Evening All

The Autobiograthy of Jack Warner

by Jack Warner

Jack Warner has become one of the best known and most admired of British actor’s.

Born Jack Waters, his acting talent was encouraged by his father and by his sisters Elsie and Doris, who were to become showbiz personalities in their own right. After some time spent in the motor-racing world - in which he rose from being a garage hand to being a Brooklands driver - Jack became involved with Garrison Theatre, the wartime radio show that kept Britain chuckling through those terrible years.

Here Jack Warner records his forty years in show business: the countless films, the radio programmes, the Royal Command performances and, of course, the indefatigable television policeman Dixon of Dock Green.

That Despicable Race

A History Of The British Acting Tradition

by Brian Forbes

This is the story of the British theatrical tradition from Elizabethan days to the present time. Lavishly illustrated, it shows the actors' part in shaping the greatest theatre in the world. Bryan Forbes, distinguished as film director, biographer and novelist, began his professional life as an actor and here is writing not as an academic but as an insider. He draws not merely on his own experience in the theatre but on the opinions of such famous actors as Lord Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, Sir Ralph Richardson, Dame Peggy Ashcroft and such giants of the recent past as Dame Edith Evans, Sir Donald Wolfit, Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Dame Sybil Thorndike and others . . . From the despicable race, which was how England, centuries ago, characterised the acting profession to the world-famous artists of today's theatre, is a transformation as spectacular as any portrayed on the stage. Here is a book of real historical value to rejoice all who believe the theatre will never die.

Brown boards / Gold inscribed spine

From Fringe To Flying Circus

Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960 - 1980

by Roger Wilmut

This book is a celebration and history of twenty years of the very best of British comedy . . . The complex and entertaining story of these educated comedians and their devastating impact on British comedy has been expertly chronicled by Roger Wilmut (author of The Goon Show Companion and Tony Hancock 'Artiste'). The book contains many quotations from special interviews with the people involved and a wealth of hilarious script extracts - ranging from Alan Bennett's celebrated sermon to the famous Monty Python 'Pet Shop' sketch - and vivid performance photographs and ephemera. The whole adds up to a feast of satire, wit and lunatic comedy.

Black boards / White inscribed spine

Situation Comedy

Studio Scripts

Edited by David Self

This is a new series of contemporary playscripts, specially selected and edited for groups of young students.The plays are drawn from television, radio, film and the stage; some are grouped by theme, others by genre, and together they make a series of immense variety and immediate interest.

The five scripts included in this publication are: The Liver Birds | Happy Ever After | Rising Damp | Last of the Summer Wine | Going Straight

Teaching About Television

by Len Masterman

In the relatively short period since its discovery, television has become the most significant of all the mass media and a decisive influence on the way in which we make sense of the world. Children now spend far more time watching television than they spend at school. How can schools ensure that children look at the medium in a critical way, that they possess some degree of visual literacy and that they possess some understanding of how television communicates its meanings? What are the most productive approaches to the classroom study of different sorts of programmes? Teaching about Television is the first book to apply itself in a serious way to these questions and propose a television studies curriculum for schools and colleges. It begins by clarifying current theoretical debates in media education and providing a conceptual framework within which television can be studied . . . The heart of the book consists of detailed ideas and concrete suggestions for studying a wide variety of programmes from The News and Tomorrow's World to Mastermind and Porridge...

25 Years On ITV 1955 -1980

Compiled and produced

by ITV and TVTimes

ITV opened on September 22, 1955, after four years of argument. During this time, its advocates had decried BBC programmes as cosy and low budget, while its opponents had pointed to the American system and warned that commercial television would bring a lowering of standards in Britain. But the Television Act of 1954 had set up the Independent Television Authority under Sir Kenneth - now Lord-Clark, Chairman of the Arts Council. And the ITA had devised a regional structure for ITV, and appointed programme companies. Sir Winston Churchill, who had backed the alternative service, had handed over the Premiership to Sir Anthony Eden by the time it started, while Clement Attlee was about to be succeeded as Labour leader by Hugh Gaitskell. ITV's impact was immediate. The public were fascinated by its newscasters, cash quiz shows, American programmes, and commercials. But ITV was available only in the London area, and by the end of the year reached a mere 12.5 per cent of the homes in the country.

The Goon Show Companion - A History and Goonography

by Roger Wilmut - with a personal memoir by Jimmy Grafton

On May 28, 1951 the very first Goon Show was broadcast. Originally billed as 'Crazy People, featuring Radio's own Crazy Gang - "The Goons"', the show was a breakthrough in British comedy, and its influence can still be seen in many of today's most successful comedy shows. When it finally ended - after a nine-year run - 'The Goon Show' had become a cult in its own right, with a world-wide band of devotees which has increased with every programme repeat.
In addition to tracing the history and development of the show, The Goon Show Companion contains a meticulous Goonography, listing every Goon Show with its original transmission date, correct title, announced title (if this was different), and details of writers, cast and producers. The Goonography also lists all the Goons' appearances as a group in other broadcasts, on record, and in films...
The ultimate Goon book, The Goon Show Companion provides a wealth of fascinating information that no Goonatic should be without.

Pictorial laminated boards / No dust jacket

Acid Drops

by Kenneth Williams

'A brilliant collection of witty, wicked and malicious
put-downs'. Daily Mirror

'You remember me?' said the woman, 'I met you with Douglas Fairbanks'. 'Madam', he replied, 'I don't even remember Douglas Fairbanks'. Noel Coward

'If you were my husband, I'd poison your coffee', said Lady Astor 'If you were my wife, I'd drink it'. Winston Churchill

A new edition (published in 1999) contains much material originally excised from the manuscript, some because it might offend the then living, some because it was, for the time, regarded as just too risque, and still more that there was simply no room to accommodate. Hence, now we can present The Complete Acid Drops

Raising Caine

The Authorised Biography

by William Hall

Born in the East End of London, son of a fish porter and a charlady, Michael Caine knew he was destined for better things than the bombed sites where he grew up, the daily trek to earn his living washing dishes in a West End restaurant, or the slit trenches in Korea where he saw action during his National Service . . . Caine is a star who beat the system. Now a millionaire, he relishes all the benefits that go with fame and success: the Beverley Hills mansion, the Rolls-Royce, gourmet cooking, choice wines, the best hand-rolled Havana cigars. But he has never forgotten his roots. Raising Caine tells how he achieved it all, with a mixture of innate talent, cool cheek, abrasive wit, and perceptive observation.

Black boards / Gold inscribed spine

Nothing Quite Like It - An Autobiography

by Ian Wallace

In November 1952 Ian Wallace appeared on the hugely popular radio show Henry Hall's Guest Night and sang Flanders and Swann's Hippopotamus Song. But although this song remains a favourite with many Ian Wallace fans, his career has been one of most extraordinary variety. Over the last thirty years he has sung Rossini and Mozart operas at Glyndebourne and elsewhere in a vocal and dramatic career that has embraced musicals, revue and straight plays. Ian Wallace tells his own story with warmth and gentle humour. He exudes affection for his fellow man and gratitude towards all those who have helped him in the course of this unique career. For unique it is: so many varied opportunities have come his way that he has come to feel just as his celebrated hippopotamus felt about mud - that there really is nothing quite like it.

Mid Blue boards / Gold inscribed spine

Goon Abroad

by Harry Secombe

As one of Britain's best-loved entertainers, Harry Secombe leads a varied life. He has rehearsed pantomimes in church halls, played Pickwick in the West End, faced up to Freddy Trueman's bowling and sung in a tent in Western Australia. Goon Abroad tells you all about that, and more. It will give you a glimpse down Neddy Seagoon's Memory Lane to where the South Wales playgrounds had harsh unfriendly surfaces, but the toyshops glittered with Christmas promises. It will carry you to the Balearics, where a non-linguist can buy a leg of lamb by slapping his thigh and bleating, and into the heart of the Secombe household where his family try to lead a normal life despite him. Harry Secombe is a warm, friendly, funny man - and the stories he has to tell in Goon Abroad could only happen to someone who relished his life even more in the retelling.

Orangey brown boards / Gold inscribed spine

Carol Comes Home - An Autobiography

by Carol White

She's a Londoner. Was a child star, a mini-skirted dazzler in the sixties, won fame as the star of Cathy Come Home and Up the Junction, went to Hollywood. She's known the famous, some as lovers, some as close and true friends, has been through times of despair, broken marriages and no direction known. And has survived, come home.

Come home to acclaim as the star lead in Steaming, a West End smash hit. 'Overwhelmingly warm-hearted' the Guardian called it, the Daily Express: 'funny and touching' and the Times: 'a sexy, life-affirming show' - all comments that apply as much or more so to Carol White herself.

Now in much more than just a kiss-and-tell autobiography, she tells her life story. Moving, often scandalously funny, always intimately acute, here's Carol White. Who's come home - and is in great shape.

The Best Of Bentine

by Michael Bentine

Michael Bentine’s powers of comic invention are at their height in this selection of over 40 of his most popular sketches, originally written for radio, television, the stage or cabaret, and now in print for the first time, accompanied by distinctive illustrations specially drawn by the author.

Michael Bentine has always devised and written his own acts. He was one of the original Goons and his later series (for television) include The Bumblies, After Hours, It’s a Square World, All Square and Michael Bentine’s Potty Time.
He has also written material for Dave Allen, Arthur Askey, Ronnie Barker, Clive Dunn, Jimmy Edwards, Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Ron Moody, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers.
He is the author of The Long Banana Skin, Madame’s Girls, Smith & Son, Removers and The Door Marked Summer.

Grey boards / Black inscribed spine

Took's Eye View

Views, Reviews and Reflections

by Barry Took

His idiosyncratic way of looking at life is entertainingly revealed in this collection of mainly autobiographical writings. He tells of his days as a stand-up comic, recalls old Music Hall acts, writes with feeling about show-business greats such as Charlie Chaplin, Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne. Assembled here for the first time is a selection of his theatre and cinema criticism for Punch. There are flights of fantasy, too, and even an opportunity for audience participation for readers who wish to try the One Upmanship Quiz! In Took's Eye View Barry Took shows that he has points of view on nearly everything. He can be argumentative,searing, witty, amusing - but always worth reading.

Green boards / Gold inscribed spine

Three Bridges To Tunbridge Wells

Locomotion Papers Number One Hundred And Forty-Four

by David Gould

For two days in October, 1960, East Grinstead station was the scene of some filming by Associated British Pictures for The Rebel, starring Tony Hancock. A train formed of a Pullman car and a wagon containing a hideous plaster statue (Hancock's attempt at Aphrodite) was filmed from the High Level entering the Low Level; this sequence lasted only seconds in the picture.

British Railways, 1948-1967 (page 51, paragraph 2)

The above paragraph was taken straight out of this booklet and describes, all be it very breifly (as indeed the final filmed sequence was only very brief), the filming on location, at East Grinstead station, of The Rebel

Goon Abroad

by Harry Secombe

As one of Britain's best-loved entertainers, Harry Secombe leads a varied life, and whether he's in Swansea or Majorca, in the theatre or at home, he's always a party to unusual goings on.

In this hilarious collection of personal anecdotes, Sir Harry recalls his adventures with the inimitable humour of a self-confessed goon. Who'd have imagined him singing in a tent in western Australia, or facing up to Freddy Trueman's fearsome bowling?

Sir Harry is a natural comic, and Goon Abroad is packed with stories as friendly and funny as the author himself.