James Ellis

James Ellis

Born: March 15, 1931
Died: March 8, 2014
in Belfast, Ireland
Legendary Northern Irish actor who came to prominence in the 1960s for his role of Bert Lynch in the BBC TV series Z Cars.

Movies for James Ellis...

James Ellis: An Actor's Life
Title: James Ellis: An Actor's Life
Character: Himself
Released: July 2, 2007
Type: Movie
Documentary tracing the life of James Ellis, one of Northern Ireland’s best loved actors.
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Conspiracy of Silence
Title: Conspiracy of Silence
Released: May 15, 2003
Type: Movie
When a priest commits suicide and two trainees are expelled from a seminary, a journalist starts to investigate the Vatican’s silence on broken vows of celibacy. A thriller examining the internal conflicts in the modern Catholic church.
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Best
Title: Best
Character: Dickie Beal
Released: May 10, 2000
Type: Movie
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Title: Big Bad World
Released: June 20, 1999
Type: TV
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Resurrection Man
Title: Resurrection Man
Character: Ivor Coppinger
Released: February 13, 1998
Type: Movie
Belfast, in 1970s. Victor Kelly is a young protestant man who hates the Catholics so much that one night he begins to brutally murder them. A reporter soon tries to uncover the murder and obtained prestige for himself, while Victor sinks deeper into madness.
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The Near Room
Title: The Near Room
Character: Pat
Released: April 11, 1997
Type: Movie
Charlie Colquhoun is a burnt out journalist. His old school friend Harris Hill is a lawyer at the top of his game. Their lives are smashed together by one name - Tommy Stirling, Charlie's daughter, a fostered teenage pregnancy who has become embroiled in an alleged child pornography scandal with a top ranking police officer. As the trail to Tommy begins to heat up, so the bodies begin to mount up. Allegiances fall by the wayside as Charlie's life begins to spiral out of control and the deadly world of drugs, blackmail and murder that lies in the deepest heart of the underworld threatens to consume him and his missing daughter forever.
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Spellbreaker: Secret of the Leprechauns
Title: Spellbreaker: Secret of the Leprechauns
Character: Patrick
Released: October 19, 1996
Type: Movie
Fairyhill Ireland is a place filled with mysteries and legends,Leprechauns and Magic. And for an American Kid like Mike Dennehy, it's a world of wonderous adventure. Vacationing in Fairyhill for the summer, Mike makes friends with a fascinating group of rather unlucky leprechaunsby Nula, Queen of the Dead - an unbelievably beautiful and sinister witch. can the Queen destroy centuries of Leprechaun power? Will evil triumph? Gather up your lucky charms(you'll need them!) and get ready for Spellbreaker, the adventure of Mike's lifetime... and yours!
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Crossing the Floor
Title: Crossing the Floor
Character: Andrew Carson
Released: October 5, 1996
Type: Movie
Political satire closely mirroring real-life British politics of the time - a self-serving Conservative minister "crosses the floor" to join the opposition Labour Party, at a time when the Conservative Party has a majority in Parliament of just one seat. Sequel to A Very Open Prison.
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The Precious Blood
Title: The Precious Blood
Character: Albert McVea
Released: June 8, 1996
Type: Movie
Rosie Williams is haunted by the murder of her husband 12 years previously. Her teenage son John is heading for a life of delinquency fuelled by revenge. Then, he meets Billy McVea, who runs a boxing gym, affecting all their lives.
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Shadow of a Gunman
Title: Shadow of a Gunman
Character: The Landlord
Released: October 7, 1995
Type: Movie
The first part of O'Casey's "The Dublin Trilogy". Set in 1920, as the War of Independence rages, "Shadow of a Gunman" is the story of two young men, Donal and Seamus who share a flat in Dublin.
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Leapin' Leprechauns
Title: Leapin' Leprechauns
Character: Patrick
Released: July 26, 1995
Type: Movie
A man tries to build a theme park on top of land that's secretly the home to friendly Leprechauns.
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Priest
Title: Priest
Character: Father Ellerton
Released: March 24, 1995
Type: Movie
Father Greg Pilkington is torn between his call as a conservative Catholic priest and his secret life as a homosexual with a gay lover, frowned upon by the Church. Upon hearing the confession of a young girl of her incestuous father, Greg enters an intensely emotional spiritual struggle deciding between choosing morals over religion and one life over another.
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Title: Common As Muck
Released: September 7, 1994
Type: TV
Common As Muck is a gritty BBC comedy drama serial focusing on the lives of a crew of bin men and their management staff. It ran for two series. The first series was screened in 1994 and the second in 1997. Both were nominated for a BAFTA for Best Drama.
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Title: The Detectives
Character: Customs Officer
Released: January 27, 1993
Type: TV
The absurd adventures of two defective detectives, who - despite unbelievable incompetence - somehow manage to solve their cases (or be nearby when the cases are solved) and retain their jobs.
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Title: Magic Grandad
Character: Johnny
Released: January 12, 1993
Type: TV
Magic Grandad was an educational programme which originally aired on BBC Two under the title 'Switch On, Switch Off' during Schools section of 1993. The show saw 'Magic' Grandad take his young grandchildren back in time, many of the adventures are about comparing the past and the present and seeing how evidence of what happened in the olden days still survives. The show was said to make learning about history "fun for youngsters" and was aimed at children aged 5-7 years. The series was introduced to support the History National Curriculum at Key Stage 1. New seasons have been made periodically to support new areas of the infant history curriculum such as seaside holidays and toys. The early season have a companion booklet of teacher's notes with descriptions of the episodes, various suggestions for follow-up work and photocopiable worksheets.
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Title: Heartbeat
Character: Bagger / Winston Parker
Released: April 10, 1992
Type: TV
Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.
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Title: So You Think You've Got Troubles
Character: Charlie Adamson
Released: October 17, 1991
Type: TV
Six-part comedy series about a Londoner, and non-practising Jew, is sent by his boss to Northern Ireland to run a tobacco company.
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Title: Nightingales
Character: Sarge
Released: February 27, 1990
Type: TV
Nightingales is a British situation comedy set around the antics of three security guards working the night shift. It was written by Paul Makin and produced by Alomo Productions for Channel 4 in 1990.
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Doctor Who: Battlefield
Title: Doctor Who: Battlefield
Character: Peter Warmsley
Released: September 27, 1989
Type: Movie
Knights from a parallel universe arrive on Earth to find the legendary sword Excalibur. Only the Doctor and Ace, with the assistance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, can save the Earth from total catastrophe.
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Title: Troubles
Character: Murphy
Released: May 1, 1988
Type: TV
In 1919, Major Brendan Archer arrives in Ireland to reunite with his fiancée, Angela Spencer. Unfortunately, the family home, The Majestic Hotel, is a decaying shadow of its former self, as is Angela. Puzzled by the changes, Archer's attentions are soon drawn to her lively friend, Sarah Devlin, a passionate Irish Nationalist. They fall in love, but the Major soon discovers some disturbing aspects about their relationship, which threatens to explode into violence, destruction, and murder.
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Title: A Question Of Entertainment
Released: April 24, 1988
Type: TV
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Title: The Marksman
Character: Doyle
Released: December 4, 1987
Type: TV
Twelve-year-old Gordon Weaver is killed on waste-ground in Liverpool. His grandfather, Doyle, sends for the boy's father, who returns from Spain to search for the killers. He goes to an old friend to obtain finance for his stay, and gets involved in a raid on a city club owner.
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Lorna
Title: Lorna
Character: Norman Martin
Released: June 2, 1987
Type: Movie
In the follow-up to Graham Reid’s trilogy of ‘Billy’ plays, Billy's sister Lorna Martin is left to care for their Uncle Andy. Lorna feels trapped, but Andy wishes to give her the freedom she desires.
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Naming the Names
Title: Naming the Names
Character: Mr McCoy
Released: February 8, 1987
Type: Movie
Finn's story seems to begin when Henry Kirk comes into the bookshop where she works. But it goes back a lot further than that...
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Title: Casualty
Character: Reg
Released: September 6, 1986
Type: TV
Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.
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Title: Lovejoy
Character: Niall Sheehan
Released: January 10, 1986
Type: TV
The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a “divvie”, a person with an almost supernatural powers for recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antique from clever fakes or forgeries.
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No Surrender
Title: No Surrender
Character: Paddy Burke
Released: September 11, 1985
Type: Movie
It's New Year's Eve in Thatcher's de-industrialising Britain. The scene is set at a seedy bar in Liverpool where a group of Irish Protestant and Irish Catholic pensioners will gather to clash and bash the new year in.
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Title: In Sickness and in Health
Released: September 1, 1985
Type: TV
Sequel to 'Till Death Us Do Part' with the bad tempered Alf Garnett, who has not mellowed with the years and is as bigoted as ever.
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Title: The Bill
Released: October 16, 1984
Type: TV
The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
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Title: Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
Released: September 5, 1984
Type: TV
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense was a short-lived anthology television series from Hammer Studios. Though similar in format to the 1980 series Hammer House of Horror, the Mystery and Suspense series had feature-length episodes, usually running around 70 minutes without commercials. The series was a co-production by Hammer Studios with 20th Century Fox Television, and is known in the United States as Fox Mystery Theater. Unlike 1980's Hammer House of Horror, all the episodes had American actors as either the leads or in key roles. It was first aired in the UK by ITV in 1984, though was not simulcast and was shown in different timeslots throughout the various ITV regions.
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A Coming to Terms for Billy
Title: A Coming to Terms for Billy
Character: Norman Martin
Released: February 21, 1984
Type: Movie
Belfast, 1980: July, the marching season ... Norman Martin, away for two years, returns with his 'English woman', Mavis. How will the family - particularly Billy - react? And has she achieved the impossible in mellowing the man? Third in the trilogy.
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Title: One by One
Released: January 29, 1984
Type: TV
One By One is a British television series made by the BBC between 1984 and 1987. The series, created by Anthony Read, followed the career of international veterinarian David Taylor and his work caring for exotic animals at zoos in Britain, from the 1950s to the 1970s. Each series was set during a different decade, with exteriors filmed at Dudley Zoo, Chester Zoo and Knowsley Safari Park. Thirty-two episodes were made in total. Rob Heyland starred as Turner, while other major cast members included James Ellis, Sonia Graham, Peter Gilmore, Heather James, Catherine Schell, Peter Jeffrey, Andrew Robertson and Christina Nagy.
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Title: The Gathering Seed
Character: Jim Larkin
Released: September 7, 1983
Type: TV
The saga of Manchester lad Joe Henshaw, a story that takes in family life, the trials and tribulations of the Labour movement and World War Two
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A Matter of Choice for Billy
Title: A Matter of Choice for Billy
Character: Norman Martin
Released: May 10, 1983
Type: Movie
Belfast 1978: the Martin family, a year on. Norman is away in England, and his eldest son, Billy, and daughter, Lorna, are in charge of their younger sisters, Ann and Maureen. Second in the trilogy.
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Title: Boys from the Blackstuff
Character: Wino
Released: October 10, 1982
Type: TV
Alan Bleasdale's five-part series relates the further experiences of unemployed Liverpudlian tarmac layers Dixie, Chrissie, Loggo and Yosser, and their revered older friend, retired longshoreman and union leader, George Malone. As they struggle to make ends meet in a depressed economy, and to hold together their financially battered families, they are harrassed by the petty bureaucrats of the DHSS. But the lumbering investigational juggernaut is, both comically and tragically, guided by drivers with only a provisional license.
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Title: Wogan
Character: Self
Released: May 4, 1982
Type: TV
Wogan is a British television chat show
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Too Late to Talk to Billy
Title: Too Late to Talk to Billy
Character: Norman Martin
Released: February 16, 1982
Type: Movie
Relationships are strained in a Belfast family, particularly between a father and his son. First in a multi-year trilogy.
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The Long March
Title: The Long March
Character: Joe Walsh
Released: January 1, 1980
Type: Movie
A woman returns to Belfast after ten years in England and becomes involved in the Maze prison protest.
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High Rise Donkey
Title: High Rise Donkey
Character: Policeman
Released: January 1, 1980
Type: Movie
The efforts of three children, who live in high rise flats, to save a donkey from two small-time crooks who want to sell it as horsemeat, by providing a temporary stable for the donkey in the block of high-rise flats.
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Title: All Creatures Great and Small
Character: Roddy Travers
Released: January 8, 1978
Type: TV
All Creatures Great and Small is a British television series, based on the books of the British veterinary surgeon Alf Wight, who wrote under the pseudonym James Herriot. Ninety episodes were aired over two three-year runs. The first run was based directly on Herriot's books; the second was filmed with original scripts.
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Title: Play for Today
Released: October 15, 1970
Type: TV
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.
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Title: King of the River
Released: July 6, 1966
Type: TV
King of the River is a British television series transmitted by the BBC between 1966 and 1967. The series centred around the King family and their efforts to maintain their sail-driven barge transport business.
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Title: Softly, Softly
Released: January 5, 1966
Type: TV
Softly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern, supposedly in the Bristol area of England.
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Title: Doctor Who
Character: Peter Warmsly
Released: November 23, 1963
Type: TV
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
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Title: The Scales of Justice
Character: Bill Kenton
Released: January 11, 1962
Type: TV
Not strictly TV productions, "The Scales of Justice" were cinema second features produced for Anglo Amalgamated running around 30 minutes and followed the "Scotland Yard" series of shorts also introduced by Edgar Lustgarten. Production was sporadic (presumably filling gaps in the Edgar Wallace schedule), the first three released Nov-Dec 1962, a second batch of three released Sept/Oct 1963, two more in Feb 1965, one in Dec 1965 and a final batch (in colour) Sept 1966 to March 1967. The usual Merton Park recipe of familiar British actors in tightly plotted screenplays (based on real cases) with better than usual B movies production standards. All thirteen have now (Oct 2012) been released on DVD by Network.
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Title: Z-Cars
Character: Bert Lynch
Released: January 2, 1962
Type: TV
Z-Cars or Z Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.
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Title: Z-Cars
Character: PC Bert Lynch
Released: January 2, 1962
Type: TV
Z-Cars or Z Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.
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Title: The Adventures of Robin Hood
Character: Thin Man
Released: September 26, 1955
Type: TV
The legendary character Robin Hood and his band of merry men in Sherwood Forest and the surrounding vicinity. While some episodes dramatised the traditional Robin Hood tales, most episodes were original dramas created by the show's writers and producers.