Martin Jarvis

A few years ago I went to see a production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” without knowing who was going to be in the cast. My wife and I just decided to go, bought the tickets and didn’t even stop to get a programme (o...

PUTTING THE BOOT IN

THE FLARE PLAYERS AND TV VIOLENCE By Nicholas Hughes April 11th 1969. Hog waits for Spicer to show his big, ugly mug at the nightclub. He waits in the shadows, holding bottle of clear liquid that clearly isn’t water…if y...

Michael York

MICHAEL YORK by Nicholas Hughes Soho, 1970. Assembled in one of the more prominent British film industry buildings are the best young actors the UK has ever produced. Anthony Hopkins is entertaining Ian Ogilvy and Timoth...

Pamela Franklin

PAMELA FRANKLIN BY DANIEL OLIVER It’s often been observed how British film-makers routinely waste their best actresses. In which case, Pamela Franklin can count herself extremely lucky. As if sensing in advance how...

JUDY GEESON

  Judy Geeson By Daniel Oliver “For weeks I had hunted this girl, tracking her movements among the cafes, bars and nightclubs of Swinging London. Now at last I had her cornered in a small drinking booth in the Infer...

1966 & ALL THAT (BLOW UP)

When m’colleague Daniel Oliver and I came up with the idea of celebrating an era of British acting that straddled the 60s and 70s, we discussed just where this era would begin. Was there some moment in British cinema his...

Lewis Collins

LEWIS COLLINS by Nicholas Hughes “MEN WANT TO BE HIM, WOMEN WANT TO BE WITH HIM!” Correction. “BOYS WANT TO BE HIM, WOMEN WANT TO BE WITH HIM!” In 1978, every boy in the UK wanted to be like Lewis Collins. If he didn’t, ...

PATRICK MOWER

PATRICK MOWER By DANIEL OLIVER 1973: a decisive time in the men’s fragrance market. Bass noted musk, the disposable cartridge safety razor, soap-on-a-rope. There is everything to play for. But one man alone holds t...

The Men Who Would Be Bond

By NICHOLAS HUGHES “To look for a new James Bond is one of the most impossible jobs in the entire world”. These are the words of Debbie McWilliams, the head casting agent for the Bond movies. It has always been thus. The...

Nicky Henson

  by DANIEL OLIVER “O.K. I want long hair, I want cocky, I want leathers. I want the man most likely to get my daughter up the duff. There’s only one guy in the frame here, and as luck would have it, he’...