in the 1973 flim Divorce His - Divorce Hers. Add to that other TV shows, including All My Children and The Simpsons twice - once as self and once as the voice of Maggie.

As with many actresses, she has acted on the stage. She only made her Broadway and West End debut in 1982 with Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes. She followed this with a production of Noel Coward's Private Lives in 1983 which she starred in with her former husband (at this time), Richard Burton.

Interests & Misc 

One of her passions, jewellery has certainly featured in Elizabeth Taylor's life. She has owned a number of extremely valuable diamonds - the two most notable being gifts from husband Richard Burton. The 33 carat (6.6g) Krupp Diamond and the 69 carat (13.8g) pear-shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond. She also owns the 50 carat La Peregrina Pearl, once owned by Mary I of England.

Her other retail passion is for perfume. With Passion, White Diamonds and Black Pearls she earns more than US$200 million yearly. 2006 marked the 15th anniversary of her White Diamonds perfume, a top 10 best selling fragrance for more than ten years.

She has also dedicated increasing time and energy to AIDS-related charities and AIDS fundraising. After her friend Rock Hudson died, she helped start the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR). She also has her own AIDS foundation called, appropriately, the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation (ETAF).

In the 80's she moved to Los Angeles to Bel-Air where she still ives. She also has houses in Palm Springs and Hawaii. Her home is fenced and gated, but gets attention from local maps and tour guides who frequent the streets of the 'rich and famous'.

Illness-wise, she has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, broken her back five times, had both hips replaced, survived a benign brain tumor op, had skin cancer and has had pneumonia twice. It is also said that she now has osteoporosis - hence going everywhere in a wheelchair. 

A fan of AR Gurney's play Love Letters, on 1st December 2007 Taylor and James Earl Jones gave a benefit performance. They raised over $1m for her AIDS foundation in the process. However, as the event coincided with the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, Taylor asked and was granted a "one night dispensation" by The Writers Guild so that she woudl not have to corss the picket line.

With a complete range of acting under her belt, Elizabeth Taylor's filmography shows her versatility. With two Academy Awards (* starred below) and three additional Academy Award nominations for Best Actress (** double starred below).

Dame Elizabeth Taylor

.. Born in Hampstead, North London, Dame Elizabeth Taylor DBE (middle name is Rosemond) was born on the 27th February 1932. She has an elder brother, Howard Taylor, who was born in 1929.

She was the second child of Francis Taylor & Sara Warmbrodt - two American citizens, originally from Arkansas City, Kansas, that lived in England. Francis Taylor was an art dealer and Sara a former actress. They were married in 1926 in New York City.

Elizabeth Taylor has two sons by Michael Wilding, a daughter by Michael Todd and an adopted daughter

Work

Appearing in her first motion picture at nine years old, Universal then let her contract drop and she was snapped up by MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).

Her first movie for MGM was Lassie Come Home (1943) and she gained favourable reviews and plaudits for her role. On set she met Roddy McDowall and has shared a lifelong friendship. Elizabeth Taylor's first leading role was that of Velvet Brown in the film National Velvet (1944) alongside Mickey Rooney. National Velvet was a great hit with the public and grossed over $4m at the box-office.

Attending school she received a diploma from Los Angeles University High School on January 26, 1950. This was the same year that saw her first marriage - at the age of 18.

In the ten years between 1950 and her first Academy Award, she was nominated for a number of roles including Raintree County (1957), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) with Paul Newman and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) with Katharine Hepburn.

Elizabeth Taylor was to win her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Butterfield 8 (1960). This film co-starred her then husband Eddie Fisher.

She won again for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) which co-starred then-husband Richard Burton.

In 1963, the first $1m role for an actress was her's for the title role in the film Cleopatra. The film was for 20th Century Fox and this was when she first worked with Richard Burton - her fifth and sixth husbands.

He played Mark Antony in the film. They began an affair during the making of the film despite both being married to others at that time. This was the main reason why some considered Elizabeth Taylor the "Scarlet Woman."

Elizabeth Taylor has appeared on television a number of times - alongside none other than her husband Richard Burton in the 1973 flim Divorce His - Divorce Hers. Add to that other TV shows, including All My Children and The Simpsons twice - once as self and once as the voice of Maggie.

As with many actresses, she has acted on the stage. She only made her Broadway and West End debut in 1982 with Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes. She followed this with a production of Noel Coward's Private Lives in 1983 which she starred in with her former husband (at this time), Richard Burton.

Interests & Misc 

One of her passions, jewellery has certainly featured in Elizabeth Taylor's life. She has owned a number of extremely valuable diamonds - the two most notable being gifts from husband Richard Burton. The 33 carat (6.6g) Krupp Diamond and the 69 carat (13.8g) pear-shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond. She also owns the 50 carat La Peregrina Pearl, once owned by Mary I of England.

Her other retail passion is for perfume. With Passion, White Diamonds and Black Pearls she earns more than US$200 million yearly. 2006 marked the 15th anniversary of her White Diamonds perfume, a top 10 best selling fragrance for more than ten years.

She has also dedicated increasing time and energy to AIDS-related charities and AIDS fundraising. After her friend Rock Hudson died, she helped start the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR). She also has her own AIDS foundation called, appropriately, the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation (ETAF).

In the 80's she moved to Los Angeles to Bel-Air where she still ives. She also has houses in Palm Springs and Hawaii. Her home is fenced and gated, but gets attention from local maps and tour guides who frequent the streets of the 'rich and famous'.

Illness-wise, she has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, broken her back five times, had both hips replaced, survived a benign brain tumor op, had skin cancer and has had pneumonia twice. It is also said that she now has osteoporosis - hence going everywhere in a wheelchair. 

A fan of AR Gurney's play Love Letters, on 1st December 2007 Taylor and James Earl Jones gave a benefit performance. They raised over $1m for her AIDS foundation in the process. However, as the event coincided with the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, Taylor asked and was granted a "one night dispensation" by The Writers Guild so that she woudl not have to corss the picket line.

With a complete range of acting under her belt, Elizabeth Taylor's filmography shows her versatility. With two Academy Awards (* starred below) and three additional Academy Award nominations for Best Actress (** double starred below).
 

Year	Title	Role
1942	There's One Born Every Minute	Gloria Twine
1943	Lassie Come Home	Priscilla
1944	Jane Eyre	Helen Burns
	The White Cliffs of Dover	Betsy
	National Velvet	Velvet Brown
1946	Courage of Lassie	Katherine Eleanor Merrick
1947	Life with Father	Mary Skinner
	Cynthia	Cynthia Bishop
1948	A Date with Judy	Carol Pringle
	Julia Misbehaves	Susan Packett
1949	Little Women	Amy
	Conspirator	Melinda Greyton
1950	The Big Hangover	Mary Belney
	Father of the Bride	Kay Banks
1951	Father's Little Dividend	Kay Dunstan
	A Place in the Sun	Angela Vickers
	Quo Vadis	Christian prisoner in arena
1952	Love Is Better Than Ever	Anastacia "Stacie" Macaboy
	Ivanhoe	Rebecca
1953	The Girl Who Had Everything	Jean Latimer
1954	Rhapsody	Louise Durant
	Elephant Walk	Ruth Wiley
	Beau Brummell	Lady Patricia Belham
	The Last Time I Saw Paris	Helen Ellswirth/Willis
1956	Giant	Leslie Lynnton Benedict
1957	Raintree County	Susanna Drake **
1958	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Maggie the Cat **
1959	Suddenly Last Summer	Catherine Holly **
1960	Scent of Mystery	The Real Sally
	Butterfield 8	Gloria Wandrous *
1963	Cleopatra	Cleopatra
	The V.I.P.s	Frances Andros
1965	The Sandpiper	Laura Reynolds
1966	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	Martha *
1967	The Taming of the Shrew	Katharina
	Doctor Faustus	Helen of Troy
	The Comedians	Martha Pineda
1968	Boom!	Flora 'Sissy' Goforth
	Secret Ceremony	Lenora
1969	Anne of the Thousand Days	Courtesan
1970	The Only Game in Town	Fran Walker
1972	X,Y, and Zee	Zee Blakely
	Under Milk Wood	Rosie Probert
	Hammersmith Is Out	Jimmie Jean Jackson
1973	Divorce His - Divorce Hers	Jane Reynolds
	Night Watch	Ellen Wheeler
	Ash Wednesday - film	Barbara Sawyer
1976	The Blue Bird	Queen of Light/Mother
1977	A Little Night Music	Desiree Armfeldt
1978	Return Engagement	Dr. Emily Loomis
1979	Winter Kills	Lola Comante
1980	The Mirror Crack'd	Marina Rudd
1981	General Hospital	Helena Cassadine
1983	Between Friends	Deborah Shapiro
1985	Malice in Wonderland	Louella Parsons
	North and South	Madame Conti
1986	There Must Be a Pony	Marguerite Sydney
1987	Poker Alice	Alice Moffit
1988	Young Toscanini	Nadina Bulichoff
1989	Sweet Bird of Youth	Alexandra Del Lago
1994	The Flintstones	Pearl Slaghoople
2001	These Old Broads	Beryl Mason

Jane Russel

Jane Russel

Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011^[2]) was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s.
Russell moved from the Midwest to California, where she had her first film role in 1943 with The Outlaw. In 1947, Russell delved into music before returning to films. After starring in multiple films in the 1950s, Russell again returned to music while completing several other films in the 1960s. She starred in over 20 films throughout her career.
Russell married three times and adopted several children and, in 1955, founded the World Adoption International Fund. For her achievements in film, she received several accolades including having her hand and foot prints immortalized in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She died at her home in Santa Maria, California of a respiratory-related illness on February 28, 2011.

Early life

Born in Bemidji, Minnesota in 1921, Russell was the eldest child and only daughter of the five children of Roy William Russell (January 5, 1890 – July 18, 1937) and Geraldine Jacobi (January 2, 1891 – December 26, 1986).^{[citation needed]}
Russell's parents were both born in North Dakota. Three of her grandparents were born in Canada, while her paternal grandmother was born in Germany. Her parents married in 1917. Her father was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and her mother was a former actress with a road troupe. Her parents spent the early years of their marriage in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. For her birth her mother temporarily moved back to the U.S. to ensure she was born a U.S. citizen.^{[original research?]} Later the family moved to the San Fernando Valley of Southern California. They lived in Burbank in 1930 and her father worked as an office manager at a soap manufacturing plant.^{[citation needed]}
Russell's mother arranged for her to take piano lessons. In addition to music, she was interested in drama and participated in stage productions at Van Nuys High School. Her early ambition was to be a designer of some kind, until the death of her father at forty-six, when she decided to work as a receptionist after graduation. She also modeled for photographers and, at the urging of her mother, studied drama and acting with Max Reinhardt's Theatrical Workshop and with famed Russian actress Maria Ouspenskaya.

Early musical ventures

In 1947, Russell attempted to launch a musical career. She sang with the Kay Kyser Orchestra on radio and recorded two singles with his band, "As Long As I Live" and "Boin-n-n-ng!" She also cut a 78 rpm album that year for Columbia Records, Let's Put Out the Lights, which included eight torch ballads and cover art that included a diaphanous gown that for once put the focus more on her legs than on her breasts. In a 2009 interview for the liner notes to another CD, Fine and Dandy, Russell denounced the Columbia album as "horrible and boring to listen to." It was reissued on CD in 2002, in a package that also included the Kyser singles and two songs she recorded for Columbia in 1949 that had gone unreleased at the time. In 1950, she recorded a single, "Kisses and Tears," with Frank Sinatra and The Modernaires for Columbia.

Coronation Street: Will Peter Barlow kill love rat Nick Tilsley

CRAZED Peter Barlow holds down Corrie love rat Nick Tilsley with one of his crutches in a terrifying clash.

Peter (Chris Gascoyne) hits out after finding out that wife Leanne (Jane Danson) has been carrying on with Nick, He ambushes him in the ruins of the Joinery.
Panicking Nick (Ben Price) whimpers: "What are you going to do me?" Peter, who also wields a crowbar, replies: "I'm going to kill you Nick."
But Nick saved Peter's life in the tram crash, which left him struggling to walk.
Fans will be left wondering if he can go through with it on ITV1 tonight. 

carousel

Carousel was the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics). The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline. The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child; when it goes wrong, he has a chance to make things right. A secondary plot line deals with millworker Carrie Pipperidge and her romance with ambitious fisherman Enoch Snow. The show includes the well-known songs "If I Loved You", "June Is Bustin' Out All Over" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". Richard Rodgers later wrote that Carousel was his favorite among all his musicals.
Following the spectacular success of the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma! (1943), the pair sought to collaborate on another piece, knowing that any resulting work would be compared with Oklahoma!, most likely unfavorably. They were initially reluctant to seek the rights to Liliom; Molnár had refused permission for the work to be adapted in the past, and the original ending was considered too depressing for the musical theatre. After acquiring the rights, the team created a work with lengthy sequences of music and made the ending more hopeful.
The musical required considerable modification during out-of-town tryouts, but once it opened on Broadway on April 19, 1945, it was an immediate hit with both critics and audiences. Carousel initially ran for 890 performances and duplicated its success in the West End in 1950. Though it has never achieved as much commercial success as Oklahoma!, the piece has been repeatedly revived, and has been recorded several times. A production by Nicholas Hytner enjoyed success in 1992 in London, in 1994 in New York and on tour. In 1999, Time magazine named Carousel the best musical of the 20th century

My Fair Lady

Andrew Lloyd Webber To Search For Eliza Doolittle

The Sun has reported today that despite heavy theatre commitments, Andrew Lloyd Webber has agreed to make a third reality Tv series with the BBC, this time searching for the lead in My Fair Lady.

One source said: “The first show – How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? – looked for a female star, then Any Dream Will Do found a male lead for Joseph. It makes sense to alternate each year.

They added: “The danger with doing two male lead hunts on the trot is you may end up with many of the same lads who tried out for Joseph.”

Perth Theatre

death of a salesman
by Arthur Miller,
'Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid.'

34 years ago travelling salesman Willy Loman climbed into his car to chase the American dream: running on hope and 'riding on a smile and a shoeshine' into the land of opportunity.

This is the journey of his life, told in one day. Willy, now 63, returns home for the last time to his family, with his memories, his daydreams and his terrible fear that somewhere along the road he might have taken a wrong turn.

Written by the legendary Arthur Miller (The Crucible, All My Sons, A View from the Bridge) Death of a Salesman is arguably his greatest work. Described as the first great American tragedy, Death of a Salesman helped Miller gain the reputation of being a man who understood the deep essence of the United States. Addressing the painful conflicts within one family, the play also considers the cost of blind faith in the American Dream. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1949 and still punches with full force 66 years after its premiere.

Richard Addison plays Charley
Brooke Bell plays Letta
Amanda Beveridge plays The Woman
Ewan Donald plays Biff Loman
Gregor Duncan plays Howard Wagner
Ron Emslie plays Willy Loman
Robert Jack plays Happy Loman
Steve Kettley plays Stanley/Musician
Helen Logan plays Miss Forsythe
Vari Sylvester plays Linda Loman
Harry Ward plays Bernard

Terry Wale plays Ben

His Majesty's Aberdeen   March 1- 5

Eden Court Inverness       March 8-12   

Coronation Street

Coronation Street bad boy Dennis Tanner set to return to the cobbles after 43 years
CORONATION Street's original bad lad is to return to the soap after 43 years.
Philip Lowrie played Elsie Tanner's wayward son Dennis for eight years before being written out in 1968.

Lowrie will return to the Corrie set in March to begin filming. Viewers will see him make his comeback in May.
His return is sure to ruffle the feathers of Dennis's old enemy Ken Barlow, played by Bill Roache.
Dennis made his debut on the first episode of the Street in 1960 as a good-looking charmer who struggled to stay on the right side of the law.
The 18-year-old character had just been released from prison and he was the bane of his mother's life because he was always getting into trouble.
Corrie creator Tony Warren had originally planned the character as a dark and gritty criminal. But Lowrie's knack for comedy meant he was more of a loveable rogue.
After getting into fights and dabbling in theft and dodgy dealing, Dennis left Corrie in 1968 when he married Jenny Sutton and moved to Bristol to start a new new life.
By 1973, Jenny had left him and Dennis was in prison for his part in a double-glazing scam targeted at pensioners.
Street siren Elsie, played by Pat Phoenix, stayed in Weatherfield until she emigrated to Portugal in 1984. Phoenix died two years later.
After Lowrie left the Street, he became a regular in the theatre and had a string of roles on TV.
The actor, who is now in his mid 70s, starred in hit comedy The Liver Birds and was a regular in Victoria Wood's TV shows including Pat And Margaret.
Coronation Street celebrated its 50th anniversary in December - making it the world's longest-running TV soap opera.