253 stories by "Richard Anthony Baker"
A war-time hero, Kenneth Wallis doubled for Sean Connery in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967), flying an autogiro he had designed and built himself. The scene in question involv…
Paradoxically, the British pop singer David Garrick, named after the 18th-century actor, enjoyed much greater success in West Germany and the Netherlands than he did in the country of his bi…
During a career that lasted 50 years, Bill Wallis conquered Shakespearean roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company and excelled in satirical stage work. He was thrown into comedy at Cambridg…
Once described by a society photographer as one of 
the 10 most beautiful women in Britain, Joan Regan enjoyed stardom as a leading singer of the 1950s. But, in spite 
of her hit…
An actress of extraordinary versatility, Olga Lowe was as adept in a Chekhov drama as she was in a Carry On film. She could also stop a West End musical dead in its tracks. She...
Having made her professional debut at the Norwich Empire, the jazz pianist Marian McPartland moved to America at the end of the Second World War and hosted a radio programme that ran for mor…
During a long career in television, Jim Capper was associated with many landmark series, including Doctor Who, When the Boat Comes In, All Creatures Great and Small, Tenko, Bergerac and Love…
A founding member of the Lindsay String Quartet, Roger Bigley went on to be the principal viola player with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and carved a reputation for himself as a much respe…
At one time rivalling Morecambe and Wise, the comedy double act comprising Mike Winters and his brother Bernie never achieved the long-term popularity accorded to Eric and Ernie. While BBC T…
Having worked as an actress, Rosemary Vercoe moved into designing for theatre and the opera, and was particularly associated with the productions of Jonathan Miller. At Chelsea School of Art…
Even those for whom the 2012 summer Olympics held little attraction had to admit that the opening ceremony, in which the stuntman Mark Sutton, doubling as Daniel Craig's James Bond, and Gary…
Mike Winters, the straight man to his brother, Bernie, in the comedy double act, Mike and Bernie Winters, has died at the age of 82. The brothers were pioneers of television comedy, first ap…
With a finely tuned sense of humour, John Amis contributed much to both the serious and light-hearted sides of musical life in Britain. To most people, he was famous for his whistling solos …
A clutch of awards were won by the television writer Elaine Morgan, who also gained fame through her espousal of a feminist theory of evolution. She won two BAFTAs and two Writers' Guild awa…
Singing trio the Kaye Sisters, at one time rivals of the indestructible Beverley Sisters, lost their lead singer with the death of Shirley Palmer, known as Shan. During the late 1950s, their…
The lengthy and varied career of the actress Rona Anderson ran in parallel with that of her husband Gordon Jackson, best remembered now for his portrayal of the butler Angus Hudson in the te…
In spite of a full career of radio and television work, the Sri Lankan born British actor David Spenser will still be remembered for one of his first jobs, playing William Brown in a radio...
The varied career of Briony McRoberts got off to a flying start when she was 18. At the Haymarket, she was cast in the title role of William Douglas Home's play, Betsy, the story of...
Although he worked on two television police series in the 1950s, Leslie Gilliat devoted a large part of his career to producing films for the big screen, most notably three of the St Trinian…
As one of the leading British Asian actors working in theatre, the cinema and on television, Paul Bhattacharjee was best known for his appearances as a doctor in the James Bond film Casino R…
Eminently capable of producing everything from political thrillers to period dramas, the television director Jim Goddard was particularly effective in masterminding plays that had the underw…
As an executive with Central Independent Television, Rupert Dilnott-Cooper successfully prevented legal action being taken against the satirical puppet show Spitting Image (1984-96), which p…
As one of the first country and western singers to achieve widespread popularity in Britain, Slim Whitman once held the record for staying at the top of the British charts for the longest nu…
Much of the success of the BBC Television sitcom Only Fools and Horses (1981-2003), which at its peak attracted 15 million viewers a week, can be attributed to its original producer, Ray But…
It has been confirmed that the actress, Briony McRoberts, has been found dead on a tube line near her home in London. She was 56. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances. For ten …
