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Tall, dignified-looking Bernard Hepton enjoyed a six-decade-long career on both stage and screen during which he particularly excelled at subtle, self-effacing, or introspective roles. An electrician's son, Hepton grew up in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford. Due to poor eyesight, he missed out on wartime service and instead trained as an aircraft engineer and draughtsman. A teenage 'fire watcher' during the war, he found his boredom relieved by a chance introduction to one-act amateur plays. Immediately fascinated by theatre, he joined the Bradford Civic Playhouse where he became a protégé of the director Esme Church. He then acted on stage in York for two years (in his own words tackling "anything from Agatha Christie to Shakespeare"), subsequently graduating as artistic director at the prestigious Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Liverpool Playhouse. In 1964, Hepton joined the fledgling BBC2 hoping to produce and direct. Before long, however, he ended up in front of the cameras. Specialising in the classics (especially period drama) his many diverse faces over the years included those of kindly clerk Wemmick in Great Expectations (1967), Pallas in I, Claudius (1976) , Hungarian émigré Toby Esterhase, head of the 'Circus' surveillance section, in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) and Smiley's People (1982), Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls (1982) (whose author, J.B. Priestley, incidentally grew up in the same street as Hepton), Sir Thomas Bertram in Mansfield Park (1983), and Mr. Woodhouse in Jane Austen's Emma (1996). In addition to numerous one-off guest spots, Hepton also had two notable leading roles in the 1970s: as the humane kommandant in Colditz (1972) and as the Belgian cafe owner/resistance fighter Albert Foriet, aiding the escape of downed Allied airmen from occupied territory in Secret Army (1977).

Charles Bryant Pierce was an independent filmmaker from Arkansas whose movies have become cult classics. Films that he wrote, directed and/or produced were not only made in Arkansas with local actors but also drew their inspiration from Arkansas themes. He is believed to be the source of one of the most famous lines in American film history from the 1983 film 'Sudden Impact': "Go ahead, make my day."

Charles B. Pierce was born in Hammond, IN, on June 16, 1938, the son of Mack McKenny Pierce and Mayven Bryant Pierce. When he was a few months old the family moved to Hampton, Calhoun County, in the south-central part of Arkansas. Living in Hampton, Pierce grew up next door to Harry Thomason, who later became successful as a producer and director of such projects as TV's "Designing Women" (1986).

According to Pierce's family, one of his chores growing up was mowing the lawn. His father came home one day at lunchtime and asked if the boy planned to mow the yard anytime soon, adding, "When I come home tonight and the yard has not been mowed, you're gonna make my day." Later in life, Pierce would use the admonition to great advantage.

In the mid-1960s, Pierce was working as an art director at KTAL-TV in Shreveport, LA, and later became a weatherman and hosted a children's cartoon program at the small independent-owned TV station. Returning to Arkansas, he started an advertising business on State Line Avenue in Texarkana, Miller County, in addition to playing a character called Mayor Chuckles on a local television show.

In 1971, there were local headlines about a Sasquatch-like creature sighted in the wetlands vicinity around the nearby town of Fouke in Miller County. The "Fouke Monster" was reportedly seen in the Boggy Creek area and was suspected of attacking dogs and livestock as well as a local family. In mid 1972, while still working in advertising, Pierce created a semi-documentary film originally titled "Tracking the Fouke Monster"--later renamed 'The Legend of Boggy Creek.' Pierce shot the movie with a 16mm camera he assembled himself at home. Much of the movie was filmed in Fouke and Texarkana with local residents and students as actors and/or crew. Estimates place the cost of making the film at about $165,000. Becoming popular as a drive-in horror feature around the country, it became one of the top ten highest-grossing movies of the year, earning over $20 million.

Earning several hundred thousand dollars in residuals from the film, Pierce used his new found wealth to write and direct several other films, which included the crime comedy-drama Bootleggers (1974), the westerns Winterhawk (1975) and The Winds of Autumn (1976), the true-life horror flick The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976), the western Grayeagle (1977), the viking adventure The Norseman (1978), another true-life thriller The Evictors (1979), the western Sacred Ground (1983), a sequel to "Boggy Creek" titled Boggy Creek II (1985), the violent western Hawken's Breed (1987), the family drama Renfroe's Christmas (1997) and Chasing the Wind (1998). His earlier films in particular were shot in Arkansas and/or featured Arkansas themes and local residents in their production.

After moving to California in the early 1980s to further his career, he became friends with actor/director Clint Eastwood while living in Carmel, where Eastwood was elected mayor in 1986. After sharing a story treatment that Eastwood liked, Pierce became a writer for the fourth in the Dirty Harry series, Sudden Impact (1983), which Eastwood directed. Its most famous line, "Go ahead, make my day," has been ranked in the top ten of the American Film Institute's top movie quotes of all time.

Returning to his own independent;y produced films, Pierce was the star, writer, director and co-producer of The Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, Part II, (1985), a sequel to "Boggy Creek" that was eventually re-titled Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues (1985). The movie also contains footage of a University of Arkansas (UA) Razorback football game in Fayetteville, Washington County), complete with hog-hatted fans.

Pierce acquired the nickname "Sparkplug" due to his energy; he was always thinking about his next project while completing another. Pierce was married to Florence Lyons, a Tennessee native, for ten years and they had three children, one of whom was Charles Pierce Jr. They eventually divorced. Pierce's second wife was Cindy Butler; they also later divorced. While filming "Hawken's Breed" in 1987 with Peter Fonda (I) in the area around Dover, TN, Pierce met his third wife Beth Pulley; they married the following year.

Along with starring and directing Boggy Creek II, Pierce acted in several of his films, in small roles; these included "Bootleggers," "The Winds of Autumn," and "The Town that Dreaded Sundown." Pierce directed a number of noted character actors, such as Slim Pickens (I), Jack Elam, Kathleen Freeman (I), Woody Strode and L.Q. Jones, along with lead actors including Jaclyn Smith (I), Dawn Wells (I), Andrew Prine, Lee Majors (I), Cornel Wilde, Mel Ferrer (I), Vic Morrow, Michael Parks (I) and Academy Award winner Ben Johnson (I).

Suffering from poor health later in life, Charles B. Pierce died on March 5, 2010, at the Signature Care nursing home in Dover, TN, at age 71, where he had been living for the past seven years. He is buried at Stewart Memorial Gardens near his home in Dover. Two years before his death, the frail-looking Pierce attended and was spotlighted by the Little Rock Film Festival in 2008 with a retrospective, received the Arkansas Arts Council's Judges Special Recognition award in 2009, honored annually by the Little Rock Film Festival through the Charles B. Pierce Award for Best Film Made in Arkansas. He was inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame in 2010.

Tommy Makem was born on 4 November 1932 in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for The Guard (2011), The Finest Hours (2016) and American Masters (1985). He was married to Mary Shanahan Makem. He died on 1 August 2007 in Dover, New Hampshire, USA.

Johnston Forbes-Robertson (1853-1937) was an English actor and theatrical impresario that George Bernard Shaw and other critics considered to be the finest Hamlet (1913) of his generation. Forbes-Robertson had trained to be an artist and was not overly fond of acting, but he took to the boards to make a living. He did his apprenticeship with Samuel Phelps' company and made his theatrical debut in 1874. He played the second lead in the company of Henry Irving, indisputably the greatest actor of his generation and the first actor to be knighted.

Forbes-Robertson did not play Hamlet until he was 44 years old, but excelled at it. He was famed for his magnificent voice. Other Shakespearean roles he was hailed for were Leontes in "The Winter's Tale", Othello and Romeo. Shaw wrote the part of Julius Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) specifically for Forbes-Robertson.

In 1913, at the age of 60, he became the fifth actor since Irving was knighted in 1895 to made a knight bachelor. He retired from the stage the same year but continued to produce plays. He died in Dover in 1937 at the age of 84.

Hilary Liddell was born in 1923 in Lewisham, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for BBC Sunday-Night Play (1960), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1947) and Timeslip (1970). She was married to Bernard Hepton. She died on 4 April 2013 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Rudy J. Ferretti was born on 27 May 1979 in New York, USA. He was an actor, known for America's Court with Judge Ross (2010), _Pyschosis (2014) and Girls Game (2019). He died on 10 August 2020 in Dover, New Hampshire, USA.

Peter James was born on 14 April 1924. He was a set decorator and art director, known for The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Straw Dogs (1971) and The Innocents (1961). He died on 17 November 1997 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Donald Byrd was born on 9 December 1932 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Confidence (2003), Very Bad Things (1998) and A Bronx Tale (1993). He was married to Lorraine Glover. He died on 4 February 2013 in Dover, Delaware, USA.

Peter Dews was born on 26 September 1929 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950), Television World Theatre (1957) and Jury Room (1965). He died on 25 August 1997 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Louis Spadaccini was born on 1 June 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor. He was married to Spadaccini, Melissa. He died on 5 February 2004 in Dover, Delaware, USA.

Pax Walker was born on 22 December 1920 in Pancras, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Nightmare (1942), Forever and a Day (1943) and Cry Havoc (1947). She was married to Launce Maraschal and Reginald George Lohan. She died on 27 December 2007 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Philip Wyborn-Brown was born in 1952 in Dover, Kent, England, UK. He died on 13 March 2015 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Allan Ramsay was born on 13 October 1713 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, UK. Allan is known for The Queen's Palaces (2011). Allan was married to Margaret Lindsay and Anne Bayne. Allan died on 10 August 1784 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Carl Conway was born on 6 February 1922 in Ramsgate, Kent, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Nature's Paradise (1959), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and The Vise (1954). He died on 10 February 2017 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Larry Stock was born on 4 December 1896 in New York, New York, USA. He died on 4 May 1984 in Dover Township, New Jersey, USA.

Mindy Gould was born on 5 May 1979. She died on 3 December 1999 in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, USA.

Philip Guest Adams was born on 9 December 1912 in Canton, Connecticut, USA. He is known for American Bandstand (1952). He died on 3 January 1998 in Dover, Delaware, USA.

Gordon Crier was born on 2 October 1912 in Guildford, Surrey, England, UK. He was a producer and actor, known for Band Waggon (1940), What Would You Do, Chums? (1939) and The Lighter Side (1951). He died on 16 September 1984 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Tim Carper died on 8 December 2015 in Dover, Delaware, USA.

Alfred Mosley was born on 10 April 1919 in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. He died on 17 December 2005 in Dover, New Hampshire, USA.

Carl Thompson died on 21 June 2015 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Claribel was born on 23 December 1830 in Louth, Lincolnshire, England, UK. Claribel died on 30 January 1869 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Stuart Chedburn was born on 29 May 1889 in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for Without Witness (1948), Libel (1948) and Pygmalion (1948). He died in 1957 in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Charles Simic was born on 9 May 1938 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia [now Serbia]. Charles was a writer, known for Gray-Headed Schoolchildren (2011). Charles was married to Helen Dubin. Charles died on 9 January 2023 in Dover, New Hampshire, USA.

Stanley Cowell was born on 5 May 1941 in Toledo, Ohio, USA. He was a composer, known for Ragtime (1981), She's Gotta Have It (1986) and School Daze (1988). He was married to Sylvia Potts and Victoria . He died on 17 December 2020 in Dover, Delaware, USA.