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1-19 of 19
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Balding, quietly spoken, of slight build and possessed of piercing blue eyes -- often peering out from behind round, steel-rimmed glasses -- Donald Pleasence had the essential physical attributes which make a great screen villain. In the course of his lengthy career, he relished playing the obsessed, the paranoid and the purely evil. Even the Van Helsing-like psychiatrist Sam Loomis in the Halloween (1978) franchise seems only marginally more balanced than his prey. An actor of great intensity, Pleasence excelled on stage as Shakespearean villains. He was an unrelenting prosecutor in Jean Anouilh's "Poor Bitos" and made his theatrical reputation in the title role of the seedy, scheming tramp in Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker" (1960). On screen, he gave a perfectly plausible interpretation of the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, in The Eagle Has Landed (1976). He was a convincingly devious Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), disturbing in his portrayal of the crazed, bloodthirsty preacher Quint in Will Penny (1967); and as sexually depraved, alcohol-sodden 'Doc' Tydon in the brilliant Aussie outback drama Wake in Fright (1971). And, of course, he was Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967). These are some of the films, for which we may remember Pleasence, but there was a great deal more to this fabulous, multi-faceted actor.
Donald Henry Pleasence was born on October 5, 1919 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, to Alice (Armitage) and Thomas Stanley Pleasence. His family worked on the railway. His grandfather had been a signal man and both his brother and father were station masters. When Donald failed to get a scholarship at RADA, he joined the family occupation working as a clerk at his father's station before becoming station master at Swinton, Yorkshire. While there, he wrote letters to theatre companies, eventually being accepted by one on the island of Jersey in Spring 1939 as an assistant stage manager. On the eve of World War II, he made his theatrical debut in "Wuthering Heights". In 1942, he played Curio in "Twelfth Night", but his career was then interrupted by military service in the RAF. He was shot down over France, incarcerated and tortured in a German POW camp. Once repatriated, Donald returned to the stage in Peter Brook's 1946 London production of "The Brothers Karamazov" with Alec Guinness although he missed the opening due to measles, followed by a stint on Broadway with Laurence Olivier's touring company in "Caesar and Cleopatra" and "Anthony and Cleopatra". Upon his return to England, he won critical plaudits for his performance in "Hobson's Choice". In 1952, Donald began his screen career, rather unobtrusively, in small parts. He was only really noticed once having found his métier as dastardly, sneaky Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955). It took several more years, until international recognition came his way: first, through the filmed adaptation of The Guest (1963), and, secondly, with his blind forger in The Great Escape (1963), a role he imbued with added conviction due to his own wartime experience.
Some of his best acting Donald reserved for the small screen. In 1962, the producer of The Twilight Zone (1959), Buck Houghton, brought Donald to the United States ("damn the expense"!) to guest star in the third-season episode "The Changing of the Guard". He was given a mere five days to immerse himself in the part of a gentle school teacher, Professor Ellis Fowler, who, on the eve of Christmas is forcibly retired after fifty-one years of teaching. Devastated, and believing himself a failure who has made no mark on the world, he is about to commit suicide when the school's bell summons him to his classroom. There, he is confronted by the spirits of deceased students who beg him to consider that his lessons have indeed had fundamental effects on their lives, even leading to acts of great heroism. Upon hearing this, Fowler is now content to graciously accept his retirement. Managing to avoid maudlin sentimentality, Donald's performance was intuitive and, arguably, one of the most poignant ever accomplished in a thirty-minute television episode. Once again, against type, he was equally delightful as the mild-mannered Reverend Septimus Harding in Anthony Trollope's The Barchester Chronicles (1982).
Whether eccentric, sinister or given to pathos, Donald Pleasence was always great value for money and his performances have rarely failed to engage.- Dorothy Vernon was born in 1939 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Crown Court (1972), The First Kangaroos (1988) and Through an Unknown Land (1986). She was married to Vincent Carratu and Colin George. She died on 25 June 2014 in Banstead, Surrey, England, UK.
- Actor
- Composer
- Writer
Bruce Dickinson was born on 7 August 1958 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989), Into the Blue (2005) and Bride of Chucky (1998). He has been married to Leana Dolci since 2023. He was previously married to Paddy Bowden and Erica Jane Barnett.- Brian Poyser was born in 1934 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999), Parting Shots (1998) and Sean's Show (1992). He was married to Ann Rye. He died on 19 January 2009 in Wimbledon, Surrey, England, UK.
- Composer
- Actor
- Writer
John Parr was born on 18 November 1952 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for St. Elmo's Fire (1985), The Running Man (1987) and Unconquered (2023).- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Music Department
Sarah Jane Honeywell was born on 5 January 1974 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Warrioress (2013), The Best Years (2013) and Shadows of a Stranger (2014). She has been married to Ayden Callaghan since 17 September 2016. They have one child.- Rosalind Plowright was born on 21 May 1949 in Worksop, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Not the Messiah: He's a Very Naughty Boy (2010), The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2006) and Il trovatore (1985).
- Visual Effects
- Animation Department
- Art Department
Lee Baskerville was born in July 1979 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. Lee is known for Alita: Battle Angel (2019), Geostorm (2017) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).- J.T. Edson was born on 17 February 1928 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Trigger Fast (1994), Guns of Honor (1994) and Read All About It (1974). He died on 17 July 2014 in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England, UK.
- Graham Taylor is an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford F.C.. He was the manager of the England National Football Team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln City F.C., Aston Villa F.C. and Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C..
Born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, Taylor grew up in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, which he regarded as his hometown. The son of a sports journalist who worked on the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph, Taylor found his love of football in the stands of the Old Show Ground watching Scunthorpe United F.C.. He became a player, playing at full back for Grimsby Town F.C. and Lincoln City F.C..
After retiring as a player through injury in 1972, Taylor became a manager and coach. He won the Fourth Division title with Lincoln in 1976, before moving to Watford in 1977. He took Watford from the Fourth Division to the First in five years. Under Taylor, Watford were First Division runners-up in 1982-83, and FA Cup finalists in 1984. Taylor took over at Aston Villa in 1987, leading the club to promotion in 1988 and 2nd place in the First Division in 1989-90.
In July 1990, he became the manager of the England National Football Team. England qualified for the 1992 European Championships, but were knocked out in the group stages. Taylor resigned in November 1993, after England failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. Taylor faced heavy criticism from fans and media during his tenure as an England manager and earned additional public interest and scrutiny when a television documentary which he had permitted to film the failed campaign from behind the scenes, An Impossible Job, aired in 1994.
Taylor returned to club management in March 1994 with Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.. After one season at Molineux, he returned to Watford, and led the club to the Premier League in 1999 after back-to-back promotions. His last managerial role was manager of Aston Villa F.C., to which he returned in 2002. He left at the end of the 2002-03 season. Taylor served as Watford's chairman from 2009 until 2012 where he continued to hold the position of honorary life-president. He also worked as a pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. - Anne Foy was born on 23 January 1986 in Langold, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Sleeping Beauty Uncovered (2003), Stitch Up (2001) and CBBC (1985). She has been married to Sam Nixon since 23 December 2012. They have one child.
- Writer
- Actor
Basil Boothroyd was born on 4 March 1910 in Worksop, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for The Perfect Woman (1949), The Inheritance (1950) and The Delavine Affair (1955). He died in 1988.- James Higgins was born on 1 June 1932 in Worksop, England, UK. He is an actor, known for A Room for Romeo Brass (1999), The Woman in Red (1984) and A Cry in the Dark (1988).
- Trevor Mitchell was born in August 1934 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. He died on 5 June 2020 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK.
- Director
- Writer
- Special Effects
Dan Duffin was born on 26 September 1973 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for The 12 Days of 'Black Christmas' (2006), On Screen! (2005) and What Have You Done?: The Remaking of 'Black Christmas' (2006).- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
Victoria Duffin was born on 19 December 1976 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. She is a production manager, known for Banzai (2001), Stand Up for the Week (2010) and Favouritism (2005).- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Mark Starowicz was born on 8 September 1946 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. He is a producer and writer, known for The Nature of Things (1960), Canada: A People's History (2000) and Mommy Wildest (2018).- Dean Daly was born on 13 January 1989 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Bronson (2008).
- Mark Huzi Wu was born on 22 December 1983 in Worksop, England, UK. He is known for The Last Samurai (2003).