Fans of British TV ate well in 2023. The year said goodbye to some excellent British TV shows with the finales of extraordinary crime dramas Happy Valley, Top Boy, Guilt and Endeavour – four very different shows set in four very different places. We waved off comedies Sex Education and Ghosts, and welcomed back some exciting returns in the form of Black Mirror, Good Omens and of course, Doctor Who.
And then there were the new additions – superhero comedy Extraordinary, police newbie drama Blue Lights, mind-bending comic book adaptation Bodies and chilling true crime series The Sixth Commandment.
It’s hard to separate the pack, but using a complex system of pulleys and levers, a gunge machine and – unfortunately necessary for the person who nominated The Idol – an oubliette, Den of Geek polled its writers and drew up two lists of the best TV of the year, one for American shows and...
And then there were the new additions – superhero comedy Extraordinary, police newbie drama Blue Lights, mind-bending comic book adaptation Bodies and chilling true crime series The Sixth Commandment.
It’s hard to separate the pack, but using a complex system of pulleys and levers, a gunge machine and – unfortunately necessary for the person who nominated The Idol – an oubliette, Den of Geek polled its writers and drew up two lists of the best TV of the year, one for American shows and...
- 12/14/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Unlike other anthology series, Inside No. 9 not only reinvents itself with each episode, its multi-genre approach gives the showrunners plenty of chances to experiment. One episode could be science fiction, and then the next is a comedy. There is really no telling what’s in store for viewers as they tune in. Now, the show’s masterminds and stars, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, tend to offer a variety of odd tales every season, but this installment has, for the most part, thrills and suspense on the brain.
Not since 2018 has Inside No. 9 produced a holiday special. “Dead Line” delivered an immersive Halloween experience born out of faux technical difficulties, and before that, “The Devil of Christmas” shocked viewers in 2016 with an unforgettable twist in the tail. Meanwhile, Season 8’s “The Bones of St Nicholas” channels the British tradition of ghost stories told at Christmas. George Kane, who...
Not since 2018 has Inside No. 9 produced a holiday special. “Dead Line” delivered an immersive Halloween experience born out of faux technical difficulties, and before that, “The Devil of Christmas” shocked viewers in 2016 with an unforgettable twist in the tail. Meanwhile, Season 8’s “The Bones of St Nicholas” channels the British tradition of ghost stories told at Christmas. George Kane, who...
- 8/25/2023
- by Paul Lê
- bloody-disgusting.com
All through the run-up to series eight of Inside No. 9, audiences were told to expect an episode called ‘Hold on Tight!’, set on a No.9 bus. Inside No. 9 is an anthology show, in which writer-actors Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith take on different roles in each self-contained episode, alongside an impressive array of guest stars. ‘Hold on Tight!’, press were told, would be an homage to 1970s comedy On the Buses, and would feature guest star Robin Askwith, who is best known for his ‘cheeky’ 1970s sex comedy roles. Photos were released of Askwith, Pemberton and Shearsmith in costume next to a red London bus, and a movie-style poster was made. Clips of Pemberton and Shearsmith in their bus conductor costumes were included in the series eight trailer.
On the night the episode was due to be transmitted, at the last minute the continuity announcer told viewers that...
On the night the episode was due to be transmitted, at the last minute the continuity announcer told viewers that...
- 5/23/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Warning: contains spoilers for series 8 episode 4
In 2017, Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi told a credulous tabloid that he hoped his next project after the Tardis would be a Steven Moffat-written revival of 1970s sitcom On the Buses. “I have got a Blakey in me,” Capaldi assured The Sun, referring to Stephen Lewis’ dyspeptic bus inspector character. Moffat ran with the joke, agreeing whole-heartedly that after Sherlock, bringing back On the Buses would be his natural next move.
Five years later, when Inside No. 9 creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton wanted to pull their audience’s leg, On the Buses once again served as a punch line. Among the first look images of series eight was one of the creators and cheeky 1970s sex comedy star Robin Askwith in full On the Buses costume. Finally! Shearsmith and Pemberton had taken up the much-repeated fan suggestion that they set one of...
In 2017, Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi told a credulous tabloid that he hoped his next project after the Tardis would be a Steven Moffat-written revival of 1970s sitcom On the Buses. “I have got a Blakey in me,” Capaldi assured The Sun, referring to Stephen Lewis’ dyspeptic bus inspector character. Moffat ran with the joke, agreeing whole-heartedly that after Sherlock, bringing back On the Buses would be his natural next move.
Five years later, when Inside No. 9 creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton wanted to pull their audience’s leg, On the Buses once again served as a punch line. Among the first look images of series eight was one of the creators and cheeky 1970s sex comedy star Robin Askwith in full On the Buses costume. Finally! Shearsmith and Pemberton had taken up the much-repeated fan suggestion that they set one of...
- 5/19/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
The wait is almost over: the BBC has confirmed that the eighth series of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s horror-comedy anthology Inside No. 9 will start on Thursday the 27th of April at 10 p.m. on BBC Two and iPlayer.
The official summary for the new series (which will be the penultimate run for the Bafta-winning show as its creators plan to take an indefinite break from it after series nine), is as follows: “From the top deck of a London bus to a remote lakeside cabin, from online dating to a late-night summoning, all life (and death) is here. Thrills, spills, chills and kills from the fertile minds of Shearsmith and Pemberton.”
With the release news came the first official teaser trailer (see below), with glimpses of all five episodes arriving in the wake of excellent festive special ‘The Bones of St Nicholas‘. That story was set in...
The official summary for the new series (which will be the penultimate run for the Bafta-winning show as its creators plan to take an indefinite break from it after series nine), is as follows: “From the top deck of a London bus to a remote lakeside cabin, from online dating to a late-night summoning, all life (and death) is here. Thrills, spills, chills and kills from the fertile minds of Shearsmith and Pemberton.”
With the release news came the first official teaser trailer (see below), with glimpses of all five episodes arriving in the wake of excellent festive special ‘The Bones of St Nicholas‘. That story was set in...
- 4/13/2023
- by Lauravickersgreen
- Den of Geek
EastEnders actor Anna Karen is said to have leftt the majority of her fortune to one of her co-stars.
The actor, who also appeared in sitcom On the Buses, died in a house fire in February 2022, aged 85.
It’s now been reported by the Mail that Karen left 65 per cent of her estate to Sophie Lawrence, who played Diane Butcher in the BBC soap.
Lawrence first appeared in the soap from 1988 to 1991, but has returned numerous times over the years. Her most recent appearance was in 2012. Karen played Aunt Sal in the series.
Karen and Lawrence remained friends, with the pair also starring together in comedy show Bazaar & Rummage, which is based on the Sue Townsend book.
Elsewhere, the documents reveal Karen split the remainder of her fortune to her stepdaufghter, Gloria Gill, two friends and the Actors’ Benevolent Fund.
As well as On the Buses and EastEnders, Karen’s...
The actor, who also appeared in sitcom On the Buses, died in a house fire in February 2022, aged 85.
It’s now been reported by the Mail that Karen left 65 per cent of her estate to Sophie Lawrence, who played Diane Butcher in the BBC soap.
Lawrence first appeared in the soap from 1988 to 1991, but has returned numerous times over the years. Her most recent appearance was in 2012. Karen played Aunt Sal in the series.
Karen and Lawrence remained friends, with the pair also starring together in comedy show Bazaar & Rummage, which is based on the Sue Townsend book.
Elsewhere, the documents reveal Karen split the remainder of her fortune to her stepdaufghter, Gloria Gill, two friends and the Actors’ Benevolent Fund.
As well as On the Buses and EastEnders, Karen’s...
- 8/21/2022
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - TV
Kirsten Howard Aug 1, 2017
Outgoing Doctor Peter Capaldi is keen to revive the classic 1970s sitcom On The Buses, it's been reported by an er, tabloid...
When Peter Capaldi hands Jodie Whittaker the keys to the Tardis on Christmas Day, it'll be the end of an era for the 59-year-old Scottish actor, but he has some plans in mind for the future that could very well mean staying on UK screens, and bringing Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat with him.
With what we're sure was an entirely straight face, Capaldi told The Sun that he's interested in reviving the ITV sitcom On The Buses, which originally ran between 1969 and 1973. The role he's got his eye on? Cyril ‘Blakey’ Blake.
"I want them to do On The Buses again," he revealed. "I’m trying to encourage them to do it. I have got a Blakey in me.”
Meanwhile, having seen through both...
Outgoing Doctor Peter Capaldi is keen to revive the classic 1970s sitcom On The Buses, it's been reported by an er, tabloid...
When Peter Capaldi hands Jodie Whittaker the keys to the Tardis on Christmas Day, it'll be the end of an era for the 59-year-old Scottish actor, but he has some plans in mind for the future that could very well mean staying on UK screens, and bringing Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat with him.
With what we're sure was an entirely straight face, Capaldi told The Sun that he's interested in reviving the ITV sitcom On The Buses, which originally ran between 1969 and 1973. The role he's got his eye on? Cyril ‘Blakey’ Blake.
"I want them to do On The Buses again," he revealed. "I’m trying to encourage them to do it. I have got a Blakey in me.”
Meanwhile, having seen through both...
- 8/1/2017
- Den of Geek
In Jovian Wade, Dee Kartier and Percelle Ascott’s scampish feature debut, three London friends foolishly spend £100,000 of accidentally gotten gains
If Adam Deacon’s Anuvahood was the Carry On of Brit urban comedy, then perhaps The Weekend is the On the Buses: likable, freewheeling, a bit ropey. Jovian Wade, Dee Kartier and Percelle Ascott have already shown tag-team charisma on their Mandem on the Wall YouTube channel and E4’s Youngers, and they easily carry it over to their feature debut as a trio of London friends who accidentally lay their hands on £100,000 of gangster readies and foolishly decide to spend it. As well as scampishly running rings around the grim fatalism of Noel Clarke’s ’hood trilogy, The Weekend atypically makes Wade’s lead a nice middle-class boy. Directed by fellow debutant Sheridan De Myers, the caper takes too long to get going and is thinly sustained...
If Adam Deacon’s Anuvahood was the Carry On of Brit urban comedy, then perhaps The Weekend is the On the Buses: likable, freewheeling, a bit ropey. Jovian Wade, Dee Kartier and Percelle Ascott have already shown tag-team charisma on their Mandem on the Wall YouTube channel and E4’s Youngers, and they easily carry it over to their feature debut as a trio of London friends who accidentally lay their hands on £100,000 of gangster readies and foolishly decide to spend it. As well as scampishly running rings around the grim fatalism of Noel Clarke’s ’hood trilogy, The Weekend atypically makes Wade’s lead a nice middle-class boy. Directed by fellow debutant Sheridan De Myers, the caper takes too long to get going and is thinly sustained...
- 12/1/2016
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
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As season 2 of Netflix's martial arts epic Marco Polo arrives on Netflix, we chatted to Kublai Khan himself, Benedict Wong...
In addition to playing the world-straddling leader Kublai Khan in Netflix's big, expensive period action series, Marco Polo, Benedict Wong has carved out a niche in quality UK sci-fi films. He followed Danny Boyle's Sunshine with Duncan Jones' Moon, worked twice with Ridley Scott in The Martian and Prometheus, and recently came aboard Alex Garland's next picture, Annihilation. Before that comes to cinemas, he'll be seen alongside the UK's other acting Benedict in Marvel's Doctor Strange.
Many, of course, will fondly remember Wong as Errol, the optimistic innocent to Sean Lock's cynical misanthropist Vince in cult BBC comedy series 15 Storeys High, or even for a one-time appearance in The It Crowd.
We chatted to him about playing the would-be CEO of the world in Marco Polo,...
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As season 2 of Netflix's martial arts epic Marco Polo arrives on Netflix, we chatted to Kublai Khan himself, Benedict Wong...
In addition to playing the world-straddling leader Kublai Khan in Netflix's big, expensive period action series, Marco Polo, Benedict Wong has carved out a niche in quality UK sci-fi films. He followed Danny Boyle's Sunshine with Duncan Jones' Moon, worked twice with Ridley Scott in The Martian and Prometheus, and recently came aboard Alex Garland's next picture, Annihilation. Before that comes to cinemas, he'll be seen alongside the UK's other acting Benedict in Marvel's Doctor Strange.
Many, of course, will fondly remember Wong as Errol, the optimistic innocent to Sean Lock's cynical misanthropist Vince in cult BBC comedy series 15 Storeys High, or even for a one-time appearance in The It Crowd.
We chatted to him about playing the would-be CEO of the world in Marco Polo,...
- 6/29/2016
- Den of Geek
A dreadful tradition that dates back to On The Buses is enthusiastically updated
Every now and then I find myself in a pop-cultural blind spot. Confessions: I didn’t know there were Captain America movies until the trailer for the third one came out; I thought Jeffrey Dean Morgan was Robert Downey Jr well into the 2010s; and I still don’t know what an Owl Of Ga’Hoole is. But no major film in recent years has caught me quite as unawares as The Bad Education Movie, a Jack Whitehall-starring adaptation of a BBC3 sitcom I’d never heard of, made on a not-insignificant budget and released into cinemas this August.
I watched the film on DVD this week, ashamed at having become the kind of “casual viewer” I normally disdain – the sort who actively benefits from the avalanche of exposition that kicks off each and every big-screen...
Every now and then I find myself in a pop-cultural blind spot. Confessions: I didn’t know there were Captain America movies until the trailer for the third one came out; I thought Jeffrey Dean Morgan was Robert Downey Jr well into the 2010s; and I still don’t know what an Owl Of Ga’Hoole is. But no major film in recent years has caught me quite as unawares as The Bad Education Movie, a Jack Whitehall-starring adaptation of a BBC3 sitcom I’d never heard of, made on a not-insignificant budget and released into cinemas this August.
I watched the film on DVD this week, ashamed at having become the kind of “casual viewer” I normally disdain – the sort who actively benefits from the avalanche of exposition that kicks off each and every big-screen...
- 12/12/2015
- by Charlie Lyne
- The Guardian - Film News
Stephen Lewis has died at the age of 88. The 'On the Buses' actor - who played Inspector Cyril 'Blakey' Blake - passed away peacefully in the early hours of yesterday (12.08.15) morning at the Cambridge Nursing Home in east London, and was ''in high spirits'' until the end, his great-niece Rebecca Lewis has confirmed. She added: ''He was always singing and joking. We just want people to remember him.'''' Rebecca initially broke the news about her uncle - who was also known for playing Clem 'Smiler' Hemmingway in 'Last of the Summer Wine' and Harry Lambert in 'Oh, Doctor Beeching!' - on...
- 8/13/2015
- Virgin Media - TV
On the Buses and Last of the Summer Wine star Stephen Lewis has died, aged 88.
His family has confirmed to multiple media outlets that Lewis passed away on Wednesday (August 12) at a nursing home in East London.
Lewis's niece Rebecca told the press that the actor remained in "high spirits" in his last days, adding: "He was always singing and joking."
Through more 50 years in front of the camera, Lewis was best known for portraying Cyril 'Blakey' Blake in the ITV comedy On the Buses and its three spinoff films.
Lewis would later become a regular presence on UK television on The Generation Game, Oh, Doctor Beeching! and more recently Last of the Summer Wine from the 1970s through to the 2000s.
The London-born actor was also an accomplished screenwriter, having penned the Barbara Windsor and Roy Kinnear-starring 1963 film Sparrers Can't Sing.
His family has confirmed to multiple media outlets that Lewis passed away on Wednesday (August 12) at a nursing home in East London.
Lewis's niece Rebecca told the press that the actor remained in "high spirits" in his last days, adding: "He was always singing and joking."
Through more 50 years in front of the camera, Lewis was best known for portraying Cyril 'Blakey' Blake in the ITV comedy On the Buses and its three spinoff films.
Lewis would later become a regular presence on UK television on The Generation Game, Oh, Doctor Beeching! and more recently Last of the Summer Wine from the 1970s through to the 2000s.
The London-born actor was also an accomplished screenwriter, having penned the Barbara Windsor and Roy Kinnear-starring 1963 film Sparrers Can't Sing.
- 8/13/2015
- Digital Spy
It's time! After over 70 days - with all sorts of drama, naughtiness and tears - it's time to crown our Big Brother 2014 winner. Who's it going to be? Ash, Ashleigh, Chris, Christopher, Helen and Pav have all made it to the last night, so one of them is about to get a whole lot richer... but first the others will have to become losers (sorry).
We're getting the snacks in and settling down to bring you all the action from the compound, so grab the Pringles, the tissues and your pitchforks and join us as we find out who has won the right to go down in Big Brother history as the show kicks off at 9pm on Channel 5...
22:40But that's it - finito. Big Brother 2014 is over... but we don't think it'll be the last we hear of it! The winner might be controversial, but it's been a good series,...
We're getting the snacks in and settling down to bring you all the action from the compound, so grab the Pringles, the tissues and your pitchforks and join us as we find out who has won the right to go down in Big Brother history as the show kicks off at 9pm on Channel 5...
22:40But that's it - finito. Big Brother 2014 is over... but we don't think it'll be the last we hear of it! The winner might be controversial, but it's been a good series,...
- 8/15/2014
- Digital Spy
BBC
Although David Brent will always choose highly unorthodox means when expressing himself, it is difficult to entirely disagree with the overall sentiment of his message. Yes, the sheer audacity of placing John Sessions on a higher pedestal than Albert Einstein is pretty ludicrous – but it is undeniable that comedy performers are given far less credit than they warrant.
The British comedy scene has delivered in producing decades of exceptionally high quality, well-written and original TV shows – with fantastic replay value. Sure, the UK also dispersed On the Buses on to our screens with no pre-warning about how feeble the sitcom’s attempt at comedy was actually going to be – but you’re not always going to pull a Christmas cracker and get the cool yo-yo, sometimes you will end up with that plastic whistle that doesn’t work properly. That is just the nature of life.
Overall, British comedy...
Although David Brent will always choose highly unorthodox means when expressing himself, it is difficult to entirely disagree with the overall sentiment of his message. Yes, the sheer audacity of placing John Sessions on a higher pedestal than Albert Einstein is pretty ludicrous – but it is undeniable that comedy performers are given far less credit than they warrant.
The British comedy scene has delivered in producing decades of exceptionally high quality, well-written and original TV shows – with fantastic replay value. Sure, the UK also dispersed On the Buses on to our screens with no pre-warning about how feeble the sitcom’s attempt at comedy was actually going to be – but you’re not always going to pull a Christmas cracker and get the cool yo-yo, sometimes you will end up with that plastic whistle that doesn’t work properly. That is just the nature of life.
Overall, British comedy...
- 7/6/2014
- by Danny Parker
- Obsessed with Film
From a range of eras and genres, here's Jenny and Alex's light-hearted pick of 50 great opening title sequences from the movies...
Odd List
We don’t go to the cinema much, because we hate people. We also don’t go because there’s always the risk of accidentally going to see the wrong film. It's not helped by the fact that there's no way of telling until it’s too late, because there are no bloody opening credits on lots of modern films. And by the time you do realise, you’ve eaten all your popcorn and you can’t be bothered to move.
The movies on this list won’t give you that problem. These opening credits are perfect scene setters for the movies that follow, so you won’t have to worry about awkward popcorn wasting moments. It's not a top 50, rather a selection of 50 interesting credits sequences,...
Odd List
We don’t go to the cinema much, because we hate people. We also don’t go because there’s always the risk of accidentally going to see the wrong film. It's not helped by the fact that there's no way of telling until it’s too late, because there are no bloody opening credits on lots of modern films. And by the time you do realise, you’ve eaten all your popcorn and you can’t be bothered to move.
The movies on this list won’t give you that problem. These opening credits are perfect scene setters for the movies that follow, so you won’t have to worry about awkward popcorn wasting moments. It's not a top 50, rather a selection of 50 interesting credits sequences,...
- 6/25/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Wrinkly rockers Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi - veteran frontmen for creaking boogie merchants Status Quo - witness a murderous game of Russian roulette while on tour in Fiji. Before you can say one-chord wonders, they're on the run from mobster Wilson (Jon Lovitz). Craig Fairbrass gamely weighs in as their manager as Parfitt and Rossi make a play to be the new Stan and Jack from 70s sitcom On The Buses.
- 7/5/2013
- Sky Movies
Feature Simon Brew 28 Jun 2013 - 07:11
Ever watched a big movie, and stopped with a jolt when a star of a British sitcom pops up? Us too...
This feature is all the fault of the late Richard Marner. As the incompetent Colonel in 'Allo 'Allo, he built a performance that was indelible in our eyes. Thus, when he turned up in a big Hollywood thriller as the President of Russia, we unsuccessfully stifled a guffaw. A big guffaw.
And it got us thinking: what other times has a British sitcom star appeared out of the blue in a big movie, causing a sedentary double take from the comfort of our local Odeon? Glad you asked.
Two things. Firstly, this isn't designed to be a complete list, and also, we've covered films made after the actor or actress confirmed rose to prominence in a sitcom. Oh, and another thing: none of...
Ever watched a big movie, and stopped with a jolt when a star of a British sitcom pops up? Us too...
This feature is all the fault of the late Richard Marner. As the incompetent Colonel in 'Allo 'Allo, he built a performance that was indelible in our eyes. Thus, when he turned up in a big Hollywood thriller as the President of Russia, we unsuccessfully stifled a guffaw. A big guffaw.
And it got us thinking: what other times has a British sitcom star appeared out of the blue in a big movie, causing a sedentary double take from the comfort of our local Odeon? Glad you asked.
Two things. Firstly, this isn't designed to be a complete list, and also, we've covered films made after the actor or actress confirmed rose to prominence in a sitcom. Oh, and another thing: none of...
- 6/27/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
My mother Pat Ashton, who has died aged 82, was an actor for over four decades. Probably her most important TV role was that of Annie, wife of a burglar (Bob Hoskins) who comes out of prison to find that his old friend (John Thaw) has moved in, in Thick As Thieves (1974). When Yorkshire TV declined a second series, the writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais took the idea to the BBC, where it was developed into the much-loved series Porridge.
Pat was born and raised in Wood Green, north London. During her early years, the piano was the focus of entertainment at home, with her brother Richard playing all the popular songs of the day. Her grandmother had been a trapeze artist, performing in front of the tsar in Russia, and Pat quickly became fascinated with music hall, learned to tap-dance from an early age and went on to...
Pat was born and raised in Wood Green, north London. During her early years, the piano was the focus of entertainment at home, with her brother Richard playing all the popular songs of the day. Her grandmother had been a trapeze artist, performing in front of the tsar in Russia, and Pat quickly became fascinated with music hall, learned to tap-dance from an early age and went on to...
- 6/23/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Last Sunday saw the broadcast of the sixth episode of Series Three of BBC2 sketch show Harry & Paul. Or the fourth if you count Ruddy Hell It’s Harry & Paul as its first series. And to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next episode – the final in the series – turns out to be the last overall.
Created by sketch show virtuosos Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, Harry & Paul saw their return to sketch comedy with them mixing their intrinsic talent for class and character-based comedy with the absurdity of the modern world. The initial few series were never going to reach the level of their previous hit Harry Enfield’s Television Programme but it was still entertaining enough with reliably funny sketches such as a middle class family with a pet Geordie, and the Benefits, an aggressive antisocial family living on state handouts. It wasn’t astounding,...
Created by sketch show virtuosos Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, Harry & Paul saw their return to sketch comedy with them mixing their intrinsic talent for class and character-based comedy with the absurdity of the modern world. The initial few series were never going to reach the level of their previous hit Harry Enfield’s Television Programme but it was still entertaining enough with reliably funny sketches such as a middle class family with a pet Geordie, and the Benefits, an aggressive antisocial family living on state handouts. It wasn’t astounding,...
- 12/8/2012
- by James T. Cornish
- Obsessed with Film
Italian artist at the forefront of popular illustration in the 1960s and 70s
The Italian artist Arnaldo Putzu, who has died aged 85, was one of the most distinctive illustrators of his generation, painting film posters – from Italian realist cinema to the Carry On series – and book and magazine covers. While his long career started and finished in Italy, his work in Britain encapsulated the whole look of popular illustration in the 1960s and 70s.
Putzu was born in Rome, the son of a senior Italian navy officer. At about the age of 10, he began painting seriously, studied art at the Rome Academy, and found a love of portraiture, which he practised by painting his relatives. While doing illustration work in Milan in 1948, he met the poster artist Enrico de Seta, who took him back to Rome to work at the heart of the booming Italian film industry.
After four years with De Seta,...
The Italian artist Arnaldo Putzu, who has died aged 85, was one of the most distinctive illustrators of his generation, painting film posters – from Italian realist cinema to the Carry On series – and book and magazine covers. While his long career started and finished in Italy, his work in Britain encapsulated the whole look of popular illustration in the 1960s and 70s.
Putzu was born in Rome, the son of a senior Italian navy officer. At about the age of 10, he began painting seriously, studied art at the Rome Academy, and found a love of portraiture, which he practised by painting his relatives. While doing illustration work in Milan in 1948, he met the poster artist Enrico de Seta, who took him back to Rome to work at the heart of the booming Italian film industry.
After four years with De Seta,...
- 9/21/2012
- by Sim Branaghan
- The Guardian - Film News
You may find the new Ben Stiller movie The Watch strangely familiar. But that's not necessarily a good thing
You might be forgiven for thinking that you've seen The Watch before. Not because Ben Stiller's character is the same uptight blowhard that he has played in everything for the past 15 years, or because Richard Ayoade is basically just Moss from The It Crowd again, or because Vince Vaughn remains content to sit back and bibble out the same directionless patter that has been his stock in trade for what seems like centuries.
No. The reason is because, once you've scraped away all the sex jokes and clanging Costco product placement, you're basically left with Dad's Army. Both are essentially stories about a group of ill-prepared middle-aged incompetents trying to escape the monotony of their day-to-day lives by fudging together a defence against an enemy they don't fully understand. With The Watch,...
You might be forgiven for thinking that you've seen The Watch before. Not because Ben Stiller's character is the same uptight blowhard that he has played in everything for the past 15 years, or because Richard Ayoade is basically just Moss from The It Crowd again, or because Vince Vaughn remains content to sit back and bibble out the same directionless patter that has been his stock in trade for what seems like centuries.
No. The reason is because, once you've scraped away all the sex jokes and clanging Costco product placement, you're basically left with Dad's Army. Both are essentially stories about a group of ill-prepared middle-aged incompetents trying to escape the monotony of their day-to-day lives by fudging together a defence against an enemy they don't fully understand. With The Watch,...
- 8/16/2012
- by Stuart Heritage
- The Guardian - Film News
Dublin actor David Kelly passed away on Sunday following a short illness. He was 82-years-old. For over 50 years, working right up until last year, Kelly worked in theater, television, and film. His most famous role was in the 1980s Rte series “Strumpet City”. A piece of work he also singled out as one of his favorite. His role as O’Reilly the builder in 1975 made him recognizable all over the world. According to the Irish Times he often remarked on how those nine minutes in John Cleese’s comedy made him recognizable. Born in Dublin, 11th July 1929, he started acting at the age of eight in the Gaiety Theatre. His friend, Director of the Gate Theater, Michael Colgan, speaking to Rte, also remarked on what an excellent artist Kelly was. He was a trained calligrapher and a talented watercolour artist. In the 1960s and 70s he played eccentric characters in...
- 2/14/2012
- IrishCentral
Irish actor David Kelly has died in hospital after a short illness. The Dubliner, who was best known for his roles in Waking Ned and as Grandpa Joe Bucket in Tim Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, was 82. Kelly's first break on the screen came with two small role but noteworthy roles: the vicar presiding over Great Aunt Nelly's funeral in The Italian Job and inept builder O'Reilly in Fawlty Towers. He went on to combine work on the stage with stalwart TV turns in Ballykissangel, On The Buses and Emmerdale Farm. Samuel Beckett's one-man play Krapp’s Last Tape, in which Kelly played the title role to great acclaim, was a high-water mark for his career in theatre. Kelly also scored notable sucesses on the big screen. As elderly chancer Michael O'Sullivan in Kirk Jones' knockabout comedy Waking Ned, he landed a SAG award nod and...
- 2/13/2012
- EmpireOnline
As a teenager I'd scoff at the unreality of the Hollywood musical, but now their numbers seem utterly delightful
We are now nearing the end of a run of days that, by my reckoning, are always the most enjoyable London can offer. They start around 22 December, when taxis, tubes and restaurants are at last empty of Christmas drunks, and end on 3 or 4 January, when work resumes. Every year during this interval, an older and easier kind of London asserts itself; also, an emptier one. The people for whom the city is mainly a work station go home to Lancashire and France. Commuters, if they bother to come in, return soberly with last-minute parcels on the teatime trains. Tourists are fewer, and easily avoided once you leave the axis that stretches from Harrods to St Paul's. On the buses, you notice more people like yourself: middle-aged, or past it, and often...
We are now nearing the end of a run of days that, by my reckoning, are always the most enjoyable London can offer. They start around 22 December, when taxis, tubes and restaurants are at last empty of Christmas drunks, and end on 3 or 4 January, when work resumes. Every year during this interval, an older and easier kind of London asserts itself; also, an emptier one. The people for whom the city is mainly a work station go home to Lancashire and France. Commuters, if they bother to come in, return soberly with last-minute parcels on the teatime trains. Tourists are fewer, and easily avoided once you leave the axis that stretches from Harrods to St Paul's. On the buses, you notice more people like yourself: middle-aged, or past it, and often...
- 12/31/2011
- by Ian Jack
- The Guardian - Film News
Co-writer of TV sitcoms On the Buses and The Rag Trade
At the height of his writing partnership with Ronald Chesney, Ronald Wolfe, who has died aged 89 after a fall, enjoyed huge success with the sitcom On the Buses; its bawdy humour was panned by the critics but lapped up by the viewing public. Originally turned down by the BBC, the idea for a comedy based around the antics of a driver and conductor giving their inspector the runaround at the Luxton Bus Company appealed to Frank Muir, head of entertainment at the newly launched ITV company London Weekend Television.
Reg Varney played Stan Butler, at the wheel of the No 11, and Bob Grant was his lothario conductor, Jack. The pair made life hell for the miserable Inspector Blake (Stephen Lewis). Blakey's "Get that bus out" and "I 'ate you, Butler" were two of the most frequent lines that flowed...
At the height of his writing partnership with Ronald Chesney, Ronald Wolfe, who has died aged 89 after a fall, enjoyed huge success with the sitcom On the Buses; its bawdy humour was panned by the critics but lapped up by the viewing public. Originally turned down by the BBC, the idea for a comedy based around the antics of a driver and conductor giving their inspector the runaround at the Luxton Bus Company appealed to Frank Muir, head of entertainment at the newly launched ITV company London Weekend Television.
Reg Varney played Stan Butler, at the wheel of the No 11, and Bob Grant was his lothario conductor, Jack. The pair made life hell for the miserable Inspector Blake (Stephen Lewis). Blakey's "Get that bus out" and "I 'ate you, Butler" were two of the most frequent lines that flowed...
- 12/20/2011
- by Anthony Hayward
- The Guardian - Film News
British TV writer Ronnie Wolfe has died after falling down a flight of stairs at his home in London. He was 89.
Wolfe took a tumble on Thursday, hitting his head, and he lost his fight for life on Sunday, according to his son-in-law Arif Hussein.
The writer is best known for his work on popular 1960s U.K. TV sitcom On The Buses, which ran for four years until 1973.
Wolfe created several other comedies, including 1970s BBC show The Rag Trade, with writing partner Ronald Chesney, who has paid tribute to his pal.
He says, "We were together 50 years - it's like losing my brother."
Wolfe's wife Rose adds, "It has been a really, really sad last few days and a quite horrendous and totally unexpectedly sad end for a guy who was so funny in life. He was the most incredible husband and we had 58 years of superb marriage harmony."...
Wolfe took a tumble on Thursday, hitting his head, and he lost his fight for life on Sunday, according to his son-in-law Arif Hussein.
The writer is best known for his work on popular 1960s U.K. TV sitcom On The Buses, which ran for four years until 1973.
Wolfe created several other comedies, including 1970s BBC show The Rag Trade, with writing partner Ronald Chesney, who has paid tribute to his pal.
He says, "We were together 50 years - it's like losing my brother."
Wolfe's wife Rose adds, "It has been a really, really sad last few days and a quite horrendous and totally unexpectedly sad end for a guy who was so funny in life. He was the most incredible husband and we had 58 years of superb marriage harmony."...
- 12/19/2011
- WENN
Never mind me wittering ten to the dozen about TV's greatest ever series, it seems that the world and his wife want to talk about Doctor Who these days. Especially when a brand spanking new series hits the airwaves – that's cause for all sorts of newspapers, magazines, websites and TV shows to promote, discuss and analyse the latest escapades of the good Doctor.
Take the latest season – NuWho Season Six - or Season 32 if we're including the entire history. There's been plenty of drama happening in the latest season, but equally, there's been equal helpings of drama dished up by various critics and scaremongers who can't resist making a meal out of the slightest issue. So before entering the maelstrom of The Impossible Astronaut/Day Of The Moon (Impossible Moon), it's worth having a look at some of the furore surrounding its début. With that in mind, here then is...
Take the latest season – NuWho Season Six - or Season 32 if we're including the entire history. There's been plenty of drama happening in the latest season, but equally, there's been equal helpings of drama dished up by various critics and scaremongers who can't resist making a meal out of the slightest issue. So before entering the maelstrom of The Impossible Astronaut/Day Of The Moon (Impossible Moon), it's worth having a look at some of the furore surrounding its début. With that in mind, here then is...
- 11/25/2011
- Shadowlocked
This month is Movember. Not November, but Movember. The month when blokes grow some outstanding facial hair to raise awareness and a few quid for men’s health charities. The key messages of Movember are such things as check your nuts for lumps. I am myself growing my Mo and raising some dough for a good cause so have a read of my top 10 moustaches on TV and whether you agree or not please give generously to charity by clicking the link at the bottom of the page.
10. Garth Knight (David Hasselhoff) – Knight Rider
In at number 10 is the terrible tash sported by Garthe Knight off of Knight Rider. It’s complicated as to how and why Garthe Knight came about, but the jist is that the guy who ran the team that created Michael Knight had an estranged son who became a villain. Michael Knight’s face was reconstructed...
10. Garth Knight (David Hasselhoff) – Knight Rider
In at number 10 is the terrible tash sported by Garthe Knight off of Knight Rider. It’s complicated as to how and why Garthe Knight came about, but the jist is that the guy who ran the team that created Michael Knight had an estranged son who became a villain. Michael Knight’s face was reconstructed...
- 11/11/2011
- by D.J. Haza
- Obsessed with Film
Months ago, there were suspicions that The Inbetweeners Movie would be a bit of a disaster. It’s turned out to be anything but. So where did it go right?
Last Friday, I was one of many people who turned out for the first ‘official’ day of The Inbetweeners Movie screenings. Granted, there had been two days of previews, which had brought in a sizeable amount of cash (and then some). But what had intrigued me the most was the incredibly positive word of mouth that the film was getting.
Contrast that with the suspicions that were being banded about when the film was first announced, and when the maiden trailer appeared. A trailer that led to co-writer Iain Morris assuring us that the film was much better. Then there’s the small matter of the lack of press screenings (unless you happened to work for a lads’ magazine, it...
Last Friday, I was one of many people who turned out for the first ‘official’ day of The Inbetweeners Movie screenings. Granted, there had been two days of previews, which had brought in a sizeable amount of cash (and then some). But what had intrigued me the most was the incredibly positive word of mouth that the film was getting.
Contrast that with the suspicions that were being banded about when the film was first announced, and when the maiden trailer appeared. A trailer that led to co-writer Iain Morris assuring us that the film was much better. Then there’s the small matter of the lack of press screenings (unless you happened to work for a lads’ magazine, it...
- 8/23/2011
- Den of Geek
The movie of the sitcom is always an accident waiting to happen. I have a soft spot for the big-screen version of Rising Damp, but I'd prefer to keep it quiet. The reason for the genre's persistence might be the legendary box-office performance of On the Buses, the biggest UK cinema hit of 1971, proving that you can turn out any old guff if your sitcom already has an established fanbase. (Or maybe that was just the way things were in 1971).
- 8/18/2011
- The Independent - Film
The Inbetweeners: The Movie sees Will, Simon, Neil and Jay transported, in all their puerile glory, to Crete. But do the writers and cast realise this is the end?
The feature film-of-the-sitcom is one of the less heralded genres in cinema. Forty years ago, when Hollywood's vision of a low-budget hit was the cool and radical Easy Rider, the British film industry couldn't have been eulogising a less glamorous form of transport, when Hammer brought the sitcom On the Buses to the big screen.
That first On the Buses film made more than a million pounds, and sparked a gold rush. 1973 saw nine films based on sitcoms, including Love Thy Neighbour, Father, Dear Father and even For the Love of Ada. By the end of the decade, though, the notoriously thin quality of the adaptations meant the genre had become irrevocably tarnished.
But in 1997, the astonishing success of Bean,...
The feature film-of-the-sitcom is one of the less heralded genres in cinema. Forty years ago, when Hollywood's vision of a low-budget hit was the cool and radical Easy Rider, the British film industry couldn't have been eulogising a less glamorous form of transport, when Hammer brought the sitcom On the Buses to the big screen.
That first On the Buses film made more than a million pounds, and sparked a gold rush. 1973 saw nine films based on sitcoms, including Love Thy Neighbour, Father, Dear Father and even For the Love of Ada. By the end of the decade, though, the notoriously thin quality of the adaptations meant the genre had become irrevocably tarnished.
But in 1997, the astonishing success of Bean,...
- 7/15/2011
- by Jim Shelley
- The Guardian - Film News
William H Macy's affable stab at Shameless is no match for a luminous Kate Winslet in Mildred Pierce
Mildred Pierce (Sky Atlantic) | Sky Atlantic HD
Shameless Us (More 4) | 4oD
James May's Things You Need to Know (BBC2) | iPlayer
Fake or Fortune? (BBC1) | iPlayer
Our War (BBC Three) | iPlayer
Goodness but we learned a whole lot this week, if we wanted to. Which I think most of us do still want to. Those who have harked back to various alleged golden ages of British TV forget those nights when the choice was between a privileged man pointing at worthy things while wearing leather elbow patches and On the Buses (for younger readers, this was like In with the Flynns, but on buses, and with stabs at humour which made you want to eat your own feet – ie, the same but with buses). Instead today, thanks to new ideas and channels and rollicking new technology,...
Mildred Pierce (Sky Atlantic) | Sky Atlantic HD
Shameless Us (More 4) | 4oD
James May's Things You Need to Know (BBC2) | iPlayer
Fake or Fortune? (BBC1) | iPlayer
Our War (BBC Three) | iPlayer
Goodness but we learned a whole lot this week, if we wanted to. Which I think most of us do still want to. Those who have harked back to various alleged golden ages of British TV forget those nights when the choice was between a privileged man pointing at worthy things while wearing leather elbow patches and On the Buses (for younger readers, this was like In with the Flynns, but on buses, and with stabs at humour which made you want to eat your own feet – ie, the same but with buses). Instead today, thanks to new ideas and channels and rollicking new technology,...
- 6/25/2011
- by Euan Ferguson
- The Guardian - Film News
It's set in a London of rusting Hillman Minxes and bare lightbulbs, but On the Buses was a huge hit in its time, and the fanclub is still going strong
A 1965 Routemaster bus pulls up somewhere in the London suburb of Borehamwood; the passengers pile out and cluster around a nearby manhole cover, and point their cameras at it – for this is no ordinary manhole cover. It has gone down in movie history as the actual drain cover in which On the Buses' Olive Rudge got her bottom stuck. And the amateur photographers are part of a group of 100 or so punters who had paid £35 a head to attend an event called On the Buses Rides Again: a fan-club weekend to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the appearance of the On the Buses spin-off film.
It may seem bizarre now, but On the Buses was the most successful British film of 1971, outgrossing allcomers,...
A 1965 Routemaster bus pulls up somewhere in the London suburb of Borehamwood; the passengers pile out and cluster around a nearby manhole cover, and point their cameras at it – for this is no ordinary manhole cover. It has gone down in movie history as the actual drain cover in which On the Buses' Olive Rudge got her bottom stuck. And the amateur photographers are part of a group of 100 or so punters who had paid £35 a head to attend an event called On the Buses Rides Again: a fan-club weekend to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the appearance of the On the Buses spin-off film.
It may seem bizarre now, but On the Buses was the most successful British film of 1971, outgrossing allcomers,...
- 6/23/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
As Harry Potter hits cinemas for the seventh time, he may want to avoid offences made by others who reached this pivotal point
1. Pride: Diamonds are Forever (1971)
What do you do when George Lazenby, Michael Gambon and Adam West have all turned down a role? You squash rumours of a flailing franchise by reintroducing the most memorable Bond of all time: Sean Connery. You're so proud of recapturing your star and the kudos he commands you assume that it will be fine to cast him in what will obviously end up as one of the worst Bond films of all time (rickety moon buggy, laughable laser-shooting satellite and the most useless Bond girl ever to clutch James's tux: Tiffany Case). This was knocked off the top of the UK box office chart by On the Buses. 2. Greed: Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
Wes Craven's seventh attempt to cash in on...
1. Pride: Diamonds are Forever (1971)
What do you do when George Lazenby, Michael Gambon and Adam West have all turned down a role? You squash rumours of a flailing franchise by reintroducing the most memorable Bond of all time: Sean Connery. You're so proud of recapturing your star and the kudos he commands you assume that it will be fine to cast him in what will obviously end up as one of the worst Bond films of all time (rickety moon buggy, laughable laser-shooting satellite and the most useless Bond girl ever to clutch James's tux: Tiffany Case). This was knocked off the top of the UK box office chart by On the Buses. 2. Greed: Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
Wes Craven's seventh attempt to cash in on...
- 11/16/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
Natascha McElhone is a surprising inclusion in a misery-lit/hardman hybrid. By Peter Bradshaw
Based on the memoir by Kevin Lewis – the kind to be found in the bookshop's "Difficult Lives" section – this film is a bizarrely acted misery-lit/hardman hybrid, the story of a child's brutal abuse from an uncaring mother which morphs into a complacent apologia, structured in the same way as all the self-pitying, self-serving geezer films claiming to know exactly what led up to those drug-dealers being murdered in their Range Rover. Rupert Friend plays Kevin, who survived horrific treatment from a violent mother, became a bare-knuckle boxer, got involved (as a purely innocent victim) in the criminal underworld and through the love of a good woman became a bestselling author. Very strangely, the role of his horrible mum, complete with false teeth and coke-bottle glasses, is taken by Natascha McElhone, otherwise renowned as one of...
Based on the memoir by Kevin Lewis – the kind to be found in the bookshop's "Difficult Lives" section – this film is a bizarrely acted misery-lit/hardman hybrid, the story of a child's brutal abuse from an uncaring mother which morphs into a complacent apologia, structured in the same way as all the self-pitying, self-serving geezer films claiming to know exactly what led up to those drug-dealers being murdered in their Range Rover. Rupert Friend plays Kevin, who survived horrific treatment from a violent mother, became a bare-knuckle boxer, got involved (as a purely innocent victim) in the criminal underworld and through the love of a good woman became a bestselling author. Very strangely, the role of his horrible mum, complete with false teeth and coke-bottle glasses, is taken by Natascha McElhone, otherwise renowned as one of...
- 9/16/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Summer 2011 release planned for E4's take on adolescence
Skins, the sex, drink and drug-fuelled drama that depicts teenage life as it often is rather than how parents imagine it, is to migrate to the big screen.
After a year of speculation about the E4 show, producers today confirmed that shooting would begin in September on a film to be released in summer 2011.
Steve Christian, executive producer on the film and chair of the film finance and distribution company CinemaNX, said the show – which few could accuse of presenting a sanitised picture of adolescence – was perfect for the big screen. But he added: "The biggest critics of Skins are the Skins fans so it's going to be a big challenge. The programme has this incredible fanbase despite all the characters changing."
Skins has grown in popularity with more than 1.5 million people tuning in to the start of the recent fourth series.
Skins, the sex, drink and drug-fuelled drama that depicts teenage life as it often is rather than how parents imagine it, is to migrate to the big screen.
After a year of speculation about the E4 show, producers today confirmed that shooting would begin in September on a film to be released in summer 2011.
Steve Christian, executive producer on the film and chair of the film finance and distribution company CinemaNX, said the show – which few could accuse of presenting a sanitised picture of adolescence – was perfect for the big screen. But he added: "The biggest critics of Skins are the Skins fans so it's going to be a big challenge. The programme has this incredible fanbase despite all the characters changing."
Skins has grown in popularity with more than 1.5 million people tuning in to the start of the recent fourth series.
- 5/27/2010
- by Mark Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
Hammer, house of a thousand films with Michael Ripper in them, was resurrected Ealing-like in 2007. The studio’s rebirth has been relatively low-key: Wake Wood and psycho-thriller The Resident have caused few ripples (although the latter features Hammer icon Christoper Lee) and the highest profile project on the slate is Matt Reeves’ Let Me In, the English-language remake of Let the Right One In.Earlier this week though, current Hammer honcho Simon Oakes talked to Collider about the company’s plans for the future. More Resident-style “mini Hitchcocks” are planned, but while horror is still very much the order of the day, as you’d expect, Oakes is insistent that Hammer won’t be going down the slasher or Saw routes: "I just don’t think it’s what Hammer does. I don’t think it’s what Hammer ever did. I don’t think it’s within the genres that Hammer created,...
- 3/19/2010
- EmpireOnline
Shaun of the Dead was good, Sex Lives of the Potato Men was bad. So how do you avoid a Britcom disaster?
Anywhere else, it would be a cause for celebration. Later this month, a debut feature is to be released by the director of one of Britain's most popular TV comedies. Bafta-nominated for his work on BBC2's The Mighty Boosh, Paul King is also an award-winning live comedy director – and his new film Bunny and the Bull was selected for both the Toronto and London film festivals. Here, then, is a cheering tale of a home-grown talent making his way in cinema, right? If only it were that simple. "There's a pack mentality with British comic films to go, 'What a heap of shit!'" says King. "Your worst nightmare is, 'Oh God, I just hope my film's not one of those …'"
One of those? Does he...
Anywhere else, it would be a cause for celebration. Later this month, a debut feature is to be released by the director of one of Britain's most popular TV comedies. Bafta-nominated for his work on BBC2's The Mighty Boosh, Paul King is also an award-winning live comedy director – and his new film Bunny and the Bull was selected for both the Toronto and London film festivals. Here, then, is a cheering tale of a home-grown talent making his way in cinema, right? If only it were that simple. "There's a pack mentality with British comic films to go, 'What a heap of shit!'" says King. "Your worst nightmare is, 'Oh God, I just hope my film's not one of those …'"
One of those? Does he...
- 11/13/2009
- by Brian Logan
- The Guardian - Film News
The star of one of Britain's most successful television comedies has died at the age of 92. Reg Varney became a household name appearing as driver Stan Butler in ITV's On The Buses during the 1970s. His daughter Jeanne Marley told the BBC that her father died 'peacefully' after a short illness at a nursing home in Devon. Varney was born in East London and began his career in entertainment by playing the piano in working men's clubs. During WWII, he served in (more)...
- 11/17/2008
- by By Sarah Rollo
- Digital Spy
Beloved British TV star Reg Varney has died aged 92.
Varney, best known for his role as cheeky bus driver Stan Butler in classic comedy On The Buses, passed away of natural causes at a retirement home in Devon, England.
According to his daughter, Jeanne Marley, the actor died peacefully.
Born in east London in 1916, Varney served in World War II as an engineer and began his career as a performer, entertaining the troops.
His first U.K. TV performance was in the BBC show The Rag Trade, before landing his most famous role in the On The Buses in 1969. The show ran until 1973.
After the show, the actor appeared reprised his role in a stage adaptation of the hit series in a theatre tour of Australia, before performing his own cabaret show The Other Reg Varney in the U.K., Australia and Canada.
His wife, Lilian Emma Varney, died in 2002. He is survived by a daughter.
Varney, best known for his role as cheeky bus driver Stan Butler in classic comedy On The Buses, passed away of natural causes at a retirement home in Devon, England.
According to his daughter, Jeanne Marley, the actor died peacefully.
Born in east London in 1916, Varney served in World War II as an engineer and began his career as a performer, entertaining the troops.
His first U.K. TV performance was in the BBC show The Rag Trade, before landing his most famous role in the On The Buses in 1969. The show ran until 1973.
After the show, the actor appeared reprised his role in a stage adaptation of the hit series in a theatre tour of Australia, before performing his own cabaret show The Other Reg Varney in the U.K., Australia and Canada.
His wife, Lilian Emma Varney, died in 2002. He is survived by a daughter.
- 11/17/2008
- WENN
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