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Wilfrid Brambell
Born March 22, 1912(1912-03-22)
Dublin, Ireland
Died January 18, 1985 (aged 72)
London, England
Occupation Actor
Years active 1950s–1985
Spouse(s) Molly Josephine (1948–1955)

Wilfrid Brambell (March 22, 1912 – January 18, 1985) was an Irish film and television actor, born in Dublin, best known for his role in the British television series Steptoe and Son. Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Dublin (ˈdÊŒblɨn/ /ˈdÊŠblɨn or /ˈdÊŠbÉ™lɪn/, bË alʲə aËha klʲiÉ™h or cliÉ™(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlÉ™nd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) London ( ˈlÊŒndÉ™n is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlÉ™nd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Dublin (ˈdÊŒblɨn/ /ˈdÊŠblɨn or /ˈdÊŠbÉ™lɪn/, bË alʲə aËha klʲiÉ™h or cliÉ™(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane a fictional street He also starred alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's grandfather. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British Comedy film written by Alun Owen starring The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer,

Contents

Early life

On leaving school he worked part-time as a reporter for The Irish Times and part-time as an actor at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, before becoming a professional actor for the Gate Theatre. The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s. The Abbey Theatre (Amharclann na Mainistreach also known as the National Theatre of Ireland (Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann is a Theatre located in Dublin The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammoir, initially using the Abbey Theatre 's Peacock studio In World War II he joined the British military forces entertainment organisation ENSA. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Entertainments National Service Association, or ENSA was an organisation set up in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment

Acting career

His television career began during the 1950s, when he was cast in small roles in three Nigel Kneale/Rudolph Cartier productions for BBC Television: as a drunk in The Quatermass Experiment (1953), as both an old man in a pub and later a prisoner in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954) and as a tramp in Quatermass II (1955). Nigel Kneale (18 April 1922 &ndash 29 October 2006 was a Manx writer who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. Rudolph Cartier (born Rudolph Katscher; 17 April 1904 &ndash 7 June 1994 was an Austrian Television director who worked predominantly in British The Quatermass Experiment is a British science-fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television in the summer of 1953 and re-staged by Nineteen Eighty-Four was a British television adaptation of the novel of the same name by George Quatermass II is a British science-fiction serial, originally broadcast by BBC Television in the autumn of 1955 All of these roles earned him a reputation for playing old men, though he was only in his forties at the time.

Steptoe and Son

It was this ability to play old men that led to his casting in his most famous role, as Albert Steptoe, the irascible father in Steptoe and Son. Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane a fictional street Initially this was a pilot on the BBC's Comedy Playhouse anthology strand: but its success led to a full series being commissioned, which lasted throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s. Comedy Playhouse was a long running British series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1974 There were also two feature film spin-offs, a stage show and an American re-make entitled Sanford and Son, based on the original British scripts. Steptoe and Son is a 1972 British comedy drama film and a Spin-off from the popular British television comedy series of the same name Sanford and Son is an American Sitcom that premiered on the NBC Television network on January 14 1972, and was broadcast for In the latter, Brambell's part was taken by Redd Foxx. Redd Foxx ( December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991) born John Elroy Sanford, His father an Electrician, left the family

The success of Steptoe and Son made Brambell a high profile figure on British television, and earned him the major role of Paul McCartney's grandfather in The Beatles' first film, A Hard Day's Night in 1964. Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British Comedy film written by Alun Owen starring The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney A running joke is made throughout the film of his character being "a very clean old man". This is in reference to his on-screen son, Harold, in Steptoe and Son constantly referring to his father as "you dirty old man!" (In real life too, he was nothing like his Steptoe persona, being dapper and well-spoken). In 1965 Wilfrid told the BBC that he did not want to do another Steptoe and Son series and in September of that year he went to New York to appear in the Broadway musical Kelly at the Broadhurst Theatre, however it closed after just one performance. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.

He was due to play a part of Jeff in the film 200 Motels with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. 200 Motels is a 1971 movie featuring Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, produced at Pinewood Studios, England Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21 1940 – December 4 1993 was an American Composer, Electric guitarist Record producer and Film director The Mothers of Invention was an American Rock and roll band active from 1964 to 1975 Brambell, though, left the production after an argument with Zappa, who then announced that the next person who walked through the door would get the part. Thus, Martin Lickert, Ringo Starr's chauffeur, who was returning from the limousine with a pack of cigarettes for Starr, was cast for the role. Ringo Starr, MBE (born Richard Starkey on 7 July 1940 is an English Musician, Singer, Songwriter and Actor A chauffeur is an individual who operates any self-propelled vehicle ( Automobile) for a profession. A limousine (or limo) is a longer than normal Luxury car. The chassis may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coach builder traditionally

In 2002, Channel 4 broadcast a documentary film on the off-screen life of Brambell and his relationship with Harry H. Corbett, who played Harold Steptoe in Steptoe and Son. Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began Harry H Corbett OBE ( 28 February 1925 in Rangoon, Burma – 21 March 1982 in Hastings, The film, titled: "When Steptoe met son", revealed that the two men detested each other and were barely on speaking terms outside of takes by the end of the programme's run. In a series almost entirely based around the pair of them with no other regular characters, this made production of the series difficult and stressful. This tension partly related to Brambell's difficult private life. As he battled with alcoholism, he frequently forgot his lines and caused other problems both on and off the set. Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions Brambell was also a homosexual at a time when it was almost impossible for public figures to be openly gay. Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. He was arrested and charged for 'cottaging' in the early 1960s and subsequently holidayed annually in Asia. Cottaging is a British Gay slang term referring to anonymous male-male sex in a public Lavatory (a cottage or tea-room) or to the Earlier in his life he had been married, from 1948 to 1955, to Molly Josephine but the relationship ended after she gave birth to the child of their lodger, Roderick Fisher, in 1953.

Personal & Later life

After the final series of Steptoe and Son was made in 1974, Brambell had some guest roles in films and on television, but both he and Corbett found themselves heavily type cast as their famous characters. For other meanings see Typecasting. Typecasting is the process by which a film TV or stage Actor is strongly identified with a specific In an attempt to take advantage of this situation, they undertook a tour of Australia in 1977 with a Steptoe and Son stage show: however, with the pair openly despising each other, the tour was a disaster and a working relationship proved impossible. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. On one occasion, Brambell used bad language and was openly derogatory about the New Zealand cathedrals in an interview. Despite this, Brambell did appear on the BBC's television news paying tribute to Corbett after the latter's death from a heart attack in 1982. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply The following year Brambell appeared in Terence Davies's film Death and Transfiguration, playing a dying elderly man who finally comes to terms with his homosexuality. Terence Davies ( 10 November 1945 - is an English Screenwriter - Film director, sometime Novelist and Actor

Brambell himself died in London less than three years later of cancer, at the age of 72. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled His ashes were buried at Saint Marylebone Cemetery and Crematorium in Finchley, London. Finchley is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, London, England. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. [1]

Legacy

The Curse of Steptoe, a BBC TV play about Brambell and his co-star Harry H. Corbett, was broadcast at on March 19, 2008 on digital BBC channel BBC Four, featuring Phil Davis as Brambell. The Curse of Steptoe is a Television play which was first broadcast on 19 March 2008 on BBC Four as part of a season of dramas about Harry H Corbett OBE ( 28 February 1925 in Rangoon, Burma – 21 March 1982 in Hastings, Events 1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common BBC Four is a BBC Television channel available to digital television ( Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable) viewers in the The first broadcast gained the channel its highest audience figures to date, based on overnight returns. [1]

References

  1. ^ BBC4 breaks ratings record, March 19, 2008, The Guardian

Selected filmography

Television

Film

External links

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