Gavin and
Stacey star Ruth Jones is to play Carry On comedy actress Hattie Jacques in a
drama about her love life. Hattie will focus on the star's secret affair with a
younger man while married to John Le Mesurier of Dad's Army fame. Jones, best
known for playing brash Barry girl Nessa in Gavin and Stacey, which she
co-wrote, said Jacques was someone she could not wait to play.
The actress said Jacques, who died in 1980 from a heart attack, was "so much
more than just the 'funny fat lady'". She was also known for her long
on-screen partnership with comedian Eric Sykes in his sitcom Sykes. Her career
took off when she appeared first on radio show It's That Man Again in the late
1940s, and later on other hugely popular shows like Hancock's Half Hour, with
Tony Hancock, and Educating Archie. She also appeared in two Norman Wisdom
films, before her roles in the Carry On series between 1958 and 1978.
Married to John Le Mesurier, she had an affair with car salesman John Schofield
- he moved into their home and Le Mesurier moved to another room in the house.
They divorced in 1965 and then Schofield left her after meeting someone else
while visiting Jacques in Rome.
The one-off drama, to be screened on BBC4 later this year, has been written by Stephen Russell, who has also worked on Shameless. Other leading roles have still to be cast for the production which will be filmed in Glasgow by production company Angel Eye Media. Executive producer Jemma Rodgers said: "The drama has a wonderfully warm heart and takes us behind the scenes of the public face of Hattie Jacques to reveal her unconventional but very modern relationships."
There is an auction of Carry On related clothing (mainly from Carry On Henry) to be held on 23 May 2010 at 11.00am. Amongst the items under the hammer are trousers and braces worn by Sgt. Nocker in Camel and the dress Barbara Windsor wore in Carry On Henry as Bettina. More information here.
Anita Harris still has dates on her highly successful show, Stepping Out. She plays the part of the snooty Vera in Richard Harris` classic. Her co-star is Brian Capron.
Synopsis -
In a dusty church hall, ex-professional dancer Mavis Turner holds her weekly tap
class. Every Thursday, in stumbles her well-intentioned but not overly talented
troupe – the awkward but hugely enthusiastic Lynne, snooty Vera, streetwise
Maxine and the rest of the group – all brought together to dance as if no one is
watching, and hopefully no-one ever will! That’s until they’re invited to
perform at a charity gala. As disbelief is replaced by sheer terror, can this
bunch of amateurs pull together and put on the performance of a lifetime?
For twenty-five years, STEPPING OUT has delighted audiences with its
heart-warming and timelessly funny story which proves that in dancing, as in
life, it’s always better to follow your own tune.
At last –
the definitive biography of Charles Hawtrey! From Wes Butters, Sony award
winning broadcaster and author of Kenneth Williams Unseen, comes an extensively
researched and compelling book almost fifteen years in the making, featuring
scores of exclusive interviews, including Hawtrey’s inner circle and surviving
descendents, never-before-seen photographs, and private documents and
correspondence. The result is the first definitive account of a life Hawtrey
himself was keen to see evaporate into the mist of history.
Years before, Hawtrey started out as a child actor in silent films, he was
England’s leading boy soprano and worked alongside a positive who’s who of the
thirties and forties. He had directed films and produced West End shows, starred
in three hit TV series and was a prolific radio actor for the BBC. Yet he was
never content and spent his life desperately searching for stardom and success,
which, in his own deluded way of thinking, always failed to live up to
expectations.
Wes Butters’ Radio 4 documentary on Charles Hawtrey will air in May. This
long-awaited book gives the WHOLE story!
Based on the eponymous 1960s BBC Radio show, Stop Messing About is set during a live recording, packed with outrageously funny sketches, parodies and songs, which reunited Kenneth Williams with his Carry On co-star Joan Sims and Hugh Paddick transporting you back to a time when comedy meant being funny, with scarcely a swear word in sight.
Stop Messing About comes from the pens of comedy writing legends Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke who were responsible for some of Britain’s best-loved sitcoms including; Man About The House, Robin’s Nest and George and Mildred.
The show joins us at The Orchard, Dartford from Mon 8 – Sat 13 March. Mon – Sat 7.30pm, Wed & Sat Mats 2.30pm. Tickets from £15.00 - £22.00.
The Carry On Unseen book from the pen of Robert Ross is the behind-the-scenes story of the Carry On phenomenon, packed full of facts and unpublished stills from the archive of Gerald Thomas, who directed all 31 films in the series. Carry On Unseen also features exclusive contributions from the actors, screenwriters and other filmmakers who created this British institution. This lavishly illustrated volume is a visual treasure trove for all lovers of cult comedy. It will be published in March 2010 More...
A host of TV stars recreated
a version of TV sitcom Are You Being Served? at a charity sale in memory of the
late Wendy Richard. The stars - including June Brown from EastEnders - took over
a shop floor at Selfridges in London to sell designer outfits owned by Richard.
"It's a very poignant day," said ex-EastEnder actress Natalie Cassidy. Richard,
who died in February 2009 of cancer aged 65, played Miss Brahms in the 1970s BBC
comedy show.
The shop floor had been laid out in the style of the department store comedy -
complete with a 1970s-style ringing till. Cassidy, who dressed as Miss Brahms
for the event, said: "To have this sale of Wendy's stuff here at her favourite
store for charity is a big old thing to have achieved.
More...
Marianne Stone, an
Irregular from the Carry Ons, sadly died on 21st
December 2009 ages 87. The British character actress who appeared in hundreds of
films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s. She usually played working class
parts such as barmaids, secretaries and landladies, and is probably best known
for her contribution to the nine Carry On she appeared in. She also appeared in
one episode of the Carry On TV series ("The Case of the Screaming Winkles “).
She is a recipient of the prestigious Gertrude Lawrence Award for Character
Acting.
The members of the
Theater Hall of Fame and the American
Theater Critics Assoc. have voted to induct Jim Dale
into the American Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime
Achievement in the Theater. The event will take
place at the Gershwin Theatre on January 25th. 2010. Congrats to Jim, the work
he has put in to the Broadway deserves recognition.
Due to problems with spam and obscene
images on the forum, I have decided to take it off-line, this may be only for a
while whilst I investigate a solution.
The
Vintage Mag Company, based in Soho in
Jim
Dale is reading the audio book version of a new authorised
Winnie the Pooh book called Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David
Benedicts. This is the first time that the Trustees
of Pooh Properties have allowed a new book based on A A
Milne's classic to be released, and Jim has been chosen to read it. For a
glimpse of Dale reading from it go
here. It's on sale worldwide 5th October 2009.
Pantomime season must be coming up (Oh no it isn't - Oh yes it is!) - Amanda
Barrie, who shone as Cleo in Carry On Cleo is appearing as The Fairy Godmother
in Cinderella at the Rhyl Pavilion Theatre in