He’s been dubbed the man of a hundred faces, the best voice actor of all time. Most famous for his role as bumbling Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films, more than 40 years after his death Peter Sellers is still regarded as one of the most influential comic performers ever. Peter Sellers: The Dark Side of the Goon, Channel 5 2023
His personal life was often as dramatic as it was on screen. ibid.
Peter often captured his intense relationship with his mother Peg on camera. Peg was convinced of her son’s talent. ibid.
Now a rising star, Peter Sellers and a group of pioneering friends were about to take over the airwaves in a groundbreaking radio series, The Goons. ibid.
To appear in the Ealing Comedy was the ultimate accolade for a British comic actor. And in 1955 Peter was cast in a supporting role as a small time crook in The Ladykillers. ibid.
Robin Williams’ image is famous around the world. But this handful of photos tells a different story. A Life in Ten Pictures s2e3: Robin Williams
Robin Williams was born in Chicago in 1951. ibid.
Robin had joined improvised comedy groups but soon decided to step out on his own. ibid.
On September 14th 1978 the first episode of Mork and Mindy aired on ABC. ibid.
Jim Davidson. For two decades you couldn’t get him off the telly. He was Britain’s most unlikely family entertainer. From the adult humour of South London pubs to the corridors of power at the BBC, he was a likely lad who started with nothing, won it all, lost it all … The Cancellation of Jim Davidson aka Jim Davidson: The Rise & Fall of Mr Saturday Night, Channel 5 2024
He was mixing with the stars of the London comedy circuit. ibid.
He auditioned for the ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks. ibid.
Jim’s playboy lifestyle was escalating fast. ibid.
‘There was a whole new wave of comedy that was happening.’ ibid. Laurie Mansfield, manager and friend
Big Break [quiz + snooker] was a huge hit. ibid.
By Christmas 1993 Jim was a celebrated TV host, earning up to £500,000 a year and entertaining audiences of 14 million a week. He was the father of 5 kids and married to his 4th wife. ibid.
The Generation Game: ‘It was the best time of my life.’ ibid. Jim
News of Jim’s charity was spreading. ibid.
‘And ironically, when the BBC now show and did The Best of the Generation Game I’m not mentioned, even though I did it for, I don’t know, four years longer than Larry Granson. I’m airbrushed.’ ibid.
In March 2013 Jim was rearrested when further historic allegations emerged. ibid.
Celebrity Big Brother: But had Jim done enough to win the nation’s vote? ibid.
Not me. I am not making a pig of myself … a civilised weekend … Play for Today: The Fishing Party, fishermen’ talk, BBC 1972
You might get fixed up where folk are not so particular. ibid. boarding lady
I don’t know what entrees are. ibid. fisherman
It’s [hotel] got its standards. And we can live up to them. ibid.
Laurence, you’re going to get heart-burn. Play For Today: Abigail’s Party, written and directed Mike Leigh, starring Alison Steadman ***** BBC 1977
Laurence, would you like to get the drinks please? Tony would like a Bacardi and Coke with ice and lemon, Angela would like gin and tonic with ice and lemon, and I’d like a little fill-up. OK? ibid. Beverly
Beverly’s not very organised; she doesn’t believe in making shopping lists. ibid. Laurence to Angela & Tony
When I get to my test my nerves fail me. ibid. Beverly to Angela & Tony
Beverly was saying your daughter’s having a party. ibid. Angela to Susan
They’re going to have fun, aren’t they? ibid.
Have you locked your silver away, Sue? bid. Beverly to Sue
You don’t know who you get at a party. ibid.
Particularly with teenagers because let’s face it they’re not as careful as say we would be. You know what I mean, they don’t think, do they? They’ve got a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other, you know and they’re having a bit of a dance and the next thing you know it’s cigarette on your carpet and stubbed out. ibid. Beverly to Sue
Come on, Sue. I’ll give you a little top-up. ibid.
Getting divorced to a film star is like going to the lavatory. ibid. Beverly
We’ve only been married nearly three years but we’re always having rows aren’t we? ibid. Angela
Don’t get me wrong. I do love Laurence. In my own way. ibid. Beverly to Angela
I never thought anyone would marry me. ibid. Angela
Angela: Would you like kids?
Beverly: No I don’t think I would really. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like kids because I do. But, let me put it to you this way, I wouldn’t like to actually have to have them. I mean, did you have your kids in hospital, Sue? Yeah, you see, to me having to go into hospital would be like being ill. And I couldn’t stand that. And I know it sounds horrible but having to do all that breast feeding and changing nappies would actually make me heave. I don’t honestly think I’ve got that motherly instinct in me. ibid.
They’re only having a bit of fun. ibid. Beverly
Have you ever tried pilchard curry? ibid. Angela to Beverly
It’s a fantastic drink Bacardi, isn’t it? ibid. Beverly to Tony
Most people they just er drift through life without any real aims. They are weak. But it’s no good just sitting there whining. You’ve got to get up and do something about it. Now not that it isn’t a fight, of course it is. Life is a fight. People they always seem to be against you. ibid. Laurence to Sue
Beverly: I’ll tell you what, listen, we’ll all get pissed.
Angela: Yes. We can enjoy ourselves. ibid.
I think I’m going to be sick. ibid. Sue to Beverly
He’s very quick tempered. I think it’s because of his red hair. ibid. Angela to Beverly
Was your husband violent? Oh she’s one of the lucking ones, isn’t she? ibid. Angela to Sue
Beverly: Apart from that, it’s just boring, do you know what I mean?
Angela: I think that comes from being married though doesn’t it? The fun wears off. ibid.
You know Shakespeare? At school. Well I have the complete works here. Yes, they are very well bound. They’re embossed in gold ... Of course they’re not something you can actually read. ibid. Laurence to Tony
Laurence, we are not here to hold conversations. We are here to enjoy ourselves. ibid. Beverly
We’re all getting a little bit merry, aren’t we? ibid. Angela to Laurence
Come on, Tone. Have a little dance. Come on. ibid. Beverly to Tony
You don’t mind me mauling your husband, do you, Ange? ibid. Beverly
Now who’s for another drink? ibid. Beverly
Can I have a cigarette? You see once you smoke one cigarette you want to keep on smoking, don’t you? ibid. Angela to Tony, Beverly offering
I like footballers’ legs actually. Nice and muscly, aren’t they? ibid. Beverly
[Laurence has heart attack, with Beethoven’s Fifth the backdrop]
He happens to be my husband. ibid. Beverly to Angela
Ange, angle, his face is going all blue, look. ibid.
Ange, listen to that noise he’s making. ibid.
Angela, I told him this would happen. ibid.
Sue, do you want a little drop of brandy? No? Tone? Angela, do you? ibid. Beverly
The thing is I’m very fond of him. ibid.
Abigail, it’s mummy here. Abigail? Abigail! ibid. Sue
How dare they say music hall is dead when jokes like that survive. Play for Today: Comedians, Eddie, BBC 1979
He dares to see what his customers shy away from. ibid.
A joke that feeds on ignorance starves the audience. ibid.
Laurie Lee - Arena: Wisconsin Death Trip 1999 - Weird or What? TV - Tommy Cooper - Thomas Hardy - Virginia Woolf -
She leaned out of the window slow and sleepy, and the light came through her nightdress like sand through a sieve. Laurie Lee, Cider With Rosie
Mary Sweeney: Her uncontrollable mania for breaking windows. Arena: Wisconsin Death Trip, newspaper report, BBC 1999
Mary Sweeney, the schoolteacher known as the Wisconsin Window Smasher, has just completed tour of the principle towns and jails of the state. She claims to have destroyed $50,000’ worth of glass on her recent trip. ibid.
It began with two brothers ... On December 7th the Morenos were going about their daily routine. Their job as high-rise window washers was not without its dangers. Their day started cleaning the glass on an Upper East Side apartment building more than a hundred and twenty metres up ... From forty-seven storeys up the platform plummeted for nearly six seconds before it crashed on to the pavement ... Although one of the brothers had died the other was somehow miraculously breathing. Weird or What? Strange Survival
I went window shopping today! I bought four windows. Tommy Cooper
Something tapped on the pane of my room
When there was never a trace
Of wind or rain, and I saw in the gloom
My weary Beloved’s face. Thomas Hardy, Something Tapped
What a lark! What a plunge! For so it had always seemed to her when, with a little squeak of the hinges, which she could hear now, she had burst open the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air. Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway
This is the second floor of our notorious headquarters here in the centre of Milano, notorious following a sordid little incident which happened here a few days ago when an anarchist under interrogation on one of the upper floors fell through the window. Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo, rozzer, Youtube 1.14.39/Thames TV
It’s no use trying to pull the wool over my eyes, sonny. ibid.
You said, We were all having a jolly good time and he jumped out of the window. ibid. acting judge