shutoo Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Thanks Princess! This one goes much further back..over a hundred years.. This London born actor got his start on the stage when he was still in his teens, but he always wore a beard so no one would recognize him and tell his 'proper' father that he had become a..gasp..actor. In a nearly forty year film and tv career, he played a number of religious men, but also an unlikely hit man. His costars included dogs and insects, but his most acclaimed role required him to put on pounds he swore he never could lose. Link to post Share on other sites
shutoo Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Uh, okay..he won an Oscar for that weighty role Link to post Share on other sites
shutoo Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Ho ho ho??? Link to post Share on other sites
LawrenceA Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Edmund Gwenn! Link to post Share on other sites
LawrenceA Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 If I'm right, open thread. Link to post Share on other sites
Princess of Tap Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 To repeat-- Primarily a British stage actor, he also appeared on Broadway. He had the distinction of being directed in Hollywood by Hitchcock and Orson Welles. His wife was also a veteran of the British stage. Link to post Share on other sites
shutoo Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Sorry for the lag..Lawrence was right..Gwenn was not only the definitive Santa in Miracle on 34th St, but the unlikely hit man in Foreign Correspondent..he was Lassie's co-star, and shared the screen with giant ants in Them! He played ministers, bishops,priests ...but he'll always be Santa to me Lawrence is passing, so..open thread! (Princess..sorry, didn't see your entry when I hit the post button) not open..whoops... Link to post Share on other sites
Princess of Tap Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Primarily a British stage actor, he also appeared on Broadway. He had the distinction of being directed in Hollywood by both Hitchcock and Orson Welles. His wife was also a veteran of the British stage. Link to post Share on other sites
Princess of Tap Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Hint--His second wife, the veteran actress, was nominated three times for an Academy Award. Link to post Share on other sites
Princess of Tap Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Hint#2-- this British actor appeared in Hollywood films starring: Carole Lombard, Rita Hayworth, Rosalind Russell, and Loretta Young to name a few. Link to post Share on other sites
MilesArcher Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I believe it's Philip Merivale. He was married to Gladys Cooper. Link to post Share on other sites
Princess of Tap Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Bloody good show, Miles Link to post Share on other sites
MilesArcher Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Thanks. This lovely actress came from a British show biz family. Both of her parents acted and and two uncles were also stage and screen actors. When she came to America after appearing in a few British films, she started playing second leads and small roles. She was even in a movie with Bing Crosby, playing his love interest. She changed studios and appeared in crime drams and noirs, usually as the leading lady. In the 1950's, she did a TV series with her actor husband. Can you name her? Link to post Share on other sites
Princess of Tap Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Miles, let's keep going - that she was only the second woman to be a member of the Directors Guild of America. I believe she was the first woman to direct television on a regular basis. And she was the first movie star actress to direct. My idol, Ms Ida Lupino Oh I almost forgot, I used to watch Mr Adam and Eve with Ida and her husband the handsome Howard Duff. Link to post Share on other sites
MilesArcher Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Yes, it's Ida Lupino. I purposely left out her directing career, figuring that it would give it away. Now, Princess, you can pose the next question. Link to post Share on other sites
Princess of Tap Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 It doesn't get any better than this next British actress. She played Queens; she played servants. She was equally at home with Shakespeare , Dickens, Bronte, and even Edna Ferber. She was a veteran of the London stage, Broadway, British movies, Hollywood and television. The leading ladies that she so aptly supported were the best: Ava Gardner, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, and Merle Oberon, just to name a few. Although her name was not a household word in America, she was much revered and respected by her peers in the entertainment industry. Now someone needs to give it a go-- Link to post Share on other sites
MarshaKatz Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Is it Flora Robson? Link to post Share on other sites
Princess of Tap Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Marsha, when I was growing up Saratoga Trunk was one of my favorite movies. I had no idea that she was that great of an actress or anything else about her, I just knew she was one of the best actresses I had ever seen just from that one movie. Do you have a favorite movie role for her? Marsha, take it away - - - Link to post Share on other sites
MarshaKatz Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Princess, My personal favorite Flora Robson roles are as Ellen in "Wuthering Heights" and as Cleopatra's nurse in "Caesar And Cleopatra" (one of my favorite movies). Miss Robson is the epitomy of a "scene stealer". No matter the leads, you're drawn to Flora Robson in all of her movies. As for my thread - This British actor is not only an accomplished actor, but wears many hats - writer, director, musician, singer, comedian and author. His most notable roles have been in two TV series - one a British comedy-drama and the other an American medical drama. Please name the actor. And for extra credit name the British and American TV series he starred in. Link to post Share on other sites
Swithin Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Could it be Bertie Wooster in Jeeves and Wooster i.e. Hugh Laurie? (Also in House). [Marsha, have you ever seen Flora Robson in Poison Pen? Another great role for her.] Link to post Share on other sites
MarshaKatz Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Swithin, Hugh Laurie is absolutely correct. Thanks for mentioning "Poison Pen" starring Flora Robson as I have not seen this film. I always appreciate hearing about films starring great actors such as Miss Robson. The thread is yours. Link to post Share on other sites
Swithin Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 This lovely British actress (whom I've met a couple of times) played in films, although most of her career has been spent on stage and on television (including television films). It was on television that she may have first come to the attention of the American audience, when she played one of most ruthless and scheming characters of all time. She will be back on stage in London in a few months, in a revival of an American play. Link to post Share on other sites
MarshaKatz Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Is this actress the great Sian Phillips who played Livia, the paternal grandmother of the Emperor Claudius in the BBC production of "I, Claudius" which was broadcast in America on PBS Masterpiece Theatre. Livia certainly was one of the most ruthless,scheming, and treacherous characters of all time. Link to post Share on other sites
Swithin Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Is this actress the great Sian Phillips who played Livia, the paternal grandmother of the Emperor Claudius in the BBC production of "I, Claudius" which was broadcast in America on PBS Masterpiece Theatre. Livia certainly was one of the most ruthless,scheming, and treacherous characters of all time. It is indeed Livia. And Sian (who was of course Mrs. Peter O'Toole for 20 years) is one of the sweetest ladies I ever met (and proudly Welsh). She'll be at the National Theatre in London beginning in March, in a production of Lorraine Hansberry's Les Blancs. Link to post Share on other sites
MarshaKatz Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Swithin - I envy your meeting Sian Phillips. It's a nice feeling to know that the actresses and actors we so admire do not disappoint us when and if we get the rare opportunity to meet them. It's wonderful to know that Miss Phillips' acting career is still going strong. To continue with the next thread Once you've seen this British actress, you never can forget her. She's won two Academy Awards for Best Actress in roles at opposite ends of the spectrum - drama and comedy. She's played Elizabeth I two times, once in film and the other in a BBC TV series which aired on Masterpiece Theatre on PBS for which she was awarded an Emmy for outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama series and an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or TV Movie. A political activist she became a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1992 and remained an MP until 2015. Since she is no longer an MP, I can only hope that perhaps she will continue acting again. Name this remarkable British actress and name the two movies for which she won Academy Awards as Best Actress. Link to post Share on other sites
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