Happy belated 68th, Rowan Atkinson!

Rowan Atkinson turned 68 on Friday. From this end, all we can do is wish him a very Happy Belated Birthday. All he’s done is give the world the gift of laughter over the years beginning with Not the Nine O’Clock News, then Blackadder, Mr. Bean and, finally, The Thin Blue Line. Stops along the […]

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‘Talking Heads’ revamp celebrates Masterpiece’s 50th on PBS in 2021

BBC’s recent revival of a late 80s masterpiece, Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologue series complete with a line-up of stars that reads like a who’s who of the British acting world, was not only a ‘masterpiece’ but it’s getting ready to ‘be a masterpiece’, as in PBS’s Masterpiece in 2021. The reboot of the masterful series of […]

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Happy 65th, Rowan Atkinson!

Rowan Atkinson, English actor, comedian, and screenwriter turns 65 today. While best known to audiences worldwide for his work on the sitcoms Blackadder and Mr. Bean and, more recently, for his stellar performance in Maigret, I first stumbled upon Atkinson’s brilliant talent in the BBC2 sketch comedy series, Not the Nine O’Clock News.

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Getting to know your Dowager Countess, a.k.a. Dame Maggie Smith

As Planet Earth prepares for the final series of Downton Abbey which begins on Sunday (3 January) on PBS’ Masterpiece series, if, like the Dowager Countess herself, you haven’t seen the series, it’s quite possible that you’d be surprised to know that the Dowager Countess was not Dame Maggie Smith’s first role. When it comes […]

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Post-Dowager Countess, Dame Maggie Smith is ‘The Lady in the Van’

Now that Downton Abbey has come to an end (from a filming standpoint, anyway), Dame Maggie Smith will be swapping her trademark Dowager Countess attire for a knit cap and dirty raincoat for her forthcoming role in playwright Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van. In the film adaptation of his hit West End play, The Lady in the […]

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Dame Maggie Smith swaps Downton Abbey for Alan Bennett’s driveway

Instead of having to forever wonder just “What is a weekend?” or endlessly question the need for electricity, Dame Maggie Smith has opted to swap her trademark Dowager Countess hat and dress for a knit cap and dirty raincoat (just for a bit, Downton Abbey fans) for her forthcoming role in playwright Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the […]

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Happy 81st, Hyacinth

Forever linked with the snobbish, social climbing, eccentric Hyacinth Bucket (bou-quet) famous for her candlelight suppers, Patricia Routledge has had a long and very successful career not only in British comedy, but film, television and musical theatre with numerous appearances in West End London. Her Broadway debut resulted in a Tony Award for Best Actress […]

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