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- Age has not taken the flower off this Bloom. The well-known and highly respected stage, screen and television actress Claire Bloom continues to be in demand as an octogenarian actress and looks as beautiful as ever.
She was born Patricia Claire Blume on February 15, 1931, in Finchley, North London, to Elizabeth (Grew) and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales. Her parents were from Jewish families from Belarus. Educated at Badminton School in Bristol and Fern Hill Manor in New Milton, Claire expressed early interest in the arts and was stage trained as an adolescent at the Guildhall School, under the guidance of Eileen Thorndike, and then at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Marking her professional debut on BBC radio, she subsequently took her first curtain call with the Oxford Repertory Theatre in 1946 in the production of "It Depends What You Mean". She then received early critical accolades for her Shakespearean ingénues in "King John", "The Winter's Tale" and, notably, her Ophelia in "Hamlet" at age 17 at Stratford-on-Avon opposite alternating Hamlets Paul Scofield and Robert Helpmann. By 1949 Claire was making her West End debut with "The Lady's Not For Burning" with the up-and-coming stage actor Richard Burton.
A most becoming and beguiling dark-haired actress whose photogenic, slightly pinched beauty was accented by an effortless elegance and poise, Claire's inauspicious film debut came with a prime role in the British courtroom film drama The Blind Goddess (1948). It was her second film, when Charles Chaplin himself selected her specifically to be his young leading lady in the classic sentimental drama Limelight (1952), that propelled her to stardom. Her bravura turn as a young suicide-bent ballerina saved from despair by an aging music hall clown (Chaplin) was exquisitely touching and sparked an enviable but surprisingly sporadic career in films.
Despite the sudden film attention, Claire continued her formidable presence on the Shakespearean stage. Joining the Old Vic Company for the 1952-53 and 1953-54 seasons, she appeared as Helena, Viola, Juliet, Jessica, Miranda, Virgilia, Cordelia and (again) Ophelia in a highly successful tenure. Touring Canada and the United States as Juliet, she made her Broadway bow in the star-crossed-lover role in 1956, also playing the Queen in "Richard II". A strong presence on both the London and New York stages over the years, she gave other powerful performances with "The Trojan Women", "Vivat! Vivat! Regina!", "Hedda Gabler", "A Doll's House" and "A Streetcar Named Desire". Much later in life she performed in a superb one-woman show entitled "These Are Women: A Portrait of Shakespeare's Heroines" that included monologues from several of her acclaimed stage performances.
Claire's stylish and regal presence was simply ideal for mature period films, and she appeared opposite a roster of Hollywood's most talented leading men, including Laurence Olivier in the title role of Richard III (1955), Richard Burton and Fredric March in Alexander the Great (1956), Yul Brynner in The Brothers Karamazov (1958), and Brynner and Charlton Heston in the DeMille epic The Buccaneer (1958), in which she had a rare dressed-down role as a spirited pirate girl. On the more contemporary scene, she appeared with Burton in two classic film dramas: the stark "kitchen sink" British stage piece Look Back in Anger (1959) and the Cold War espionage thriller The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965). In addition she courted tinges of controversy, playing a housewife gone bonkers in the offbeat sudser The Chapman Report (1962) and a lesbian in the supernatural chiller The Haunting (1963).
Claire met first husband Rod Steiger while performing with him on stage in 1959's "Rashomon". They married that year and in 1960 had a daughter, Anna, who grew up to become a well-regarded opera singer. Claire and Rod appeared in two lesser films together, The Illustrated Man (1969) and Three Into Two Won't Go (1969), in 1969. That same year, they divorced after 10 tumultuous years.
As with other maturing actresses during the 1970s, Claire looked toward classy film roles in TV movies for sustenance, appearing in Backstairs at the White House (1979) as First Lady Edith Wilson and in Brideshead Revisited (1981), for which she was nominated for an Emmy. Also lauded were the epic miniseries Ellis Island (1984); a remake of Terence Rattigan's Separate Tables (1983); The Ghost Writer (1984), an acclaimed adaption of Philip Roth's novel ; and Shadowlands (1986), the latter earning her a British Television Award. Claire married Roth the writer (her third marriage) in 1990 after a brief second marriage to producer Hillard Elkins (1969-1972). The union with Roth lasted five years.
Claire appeared in several Shakespearean teleplays over the decades while also portraying a choice selection of historical royals, including Czarina Alexandra and Katherine of Aragon. On daytime drama, she delightfully played matriarch and murderess Orlena Grimaldi on the daytime drama As the World Turns (1956) starting in 1993. She left the role in 1995 and was replaced.
Continuing sporadically in films from the 1970s on, Claire graced such films as the stylish British social comedy A Severed Head (1971), the tender coming-of-age drama Red Sky at Morning (1971) as Richard Thomas's mother, and one of that year's versions of Ibsen's A Doll's House (1973) (Jane Fonda starred as Nora in the other). She also movingly played George C. Scott's estranged wife in Islands in the Stream (1977) and had a very brief cameo as Hera in Clash of the Titans (1981), a small part as a manipulative mother in Déjà Vu (1985), and mature parts in the romantic dramedy Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) and classic Woody Allen drama Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).
In the new millennium, Claire has been seen in such quality films as and The Book of Eve (2002), Imagining Argentina (2003), The King's Speech (2010) (as Queen Mary), And While We Were Here (2012), Max Rose (2013) starring a dramatic Jerry Lewis, and Miss Dalí (2018). She has also made appearances on such TV miniseries as The Ten Commandments (2005) and Summer of Rockets (2019).
Claire wrote two memoirs. The first was the more career-oriented "Limelight and After: The Education of an Actress," released in 1982. Her more controversial second book, "Leaving a Doll's House: A Memoir," published in 1996, focused on her personal life. - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
One of Britain's most beloved eccentric comedians, the irrepressible, gap-toothed Terry-Thomas was born Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens in Lichfield Grove, Finchley. He was the son of Ellen Elizabeth (Hoar) and Ernest Frederick Stevens, a fairly well-to-do London businessman. He was afforded a private education at Ardingly College in Sussex, with the understanding that this was to lead him towards a prosperous future in the world of commerce. Ironically, deemed to have no acting talent and thus spurned by his school's dramatic society, young Thomas took to music and soon fronted his own jazz band, "The Rhythm Maniacs", in which he also played ukulele. His initial experience in the work force was, at best humdrum, at worst traumatic. He started as a transport clerk with the Union Cold Storage Company, went on selling meat at the Smithfield Markets and then peddled insurance policies for Norwich Union. By both choice and inclination, he didn't fit into any of these jobs, was often bullied and consequently adopted as his life-long mantra the motto "I Shall Not Be Cowed".
Trying everything to break out of what he perceived as lower middle class mediocrity, he first changed his accent from North London to the posh upper-crust tones of then-matinee idol Owen Nares. He turned to professional ballroom dancing, found work in films as an extra and performed comedy monologues, as well as impersonations in night clubs and cabaret. He also tried several variations for a stage name people would remember, including a reversed spelling of Tom Stevens: 'Mot Snevets'. Not surprisingly, this didn't catch on, and so he eventually settled on 'Terry Thomas', later adding the hyphen, which he likened to the gap between his teeth.
His theatrical debut at the Tivoli Theatre in Hull did not eventuate until he was twenty-eight. The onset of World War II put his burgeoning career on hold. He enlisted in the Army Signals Corps and, somehow, rose to the rank of sergeant. Between 1940 and 1942, Terry participated in the ENSA program, staging his own shows "Cabaret Parade" and "Stars in Battledress". It was at this time, that he first adopted the affected mannerisms, which later became his stock-in-trade. He also demonstrated an amazing repertoire for imitating popular vocalists and for recreating all types of sound effects with his voice.
In July 1946, Terry joined the cast of the revue "Piccadilly Hayride" and suddenly became the comic discovery of the year, which ended with a Royal Variety Performance in front of King and Queen. His proper breakthrough, though, came via his radio show "To Town with Terry" (and its sequel), aired on the BBC Home Service from October 1948. This opened many doors, including Terry getting his own TV series, How Do You View? (1949). He was invited to a cabaret gig at New York's Waldorf Astoria in 1951. Terry was featured on the inaugural cover of TV Mirror, even before the part of his career for which he is primarily remembered had begun in earnest.
After a brace of nondescript roles, he was finally cast as the effete, derisive Major Hitchcock in the first of several films produced by the Boulting brothers, Private's Progress (1956). For several years after, Terry's popularity flourished with similar films taking a jaundiced view of British institutions. Following his overbearing Bertrand Welch in Lucky Jim (1957), he starred as the titular Man in a Cocked Hat (1959), a satire paralleling the Suez Affair, which turned out to be one of his best roles. Terry played an inept, blundering diplomat appointed as 'special ambassador' to sort out the political quagmire of an obscure former colony, overrun by foreign agents and on the verge of an uprising. For this assignment, his character has little more to draw upon, other than his knowledge of Debrett's Peerage and Sporting Life. This film, established the dandified "jolly good show"-type Terry-Thomas screen personae once and for all.
After Carleton-Browne, came I'm All Right Jack (1959) (in which he recreated his Major Hitchcock character as a representative of management vis-à-vis labour) and School for Scoundrels (1960), in which he was perfectly cast a first-class bounder. Alternating dastardly, moustache-twirling comic villains (Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965)) with sophisticated, rakish bon vivants and impeccably British chauffeurs (Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966) or butlers (How to Murder Your Wife (1965), popularised Terry on both sides of the Atlantic. Mostly, he came to epitomise the archetypal British 'silly ass' -- an instantly recognisable figure replete with RAF-style moustache, cheeky gap-toothed grin, mobile eyebrows, flashy waistcoats, button-hole carnation, suede shoes and enormous cigarette holders (including one studded with 42 diamonds!). Life imitated art, when it came to womanising, clothing and accessories. Terry, a founding member of the London Waistcoat Club, ended up owning more than 150 of these garments, in addition to 80 Savile Row bespoke suits.
In the late 1960's, Terry settled on the island of Ibiza with his twenty-six year old second wife. However, by 1984, his prior extravagant lifestyle and the exorbitant costs associated with the treatment of Parkinson's disease, with which he had been diagnosed in 1971, forced the couple to sell the villa and move back to a sparse flat in Britain. Almost destitute, his remaining days were made easier by his numerous friends in show business who managed to raise 51,000 pounds for him at a London benefit. Terry-Thomas died at a high care nursing home in Godalming, Surrey, in January 1990 at the age of 78.- Cheerful-looking actress Dinah Sheridan was considered the quintessential English rose of late 30's and 40's British films. With an alertness, elegance and quiet beauty second to none, she won the hearts of war-torn England during WWII.
She was born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg in London on September 17, 1920. Her Russian father and German mother were photographers to the Royal Family, by appointment to both the Queen and Queen Mother. Dinah's first professional role was an understudy part of Rsoamund in "Where the Rainbow End." She subsequently went on tour as Wendy in "Peter Pan" starring Charles Laughton as Captain Hook and wife Elsa Lanchester in the title role, and appeared in repertory during the war years.
Dinah broke into films at the tender age of 16 with a starring role in a meek, lowbudget piece Landslide (1937). Her co-star was young Jimmy Hanley, in his first adult role, and the two would later marry in 1942, having three children (one died in childbirth). Dinah continued in both drama and light comedy as the youthful ingenue in such films as Behind Your Back (1937), Father Steps Out (1937), Merely Mr. Hawkins (1938) and Irish and Proud of It (1938). Jimmy and Dinah became a popular WWII-era film couple, appearing quite winningly together in Salute John Citizen (1942), The Facts of Love (1945) and The Huggetts Abroad (1949). One of their children, Jenny Hanley, followed in her parents' footsteps as an actress and TV presenter.
Dinah remained a lovely presence in a variety of post-war films, gracing such productions as the stark melodrama The Hills of Donegal (1947); in the whodunnit Calling Paul Temple (1948) opposite John Bentley as part of a husband/wife detective team; in the crime drama The Story of Shirley Yorke (1948) as the title nurse; the adventure drama Ivory Hunter (1951); and the romantic war piece The Sound Barrier (1952).
Divorced from Hanley in 1952, Dinah, following a secondary role in the biopic Gilbert and Sullivan (1953) and after starring role in one of Britain's most delightful 50's comedies, Genevieve (1953), co-starring John Gregson, Kenneth More and the sublime Kay Kendall, abruptly retired on a high note after marrying Sir John Davis, the President of the Rank Organization, in 1954. Following her second divorce, and after 11 years of obscurity, Dinah made a return to the stage in 1967 with the play "Let's All Go Down the Strand." She continued with prominent 70's roles in "A Boston Story," "A Touch of Purple, "Move Over Mrs. Markham" (title role), "The Card," "The Gentle Hook," "The Please of His Company," "A Murder Is Announced" and toured in the play "Half Life."
After impressing as the hard-luck mother who is forced to raise three children alone after her husband abandons the family in the drama The Railway Children (1970), Dinah chose to focus squarely on TV with roles in such programs as "Seasons of the Year," "Zodiac," "Crown Court," "Village Hall," "Whodunnit?," "Doctor Who," and her final TV appearance in a 1999 episode of "Jonathan Creek." She also appeared in the mini-series The Winning Streak (1985) and co-starred in two British comedy series Don't Wait Up (1983) and All Night Long (1994).
Dinah married for a third time to actor John Merivale in 1986, but he died four years later. Her fourth marriage, to American businessman Aubrey Ison, ended with his death in 2007. Dinah died in London at age 92 on November 25, 2012. - Arthur White was born in 1933 in Finchley, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for A Touch of Frost (1992), Object Z (1965) and A Place to Hide (1976).
- Actor
- Talent Agent
Peter Cleall was born in Finchley Middlesex. Trained as an actor at E15 Acting School. Worked at many theatres throughout the country also variety of roles in film and television. Now theatrical agent at Pelham Associates. Two sons from first marriage - Miles and Damian. Now married to Dione Inman - two sons Dan and Spencer.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Once part of the phenomenal pop duo, Wham!, Andrew Ridgeley is one of the biggest names in the history of pop music. He is also a guitarist and environmentalist, and has tried his hand at Formula Three motor racing.
Andrew met George Michael while attending Bushey Meads School in Hertfordshire, England; they struck up an easy friendship - both having a common interest in music - and joined several bands before forming Wham!. Their first single, 'Young Guns' (1982) climbed straight to number 3 in the UK charts. 'Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)' (1982) followed, peaking at number 8, 'Bad Boys' (1983) shot to number 2 and 'Club Tropicana' (1983) settled at number 4. Wham! released the album 'Fantastic' in 1983 and it went straight to number 1. The pair grudgingly let Innervision Records release the single 'Club Fantastic Megamix' (1983)( it peaked at number 15), and then left the record company to sign with CBS and Epic.
The next few years would see Andrew an international superstar. Wham! produced four number one singles between 1984 and 1985: 'Wake Me Up Before You G-Go', 'Freedom', 'I'm Your Man', and 'The Edge of Heaven'. They would have had five consecutive number 1 records but 'Last Christmas / Everything She Wants' was partially eclipsed by the Band Aid single 'Do They Know It's Christmas' (they sat happily at number 2, while George Michael also shared in the success as part of Band Aid). Wham!'s album 'Making it Big' (1984) reached number 1 and 'The Final' (1986) number 2.
By 1986 Andrew and Wham! were number 1 in just about every country in the world, including the United States. The phenomenon had to come to and end it, though, as George Michael left to pursue a solo career, having had two number 1 singles already, one of which, 'Careless Whisper' (1984), had been written with Andrew. Wham! split on a high note and are recognized as one of the first Boy Bands to achieve international success. Their album 'The Best of Wham!' went straight to number 4 in the UK over a decade later. Their albums and singles have all been certified 'Gold' and 'Platinum'.
Andrew then released a solo album, 'Son of Albert' and a couple of singles, George Michael providing vocals on the song 'Red Dress'. He is married to Bananarama singer Keren Woodward and lives in Cornwall where he is a keen surfer and golfer, and is proactive in the cause 'Surfers Against Sewage'.
Wham!'s music has appeared in movies such as Sixteen Candles (1984), Charlie's Angels (2000), Zoolander (2001), and The Holiday (2006).
Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael sold over 25 million certified records while with Wham!.- Raymond Francis was born on 6 October 1911 in Finchley, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Miss Marple: The Body in the Library (1984), After Julius (1979) and Crime Sheet (1959). He was married to Gabrielle Brune and Margaret Towner. He died on 24 October 1987 in London, England, UK.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Dennis Ayling was born on 23 June 1917 in Finchley, London, England, UK. He was a cinematographer and director, known for Alien (1979), The Cool Mikado (1963) and Men on Wheels (1961). He died on 24 October 1998 in Ealing, London, England, UK.- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
British stage, radio, and film actor. After a number of years as an amateur performer in local theatre, Arundell broke onto the professional stage at age 28. Five years later, he joined the Old Vic company at Sadler's Wells. His first film work followed in 1935, two years later. He managed a simultaneous career in radio, achieving popularity as "Dr. Morelle". He was an accomplished lyricist and composer who wrote music for dozens of stage productions.- Babs Wheelton was born on 9 March 1931 in Finchley, London, England. She is an actress, known for Prisoner (1979), Cop Shop (1977) and Homicide (1964).
- Frederick Peisley was born on 6 December 1904 in Finchley, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Scotland Yard Commands (1936), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and The Diary of Samuel Pepys (1958). He died on 22 March 1975 in Warminster, Wiltshire, England, UK.
- Adrian Cairns was born on 12 October 1924 in Finchley, Middlesex [now in Barnet, London], England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Vise (1954), Diagnosis: Murder (1974) and A Stranger on the Hills (1970). He was married to Laura Cairns and Pamela Wingfield. He died on 23 March 2003 in Bristol, England, UK.
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Stephen Follows was born in Finchley, London, England, UK. He is known for A Love Story... In Milk (2011), Parkour Tour (2010) and Space Chase (2006).- Elsie Bower was born on 12 September 1900 in Finchley, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Piccadilly Nights (1930) and Lure of the West (1926). She died on 1 April 1975 in Middleton-on-Sea, West Sussex, England, UK.
- Vera Allinson was born on 15 April 1899 in Finchley, Middlesex, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Blind Justice (1934), Money for Speed (1933) and Vagabond Violinist (1934). She was married to Michael Hankinson. She died in 1971 in Buckinghamshire, England, UK.
- Angela Ellison was born in April 1945 in Finchley, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for To Hell and Back (1968), Carry on Spying (1964) and Turn-Up for Tony (1968). She has been married to Timothy Combe since 1965. They have five children.
- Music Department
- Composer
Stanley Andrews was born on 20 April 1903 in Finchley, London, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Carissima (1950), Variety on View (1946) and Cabaret (1936). He died on 27 October 1953 in Finchley, London, England, UK.- Dermot Cathie was born on 23 November 1910 in Finchley, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for They Came from Beyond Space (1967), The Dinner Was Deadly (1946) and And So to Bed (1949). He died on 7 February 1993 in Hampstead, London, England, UK.
- Reginald Maudling was born on 7 March 1917 in Finchley, London, England, UK. He was married to Beryl Laverick. He died on 14 February 1979 in Hampstead, London, England, UK.
- Godfrey Evans was born on 18 August 1920 in Finchley, Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for After Hours (1958), The Final Test (1953) and A Question of Sport (1970). He died on 3 May 1999.
- Additional Crew
Michael Pointon was born on 25 April 1941 in Finchley, London, England, UK. He is known for Heroes of Comedy (1992), 50s Britannia (2013) and Cilla's Unswung Sixties (2012). He was married to Jenny. He died on 1 November 2021.- Script and Continuity Department
Tom Margerison was born on 13 November 1923 in Finchley, Middlesex, England, UK. He is known for Horizon (1964), Tonight (1957) and The Hidden Ally (1960). He died on 25 February 2014.- Additional Crew
- Producer
- Writer
Nan Macdonald was born on 24 May 1908 in Finchley, London, England, UK. Nan was a producer and writer, known for For the Children (1946), The Bookworms of Bookland (1951) and The Secret of the Snowstorm (1951). Nan died on 10 November 1995 in Westminster, London, England, UK.- David Young was born on 27 February 1932 in Finchley, London, England, UK. He was married to Lita Shaw. He died on 9 December 2022 in the UK.
- Wilfred Seagram was born on 10 January 1884 in Finchley, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Door That Has No Key (1921). He was married to Rita Otway. He died on 28 May 1938 in New York City, New York, USA.