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- Janet Davies was born on 14 September 1927 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971), Pride and Prejudice (1980) and Dad's Army (1968). She was married to Ian Gardiner. She died on 22 September 1986 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Actor
- Stunts
George Lane Cooper was born on 28 January 1934 in England, UK. He was an actor, known for Batman (1989), The Fifth Element (1997) and Brazil (1985). He was married to Valerie Sheehan. He died on 8 February 2002 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.- Blake Butler was born on 22 October 1924 in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Rob Roy (1961), Danger UXB (1979) and Martin Chuzzlewit (1964). He died on 15 April 1981 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Ann Tirard was born on 5 June 1917 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Witches (1990), Moonlighting (1982) and Doctor Who (1963). She was married to William Lyon Brown. She died on 12 August 2003 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Derek Ford (born 6 September 1932 in Tilbury, Essex - died 19 May 1995) was a British film director and writer, most famous for exploitation films such as The Swappers (1970), Keep It Up, Jack (1974) and Diversions (1976), which was also filmed in a hardcore version.
Ford began as a writer in collaboration with his brother Donald Ford (died 1991), originally for radio before progressing to television (The Saint (1962), Adam Adamant Lives! (1966)) and film (Gutter Girls (1963), A Study in Terror (1965)). Ford's first foray into directing, "Los Tres Que Robbaran Una Banco" (1961), made in Spain in 1961, was an unhappy experience; however, around the same time he entered the exploitation field when he was asked to re-edit and film additional sequences for a Swedish sex film called The Flamboyant Sex (1962), eventually released as "Paris Playgirls". Ford's directing career began proper in the late 1960s when he entered into partnership with producer Stanley A. Long, resulting in three films including the massively successful "The Wife Swappers", released in America as "The Swappers" with the tag line, "Remember when all the guy next door wanted to borrow was your lawnmower?".
Ford's early 1970s films were mainly shot in London and Maldon, Essex, where he lived, while hardcore scenes meant for the European versions of his films were shot in secret at his own house, with his wife Valerie M. Ford acting as co-director and assistant. Interviewed in the book "Keeping the British End Up", fellow director Ray Selfe referred to Ford as "a male nymphomaniac", and themes of swinging, wife swapping and outwardly respectable people living double lives run throughout Ford's work. In the 1970s the two most well-known Ford films in America were I Am a Groupie (1970) and Diversions (1976), starring Heather Deeley, which premiered in the Kips Bay area of Manhattan and was nominated for best foreign film by the Adult Film Association of America.
In Italy he directed Eros Perversion (1978), while back in England he quit as the director of Don't Open Till Christmas (1984). In the mid-'80s he attempted to find more mainstream work and dissociate himself from his past, but what little work came his way would drag him back to exploitation film. He directed The Nudist Story (1960) in Italy in 1985, in which (returning to the themes of "The Wife Swappers") a group of Italian women join a "dare club", and co-directed a horror film in Sweden called Blood Tracks (1985), which also features a brief cameo role from Ford as a location scout for a rock video (his only other known acting role is as "Circus Santa Claus" in "Don't Open Till Christmas"). He was also involved in writing a never-made softcore sitcom called "Park Lane". Ford's final film, The Urge to Kill (1989), starring Peter Gordeno and Sarah Hope-Walker, has never been released, although clips from it appear in the documentary "The Wild, Wild World of Dick Randall".
At the close of the 1980s, with the impending recession of the early 1990s on the horizon and no work, Ford decided to opt for a quieter life and put his ideas on paper. Leaving the film business behind him for good, he attempted a second career as an author, writing two books. His experience in the world of "B" movies along with his connections in the business reflected on the theme and setting for both books. The two books were "Panic on Sunset" (1989) and "The Casting Couch" (1990) ("the true story of broken dreams, disillusionment and fallen idols"). "Panic on Sunset" concerns George Schapner, the stressed-out manager/agent of Velma Torraine, a vamp of the silent screen whose heavy Brooklyn accent spells the end of her career as the "talkie" era approaches. A visit to a Hollywood whorehouse specializing in celebrity lookalikes provides George with an unlikely solution to their problem. "The Casting Couch" was a collaborative effort with agent Alan Selwyn, and is credited under the joint pseudonym "Selwyn Ford". Confusingly, the book portrays Selwyn Ford as an actual person.
A third book, "Bella", about actress Bella Darvi and her married lover, Hollywood mogul Darryl F. Zanuck, was never completed. Ford died after a heart attack in a branch of WH Smith. According to Stanley Long's recent biography, Ford was almost penniless at the time of his death.- Peter Evans was born on 29 June 1910 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Big Spender (1965), K.I.L. 1 (1962) and Seven Deadly Sins (1966). He was married to Ann Martin. He died on 11 May 1973 in Bromley, London, England, UK.
- Vivacious, polished, and graceful, Deborah Makepeace effervesced with her natural acting talents and aura of charisma on both the screen and stage. With her porcelain skin, lively doe eyes, and long wavy dark hair, all framed on a perfect heart shaped face, she had the timeless beauty to match her gifted acting talents. Her tragic and premature death, undoubtedly robbed the entertainment industry of one of its strongest, promising, and beautiful English starlets.
At age 14, when most young girls are nurturing dreams of stardom, Deborah Makepeace was giving life to an acting career that few get to experience. Selected out of over 200 other young girls, she headlined the BBC television remake of A Little Princess (1973), in the leading role of Sara Crewe (which was originally played by child starlet icon Shirley Temple in 1939). Following the success of her breakout role, Makepeace abandoned her original dream of becoming a ballet dancer. The following year she landed a minor role playing the younger Janet Suzman as Florence Nightingale in the television film Miss Nightingale (1974), which was followed by the leading role in the BBC six-part children's adventure series, The Chinese Puzzle (1974).
In 1975, she portrayed Princess Helena of the United Kingdom on three episodes of the Emmy and BAFTA winning ATV costume drama series, Edward the King (1975). In high demand as a television actress, she was also starring in bit parts and reoccurring roles for various television productions. On BBC Play of the Month (1965) production of the 1928 satirical comedy play, The Apple Cart, she played Nigel Davenport's daughter. She also had a reoccurring role as a student nurse on the hit BBC series, Angels (1975), for three years. Her other credits include the family comedy series Just William (1977), the BBC drama series Penmarric (1979), and the long running comedy classic Sorry! (1981).
In the late 70s, she thrived on the repertory theater scene for Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Her run spanned into the 80s with her performances in such stage productions as The Tempest, While the Sun Shines, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. One of her greatest theatrical accomplishments was in the 1984 St. George's Theater production of The Taming of the Shrew, playing the role of Bianca. A performance which earned her universal acclaim from audiences and critics alike. In addition to theater, Makepeace also worked part-time as a voice-over actress doing English dubs for Japanese anime films.
A life and career that could have led to greater successes and endless possibilities was extinguished when she was diagnosed with cancer. After a long, turbulent, and brave battle, Makepeace died on February 2, 1999, aged only 41. - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Chris Greener was born on 21 November 1943 in New Brighton, Merseyside, England, UK. He was an actor and director, known for The Elephant Man (1980), The Thief and the Cobbler (1993) and Birdie Blues (2007). He died on 11 February 2015 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.- Composer
- Music Department
- Writer
Richard Arnell was born on 15 September 1917 in London, England, UK. He was a composer and writer, known for The Third Secret (1964), The Visit (1964) and The Black Panther (1977). He was married to Lois Ross, Charlotte Cronin-Lowe, Colette Bradley, Ann Georgina Tillotson, Maxine Leah (de Sellice), Charlotte Jennings, Audrey Millar Paul and Joan Cynthia Nita Heycock. He died on 10 April 2009 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.- Actress
- Writer
Vera Cook was born on 19 June 1912 in Lewisham, London, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for ITV Play of the Week (1955), Never Take Candy from A Stranger (1960) and Secret Agent (1964). She died on 1 June 1996 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.- Karl Howard was born in 1937 in the UK. He was an actor, known for Get Carter (1971), Cockneys vs Zombies (2012) and Crime of Passion (1970). He died in 2014 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Dinah Maria Mulock Craik was born on 20 April 1826 in Stoke-on-Trent, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958), John Halifax, Gentleman (1915) and John Halifax (1938). She died on 12 October 1887 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Hilda Schroder was born on 26 April 1920 in Edmonton, Middlesex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1952) and Julius Caesar (1960). She died on 18 February 2012 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Michael Shannon was born in 1933 in Paddington, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Rat Catchers (1966), All Creatures Great & Small (1978) and Nana (1968). He was married to Pauline Taylor. He died on 21 December 2010 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Evelyn Moore was born on 16 September 1890 in Slough, Berkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950), Bedazzled (1967) and A Castle and Sixpence (1954). She died on 3 April 1972 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Phil Drabble was born on 13 May 1914 in Staffordshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for One Man and His Dog (1976), The Midlander (1958) and Joe the Chainsmith (1958). He was married to Jess. He died on 29 July 2007 in Abbot's Bromley, Staffordshire, England, UK.
- Keith Herrington was born on 29 September 1928 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Alcoa Hour (1955), The Quatermass Experiment (1953) and The DuPont Show of the Month (1957). He died in 1964 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Susan Edmonstone was born in 1946 in Ruthin, Denbighshire, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for The Barchester Chronicles (1982), Three Comedies of Marriage (1975) and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996). She died on 5 January 2009 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Gerald Kelsey was born on 25 October 1919 in West Ham, Essex, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Department S (1969), The Saint (1962) and The Prisoner (1967). He died on 22 February 2006 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- John Pickles was born in Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for In the Name of the Father (1993), The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1991) and Crown Court (1972). He was married to Jean ?. He died on 20 March 1997 in Bromley Cross, South Turton, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, UK.
- Gerard McLarnon was born on 16 April 1915 in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Moon in the Yellow River (1947), Saloon Bar (1947) and The Director (1949). He was married to Eileen Essell. He died on 16 August 1997 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
Ted Sturgis was born in 1927 in Croydon, Surrey, England, UK. He was an assistant director and production manager, known for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Peeping Tom (1960). He was married to Elizabeth Helen Leahy. He died in 1988 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Ronald Nunnery was born on 31 August 1922 in West Ham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Bergerac (1981), Crime Traveller (1997) and Dempsey and Makepeace (1985). He died on 20 January 2004 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.- Soundtrack
Ivor Newton was born on 15 December 1892 in Limehouse, London, England, UK. He died on 21 April 1981 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Bachoo Sen was born on 13 October 1934 in Calcutta, India. He was a producer and writer, known for Love Is a Splendid Illusion (1970), Loving Feeling (1968) and Nightmare Weekend (1986). He died on 30 January 2002 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.