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1-39 of 39
- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of four children, Blackman was born in London's East End, to Edith Eliza (Stokes), a homemaker, and Frederick Thomas Blackman, a statistician employed with the Civil Service. She received elocution lessons for her 16th birthday (at her own request), and later attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which she paid for by working as a clerical assistant in the Civil Service. She was also a dispatch rider for the Home Office during World War II, playing an important role in the war effort.
Blackman received her first acting work on stage in London's West End as an understudy in "The Guinea Pig". She continued with roles in "The Gleam" (1946) and "The Blind Goddess" (1947), before moving into film. She debuted with Fame Is the Spur (1947), starring Michael Redgrave.
Blackman suffered a nervous breakdown following her divorce from Bill Sankey, a man 12 years her senior, who's jealousy, fraudulent business practices, and emptying of her bank accounts took it's toll. After hospitalisation Blackman began counselling, which would last for years, and began rebuilding her career.
TV series work also came her way again, most notably the highly popular The Avengers (1961), co-starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed. As the leather-clad "Catherine Gale", Blackman showcased her incredible beauty, self-confidence, and athletic abilities. Her admirable qualities made her not only a catch for the men, but also an inspirational figure for the 1960s feminist movement.
Blackman took on the role of Greek goddess Hera in popular movie adventure Jason and the Argonauts (1963) with Ray Harryhausen and melodrama Life at the Top (1965) with Laurence Harvey. She then played "Pussy Galore" in the classic James Bond film Goldfinger (1964). Blackman went toe to toe with Sean Connery's womanizing "007" and created major sparks on screen.
Blackman continued to work consistently in films and tv, while also appearing on stage where she earned rave reviews as the blind heroine of the thriller "Wait Until Dark" as well as for her dual roles in "Mr. and Mrs.", a production based on two of Noël Coward's plays. She also enjoyed working with her second husband, actor Maurice Kaufmann, in the play "Move Over, Mrs. Markham" and the film thriller Fright (1971). She proved a sultry-voiced sensation in various musicals productions such as "A Little Night Music", "The Sound of Music", "On Your Toes", and "Nunsense."
In the new millennium, Honor was seen in such films as Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Color Me Kubrick (2005), Reuniting the Rubins (2010), I, Anna (2012) and Cockneys vs Zombies (2012), as well as the British TV serieses Water, Water, Everywhere (1920) The Royal (2003) Coronation Street (1960), long running series Casualty (1986) and finally You, Me & Them (2013), her last role after her retirement several years earlier.
Divorced from Kaufmann in 1975 (although they remained friends until his death, Blackman even cared for him during his 13 year battle with cancer), Blackman never remarried, revealing in an interview that she simply preferred single life, "Basically I'm a shy person and I like my own company". Unable to conceive, the couple adopted two children, Lottie and Barnaby, in '67 and '68 respectively.
The ever-lovely and eternally glamorous star continued to find regular work into her 90s, including co-starring in the long-running English hit comedy series The Upper Hand (1990) and performing her one-woman stage show, "Wayward Women"
Honor Blackman died on April 5, 2020, in Lewes, Sussex. She was 94.- London-born Virginia Woolf came from a wealthy family and, unlike her brothers, received her education at home, an unusual step for the times. Her parents had both had children from previous marriages, so she grew up with a variety of siblings, stepbrothers and stepsisters. Her father was a well-respected editor and author and the former son-in-law of William Makepeace Thackeray. Author James Russell Lowell was her godfather, and Henry James and George Elliott were regular visitors and guests at the family home. As she recalled later in life, her most pleasant childhood memories were of the summers spent at the family home in Cornwall, by Porthminster Bay (the Godrevy Lighthouse there was the basis for her novel "To the Lighthouse").
The sudden death of Virginia's mother in 1895, when she was 13, and the passing of her sister two years later led to the first of Virginia's mental breakdowns. In 1904 her father died, which caused a complete mental and physical collapse and for a while she was sent to a mental institution to recover. Nervous breakdowns and bouts of severe depression tormented Virginia throughout her life, and the fact that as children she and her sister Vanessa were sexually abused by two of their stepbrothers added to her already considerable feelings of guilt and inferiority.
She studied at London's Kings College, where she became acquainted with such literary figures as Lytton Strachey, Saxon Sydney-Turner and Leonard Woolf. She married Woolf in 1912. Virginia was always ashamed of what she termed her "unattractive countenance", and once wrote that "being wanted [was] a pleasure that I have never felt". In 1922 she met Vita Sackville-West, and the two women began a relationship that lasted for almost ten years. She was said to have written her novel "Orlando" as a love letter to West.
After the publication of her novel "Between the Acts" she fell into a deep depression, exacerbated by the destruction of her London home by Nazi planes during the bombing of that city, and the less than enthusiastic critical reaction to her biography of her close friend Roger Fry. Her condition deteriorated to the point where she was unable to write or even read. She finally had a full-blown nervous breakdown. Unable and unwilling to continue, she wrote a note to her husband saying that "I am certain I am going mad again" and "I shan't recover this time . . . I can't fight any longer . . . I can't go on spoiling your life any longer." On March 28, 1941, she left her home, walked to the banks of the nearby River Ouse, loaded heavy stones into her pockets and walked into the water. She was 59 years old. - Alison Fiske was born on 2 August 1943 in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Mansfield Park (1983), Performance (1991) and Helen: A Woman of Today (1973). She was married to Stephen Fagan. She died on 26 July 2020 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Joan Maude was born on 16 January 1908 in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Hobson's Choice (1931) and The Lash (1934). She was married to Oliver Woods and Frank Waters. She died on 28 September 1998 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.- Jean Harvey was born on 20 April 1930 in Birmingham, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Jane Eyre (1983), Jane Eyre (1973) and A Man of our Times (1967). She was married to Michael David. She died on 14 November 2013 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Patricia Hilliard was born on 14 March 1916 in Quetta, India. She was an actress, known for The Ghost Goes West (1935), Things to Come (1936) and The Private Life of Don Juan (1934). She was married to William Fox. She died on 19 May 2001 in Lewes, Sussex, England, UK.
- Gillian Lind was born on 25 August 1904 in India. She was an actress, known for Pride and Prejudice (1952), Nicholas Nickleby (1957) and Emma (1960). She was married to Cyril Raymond. She died on 25 October 1983 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Hal Gordon was born on 18 April 1894 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for A Southern Maid (1934), When Knights Were Bold (1929) and Dance Band (1935). He died in 1946 in Lewes, Sussex, England, UK.
- Writer
- Actor
Bruce Stewart was born on 4 September 1925 in Auckland, New Zealand. He was a writer and actor, known for Timeslip (1970), The United States Steel Hour (1953) and Out of This World (1962). He died on 29 September 2005 in Lewes, Sussex, England, UK.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Rollo Gamble was born on 24 June 1910 in Ruislip, Middlesex, England, UK. He was a director and actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), Stars and Garters (1963) and Love on the Dole (1941). He died on 11 September 1973 in Lewes, Sussex, England, UK.- Marjory Hawtrey was born on 7 March 1900 in Surbiton, Surrey, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Great Expectations (1959), The Charlie Drake Show (1960) and BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950). She was married to Anthony Hawtrey. She died on 2 December 1986 in Lewes, Sussex, England, UK.
- Cherry Cottrell was born on 5 February 1909 in Exeter, England, UK. She was an actress, known for A Hundred Years Old (1938), Sweeney Todd (1947) and The Fighting Pimpernel (1949). She died on 8 February 1996 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Norman Hemsley was born on 7 August 1913 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. Norman was a director and producer, known for Sussex Fortnight (1950), Looking at Britain: Industrial Town (1962) and Midnight Taxi (1946). Norman died on 31 March 1990 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.- Cora Goffin was one of Britain's most famous pantomime princpal boys and musical comedy stars. At the height of her fame during the 1920s and 30s she was a household name and her picture adorned chocolate boxes, cigarette cards and magazine covers.
Married to the powerful impresario Emile Littler she starred in many of his stage shows. Her costumes were created by the leading designers of the day and her legs were insured for £20,000.
Born in London, the daughter of the actress Cora Poole, she began performing at an early age at afternoon tea parties given by London society hostesses. In 1912, at the age of 10, she made her professional debut as a child dancer at the London Palladium with the Russian Ballet. After one performance, the legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova told her "Little girl, one day you will be a great star."
After her father's death Cora Goffin toured on variety bills billed as 'Little Cora Goffi - the Child Phenomenon'. She went on to appear in leading roles in Shakespeare in London's West End but her most memorable role as a child star was Little Lord Fauntleroy.
After her marriage in 1933 to Emile Littler she starred in several stage shows and films but retired from acting in 1940. Littler was knighted for his services to entertainment in 1974 and shortly afterwards the couple moved to Ditchling, Sussex in the south of England. A much admired hostess Cora numbered among her many close friends stars such as Elsie Randolph, Alice Delysia, Vera Lynn and Douglas Byng. - Actor
- Director
- Executive
Wyatt Neumann was born on 8 October 1972 in California, USA. He was an actor and director, known for American Rural West (1999), American Wake and Flytrap (1996). He was married to Jena Cordova Neumann. He died on 12 June 2015 in Lewes, Delaware, USA.- Art Director
- Art Department
- Production Designer
Colin Grimes was born in 1934 in Weybridge, Surrey, England, UK. He was an art director and production designer, known for Krull (1983), Out of Africa (1985) and Supergirl (1984). He was married to Judith Crabtree. He died in 2013 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.- Additional Crew
Asa Briggs was born on 7 May 1921 in Keighley, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK. He is known for Lost Worlds (2002), Towards 2000 (1964) and Thinking Aloud (1984). He was married to Susan Briggs. He died on 15 March 2016 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.- Guy Tylden Wright was born on 30 July 1899 in Dundee, Natal, South Africa. He was an actor, known for Forbidden Cargoes (1926). He died on 19 July 1976 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Rosamunde Tattersall was born in 1924 in Lambeth, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Railway Children (1951), The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1953) and Love and Mr Lewisham (1959). She died on 26 March 2014 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Sabine Baring-Gould was born on 28 January 1834 in Exeter, Devonshire, England, UK. She was a writer, known for First Reformed (2017), Striptease (1996) and Flyboys (2006). She was married to Grace Taylor. She died on 2 January 1924 in Lew Trenchard, Devonshire, England, UK.- Tommy Fields was born on 28 June 1908 in Rochdale, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Smiling Along (1938), Look Up and Laugh (1935) and The Penny Pool (1937). He was married to Cynthia Rawson, Dorothy Whiteside and Annette Thornton. He died on 3 June 1988 in Lewes, Sussex, England, UK.
- Soundtrack
Jez Bird died on 27 August 2008 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.- Edward Forsyth was born on 28 November 1903 in Inverness, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for Kidnapped (1952), ITV Play of the Week (1955) and You Can't Escape (1956). He was married to Hope Carr. He died in 1979 in Lewes, Sussex, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
Charles Cullum was born on 8 March 1899 in Barry Docks, Wales, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for D'Ye Ken John Peel? (1935), The Man in the White Suit (1951) and BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950). He died in 1979 in Lewes, Sussex, England, UK.- Composer
- Music Department
Jonathan Harvey was born on 3 May 1939 in Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Counter Phrases (2003), Une aventure théâtrale, 30 ans de décentralisation (2018) and Split Screen (1986). He died on 4 December 2012 in Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.