1.
Richard Curtis
–
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is an English screenwriter, producer and film director, who was born in New Zealand to Australian parents. Bean and The Vicar of Dibley and he is also the co-founder of the British charity Comic Relief along with Sir Lenny Henry. In 2007, Curtis received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the highest award the British Film Academy can give a filmmaker and he received the BAFTA Humanitarian Award at the 2008 Britannia Awards, for co-creating Comic Relief and contributions to other charitable causes. In 2008 he was ranked number 12 in The Telegraphs list of the 100 most powerful people in British culture. In 2012, Curtis was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles Sgt, peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life. Curtis was born in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of Australian parents Glyness S. and Anthony J. Curtis and his father was a Czechoslovakian refugee who moved to Australia when aged thirteen. Curtis and his family lived in different countries during his childhood, including Sweden. For a short period in the 1970s, Curtis lived in Warrington, where he attended Appleton Grammar School, before he won a scholarship to Harrow School and he achieved a first-class Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature at Christ Church, Oxford. At the University of Oxford, Curtis met and began working with Rowan Atkinson and he appeared in the companys After Eights at the Oxford Playhouse in May 1976. Collaborating with Rowan Atkinson in the Oxford Revue, he appeared alongside him at his breakthrough Edinburgh Fringe show, as a result of this, Curtis was commissioned to co-write the BBC Radio 3 series The Atkinson People with Atkinson in 1978, which was transmitted in 1979. He then began to write comedy for film and TV and he was a regular writer on the TV series Not the Nine OClock News, where he wrote many of the shows songs with Howard Goodall and many sketches, often with Rowan Atkinson. Curtis was the co-writer with Philip Pope of the Hee Bee Gee Bees single Meaningless Songs released in 1980 to parody the style of a series of Bee Gees disco hits. First with Atkinson, and later with Ben Elton, Curtis then wrote the Blackadder series from 1983 to 1989, Atkinson played the lead throughout, but Curtis remains the only person to have been a writer for every episode of Blackadder. The pair continued their collaboration with the comedy series Mr. Bean, Curtis had by then already begun writing feature films. His first was The Tall Guy in 1989, the romantic comedy starred Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson and Rowan Atkinson and was produced by Working Title films. The TV movie Bernard and the Genie followed in 1991, in 1994, Curtis created and co-wrote The Vicar of Dibley for comedian Dawn French, which was a great success. Curtis achieved his success with the romantic comedy Four Weddings. The 1994 film, starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell, was produced on a budget by the British production company Working Title Films
Richard Curtis
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Curtis in 1999
2.
Hugh Grant
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Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. Grant has received a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César for his work and his films have earned more than US$2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant used this role as a frequent cinematic persona during the 1990s, delivering comic performances in films such as Mickey Blue Eyes. By the turn of the 21st century, Grant had established himself as a leading man, Grant has expanded his oeuvre with critically acclaimed turns as a cad in Bridget Joness Diary, About a Boy, and American Dreamz. Grant later played against type with multiple roles in the epic sci-fi drama film. Hes also known for appearing in period pieces such as The Remains of the Day, Sense and Sensibility, within the film industry, Grant is cited as an anti-star who approaches his roles like a character actor, and attempts to make his acting appear spontaneous. Hallmarks of his skills include a nonchalant touch of irony/sarcasm and studied physical mannerisms, as well as his precisely-timed dialogue delivery. The entertainment medias coverage of Grants life off the big screen has often overshadowed his work as an actor, Grant has been outspoken about his antipathy towards the profession of acting, and in his disdain towards the culture of celebrity and hostility towards the media. In a career spanning 30 years, Grant has repeatedly claimed that acting was not his true calling, Grant was born at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, London, the second son of Fynvola Susan MacLean and Captain James Murray Grant. Grants grandfather, Colonel James Murray Grant, DSO was decorated for bravery, genealogist Antony Adolph has described Grants family history as a colourful Anglo-Scottish tapestry of warriors, empire-builders and aristocracy. Grants father was trained at Sandhurst and served with the Seaforth Highlanders for eight years in Malaya, Germany and Scotland. He ran a firm, pursued hobbies such as golf and painting watercolours, and raised his family in Chiswick, west London. In September 2006, a collection of Capt, Grants paintings was hosted by the John Martin Gallery in a charity exhibition, organised by his famous son, called James Grant,30 Years of Watercolours. His mother worked as a schoolteacher and taught Latin, French and she died at the age of 65,18 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Grants accent is an inheritance from his mother, and, on Inside the Actors Studio in 2002, both his parents were children of military families, but, despite his parents backgrounds, Grant has stated that his family was not always affluent while he was growing up. Grant spent his childhood summers shooting and hunting with his grandfather in Scotland, Grant has an older brother, James, living in Portugal. Grant started his education at Hogarth Primary School in Chiswick but then moved to St Peters Primary School in Hammersmith, from 1969 to 1978, he attended the independent Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith on a scholarship and played 1st XV rugby, cricket and football for the school. He also represented Latymer on the quiz show, Top of the Form
Hugh Grant
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Grant during his
Wetten, dass..? appearance in November 2014
Hugh Grant
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Grant at the Cannes film festival, 1997
Hugh Grant
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Grant in his breakthrough performance as
Richard Curtis 's alter ego, Charles, in
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Hugh Grant
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Giving his most critically acclaimed performance to date, Grant plays
pool as Will Freeman in
About a Boy.
3.
Liam Neeson
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Liam John Neeson, OBE, is an actor from Northern Ireland. In 1976, he joined the Lyric Players Theatre in Belfast for two years and he then acted in the Arthurian film, Excalibur. Between 1982 and 1987, Neeson starred in five films, most notably alongside Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in The Bounty and Robert De Niro and he landed a leading role alongside Patrick Swayze in Next of Kin. He rose to prominence when he starred in the role in Steven Spielbergs 1993 Oscar winner Schindlers List. Empire magazine ranked Neeson among both the 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History and The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time. Neeson was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, the son of Katherine Kitty Neeson, a cook, and Bernard Barney Neeson and he was raised as a Roman Catholic and was named Liam after the local priest. He said growing up as a Catholic in a predominately Protestant town made him cautious, the third of four siblings, he has three sisters, Elizabeth, Bernadette and Rosaleen. At age nine, Neeson began boxing lessons at the All Saints Youth Club, Neeson first stepped on stage at age 11 after his English teacher offered him the lead role in a school play, which he accepted because the girl he was attracted to was starring in it. He continued to act in school productions over the following years, Neesons interest in acting and decision to become an actor was also influenced by minister Ian Paisley, into whose Free Presbyterian church Neeson would sneak. Neeson has said of Paisley, He had a magnificent presence and it was acting, but it was also great acting and stirring too. In 1971, Neeson was enrolled as a physics and computer science student at Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland, at Queens, he discovered a talent for football and was spotted by Seán Thomas at Bohemian F. C. There was a trial in Dublin and Neeson played one game as a substitute against Shamrock Rovers F. C. After leaving the university, Neeson returned to Ballymena where he worked in a variety of casual jobs and he also attended teacher training college for two years in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, before again returning to his hometown. In 1976, Neeson joined the Lyric Players Theatre in Belfast where he performed for two years and he got his first film experience in 1977, playing Jesus Christ and Evangelist in the religious film Pilgrims Progress. Neeson moved to Dublin in 1978 after he was offered a part in Ron Hutchinsons Says I, Says He and he acted in several other Project productions and joined the Abbey Theatre. In 1980, filmmaker John Boorman saw him on stage as Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men and offered him the role of Sir Gawain in the Arthurian film, Excalibur. After Excalibur, Neeson moved to London, where he continued working on stage, in small budget films and he lived with the actress Helen Mirren at this time, whom he met working on Excalibur. Between 1982 and 1987, Neeson starred in five films, most notably alongside Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in 1984s The Bounty and Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons in 1986s The Mission
Liam Neeson
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Neeson at the 2012
Deauville American Film Festival
Liam Neeson
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Neeson talking to
Ralph Fiennes at the Madison Square Garden
U2 concert, 1 October 2005
Liam Neeson
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Neeson attending the TIFF premiere of
The Other Man, on 7 September 2008.
4.
Colin Firth
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Colin Andrew Firth, CBE is an English actor. His films have grossed more than $3 billion from 42 releases worldwide, Firth has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, two BAFTA Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as the Volpi Cup. Firths most notable and acclaimed role to date has been his 2010 portrayal of King George VI in The Kings Speech and this led to roles in films such as The English Patient, Bridget Joness Diary, Shakespeare in Love, and Love Actually. In 2009, Firth received widespread acclaim for his leading role in A Single Man, for which Firth gained his first Academy Award nomination. Firth starred in the spy movie Kingsman, The Secret Service in 2014. In 2011, Firth received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Winchester in 2007, and was made a Freeman of the City of London in 2012. He has campaigned for the rights of tribal peoples, and is a member of Survival International. Firth has also campaigned on issues of asylum seekers, refugees rights, and he commissioned and is credited as a co-author on a scientific paper on a study into the differences in brain structure between people of differing political orientations. Firth was born in the village of Grayshott, Hampshire, to parents who were both academics and teachers, Firth is the eldest of three children, he has a sister, Kate, an actress and voice coach, and a brother, Jonathan, an actor. Both of his parents were raised in India, because his grandparents, Congregationalist ministers, and his paternal grandfather. As a child, Firth travelled a lot due to his parents work and he also lived in St. Louis, Missouri when he was 11, which he has described as a difficult time. On returning to England, he attended the Montgomery of Alamein Secondary School and he was still an outsider and was the target of bullying. To counter this, he adopted the working class Hampshire accent. By the time he was 14, Firth had already decided to be a professional actor, until further education, he was not academically inclined, later saying in an interview, I didnt like school. I just thought it was boring and mediocre and nothing they taught me seemed to be of any interest at all, after his sixth form years, Firth moved to London and joined the National Youth Theatre. There, he made contacts in the acting world, from which he got a job in the wardrobe department at the National Theatre. From there, he went on to study at Drama Centre London, in 1984, Firth made his film debut in the role of Tommy Judd, Guy Bennetts straight, Marxist school friend in the screen adaptation of the play. This was the start of longstanding public feud between Firth and Everett, which was later resolved and he starred with Sir Laurence Olivier in Lost Empires, a TV adaptation of J. B
Colin Firth
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Firth at the 2014
San Diego Comic Con International
Colin Firth
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Firth at the
2009 Venice Film Festival
Colin Firth
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Firth with
Helena Bonham Carter filming
The King's Speech in December 2009, which became his most critically acclaimed role to date.
Colin Firth
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Firth with wife Livia Firth in January 2011
5.
Laura Linney
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Laura Leggett Linney is an American actress. A three-time Academy Award nominee and three-time Tony Award nominee, she won her first Emmy Award in 2002 for Wild Iris, from 2010–13, she starred in the Showtime series The Big C, which won her a fourth Emmy in 2013. She is also a two-time Golden Globe Award winner and she made her screen debut in the 1992 film Lorenzos Oil, and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for You Can Count on Me, Kinsey and The Savages. Her other films include Primal Fear, The Truman Show, Mystic River, Love Actually and The Squid and the Whale. Her mother, Miriam Anderson Ann Perse, was a nurse who worked at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, linneys paternal great-great-grandfather was Republican U. S. Linney grew up in modest circumstances, living with her mother in a small one-bedroom apartment and she has a half-sister, Susan, from her fathers second marriage. She is a 1982 graduate of Northfield Mount Hermon School, a preparatory school in New England. Linney graduated from Brown in 1986 and she went on to study acting at the Juilliard School as a member of Group 19, which also included Jeanne Tripplehorn. Linney later received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Juilliard when she delivered the commencement address in 2009. Linney first appeared in roles in a few early 1990s films, including Lorenzos Oil and Dave. She was then cast in a series of thrillers, including Congo, Primal Fear. She made her Hollywood breakthrough in 1998, playing Jim Carreys on-screen wife in The Truman Show, Linney was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the 2000 film You Can Count on Me. The same year, she appeared in the role of an artists model in the low-budget film Maze with Rob Morrow. In 2003, Linney appeared in notable films, including The Life of David Gale, Love Actually. The latter film earned her a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and her 2004 performance in Kinsey, again as the title characters wife, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2005, Linney starred in the horror film The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the comedy-drama The Squid, for the latter role, she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. In 2006, Linney appeared in the political satire Man of the Year, the comedy Driving Lessons, Jindabyne was based on Raymond Carvers short story So Much Water so Close to Home. She received a third Academy Award nomination for The Savages, this time for Best Actress, in 2008, Linney starred in The Other Man, opposite Liam Neeson, with whom she had starred in Kinsey and Love Actually, and Antonio Banderas
Laura Linney
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Linney, a presenter at the Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, January 2009
Laura Linney
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Linney at the 2007
Toronto International Film Festival
Laura Linney
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Linney at the
Chicago International Film Festival, 2007
6.
Emma Thompson
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Emma Thompson is a British actress, activist, author, comedienne and screenwriter. Born in London to English actor Eric Thompson and Scottish actress Phyllida Law, Thompson was educated at Newnham College, University of Cambridge, where she became a member of the Footlights troupe. Her first film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy, and in the early 1990s she frequently collaborated with her then husband, the pair became popular in the British media and co-starred in several films, including Dead Again and Much Ado About Nothing. In 1992, Thompson won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress for the period drama Howards End. In 1993, she garnered dual Academy Award nominations for her roles in The Remains of the Day as the housekeeper of a grand household and In the Name of the Father as a lawyer. Thompson scripted and starred in Sense and Sensibility, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, in 2013, she received acclaim and several award nominations for her portrayal of P. L. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks. Thompson is married to actor Greg Wise, with whom she lives in London and they have one daughter and an adopted son. She is an activist in the areas of rights and environmentalism and has received criticism for her outspokenness. She has written two books adapted from The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Thompson was born in Paddington, London, on 15 April 1959. Her godfather was the director and writer Ronald Eyre and she has one sister, Sophie Thompson, who also works as an actress. The family lived in West Hampstead in north London, and Thompson was educated at Camden School for Girls and she spent much time in Scotland during her childhood and often visited Ardentinny, where her grandparents and uncle lived. In her youth, Thompson was intrigued by language and literature, a trait which she attributes to her father, in 1977, she began studying for an English degree at Newnham College, University of Cambridge. Thompson believes that it was inevitable that she would become an actress, commenting that she was surrounded by people and I don’t think it would ever have gone any other way. While there, she had a moment that turned her to feminism. She became a punk rocker, with short red hair and a motorbike. At Cambridge, Thompson was invited into Footlights, the universitys sketch comedy troupe, by its president, Martin Bergman. Also in the troupe were fellow actors Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, Fry recalled that there was no doubt that Emma was going the distance. Our nickname for her was Emma Talented, in 1980, Thompson served as the Vice President of Footlights, and co-directed the troupes first all-female revue, Womans Hour
Emma Thompson
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Thompson in September 2014 at a London climate march
Emma Thompson
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Newnham College,
University of Cambridge, where Thompson began performing
Emma Thompson
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Actor–director
Kenneth Branagh, Thompson's first husband, whom she worked with in several stage and screen productions between 1987 and 1993
Emma Thompson
–
Anthony Hopkins starred with Thompson in
Howards End (1992) and
The Remains of the Day (1993)
7.
Alan Rickman
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Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was an English actor and director known for playing a variety of roles on stage and on screen. Rickman trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and his first big television part came in 1982, but his big break was as the Vicomte de Valmont in the stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. Rickman gained wider notice for his performances as Hans Gruber in Die Hard. L. OHara in An Awfully Big Adventure, Dr. Rickman died of cancer on 14 January 2016 at the age of 69. His final film roles are as Lieutenant General Frank Benson in the thriller Eye in the Sky, and the voice of Absolem, Rickman was born in West London, to a working-class family, the son of Margaret Doreen Rose, a housewife, and Bernard William Rickman. Rickmans father was a worker, house painter and decorator. His ancestry was English, Irish and Welsh, his father was Catholic, Rickmans family also included brothers David and Michael, and sister Sheila. When he was eight years old, Rickmans father died of cancer, leaving his mother to raise him. She married again in 1960, but divorced Rickmans stepfather after three years, before he met Rima Horton at 19, he stated that his first crush was at 10 years old to a girl named Amanda at sports day. As a child, he excelled at calligraphy and watercolour painting, after leaving Latymer, he attended Chelsea College of Art and Design and then the Royal College of Art. He wrote to request an audition with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, while there, he studied Shakespeare and supported himself by working as a dresser for Sir Nigel Hawthorne and Sir Ralph Richardson. In 1978, he performed with the Court Drama Group, gaining parts in Romeo and Juliet and A View from the Bridge, while working with the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was cast in As You Like It. He appeared in The Barchester Chronicles, the BBCs adaptation of Trollopes first two Barchester novels, as the Reverend Obadiah Slope. Rickman was given the lead, the Vicomte de Valmont, in the 1985 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Christopher Hamptons adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. After the RSC production transferred to Broadway in 1987, Rickman received both a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award nomination for his performance, Rickmans career was filled with a wide range of roles. Alfred Blalock in HBOs Something the Lord Made and the mad monk Rasputin in the HBO biopic Rasputin, Dark Servant of Destiny, for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy. His performance as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves also earned him praise as one of the best actors to portray a villain in films, Rickman took issue with being typecast as a villain, even though he was known for playing unsympathetic characters. His portrayal of Severus Snape, the master in the Harry Potter series, was dark
Alan Rickman
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Alan Rickman after a seminar at the
John Golden Theater in November 2011
Alan Rickman
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Rickman in December 2009
Alan Rickman
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Rickman at the 2007
Tribeca Film Festival
Alan Rickman
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Alan Rickman posing for a fan after a performance of
John Gabriel Borkman in 2011
8.
Keira Knightley
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Keira Christina Knightley is an English actress. She began acting as a child on television and made her debut in 1995. She had a role as Sabé in Star Wars, Episode I – The Phantom Menace. In 2014, she was nominated for a Golden Globe, a SAG, a BAFTA Award, in October 2015, Knightley made her Broadway debut in the title role of Thérèse Raquin. Knightley was born in Teddington, London, England, the daughter of Sharman Macdonald, an actress turned playwright, and Will Knightley and her Scottish-born mother is of Scottish and Welsh descent, while her father is English. She was meant to be named Kiera, after the Russian ice skater, Kira Ivanova and she has an older brother, Caleb. Knightley lived in Richmond, attending Stanley Junior School, Teddington School and she requested an agent at the age of three. Knightley has noted that she was single-minded about acting during her childhood and she performed in a number of local amateur productions, which included After Juliet, written by her mother, and United States, written by her drama teacher, Ian McShane. She focused on art, history, and English literature while at Esher, after getting an agent at six, Knightley worked mostly in commercials and small TV roles. Her first role was Little Girl in Royal Celebration, a 1993 TV film, a year later, she had a small role in the film A Village Affair. She later starred in 1995s Innocent Lies and 1998s Coming Home and she was a princess in the 1996 film The Treasure Seekers. Later in 1999, she appeared as Rose in Oliver Twist, sabés dialogue was dubbed over with Natalie Portmans voice. This was to hide the fact that the handmaiden Padmé was actually disclosed as the real Queen Amidala at the end of the film. Knightley was cast in the role because of her resemblance to Portman. Knightleys first starring role was in 2001, when she played the daughter of Robin Hood in the made-for-television Walt Disney Productions feature Princess of Thieves and she trained for several weeks in archery, fencing and horse riding. During this time, Knightley also appeared in The Hole, a thriller that received a release in the United States. Its director Nick Hamm described her as a version of Julie Christie. She appeared in the adaptation of Doctor Zhivago as Lara, alongside Scottish actor Hans Matheson in the title role
Keira Knightley
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Knightley at the
68th Venice International Film Festival, September 2011
Keira Knightley
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Knightley at the premiere of
Atonement in
Leicester Square, London, 2007
Keira Knightley
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Knightley at the
BAFTA Awards in 2008
Keira Knightley
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Knightley was named Sexiest Woman in the World by
FHM 's in 2006.
9.
Bill Nighy
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William Francis Bill Nighy is an English actor. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, Nighy became known for his performance in Love Actually. Other notable roles in cinema include his portrayal of Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Mans Chest, Nighy was born on 12 December 1949 in Caterham, Surrey. Also of part Irish descent, Nighy was brought up as a Roman Catholic and he has two elder siblings, Martin and Anna. Nighy attended the John Fisher School, a Roman Catholic grammar school in Purley and he left the school with two O-levels and then took a job with The Croydon Advertiser as a messenger boy. He went on to train at the Guildford School of Acting, after two seasons at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, Nighy made his London stage debut at the National Theatre in an epic staging of Ken Campbell and Chris Langhams Illuminatus. Which opened the new Cottesloe Theatre on 4 March 1977, during the 1980s, he appeared in several television productions, among them Hitlers SS, Portrait in Evil, alongside John Shea and Tony Randall. He has starred in radio and television dramas, notably the BBC serial The Mens Room. He claimed that the serial, an Ann Oakley novel adapted by Laura Lamson, was the job which launched his career, more recently he has featured in the thriller State of Play and costume drama He Knew He Was Right. He played Samwise Gamgee in the 1981 BBC Radio dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings and he starred alongside Stephen Moore and Lesley Sharp in the acclaimed short radio drama Kertons Story, first aired in 1996. He had a role in the 2002 return of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He has also made a guest appearance in the BBC Radio 4 series Baldi, two of Nighys most acclaimed stage performances were in National Theatre productions. Nighy received some recognition by American audiences for his portrayal of overaged rock star Ray Simms in the 1998 film Still Crazy. In 2003, Nighy played the role of the Vampire Elder Viktor in the American production Underworld and he returned in the same role in the sequel Underworld, Evolution in 2006, and again in the prequel Underworld, Rise of the Lycans in 2009. He also appeared in the comedy Shaun of the Dead, in early 2004, The Sunday Times reported that Nighy was on the shortlist for the role of the Ninth Doctor in the 2005 revival of the BBC television series Doctor Who. Christopher Eccleston ultimately filled the role, in 2005, he appeared as Slartibartfast in the film adaptation of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. He also appeared in the one-off BBC One comedy-drama The Girl in the Café, in February 2006, he appeared in scriptwriter Stephen Poliakoffs one-off drama, Gideons Daughter. Nighy played the character, Gideon, a successful events organiser who begins to lose touch with the world around him
Bill Nighy
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Nighy at the
2014 Toronto International Film Festival in Canada
Bill Nighy
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Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
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Nighy at the
2011 Toronto International Film Festival
10.
Rowan Atkinson
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Rowan Sebastian Atkinson, CBE is an English actor, comedian, and screenwriter best known for his work on the sitcoms Blackadder and Mr. Bean. His work in theatre includes the 2009 West End revival of the musical Oliver, Atkinson was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy, and amongst the top 50 comedians ever, in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians. In addition to his 1981 BAFTA, he received an Olivier Award for his 1981 West End theatre performance in Rowan Atkinson in Revue. He has also had success with his performances in the Mr. Bean movie adaptations Bean and Mr. Beans Holiday. Atkinson, the youngest of four brothers, was born in Consett, County Durham, England and his parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and Ella May, who married on 29 June 1945. His three older brothers are Paul, who died as an infant, Rodney, a Eurosceptic economist who narrowly lost the United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election in 2000, and Rupert. Atkinson was brought up Anglican, and was educated at Durham Choristers School a preparatory school, St. Bees School, and Newcastle University, Atkinson starred in a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3 in 1978 called The Atkinson People. It consisted of a series of interviews with fictional great men. The series was written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis, and produced by Griff Rhys Jones, after university, Atkinson toured with Angus Deayton as his straight man in an act that was eventually filmed for a television show. After the success of the show, he did a pilot for London Weekend Television in 1979 called Canned Laughter. Atkinson then went on to do Not the Nine OClock News for the BBC and he featured in the show with Pamela Stephenson, Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, and was one of the main sketch writers. The success of Not the Nine OClock News led to him taking the role in the medieval sitcom The Black Adder. After a three-year gap, in due to budgetary concerns, a second series was broadcast. Blackadder II followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinsons original character, the same pattern was repeated in the two more sequels Blackadder the Third, and Blackadder Goes Forth. The final scene of Blackadder Goes Forth has been described as bold, during the 2014 centennial of the start of World War I, Michael Gove and war historian Max Hastings complained about the so-called Blackadder version of history. Atkinsons other creation, the hapless Mr. Bean, first appeared on New Years Day in 1990 in a special for Thames Television. The character of Mr. Bean has been likened to a modern-day Buster Keaton, several sequels to Mr. Bean appeared on television until 1995, and the character later appeared in a feature film. Bean was directed by Mel Smith, Atkinsons colleague in Not the Nine OClock News, a second film, Mr. Beans Holiday, was released in 2007
Rowan Atkinson
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Atkinson at the
Johnny English Reborn Première in 2011.
Rowan Atkinson
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Rowan Atkinson in 1997, promoting Bean
Rowan Atkinson
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Rowan Atkinson at the
Mr. Bean's Holiday premiere at
Leicester Square in London (2007)
11.
StudioCanal
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Studiocanal is a French film production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world. The company is a unit of the Canal+ Group, owned by Vivendi, the company was founded in 1987 by Pierre Lescure as a spin-off of the Canal+ pay-TV network. The original function was to focus on French and European productions, StudioCanals most notable productions from its early years include Terminator 2, Judgment Day, JFK, Basic Instinct, Cliffhanger, Under Siege, Free Willy, and the original Stargate movie. In those days, it was known as Le Studio Canal+ and it has strong links to Universal Studios. Other films the company financed include U-571, Bully, and Bridget Joness Diary, StudioCanal also funded the last third of David Lynchs film Mulholland Drive. StudioCanal also financed French-language films, such as Brotherhood of the Wolf, StudioCanal acquired film libraries from studios that either went defunct or had merged with it over the years. As a result, the library is the third-largest in the world, behind Warner Bros. 2 years later, their expansion into an international market took place with StudioCanals acquisition of German distributor Kinowelt who had distributed their films up to that point. Both companies have since then been renamed StudioCanal, StudioCanals acquisition of Australian-New Zealand distributor Hoyts Distribution took place in 2012-and was StudioCanals third expansion into an international market. In June 2016, StudioCanal acquired the rights to the Paddington Bear brand, along with the Copyrights Group. StudioCanal then announced that it would be producing three more Paddington films, sony Pictures Home Entertainment handles distribution of StudioCanal/Hoyts Distribution films in Australia and New Zealand on DVD and Blu-ray. StudioCanal also handles home video distribution of 550 titles from the Miramax library internationally since February 2011
StudioCanal
–
Canal+
12.
Working Title Films
–
Working Title Films Limited is a British film production company, based in London owned by Universal Studios. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983 and it produces feature films and several television productions. Eric Fellner and Bevan are now the co-chairs of the company, Working Title Films was co-founded by producers Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. In 1992, PolyGram became the companys corporate backer, Radclyffe left Working Title, and Eric Fellner, a fellow independent film producer, joined the company. The company produced a variety of films for PolyGrams London-based production company PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, an Anglo-Dutch film studio, PolyGram Films became a major Hollywood competitor. In 1998, Seagram sold the bulk of its library of PolyGram films released up until March 31,1996 to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, in 1999, PolyGram was sold to the Seagram company and merged with MCA Music Entertainment, to form Universal Music Group. PolyGram Films was sold and folded into Universal Studios in 1999, Working Title is based in London. The company also has an office in Los Angeles, in 1999, Bevan and Fellner launched a subsidiary company named Working Title 2 Productions, commonly known as WT2. The company is an independent film production arm run by Natascha Wharton, Working Title has been active in television production since the early 1990s. In 2010, Working Title officially launched its TV division as a joint venture with parent company NBCUniversal, since then, they have produced content for both British and American television. Notable productions and co-productions developed by Working Title Television include NBCs About a Boy, WTTV has offices in London, headed by Andrew Woodhead, and Los Angeles, headed by Andrew Stearn. In 1991, Working Title was involved in a bid for the London Weekend ITV licence, Working Title, Mentorn, Palace and PolyGram wanted to take over from London Weekend Television and broadcast to London under the name London Independent Broadcasting
Working Title Films
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Working Title Films
13.
Universal Studios
–
Universal Pictures is an American film studio owned by Comcast through the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. The company was founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley and its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City. Universal Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America and is one of Hollywoods Big Six studios. Universal Studios was founded by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, one story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons and calculating the days takings. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first several nickelodeons, for Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Soon, Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners decided to avoid paying Edison by producing their own pictures, in June 1909, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with partners Abe Stern and Julius Stern. Laemmle broke with Edisons custom of refusing to give billing and screen credits to performers, by naming the movie stars, he attracted many of the leading players of the time, contributing to the creation of the star system. In 1910, he promoted Florence Lawrence, formerly known as The Biograph Girl, the Universal Film Manufacturing Company was incorporated in New York on April 30,1912. Laemmle, who emerged as president in July 1912, was the figure in the partnership with Dintenfass, Baumann, Kessel, Powers, Swanson, Horsley. Eventually all would be out by Laemmle. Following the westward trend of the industry, by the end of 1912 the company was focusing its efforts in the Hollywood area. On March 15,1915, Laemmle opened the worlds largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios, studio management became the third facet of Universals operations, with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists, Universal became the largest studio in Hollywood, and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in towns, producing mostly inexpensive melodramas, westerns. In its early years Universal released three brands of feature films — Red Feather, low-budget programmers, Bluebird, more ambitious productions, and Jewel, their prestige motion pictures. Directors included Jack Conway, John Ford, Rex Ingram, Robert Z. Leonard, George Marshall and Lois Weber, despite Laemmles role as an innovator, he was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivals Adolph Zukor, William Fox, and Marcus Loew and he also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. Character actor Lon Chaney became a card for Universal in the 1920s
Universal Studios
–
Mark Dintenfass was co-founder of Universal Studios.
Universal Studios
Universal Studios
–
Boris Karloff in
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Universal Studios
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Ceremonial gate to Universal Studios Hollywood (the theme park attached to the studio lot)
14.
Christmas
–
In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family. Although the month and date of Jesus birth are unknown, by the fourth century the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25. Today, most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar and this is not a disagreement over the date of Christmas as such, but rather a preference of which calendar should be used to determine the day that is December 25. Although it is not known why December 25 became a date of celebration, December 25 was the date the Romans marked as the winter solstice, the shortest, and therefore darkest day of the year. Jesus was identified with the Sun based on an Old Testament verse, the date is exactly nine months following Annunciation, when the conception of Jesus is celebrated. Finally, the Romans had a series of pagan festivals near the end of the year, so Christmas may have been scheduled at this time to appropriate, or compete with, one or more of these festivals. The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, the economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world. Christmas is a form of Christs mass. It is derived from the Middle English Cristemasse, which is from Old English Crīstesmæsse, crīst is from Greek Khrīstos, a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ, Messiah, meaning anointed, and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist. The form Christenmas was also used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal, it derives from Middle English Cristenmasse. In addition to Christmas, the holiday has been known by other names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as midwinter, or, more rarely, Nativity, meaning birth, is from Latin nātīvitās. In Old English, Gēola referred to the corresponding to December and January. Noel entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis, the canonical gospels of Luke and Matthew both describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem in Judea, to a virgin mother. In the Gospel of Luke account, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census and it says that angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him. In the Matthew account, magi follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, King Herod orders the massacre of all the boys less than two years old in Bethlehem, but the family flees to Egypt and later settles in Nazareth. The Nativity stories of Matthew and Luke are prominent in the gospels, the first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome in 336. Christmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century, the feast regained prominence after 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day
Christmas
–
A
depiction of the
Nativity of Jesus with a
Christmas tree backdrop
Christmas
–
Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerard van Honthorst depicts the nativity of
Jesus
Christmas
–
Eastern Orthodox icon of the birth of Christ by
St. Andrei Rublev, 15th century
Christmas
–
Nativity of Christ – medieval illustration from the
Hortus deliciarum of
Herrad of Landsberg (12th century)
15.
Romantic comedy film
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Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is a movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily. Another definition states that its primary distinguishing feature is a plot in which two sympathetic and well-matched lovers are united or reconciled. Romantic comedy films are a genre of comedy films as well as of romance films. However a romantic comedy is classified as a film with two genres not a new genre. Some television series can also be classified as romantic comedies, a wedding-bells, fairy-tale-style happy ending is practically mandatory. The basic plot of a comedy is that two characters meet, part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately reunite. Sometimes the two meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes they are hesitant to become involved because they believe that they do not like each other, because one of them already has a partner. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are, in fact, attracted to each other, the protagonists often separate or seek time apart to sort out their feelings or deal with the external obstacles to their being together. While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them realizes that they are ideal for each other, or that they are in love with each other. Then, after one of the two makes some effort to find the other person and declare their love, or through an astonishing coincidental encounter. Then, perhaps with some comic friction or awkwardness, they declare their love for each other, the couple does not, however, have to marry, or live together happily ever after. The ending of a comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in its protagonists lives. There are many variations on this basic plotline, sometimes, instead of the two lead characters ending up in each others arms, another love match will be made between one of the principal characters and a secondary character. Alternatively, the film may be a rumination on the impossibility of love, the basic format of a romantic comedy film can be found in much earlier sources, such as Shakespeare plays like Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Nights Dream. Some comedy films, such as Knocked Up, combine themes of romantic comedies and stoner comedies, often known as bromance, such films usually use sexual elements which bring the two characters together. Films in this genre include American Pie 2 and even Wedding Crashers, romantic comedies have begun to spread out of their conventional and traditional structure into other territory
Romantic comedy film
–
Marilyn Monroe and
Tom Ewell in
The Seven Year Itch trailer.
Romantic comedy film
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Kathryn Grayson in Seven Sweethearts (1942), a musical romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
–
Mary Astor and
Joel McCrea in
The Palm Beach Story, a screwball romantic comedy
16.
Epilogue
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An epilogue or epilog is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the work. It is presented from the perspective of within the story, when the author steps in and speaks indirectly to the reader, that is more properly considered an afterword. The opposite is a piece of writing at the beginning of a work of literature or drama, usually used to open the story. Some genres, for television programs and video games, call the epilog an outro patterned on the use of intro for introduction. An epilogue is the chapter at the end of a story that often serves to reveal the fates of the characters. Some epilogues may feature scenes only tangentially related to the subject of the story and they can be used to hint at a sequel or wrap up all the loose ends. They can occur at a significant period of time after the plot has ended. In some cases, the epilogue is used to allow the character a chance to speak freely. An epilogue can continue in the narrative style and perspective as the preceding story. It can also be used as a sequel, in films, the final scenes may feature a montage of images or clips with a short explanation of what happens to the characters. There are many films which do not only include a few glimpses of the characters future, most epilogues in films are shown in a dramatic fashion, usually in silence, to commemorate an important happening, for example, the fate of a character in the film. The epilogue of La La Land shows a happy ending, an alternative to the actual ending, in many documentaries and biopics, the epilogue is text-based, explaining what happened to the subjects after the events covered in the film. In video gaming, epilogues can occur at the end of the story, an epilogue in a game functions similarly to an epilogue in film and literature, providing closure to the end of a story. However, the way in which an epilogue is interacted with in a game can then determine how a story ends. For example, there are four possible endings to Spec Ops, The Line, for example, the 2015 video game Until Dawn features those who survived recounting their experiences to the Police after being rescued. This system can also be expanded on, fortspinnung Conclusion The dictionary definition of epilogue at Wiktionary
Epilogue
–
Illustration from Un Autre Monde epilogue, by
Grandville.
17.
London Heathrow Airport
–
Heathrow Airport is a major international airport in London, United Kingdom. In 2016, it handled a record 75.7 million passengers, Heathrow lies 14 miles west of Central London, and has two parallel east–west runways along with four operational terminals on a site that covers 12.27 square kilometres. London Heathrow is the hub for British Airways and the primary operating base for Virgin Atlantic. In September 2012, the UK government established the Airports Commission, in July 2015, the commission backed a third runway at Heathrow and the government approved a third runway in October 2016. Heathrow is 14 mi west of central London, near the end of the London Borough of Hillingdon on a parcel of land that is designated part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. The airport is surrounded by the areas of Harlington, Harmondsworth, Longford and Cranford to the north and by Hounslow. To the south lie Bedfont and Stanwell while to the west Heathrow is separated from Slough in Berkshire by the M25 motorway, Heathrow falls entirely under the TW postcode area. As the airport is west of London and as its runways run east–west, for a chronicled history of Heathrow Airport, see History of Heathrow Airport. Heathrow Airport originated in 1929 as an airfield on land south-east of the hamlet of Heathrow from which the airport takes its name. At that time there were farms, market gardens and orchards there, there was a Heathrow Farm about where Terminal 1 is now, a Heathrow Hall and a Heathrow House. This hamlet was largely along a lane which ran roughly along the east. Development of the whole Heathrow area as a much larger airport began in 1944. But by the time the airfield was nearing completion, World War II had ended, the government continued to develop the airport as a civil airport, it opened as London Airport in 1946 and was renamed Heathrow Airport in 1966. Heathrow Airport is used by over 80 airlines flying to 185 destinations in 84 countries, the airport is the primary hub of British Airways and is a base for Virgin Atlantic. It has four terminals and a cargo terminal. Of Heathrows 73.4 million passengers in 2014, 93% were international travellers, the busiest single destination in passenger numbers is New York, with over 3 million passengers flying between Heathrow and JFK Airport in 2013. As the required length for runways has grown, Heathrow now has two parallel runways running east–west. These are extended versions of the two east–west runways from the original hexagram, from the air, almost all of the original runways can still be seen, incorporated into the present system of taxiways
London Heathrow Airport
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Aerial view of Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
–
Heathrow Airport Heathrow
London Heathrow Airport
–
A
Qantas Boeing 747-400 on approach to London Heathrow 27L runway.
London Heathrow Airport
–
Central waiting area in Terminal 5
18.
September 11, 2001 attacks
–
The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11,2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively. Suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any involvement, al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U. S. support of Israel, the presence of U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U. S. Navy in May 2011. S. many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, on November 18,2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The building was opened on November 3,2014. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets. Under the guidance of Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical, in 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances are reversed, Muslim legal scholars have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries, according to bin Laden. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later admitted involvement, in November 2001, U. S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi, on December 27,2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said, It has become clear that the West in general and it is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, the transcript refers several times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims. He said that the attacks were carried out because, we are free, and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours, Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
September 11, 2001 attacks
–
Top row: The Twin Towers of the
World Trade Center burning
September 11, 2001 attacks
–
1997 picture of Osama bin Laden
September 11, 2001 attacks
–
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed after his capture in 2003
September 11, 2001 attacks
–
Flight paths of the four planes used on September 11
19.
Rock and roll
–
While elements of rock and roll can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s, the genre did not acquire its name until the 1950s. For the purpose of differentiation, this deals with the first definition. The beat is essentially a blues rhythm with an accentuated backbeat, classic rock and roll is usually played with one or two electric guitars, a double bass or string bass or an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit. Beyond simply a style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and on television, influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes. In addition, rock and roll may have contributed to the civil rights movement because both African-American and white American teens enjoyed the music and it went on to spawn various genres, often without the initially characteristic backbeat, that are now more commonly called simply rock music or rock. The term rock and roll now has at least two different meanings, both in common usage, the American Heritage Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary both define rock and roll as synonymous with rock music. Encyclopædia Britannica, on the hand, regards it as the music that originated in the mid-1950s. In 1934, the song Rock and Roll by the Boswell Sisters appeared in the film Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round, in 1942, Billboard magazine columnist Maurie Orodenker started to use the term rock-and-roll to describe upbeat recordings such as Rock Me by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. By 1943, the Rock and Roll Inn in South Merchantville, in 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing this music style while popularizing the phrase to describe it. The origins of rock and roll have been debated by commentators. The migration of former slaves and their descendants to major urban centers such as St. The immediate roots of rock and roll lay in the rhythm and blues, then called race music, particularly significant influences were jazz, blues, gospel, country, and folk. The 1940s saw the use of blaring horns, shouted lyrics. In the same period, particularly on the West Coast and in the Midwest, similarly, country boogie and Chicago electric blues supplied many of the elements that would be seen as characteristic of rock and roll. Rock and roll arrived at a time of technological change, soon after the development of the electric guitar, amplifier and microphone. It was the realization that relatively affluent white teenagers were listening to music that led to the development of what was to be defined as rock. Because the development of rock and roll was a process, no single record can be identified as unambiguously the first rock. Other artists with rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
Rock and roll
–
Sign commemorating the role of
Alan Freed and
Cleveland, Ohio in the origins of rock and roll
Rock and roll
–
Chuck Berry in 1957
Rock and roll
–
Bill Haley and his Comets performing in the 1954 Universal International film Round Up of Rhythm
Rock and roll
–
Elvis Presley in a promotion shot for
Jailhouse Rock in 1957
20.
The Troggs
–
The Troggs are an English rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in 1964. They had a number of hits in the United Kingdom and the United States and their most famous songs include the US chart-toppers Wild Thing, With a Girl Like You and Love Is All Around, all of which sold over 1 million copies and were awarded gold discs. Wild Thing is ranked #257 on the Rolling Stone magazines list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was an influence on garage rock, Reg Presley and Ronnie Bond were childhood friends and in the early 1960s formed an R&B band in their home town of Andover. In 1964 they were joined by Pete Staples and Chris Britton and they were signed by Larry Page, manager of the Kinks, in 1965. They recorded on Pages Page One Records, and Page also leased them to CBS for the debut single Lost Girl. Their most famous hit was the single Wild Thing, which with the help of television exposure on Thank Your Lucky Stars reached number 2 in the UK and its combination of a simple heavy guitar riff and flirtatious lyrics helped it to quickly become a garage rock standard. It was recorded in one take at Olympic Studios in London. Because of a dispute over US distribution rights, Wild Thing was released on two labels, Fontana and Atco, the bands success in the US was also limited by not touring there until 1968. With chart success later eluding the band, they split up in March 1969, Ronnie Bond was the first to release a solo record, with the Anything For You single in March 1969, followed in April by Reg Presley with Lucinda Lee. Chris Britton released an album, As I Am, the same year. The band reformed later that year, with former Plastic Penny bassist Tony Murray replacing Staples, in 1974, after a spell on Pye Records, in an attempt to re-create their 1960s successes, the Troggs re-united with Larry Page, now running Penny Farthing Records. The resulting cover version of the Beach Boys hit Good Vibrations did not capture the publics imagination, a reggae version of Wild Thing also failed to chart. The band found a sympathetic ear at French label New Rose in the 1980s, in 1991, they recorded Athens Andover, an eleven-song collaboration between themselves and three members of R. E. M. It was recorded in the American bands hometown of Athens, Georgia, the band attempted to capitalise on this new exposure with a couple of bizarre collaborations on new versions of Wild Thing. In 1994 Wet Wet Wets cover of Love Is All Around was #1 in the UK for 15 weeks, the bands original drummer, Ronnie Bond, died on 13 November 1992. In January 2012, after over 40 years of touring, Reg Presley retired due to lung cancer, however, the remaining members, Chris Britton, Pete Lucas and Dave Maggs, continued the band and went back on the road with new lead singer Chris Allen. Reg Presley died on 4 February 2013 at age 71, the Troggs are widely seen as a highly influential band whose sound was an inspiration for garage rock and punk rock. Influential American critic Lester Bangs called the band the progenitors of punk, for example, the Troggs influenced artists such as Iggy Pop, and the early version of British pop-punk pioneers Buzzcocks featured I Cant Control Myself in their live repertoire
The Troggs
–
The Troggs in 1971
The Troggs
–
The Troggs in 1966. L-R: Pete Staples, Ronnie Bond, Chris Britton and Reg Presley
21.
Love Is All Around (The Troggs song)
–
Love Is All Around is a song recorded by English rock band the Troggs, featuring a string quartet and a tick tock sound on percussion, in D-major. It was written by lead singer Reg Presley and was inspired by a television transmission of the Joy Strings Salvation Army bands Love Thats All Around. The song was first released as a single in the UK in October 1967, peaking at number 5. On the Hot 100, the record entered at number 98 on 24 February 1968, peaked at number 7 on 18 May 1968, was on the chart a total of 16 weeks, and ranked number 40 for all of 1968. Love Is All Around has been covered by artists, including R. E. M. with whom the Troggs subsequently recorded their 1992 comeback album Athens Andover. R. E. M. s cover was a B-side on their 1991 Radio Song single, and they also played it during their first appearance at MTVs Unplugged series that same year. Wet Wet Wets cover, for the soundtrack to the 1994 film Four Weddings, on the UK Singles Chart top 50, the record debuted at number 50 on 18 October 1967, peaked at number 5 on 22 November 1967, and appeared 15 straight times. Richard Curtis approached Wet Wet Wet about recording a song to soundtrack his film Four Weddings. The band got to pick between three choices of songs, the two being I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor and Cant Smile Without You by Barry Manilow. Singer Marti Pellow related that the decision to pick Love is All Around was a choice because we knew we could make it our own. The song, which has a different introduction from the Troggs version, was recorded in B flat major on 4 January 1994, on 15 May 1994, Love Is All Around entered the UK Singles Chart at number four. After climbing to number two the week, it finally got to number one on 29 May. It then remained there for 15 weeks, the second longest UK chart reign of all time, the song spent a further 22 weeks in the UK Top 75. Throughout its chart run, some stations even banned the song. The band themselves eventually took the decision to delete the record from sale, as of February 2016, it has sold 1.88 million copies in the United Kingdom, making it the countrys best-selling love ballad of all time. Reg Presley famously spent some of his songwriting royalties on crop circle research, Pellow also recorded his own version of the song for inclusion on his 2002 album Marti Pellow Sings the Hits of Wet Wet Wet & Smile. In 2004, Pellow told the Daily Record, We did everybodys head in the summer of 1994, nevertheless, Pellow said, I still think its a brilliant record. Its strength is its sheer simplicity, any band would give their eye teeth to have a hit record like that
Love Is All Around (The Troggs song)
–
"Love Is All Around"
Love Is All Around (The Troggs song)
22.
Christmas number-one singles in the UK
–
In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that are top of the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. Novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme have regularly been at the top of Christmas charts. Traditionally the volume of sales in the UK peaks at Christmas, with the Christmas number one being considered especially prestigious. Many of the Christmas number ones were also the song of the year. Due to the practice of dating a chart by the date on which the week ends, the Christmas chart is dated the end of the week containing 25 December. The most recent Christmas number one single is Rockabye by Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul, the official UK Singles Chart began in 1952 after appearing in the New Musical Express, the positions of all songs are based on week end sale totals. Before 1987 they were released on a Tuesday due to the need for manual calculation, since 2002 the Christmas number one has been dominated by reality television contests, with the winners often heading straight to number one in the week before Christmas. This trend began when Popstars, The Rivals contestants released the top three singles on the Christmas chart, from 2005 to 2008,2010 and 2013 to 2014, the winners of The X Factor took the number-one spot on seven occasions. In 2007, the X Factor single was so much of a favourite for number one that bookmakers started taking bets on which song would be the Christmas Number Two instead. Rage Against the Machines 1992 single Killing in the Name outsold Joe McElderry in 2009 following a successful Facebook campaign. This made them the first group to get a Christmas number one with a download-only single, similar campaigns in 2010 promoting acts such as Biffy Clyro, John Cage and The Trashmen were unsuccessful. The Beatles are the act to have four Christmas number ones. On two occasions,1963 and 1967, they had both the Christmas number one and the two, the only act to have achieved this. As part of two acts, George Michael repeated the feat with Band Aid and Wham. in 1984, Paul McCartney has been top eight times with various acts. Cliff Richard has spent four Christmasses at number one, two as an act, one with The Shadows and one as part of Band Aid II. The Spice Girls later equalled the record of having three consecutive Christmas number ones, from 1996 to 1998, Spice Girl Melanie C achieved a fourth Christmas number one as a member of The Justice Collective in 2012, which also gave Robbie Williams his third. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, which reached the spot at Christmas 1975 and 1991, is the only record to have reached the top twice. Marys Boy Child is the song to be Christmas number one for two different artists, although Do They Know Its Christmas
Christmas number-one singles in the UK
–
Al Martino, the first person to reach the Christmas top spot
Christmas number-one singles in the UK
–
The Beatles had four Christmas number ones during the 1960s, three of which were consecutive.
Christmas number-one singles in the UK
–
Bob Geldof, creator of charity
supergroup Band Aid who were Christmas number one in three different incarnations
Christmas number-one singles in the UK
–
"
Bohemian Rhapsody ", by
Queen, reached the number one slot twice, in 1975 and 1991
23.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
–
Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor, CBE, is a British actor. Ejiofor portrayed the characters Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave, Karl Mordo in Doctor Strange, Dr. Vincent Kapoor in The Martian, Okwe in Dirty Pretty Things and The Operative in Serenity. For 12 Years a Slave he received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations and he was nominated for a 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance in Dancing on the Edge. In 2008, he was awarded an Officer of the OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts and he was elevated to Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2015 Birthday Honours. Ejiofor was born in Londons Forest Gate, to Nigerian parents of Igbo origin and his father, Arinze, was a doctor, and his mother, Obiajulu, was a pharmacist. His younger sister is CNN correspondent Zain Asher and his father was killed, and Ejiofor was badly injured, and received scars that are still visible on his forehead. Ejiofor began acting in plays at the age of fourteen at Dulwich College. He got into the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art but had to leave after his first year, after being cast in Steven Spielbergs film Amistad. He played the role in Othello at the Bloomsbury Theatre in September 1995, and again at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow in 1996. Ejiofor made his debut in the television film Deadly Voyage in 1996. He went on to become an actor in London. In Steven Spielbergs Amistad, he gave support to Djimon Hounsous Cinque as interpreter Ens, in 1999, he appeared in the British film G, MT – Greenwich Mean Time. In 2000, he starred in Blue/Orange at the Royal National Theatre and that same year, his performance as Romeo in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award. Ejiofor was awarded the Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer at the Critics Circle Theatre Awards in 2000, Ejiofor had his first leading film role in 2000 playing Nicky Burkett in Jeremy Camerons It Was An Accident. In 2002 he starred in Dirty Pretty Things, for which he won a British Independent Film Award for best actor. In the following year, he was part of the ensemble cast of Love Actually, starred in a BBC adaptation of Chaucers The Knights Tale and he starred alongside Hilary Swank in 2004s Red Dust, portraying the fictional politician Alex Mpondo of post-apartheid South Africa. He played Mike Terry, in the cult film Redbelt that received favourable reviews and he also received acclaim for his performance as a complex antagonist The Operative in the 2005 film Serenity. Ejiofor played a revolutionary in the 2006 film Children of Men and his singing and acting performance in Kinky Boots received a Golden Globe Award and British Independent Film Award nomination
Chiwetel Ejiofor
–
Ejiofor at the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival
Chiwetel Ejiofor
–
Ejiofor at the 2008
Tribeca Film Festival premiere of
Redbelt
24.
Andrew Lincoln
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Andrew James Clutterbuck, better known by his stage name Andrew Lincoln, is an English actor. He is most recognised for his portrayal of Rick Grimes, the character on the AMC horror drama series The Walking Dead. His first major role was in the BBC drama This Life, followed by such as Simon in the Channel 4 sitcom Teachers. Andrew Clutterbuck was born in London, the son of an English civil engineer and his family moved to Hull when he was 18 months old, and then to Bath when he was eight or nine. He attended Beechen Cliff School, where at age 14 he had his first acting role as the Artful Dodger in a production of Oliver. He spent a summer at the National Youth Theatre in London, after leaving school, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and began to use Andrew Lincoln as his stage name. Lincoln made his first on-screen appearance in Births and Deaths, a 1994 episode of Channel 4 sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey. In 1995, soon after finishing school, he was offered his first major role playing Edgar Egg Cook. He also had a role as university lecturer and psychologist Robert Bridge in Afterlife. Lincoln appeared in films such as Human Traffic and Gangster No.1. In particular, his role as Mark in the 2003 film Love Actually gained him wider recognition and he has done voice-overs for documentaries, advertisements, and government campaigns. He directed two episodes in the series of Teachers for which he won a BAFTA nomination for Best New Director in 2004. In April 2010, Lincoln was cast as Rick Grimes, the protagonist of AMCs live-action adaptation of the book series The Walking Dead. Grimes is a deputy who awakens from a months-long coma in the midst of a violent zombie apocalypse caused by an unknown pathogen. He becomes the leader of a group of family and friends who are forced to fight off flesh-eating zombies. In 2010, Lincoln signed up for the show for a six years. He has since renegotiated a deal for two further seasons, Lincoln has received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead and has been nominated for numerous awards. But until this episode of The Walking Dead, we didn’t realize that he could act his way from A to Z all within the span of a single hour
Andrew Lincoln
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Lincoln at the 2015
San Diego Comic Con International.
Andrew Lincoln
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Lincoln speaking at the 2014
San Diego Comic Con International for The Walking Dead panel
25.
Groomsman
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A groomsman, or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, from his groomsmen, the groom usually chooses one to serve as best man. Ushers may also be hired for very large weddings, in a military officers wedding, the roles of groomsmen are replaced by swordsmen of the sword honor guard. They are usually picked as close friends of the groom who have served with him. Their role includes forming the traditional saber arch for the married couple, the most visible duty of the groomsmen is helping guests find their places before the ceremony and to stand near the groom during the wedding ceremony. Groomsmen may also participate in local or regional traditions, such as decorating the newlywed couples car, the other and also very important task of the best man is to give a speech during the wedding. This is usually decided between the bride and groom before the wedding, the best man speech is usually humorous and short. The best man is the assistant to the groom at a wedding and is the third most important in attendance after the bride. In most modern Anglophone countries, the groom extends this honor to someone who is close to him, generally close friend or relative. When the groom wishes to give honor to a woman, she may be termed the best woman or best person. The brides equivalent of the best man is the bridesmaid, or the maid/matron of honor, a gender-neutral term is honor attendant. During a wedding ceremony the best man stands next to the groom and this means that the four people present at the altar are the celebrant, the bride, groom, and best man. This is common in western countries, although in others the best man. Even in places where a best man is customary, the role may be different when compared to other areas of the world. In Britain, it is traditional for the best man to give a short speech, in Zambia, a best man is expected to lead processions both at the wedding, and at preliminary events. In Uganda, a best man is expected to guide the newlyweds in the ways of marriage and this means that ideally a best man must be married, preferably to one wife, and should be in position to give sound, tried and tested advice. A best man must be a confidant and be discreet about the details he shares with the new couple, in Bhutan, the best man presents himself at the wedding as a ceremonial guardian to both bride and groom. Thereafter he entertains the guests, sometimes for several hours, in Eastern Orthodox weddings in Greece, the best man is often also the koumbaros, or religious sponsor
Groomsman
–
Three groomsmen stand to the left of the groom and three bridesmaids stand to the right of the bride in this wedding in
Kep,
Cambodia.
Groomsman
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The groom, his best man, and two ushers.
Groomsman
–
A best man and a maid of honour with newly weds
26.
Sienna Guillory
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Sienna Tiggy Guillory is an English actress, and former model. She resumed her role as Jill Valentine for an appearance in the 2010 action-horror film Resident Evil, Afterlife. Born in Kettering, Northamptonshire, England, Guillory is the daughter of the American folk guitarist Isaac Guillory and his first wife, English model Tina Thompson, Isaac Guillory was the son of American and Turkish Jewish parents and born at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. Her parents moved to Fulham, London when Guillory was two, then later to Norfolk when she was 11, at the age of ten, she went to stay with cousins in Mexico to learn Spanish. She has a half-brother named Jace, who has the same mother and her parents divorced in 1990 when Sienna was 14. In 1993, her father married Vickie McMillan, and had two children with her, Ellie and Jacob, Guillory attended Greshams School in Holt, Norfolk, where she took part in numerous school productions. She started horseback riding at the age of two, at 14, she was given a horse, which she named The Night Porter, or Porty, after the film The Night Porter, Guillory was a fan of its leading actress Charlotte Rampling. In December 2000, Guillorys father died of cancer at the age of 53, in 1997, Guillory accompanied a ballerina friend to the London modelling agency Select and was soon signed. She modelled solely to support her acting career, as a model, she worked in campaigns for Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, and Paul Smith and appeared on the covers of several fashion magazines. In 1999, she became the face of the Hugo Boss fragrance campaign, succeeding model Karen Ferrari, after modelling for a few years, Guillory returned her focus to acting in 2000. She is signed to Independent Models in London, Guillory explained that she became an actor because I wanted to know what it was like to be other people. Because possibly I dont like myself, and later said I hate acting, I kind of fell into it sideways. I started acting because I got offered a job when I was 16, and they wanted to pay me £8,000 and she went on to say that her frustration with later film roles left her bitter, but after seeing Helen Mirren onstage she was inspired again. In 1993, Guillory made her debut in a TV adaptation of Jilly Coopers novel, Riders. Her performance landed her in small role in the miniseries The Buccaneers. Before becoming a model to support her career, Guillory waited tables at a club. In an interview in 2000, she said about the experience Supporting my acting habit with waitressing was probably the most useful thing Ive done, Kiss Kiss, The 3 Kings, and Two Days, Nine Lives. She returned to film with a substantial role in the thriller Sorted
Sienna Guillory
–
Sienna Guillory at the
British Independent Film Awards 2014
Sienna Guillory
–
Sienna Guillory in 2007
Sienna Guillory
–
Guillory portrayed
Jill Valentine in
Resident Evil: Apocalypse, in which her character was based on
the game character of the same name. Guillory's costume was taken directly from the game and limited her movement in the martial arts sequences, leading the fight choreographers to give her more punching and gun play.
27.
Heike Makatsch
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Heike Makatsch is a German actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Dr. Lisa Addison in Resident Evil, Mia in Love Actually, Makatsch was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, the daughter of former German national ice hockey team goaltender Rainer Makatsch. In 1997, she started hosting her own weekly, late night show titled Heike Makatsch Show, however, due to bad ratings, it was cancelled after only eight episodes. Makatsch first appeared in a movie in 1996, when she starred in Detlev Bucks Männerpension, since then, she has appeared in several German and English language productions including the romantic comedy Love Actually. She is perhaps best known for her role as Lisa Addison, Makatsch was in a seven-year relationship with British actor Daniel Craig, ending in 2001. She has two daughters, born in 2007 and 2009, with Max Martin Schröder from the German indie band Tomte, in 2003, she and the rest of the cast of Love Actually were nominated for the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast. She was nominated in 2006 for an International Emmy Award for Best Actress for her role in Margarete Steiff – A Story of Courage, Heike Makatsch at the Internet Movie Database Rotten Tomatoes entry for Heike Makatsch filmstar. de entry for Heike Makatsch
Heike Makatsch
–
Makatsch at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2009
Heike Makatsch
–
Makatsch at the 2012 Hessen Film and Cinema Prize
28.
Joni Mitchell
–
Roberta Joan Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian singer-songwriter and painter. Drawing from folk, pop, rock and jazz, Mitchells songs often reflect social and environmental ideals as well as her feelings about romance, confusion, disillusionment, Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in Saskatchewan and western Canada before busking in the streets and shoddy nightclubs of Toronto. In 1965, she moved to the United States and began touring, some of her original songs were covered by folk singers, allowing her to sign with Reprise Records and record her debut album in 1968. Settling in Southern California, Mitchell, with songs like Big Yellow Taxi and Woodstock, helped define an era. Her 1971 recording Blue was rated the 30th best album made in Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Mitchell switched labels and began moving toward jazz rhythms by way of lush pop textures on 1974s Court and Spark, her best-selling LP, featuring the radio hits Help Me, around 1975 her vocal range began to shift from mezzo-soprano to more of a wide-ranging contralto. She turned again toward pop, embraced electronic music, and engaged in political protest and she is the sole producer credited on most of her albums, including all her work in the 1970s. A blunt critic of the industry, she quit touring and released her 17th. With roots in art, Mitchell designed her own album covers. She describes herself as a painter derailed by circumstance, Mitchell was born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7,1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada, the daughter of Myrtle Marguerite and William Andrew Anderson. Her mothers ancestors were Scottish and Irish, her father was from a Norwegian family and her father was a Royal Canadian Air Force flight lieutenant who instructed new pilots at RCAF Station Fort Macleod, where the Allied forces were gathering to learn to fly during World War II. During those years, she moved with her parents to various bases in western Canada, after the war, her father began working as a grocer, and his work took the family to Saskatchewan, to the towns of Maidstone and North Battleford. She later sang about her upbringing in Song for Sharon. In Maidstone they lived beside the track, where Mitchell waved at the only train that passed through each day. Many of the residents were First Nations people. Mitchell seemed athletic rather than academic, but still responded to her mothers love of literature and her fathers love of music, at age nine, Mitchell contracted polio in an epidemic, and was hospitalised for weeks. No longer athletic, she turned her thoughts to her creative talent, by nine, she was a smoker, she denies claims that smoking has affected her voice. At 11, she moved with her family to the city of Saskatoon and she responded badly to formal education, preferring a freethinking outlook, and was drawn to art, a pursuit often regarded as peripheral at the time
Joni Mitchell
–
Mitchell performing in 1983
Joni Mitchell
–
Joni Mitchell's star on
Canada's Walk of Fame
29.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
–
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party, the office is one of the Great Offices of State. The current prime minister, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016. The position of Prime Minister was not created, it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective, the origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of political parties, the introduction of mass communication. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged, prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Ministers authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The Prime Minister is ex officio also First Lord of the Treasury, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to Prime Ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. As the Head of Her Majestys Government the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet, in addition the Prime Minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons. As such the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers, under the British system there is a unity of powers rather than separation. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister guides the process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. The Prime Minister also acts as the face and voice of Her Majestys Government. The British system of government is based on an uncodified constitution, in 1928, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith described this characteristic of the British constitution in his memoirs, In this country we live. Our constitutional practices do not derive their validity and sanction from any Bill which has received the assent of the King, Lords. They rest on usage, custom, convention, often of slow growth in their early stages, not always uniform, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet are defined largely by these unwritten conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Ministers executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still vested in the Sovereign
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
–
Incumbent
David Cameron since 11 May 2010
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
–
Arms of
Her Majesty's Government
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
–
Late in the 17th century Treasury Ministers began to attend the Commons regularly. They were given a reserved place, called the Treasury Bench, to the Speaker's right where the Prime Minister and senior Cabinet members sit today
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
–
Portrait of Sir
Robert Walpole, studio of
Jean-Baptiste van Loo, 1740. Walpole is considered to have been Britain's first Prime Minister.
30.
10 Downing Street
–
Situated in Downing Street in the City of Westminster, London, Number 10 is over 300 years old and contains approximately 100 rooms. A private residence occupies the floor and there is a kitchen in the basement. At the rear is a courtyard and a terrace overlooking a garden of 0.5 acres. Adjacent to St Jamess Park, Number 10 is near Buckingham Palace, the London residence of the British monarch, and the Palace of Westminster, originally three houses, Number 10 was offered to Sir Robert Walpole by King George II in 1732. Walpole accepted on the condition that the gift was to the office of First Lord of the Treasury rather than to him personally, Walpole commissioned William Kent to join the three houses and it is this larger house that is known as Number 10 Downing Street. The arrangement was not an immediate success, despite its size and convenient location near to Parliament, few early Prime Ministers lived there. Costly to maintain, neglected, and run-down, Number 10 was close to being demolished several times but the property survived and became linked with many statesmen, in 1985 Margaret Thatcher said Number 10 had become one of the most precious jewels in the national heritage. Number 10 Downing Street was originally three properties, a mansion overlooking St Jamess Park called the House at the Back, a house behind it. The town house, from which the building gets its name, was one of several built by Sir George Downing between 1682 and 1684. Downing, a spy for Oliver Cromwell and later Charles II, invested in property. In 1654, he purchased the lease on land south of St Jamess Park, Downing planned to build a row of town houses for persons of good quality to inhabit in. The street on which he built them now bears his name, straightforward as the investment seemed, it proved otherwise. The Hampden family had a lease on the land that they refused to relinquish, Downing fought their claim, but failed and had to wait thirty years before he could build. When the Hampden lease expired, Downing received permission to build on land further west to take advantage of recent property developments. The new warrant issued in 1682 reads, Sir George Downing. to build new, subject to the proviso that it be not built any nearer than 14 feet of the wall of the said Park at the West end thereof. Between 1682 and 1684, Downing built a cul-de-sac of two-storey town houses with coach-houses, stables, over the years, the addresses changed several times. In 1787 Number 5 became Number 10, Downing employed Sir Christopher Wren to design the houses. Although large, they were put up quickly and cheaply on soft soil with shallow foundations, the fronts were façades with lines painted on the surface imitating brick mortar
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
–
Sir George Downing
10 Downing Street
–
The Palace of Whitehall by
Hendrick Danckerts c. 1660–1679. Viewed from the west side of
St. James's Park, the "House at the Back" is on the far right; the octagonal building next to it is the Cockpit.
_Interconnections.svg)
Quotations related to Love Actually at Wikiquote
Media related to Love Actually at Wikimedia Commons
