95-738: Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor and film director. Known for his intense but sensitive portrayals of "tough guy" characters, he began his career on stage before making his screen breakthrough playing Arthur Parker on the 1978 BBC Television serial Pennies from Heaven . He subsequently played acclaimed lead roles in the films The Long Good Friday (1980), Mona Lisa (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and Mermaids (1990). Hoskins had supporting roles in Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982), The Honorary Consul (1983), The Cotton Club (1984), Brazil (1985), Hook (1991), Nixon (1995), Enemy at
190-697: A Cannes Award , Best Actor Golden Globe , BAFTA Awards and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor . Other film parts included Spoor in Terry Gilliam 's Brazil (1985), Smee in Hook (1991) and in Neverland (2011), starring opposite Cher in Mermaids (1990), portraying Nikita Khrushchev as a political commissar in Enemy at the Gates (2001) and playing Uncle Bart,
285-599: A removal man who had problems reading and writing. According to producer George Auckland , up to 17 million people watched the series. His breakthrough in television came later in the original BBC version of Dennis Potter 's 6-part drama Pennies from Heaven (1978), in which he portrayed adulterous sheet music salesman Arthur Parker. He later played Iago (opposite Anthony Hopkins ) in Jonathan Miller 's BBC Television Shakespeare production of Othello (1981). In 1983, Hoskins voiced an advert for Weetabix and, during
380-476: A television licence . As a result of the 2016 Licence Fee settlement, the BBC Television division was split, with in-house television production being separated into a new division called BBC Studios and the remaining parts of television (channels and genre commissioning, BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer) being renamed BBC Content . The BBC operates several television networks, television stations (although there
475-548: A television licence fee which TV viewers are required to pay annually. This includes viewers who watch real-time streams or catch up services of the BBC's channels online or via their mobile phone. The BBC's international television channels are funded by advertisements and subscription. These channels are also available outside the UK in neighbouring countries e.g. Belgium, the Netherlands and
570-572: A Furtive Nudist , Jamais Vu , Mystery Bruises and Pigspurt . Several were published by Methuen . He toured them worldwide. Three of them were performed together at the National Theatre in 1993, as The Bald Trilogy: Furtive Nudist, Jamais Vu and Pigspurt . Campbell was later commissioned by the National's director Trevor Nunn to write The History of Comedy Part One: Ventriloquism . The two had previously fallen out when Nunn had been director of
665-551: A converted wing of Alexandra Palace in London. "Ally Pally" housed two studios, various scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and the transmitter itself, which then broadcast on the VHF band. BBC television initially used two systems on alternate weeks: the 240-line Baird intermediate film system and the Marconi-EMI 405-line television system . The use of both formats made
760-543: A corrupt lawyer, in one of the TV events of the 1970s, Law & Order , the notorious but ground-breaking corruption drama by G.F. Newman , a luminary of British TV screenwriting. The series provoked such a press outcry at the time that the BBC banned its overseas sale, since it was deemed to have portrayed Britain's police and criminal justice system in such a wholly unfavourable light. He played Alf Garnett 's neighbour, Fred Johnson in
855-473: A crime to be serious." The Warp , based on the real life experiences and adventures of author Neil Oram, is a dizzying trek through the nether reaches of gurudom and tireless post-sixties mind-expansion, directed by Ken Campbell, and opened at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts in January 1979. It was spawned by the encounter between Oram and Campbell after Oram gave his acclaimed performance as raconteur at
950-465: A face like mine you don't usually wind up with the parts that Errol Flynn played, you know?" He told The Guardian in 2007 that he regretted starring as Mario in Super Mario Bros. (1993), saying that he was extremely unhappy with the film, greatly angered by his experiences making it, and referring to it as the "worst thing I ever did". Hoskins was injured several times on set, spent most of
1045-566: A film about his life. Hoskins was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011. He retired from acting in August 2012. On 29 April 2014, Hoskins died of pneumonia at a London hospital, aged 71. He was survived by his wife Linda and his four children. Among actors who paid tribute at his funeral were Stephen Fry , Samuel L. Jackson , and Helen Mirren . Hoskins is buried in Highgate Cemetery in London. BBC Television BBC Television
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#17330846638121140-512: A grand old man of the fringe, though without ever discarding his inner enfant terrible." The Times labelled Campbell a one-man whirlwind of comic and surreal performance. Michael Coveney , in an obituary in The Guardian , described him as "one of the most original and unclassifiable talents in the British theatre of the past half-century. A genius at producing shows on a shoestring and honing
1235-506: A maximum of eighty each night. Langham was Arthur Dent , Richard Hope as Ford Prefect and narration of The Book was split between two usherettes . The problem of how to portray Zaphod Beeblebrox , the Betelgeusian blessed with three arms and two heads - not an issue in the original radio series - was assailed in typical Campbell fashion by simply (or not so simply) putting two actors inside one large costume. Audience-carrying capacity
1330-562: A production directed by Campbell's daughter Daisy. In May 1979, again at the ICA, the company presented the first stage version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy . One eye-popping aspect of the production was that for each set change the entire audience was wafted 1/2000th-of-an-inch above the floor aboard an industrial hovercraft . The cast cavorted on various ledges and platforms. The craft's carrying capacity meant that audiences were limited to
1425-429: A production of Romeo and Juliet in which he played a servant named Peter. A year later, while waiting in the bar at Unity Theatre , London, for his friend the actor Roger Frost, Hoskins found himself being auditioned for a play after being handed a script and told, "You're next." His audition was successful and Frost became his understudy. Frost considered Hoskins "a natural", recalling that "he just got up on stage and
1520-466: A range of programmes intended to be eclectic and diverse (although if a programme has high audience ratings it is often eventually repositioned to BBC One). The different remit of BBC2 allowed its first controller, David Attenborough to commission the first heavyweight documentaries and documentary series such as Civilisation , The Ascent of Man and Horizon . Attenborough was later granted sabbatical leave from his job as Controller to work with
1615-466: A result, the BBC Television division is now known internally as BBC Content and "BBC Television" as an entity has ceased to exist. On 8 December 2020, Moore announced a new leadership structure for BBC Content taking effect in April 2021, which will prioritise iPlayer in order to compete with commercial streaming services. The role of Controller for BBC One, Two, and Four will be scrapped, in favour of giving
1710-484: A run of In Pursuit of Cardenio at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe , during which the cast were supposed to re-create a lost Shakespeare play through improvisational techniques. In practice it turned into a nightly-changing series of literary challenges for the performers. By the latter part of the run, a large section of the show was devoted to improvised songs. One example of the extent to which Campbell pushed
1805-488: A thieving flower-show entrant in "Say It With Flowers", a 2004 episode of Heartbeat . Campbell's radio career included playing Poodoo in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , a part specifically written for him. The Radio 3 literary programme The Verb included Campbell as a regular contributor; in such spots as Campbell's Book Soup he became an upturner of bibliographic rocks, revealing unconsidered trifles to
1900-515: A trial basis for six months; early television sets supported both resolutions. However, the Baird system, which used a mechanical camera for filmed programming and Farnsworth image dissector cameras for live programming, proved too cumbersome and visually inferior, and ended with closedown (at 22:00) on Saturday 30 January 1937. It was advertised in Radio Times for two weeks later but the decision to end
1995-566: Is a service of the BBC . The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom , under the terms of a royal charter , since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 1932, although the start of its regular service of television broadcasts is dated to 2 November 1936. The BBC's domestic television channels have no commercial advertising and collectively they accounted for more than 30% of all UK viewing in 2013. The services are funded by
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#17330846638122090-609: Is generally very little distinction between the two terms in the UK), and related programming services in the United Kingdom. As well as being a broadcaster, the corporation also produces a large number of its own outsourcing programmes and thereby ranks as one of the world's largest television production companies. John Logie Baird set up the Baird Television Development Company in 1926; on 30 September 1929, he made
2185-550: Is split up into fifteen regions (such as South West and East), which exist mainly to produce local news programming, but also occasionally opt out of the network to show programmes of local importance (such as major local events). The other nations of the United Kingdom (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) have been granted more autonomy from the English network; for example, programmes are mostly introduced by local announcers, rather than by those in London. BBC One and BBC Two schedules in
2280-742: The Aldwych Theatre in 1976 as Rocky the bartender, opposite Patrick Stewart . In 1981, he starred with Helen Mirren in The Duchess of Malfi at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and the London Roundhouse . His first major television role was in On the Move (1975–1976), an educational drama series directed by Barbara Derkow aimed at tackling adult illiteracy. He portrayed the character Alf Hunt,
2375-557: The BBC Studios Natural History Unit which had existed since the 1950s. This unit is now famed throughout the world for producing high quality programmes with Attenborough such as Life on Earth , The Private Life of Plants , The Blue Planet , The Life of Mammals , Planet Earth and Frozen Planet . National and regional variations also occur within the BBC One and BBC Two schedules. England's BBC One output
2470-787: The Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival , the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his role in Mona Lisa . Hoskins won a Canadian Genie Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Felicia's Journey . In 2009, he won an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for his appearance on the BBC One drama The Street . Hoskins retired from acting in 2012 owing to Parkinson's disease after being diagnosed
2565-620: The Hampstead area of London and Chiddingly , East Sussex. Later in life, Hoskins gave up drinking alcohol . He said that his wife persuaded him to go sober. When asked in an interview which living person he most despised, Hoskins named Tony Blair and said, "He's done even more damage than Thatcher ." He hated Blair to the point that he decided in 2010 , for the first time in his life, not to vote for Labour , by then led by Gordon Brown . Hoskins often made light of his similarities with film actor Danny DeVito , who he joked would play him in
2660-528: The Royal Festival Hall in 2007 in a memorial tribute to Robert Anton Wilson , co-author of the Illuminatus! novels. In July 2008 Staffordshire University awarded Campbell an honorary doctorate , labelling him one of Staffordshire's "greatest living success stories", a reference to his time as artist in residence in 1967 at Stoke-on-Trent 's Victoria Theatre. Campbell final television appearance
2755-459: The Sky Digital platform, such as Scottish Premier League and Scottish Cup football , while on other platforms such broadcasts were not disrupted. Later, when rights contracts were renewed, this problem was resolved. The BBC Television department headed by Jana Bennett was absorbed into a new, much larger group; BBC Vision, in late 2006. The new group was part of larger restructuring within
2850-670: The South Pacific islands of Vanuatu , formally adopted as a world language ( wol wantok ). The virtue of Bislama was that with a bit of determination you could pick it up in an afternoon. Campbell argued that, in certain respects, Macbeth in pidgin was better than the original. If nothing else, the campaign had the effect of bringing to a wider public the Bislama for Prince Philip : Nambawan bigfala emi blong Misis Kwin ("Number one big fellow him belong Mrs Queen"). With Alan Moore , Bill Drummond , Mixmaster Morris and Coldcut , he appeared at
2945-581: The Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent . He soon began writing and directing his own productions, including working with director Lindsay Anderson . After seeing the American Living Theatre at The Roundhouse in 1969 he was inspired to found The Ken Campbell Roadshow, a small theatre group that performed in unconventional venues such as pubs . Members included Bob Hoskins , Bernard Wrigley , Jane Wood, Dave Hill and Sylvester McCoy . Campbell
Bob Hoskins - Misplaced Pages Continue
3040-443: The 1970s for his nine-hour adaptation of the science-fiction trilogy Illuminatus! and his 22-hour staging of Neil Oram 's play cycle The Warp . The Guinness Book of Records listed the latter as the longest play in the world. The Independent said that, "In the 1990s, through a series of sprawling monologues packed with arcane information and freakish speculations on the nature of reality, he became something approaching
3135-484: The 30-line images, carried by telephone line to the medium wave transmitter at Brookmans Park , until 11 September 1935, by which time advances in the all-electronic 405-line television system made electromechanical broadcasts and systems obsolete. Following a series of test transmissions and special broadcasts that began in August 1936, the BBC Television Service officially launched on 2 November 1936 from
3230-447: The BBC announced plans to merge BBC News (for UK audiences) and BBC World News (for international audiences) as one international news network, under the name BBC News, covering news from both the UK and around the world. The merger took effect in April 2023. In November 2024, six BBC FAST channels were added to Australia's 9Now platform. The BBC domestic television channels do not broadcast advertisements; they are instead funded by
3325-522: The BBC announced that from the end of May 2003 (subsequently deferred to 14 July) it intended to transmit all eight of its domestic television channels (including the 15 regional variations of BBC1) unencrypted from the Astra 2D satellite. This move was estimated to save the BBC £85 million over the next five years. While the "footprint" of the Astra 2D satellite was smaller than that of Astra 2A , from which it
3420-456: The BBC with the onset of new media outlets and technology. In 2008, the BBC began experimenting with live streaming of certain channels in the UK, and in November 2008, all standard BBC television channels were made available to watch online via BBC iPlayer . When Tony Hall became Director General in April 2013, he reverted the division to its original name of BBC Television. As Television it
3515-421: The BBC's genre heads autonomy in commissioning programmes without the requirement for a channel controller to provide secondary approval. A team of "portfolio editors" will select from these commissions for carriage on BBC television channels and iPlayer, with iPlayer Controller Dan McGolpin will becoming Portfolio Director for iPlayer and channels. McGolpin and the genre heads will report to Moore. In July 2022,
3610-477: The BBC's service the world's first regular high-definition television service; it broadcast from Monday to Saturday between 15:00 and 16:00, and 21:00 and 22:00. The first programme broadcast – and thus the first ever, on a dedicated TV channel – was "Opening of the BBC Television Service" at 15:00. The first major outside broadcast was the coronation of George VI and Elizabeth in May 1937. The two systems were to run on
3705-695: The BBC. Programmes have also been imported mainly from English-speaking countries: notable—though no longer shown—examples include The Simpsons from the United States and Neighbours from Australia. Programming from countries outside the English-speaking world consisted of feature films, shown in the original language with subtitles instead of being dubbed , with dubbing only used for cartoons and children's programmes. These included programmes from Eastern Europe , including The Singing Ringing Tree from East Germany , although voice-over translation
3800-527: The Baird system was made too late for it be changed in the printed Radio Times . Initially, the station's range was officially a 40 kilometres radius of the Alexandra Palace transmitter—in practice, however, transmissions could be picked up a good deal further away, and on one occasion in 1938 were picked up by engineers at RCA in New York, who were experimenting with a British television set. The service
3895-635: The Fat , and BBC Northern Ireland's talk show Patrick Kielty Almost Live . During the 1980s, the BBC came under pressure to commission more programmes from independent British production companies, and following the Broadcasting Act 1990 it was legally required to source 25% of its output from such companies by the terms of the Act. This eventually led to the creation of the "WoCC" (Window of Creative Competition) for independent production companies to pitch programmes to
Bob Hoskins - Misplaced Pages Continue
3990-620: The Gates (2001), Maid in Manhattan (2002), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), A Christmas Carol (2009), Made in Dagenham (2010), and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). He portrayed Mario in the 1993 film Super Mario Bros. , based on the video game of the same name , and voiced Boris Goosinov in the animated film Balto (1995). Hoskins also directed two feature films: The Raggedy Rawney (1988) and Rainbow (1996). He received
4085-523: The ICA. Campbell commissioned the cycle of ten plays after hearing Oram. The cycle's inordinate length when (as was intended to be possible) it is played together, 22 hours, rendered the 9-hour Illuminatus! a mere bagatelle by comparison. For the first two weeks the performances were of one play per night, after which the impetus for a marathon performance, a real challenge to actors and audience, became irresistible. The success of this remarkable effort by all concerned led to three full marathon performances at
4180-674: The ICA. Five marathon performances followed at the Roundhouse in London in November 1979 also directed by Ken. Probably the most remarkable, and in terms of the ethos of the author and the work, the most attractive event in this episode was the five marathons that were performed, against the wishes of an army of local officialdom, during a squat of the Regent Theatre in Edinburgh during the Festival of 1979. The Scottish audiences were as enthusiastic as
4275-717: The Improvaganza festival in Edmonton, Canada, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; and returning several times to Shakespeare's Globe. In 2007, the work on singing in various styles of music that Campbell developed also led two of the members of the School of Night— Adam Meggido and Dylan Emery—to develop an improvised musical. The resulting show, which while not directed by Campbell, was enormously influenced by him, became Showstopper! The Improvised Musical . Its first run in Edinburgh
4370-461: The London crowd. After one performance at Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire, a further performance was given at Liverpool Everyman Theatre in a ten-week run from 29 September – 6 December 1980. Cult status was established giving some credence to the publicity material - "The world may soon divide into those who have been through THE WARP and those who have not" More recently the cycle was revived in the 1990s in
4465-546: The Republic of Ireland. For BBC News, CBBC and Cbeebies see national & international channels On 3 April 2023, the BBC merged the BBC News and BBC World News channels into a single networked news channel, but there are opt-outs for both the domestic and international versions. The BBC's wholly owned commercial subsidiary, BBC Studios , also operates several international television channels under BBC branding: The BBC also owns
4560-570: The Royal Shakespeare Company in 1981. Campbell had carefully concocted a press release and a string of personal letters complete with forged signature: Nunn appeared to be announcing that henceforth, as a consequence of the huge success of its recent adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby , the Royal Shakespeare Company would be changing its name to the Royal Dickens Company. Several grandees of the English theatre had been taken in by
4655-535: The World , each made for Channel 4 , owed much to the influence of one of his heroes, the American Charles Fort . Campbell became a star turn at the annual Fortean Times convention, UnCon . From the late eighties onwards Campbell wrote and performed a series of one-man shows, each a mélange of autobiographical stand-up comedy , ontological speculation and popular-science rant. They include Recollections of
4750-555: The actors from Shall We Shog , shedding and adding more along the way. He presented a series of literary improvisation shows, including a run at the Royal Court Theatre called Décor Without Production , in which the cast would create scenes and songs in the styles of poets, playwrights, novelists and songwriters. In 2006 Campbell worked with Adam Meggido 's theatre company the Sticking Place (now Extempore Theatre) and staged
4845-403: The actors was that by the end, each member of cast had developed four musical styles in which they could improvise, each corresponding to a different Elizabethan humour. They would then perform fully sung-through scenes, swapping humours and song styles mid-sentence as the scene or Campbell demanded. The Cardenio shows used Campbell's now well-established "Goader and Rhapsodes" technique, in which
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#17330846638124940-454: The children's programme Erasmus Microman on ITV from 1988 to 1989 and an appearance in Minder (S7E4: The Last Video Show, 1989). He also played Roger in " The Anniversary " episode of Fawlty Towers , jewel thief James Ryder in an episode of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (" The Blue Carbuncle "), buck-toothed blackmailer Ted Goat in "Lovejoy Loses It", a 1993 episode of Lovejoy and
5035-566: The existing VHF 405-line television system. On 1 July 1967, BBC Two became the first television channel in Europe to broadcast regularly in colour, using the West German PAL system that was used for decades until it was gradually superseded by digital systems. ( BBC One and ITV began 625-line colour broadcasts simultaneously on 15 November 1969). Unlike other terrestrial channels, BBC Two does not have soap opera or standard news programming, but
5130-419: The final six shows of the run. For these performances, instead of taking suggestions from the audience regarding the setting and title of the show, Campbell had previously asked a number of professional theatre critics to each write a review of an imaginary musical; after this review was read onstage, the company's task would be to realise the show whose details they had only just heard. Campbell's last performance
5225-517: The final years of his life Campbell suddenly found himself cast in a whole new TV role: that of doggedly curious sceptic called upon to probe the outer realms of particle physics and cognitive science on behalf of the casual viewer, particularly where the science bordered on the paranormal . Campbell's idiosyncratic presentation in Brainspotting , Reality On the Rocks and Six Experiments that Changed
5320-570: The first experimental television broadcast for the BBC from its studio in Long Acre in the Covent Garden area of London via the BBC's London radio transmitter propagating an analog signal . Baird used his electromechanical system with a vertically scanned image of 30 lines, which is just enough resolution for a close-up of one person, and a bandwidth low enough to use existing radio transmitters. The simultaneous transmission of sound and pictures
5415-446: The following: BBC Japan was a general entertainment channel, which operated between December 2004 and April 2006. It ceased operations after its Japanese distributor folded. Ken Campbell Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, writer and director known for his work in experimental theatre . He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre". Campbell achieved notoriety in
5510-448: The goader (Campbell) pushed the rhapsodes (the cast) into feats that they would not be able to achieve without the pressure he could apply. The group eventually consolidated and settled on the name "The School of Night", after Sir Walter Raleigh's secret society . Raleigh's School of Night (also called The School of Atheism) was a group of highly literate and intellectual men who would meet to discuss forbidden topics. Campbell's take on it
5605-496: The hilarity of fellow contributors. His film work included Derek Jarman 's The Tempest (1979), Breaking Glass (1980), Joshua Then and Now (1985), The Bride (1985), Chris Bernard 's Letter to Brezhnev (1985), Peter Greenaway 's A Zed and Two Noughts (1985), Charles Crichton 's A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Hard Men (1996), Alice in Wonderland (1999), Saving Grace (2000) and Creep (2004). In
5700-547: The hoax. Only when an exasperated Nunn called in Scotland Yard did Campbell finally own up. In 1999, Campbell starred with Warren Mitchell and John Fortune in Art in London's West End. In 2001 Campbell staged a version of Macbeth in pidgin English, called Makbed (blong Willum Sekspia). It was the big gun in his campaign to get Bislama , first language of 6,000 inhabitants of
5795-555: The idiom of Shakespeare. These included games like 'flyting' (a tournament of increasingly outrageous insults); an explanation and demonstration of the 'Nub' (a piece of poetic-sounding doggerel an actor uses to give himself a breathing space when he has forgotten his lines - the first sentence should contain the word 'nub' to warn the others that the actor is in trouble, and it should end with the words "Milford Haven"); and fastest recitation of Hamlet's To be, or not to be soliloquy; among many others. Campbell continued working with some of
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#17330846638125890-402: The improvisational capabilities of the actors who were brave enough to work with him." The artistic director of the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse said, "He was the door through which many hundreds of kindred souls entered a madder, braver, brighter, funnier and more complex universe." Campbell was born in Ilford , Essex , the son of Elsie ( née Handley) and Anthony Colin Campbell, who
5985-409: The late 1980s and early 1990s, he appeared in advertising for British Gas and British Telecom (now BT Group). Other television work included Flickers , portraying Wilkins Micawber in David Copperfield (1999) and The Wind in the Willows (2006). British films such as The Long Good Friday (1980) and Mona Lisa (1986) won him the wider approval of critics, the latter film winning him
6080-780: The music video for Jamie T 's single "Sheila". In 2009, he returned to television for Jimmy McGovern 's drama serial The Street , playing a publican who opposes a local gangster. For this role, he received his only Emmy: Best Actor at the 2010 International Emmys . The 2011 film In Search of La Che features a character "Wermit," whose every line of dialogue is a quote from Bob Hoskins. On 8 August 2012, Hoskins announced his retirement from acting, having been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011. With his first wife Jane Livesey, Hoskins had two children: Alex (b. 1968) and Sarah (b. 1971). With his second wife, Linda Banwell, he had two more children: Rosa (b. c. 1983 ) and Jack (b. c. 1986 ). Hoskins divided his time between
6175-406: The newly acquired Lime Grove Studios . Postwar broadcast coverage was extended to Birmingham in 1949, with the opening of the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station , and by the mid-1950s most of the country was covered, transmitting a 405-line interlaced video image on VHF. BBC TV was split into BBC1 and BBC2 in 1964, with BBC2 having a remit to provide more niche programming. The channel
6270-474: The other UK nations can vary immensely from BBC One and BBC Two in England. Programmes, such as the politically fuelled Give My Head Peace (produced by BBC Northern Ireland) and the soap opera River City (produced by BBC Scotland), have been created specifically to cater for some viewers in their respective nations. BBC Scotland produces daily programmes for its Gaelic -speaking viewers, including current affairs, political and children's programming such as
6365-410: The part of the Seventh Doctor in Doctor Who . He was beaten to the role by his old protégé Sylvester McCoy, but an independently written and produced episode, "The Lost Doctor", features the voice of Ken Campbell. The then script editor , Andrew Cartmel , later revealed that Campbell's interpretation had been considered "too dark" to put on television. Other roles included playing a mad scientist on
6460-429: The popular Eòrpa and Dè a-nis? . BBC Wales also produces a large amount of Welsh language programming for S4C , particularly news, sport and other programmes, especially the soap opera Pobol y Cwm ('People of the Valley') briefly shown on BBC2 across the UK with subtitles in the 1990s. The UK nations also produce a number of programmes that are shown across the UK, such as BBC Scotland's comedy series Chewin'
6555-420: The previous year. He died in April 2014 from pneumonia . Robert William Hoskins was born in Bury St Edmunds on 26 October 1942, the son of Elsie (née Hopkins), a cook and nursery school teacher, and Robert Hoskins, a bookkeeper and lorry driver. One of his grandmothers was Romani . From two weeks old, he was brought up in the Finsbury Park area of London . He attended Stroud Green Secondary School, where he
6650-401: The production featured Neil Cunningham, David Rappaport , Jim Broadbent , Bill Nighy and Campbell's future wife Prunella Gee . It later moved to the National Theatre , where it opened the new Cottesloe Theatre in 1977. Sir Peter Hall , director of the National at the time, writes of Campbell in his Diaries , "He is a total anarchist and impossible to pin down. He more or less said it was
6745-435: The script, and was forced to close some four weeks early, losing a lot of money in the process. For a year, 1980–1981, Campbell was artistic director of the Liverpool Everyman Theatre . From 1984, he made repeated efforts to adapt for the stage VALIS , the largely autobiographical cult science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick , but to the disappointment of fans, these efforts came to nothing. Campbell played Alex Gladwell,
6840-565: The series of the 1980s sitcom In Sickness and in Health , which had the effect of cementing his career-long friendship with Warren Mitchell. He was memorable in Jack Pulman 's 1981 television series Private Schulz as the acerbic Herr Krauss, an underwear factory owner hoping the war would continue so as not to jeopardise his contracts with the German army. Campbell in 1987 unsuccessfully auditioned for
6935-425: The time with co-star John Leguizamo getting drunk to escape boredom, and was not aware that the film was based on a video game until he was informed later by his son. In a 2011 interview, he was asked, "What is the worst job you've done?", "What has been your biggest disappointment?", and "If you could edit your past, what would you change?" His answer to all three was Super Mario Bros. In 2007, Hoskins appeared in
7030-654: The violent psychopathic "owner" of Jet Li in Unleashed (2005, aka Danny the Dog ). He had a small role as the protagonist's rock and roll manager in The Wall (1982) and, in 1997, had a cameo as Ginger Spice 's disguise in the Spice Girls ' film, Spice World . He directed two films that he also starred in: The Raggedy Rawney (1988) and Rainbow (1996), and produced Mrs Henderson Presents alongside Norma Heyman , for which he
7125-471: The war effort, in particular on the radar programme. The last programme transmitted was a Mickey Mouse cartoon, Mickey's Gala Premier (1933), which was followed by test transmissions; this account refuted the popular memory according to which broadcasting was suspended before the end of the cartoon. According to figures from Britain's Radio Manufacturers Association, 18,999 television sets had been manufactured from 1936 to September 1939, when production
7220-514: Was a telegrapher. He staged his first performances in the bathroom of his childhood home: "I was three years old and helped by my invisible friend, Peter Jelp, I put on shows for the characters in the linoleum." He was educated at Chigwell School (where he won the Drama prize) and then studied at RADA before joining Colchester Repertory theatre as an understudy to Warren Mitchell . In 1967 he became resident dramatist and acting company member at
7315-616: Was achieved on 30 March 1930, by using the BBC's new twin transmitter at Brookmans Park . By late 1930, thirty minutes of morning programmes were broadcast from Monday to Friday, and thirty minutes at midnight on Tuesdays and Fridays after BBC radio went off the air. Baird's broadcasts via the BBC continued until June 1932. The BBC began its own regular television programming from the basement of Broadcasting House , London, on 22 August 1932. The studio moved to larger quarters in 16 Portland Place , London, in February 1934, and continued broadcasting
7410-544: Was brilliant". In late 1969, he was part of Bolton's Octagon Theatre outreach troupe, which became the Ken Campbell Roadshow . Hoskins's London theatre career included portraying a "vigorous" Alfred Doolittle in a West End production of Bernard Shaw 's Pygmalion opposite Diana Rigg at the Albery Theatre in 1974, and in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Eugene O'Neill 's The Iceman Cometh at
7505-479: Was due to launch on 20 April 1964, but this was postponed after a fire at Battersea Power Station resulted in most of west London, including Television Centre , losing power. A videotape made on the opening night was rediscovered in 2003 by a BBC technician. The launch went ahead the following night, beginning with host Denis Tuohy sarcastically blowing out a candle. BBC2 was the first British channel to use UHF and 625-line pictures, giving higher definition than
7600-421: Was halted by the war. BBC Television returned on 7 June 1946 at 15:00. Jasmine Bligh , one of the original announcers, made the first announcement, saying, 'Good afternoon everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh?'. The Mickey Mouse cartoon of 1939 was repeated twenty minutes later. Alexandra Palace was the home base of the channel until the early 1950s, when the majority of production moved into
7695-450: Was in 2008; it returned in subsequent years and has become something of a fringe institution. The show continues to tour and has had a BBC Radio 4 series. A West End run in 2016 won the Olivier for Best Entertainment and Family. Campbell performed with 'The Showstoppers' in August 2008 in their second Edinburgh Fringe, reprising his School of Night role as on-stage director of proceedings in
7790-578: Was invited by John Cleese to appear with his Roadshow team in the first Secret Policeman's Ball in June 1979. In 1976, he and Chris Langham formed the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool in order to stage Illuminatus , a nine-hour cycle of five plays by himself and Langham based on the cult trilogy of avowedly anarchist science fantasy novels of the same name by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson . Starring Campbell and Langham themselves,
7885-476: Was nominated as Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film. A high point in his career was portraying the private investigator Edward "Eddie" Valiant in the live-action/animated family blockbuster , Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Hoskins was not the first choice for the role – Harrison Ford , Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy were all considered for the part. Film critics, among them Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert , agreed that Hoskins
7980-473: Was not a problem at London's vast Rainbow Theatre where Campbell mounted a yet more grandiose version of The Hitchhiker's Guide in July 1980. The venue had been renovated in the 1970s to take rock operas . Some reviewers, who in general did not greet the show favourably, labelled it a musical, since it now came with incidental music and audacious laser effects. It ran for over three hours, despite attempts to shorten
8075-474: Was on 24 August 2008, one week before he died. Campbell married the actress Prunella Gee in 1978, and they had a daughter, Daisy . They divorced in 1983 but remained close friends. He was in a relationship with the ventriloquist and actress Nina Conti when she was 26 and he was 59; from him she inherited his collection of ventriloquist dummies. Campbell lived in Loughton , adjacent to Epping Forest , in
8170-447: Was on 6 September 2009, over a year after his death, in the first of a new series of Marple on ITV . He played Crump; his wife was played by Wendy Richard . On 23 April 2005, Ken Campbell was asked by Mark Rylance , the artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe , to stage a celebration of Shakespeare's work. Campbell responded with Shall we Shog? , a show in which actors played competitive improvisational games against each other in
8265-831: Was one of several roles where he used an American accent; he was described by Trey Barrineau of USA Today as having "a knack for playing Americans better than most American actors could". Others included Rocky the bartender in the play The Iceman Cometh (1976); gangster Owney Madden in Francis Coppola 's The Cotton Club (1984); Gus Klein in Wolfgang Petersen 's Shattered (1991); Mario in Super Mario Bros (1993) J. Edgar Hoover in Oliver Stone 's Nixon (1995); and Eddie Mannix in Hollywoodland (2006). He
8360-487: Was perfect for the role. As his character interacts and makes physical contact with animated characters in the film, Hoskins was required to take mime training courses in preparation. He experienced hallucinations for months after production on the film had ended. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won a British Evening Standard Award for his performance. Hoskins's portrayal of the Los Angeles investigator Valiant
8455-429: Was previously broadcast encrypted, it meant that viewers with appropriate equipment were able to receive BBC channels "free-to-air" over much of Western Europe. Consequently, some rights concerns have needed to be resolved with programme providers such as Hollywood studios and sporting organisations, which have expressed concern about the unencrypted signal leaking out. This led to some broadcasts being made unavailable on
8550-442: Was reaching an estimated 25,000–40,000 homes before the outbreak of World War II which caused the BBC Television service to be suspended on 1 September 1939 with little warning. On 1 September 1939, the station went off the air; the government was concerned that the VHF transmissions would act as a beacon to enemy aircraft homing in on London. Also, many of the television service's technical staff and engineers would be needed for
8645-552: Was responsible for the commissioning, scheduling and broadcasting of all programming on the BBC's television channels and online, as well as producing content for broadcast. Following the 2016 Licence Fee settlement, BBC Television was split into two divisions, with in-house television production being separated into a new division called BBC Studios controlled by Mark Linsey and the remaining parts of television (channels and genre commissioning, BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer) being renamed as BBC Content, controlled by Charlotte Moore . As
8740-557: Was slated to be the last-minute replacement in case Robert De Niro refused the role of Al Capone in The Untouchables (1987). When De Niro accepted the part, the director Brian De Palma mailed Hoskins a cheque for £20,000 with a "Thank You" note. Hoskins called De Palma to ask if there were any more films he was not needed for. In a 1988 interview with Fresh Air 's Terry Gross , when asked about many of his roles being underworld types, Hoskins said, "I think if you've got
8835-481: Was that the group, which included playwrights and poets, were steeped in the art of extemporisation and would create from scratch, in perfect meter, plays and poems. Campbell's School of Night group has become well known in the improvisational theatre and comedy scene, putting on shows and workshops and appearing in festivals as far afield as Elisnore Castle, the Wiesbaden Summer Improv Festival and
8930-448: Was used instead of dubbing for budgetary reasons. Ceefax , the first teletext service, launched on 23 September 1974. This service allowed BBC viewers to view textual information such as the latest news on their television. CEEFAX did not make a full transition to digital television, instead being gradually replaced, from late onwards, by the new interactive BBCi service before being fully closed down on 22 October 2012. In March 2003
9025-647: Was written off as "stupid" on account of his dyslexia . He left school at 15 with a single O-Level and worked as a porter, lorry driver, plumber, and window cleaner. He started but did not complete a three-year accountancy course. He spent six months on a kibbutz in Israel and two years tending to the camels of a Bedouin tribe in Syria. Hoskins's acting career began in 1968 at the Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent , in
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