Ken Campbell

Ken Campbell

Born: December 10, 1941
Died: August 31, 2008
in Ilford, Essex, England, UK
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English writer, actor, director and comedian known for his work in experimental theatre.He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre."  

Campbell achieved notoriety in 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 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. The Guardian, in a posthumous tribute, judged him to be "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 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."  

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Movies for Ken Campbell...

Nina Conti: Her Master's Voice
Title: Nina Conti: Her Master's Voice
Character: Himself
Released: March 11, 2012
Type: Movie
Internationally acclaimed ventriloquist Nina Conti takes the bereaved puppets of her mentor and erstwhile lover Ken Campbell on a pilgrimage to "Venthaven" the resting place for puppets of dead ventriloquists. She gets to know her latex and wooden travelling partners along the way, and with them deconstructs herself and her lost love in this ventriloquial docu-mockumentary requiem. Ken Campbell was a hugely respected maverick of the British theatre, an eccentric genius who would snort out forgotten artforms. Nina was his protégé in ventriloquism and has been said to have reinvented the artform. This film is truly unique in genre and style. No one has seen ventriloquism like this before.
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Creep
Title: Creep
Character: Arthur
Released: August 10, 2004
Type: Movie
Trapped in a London subway station, a woman who's being pursued by a potential attacker heads into the unknown labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city's streets
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Title: Baby Bob
Character: Baby Bob
Released: March 18, 2002
Type: TV
Baby Bob is an American sitcom that aired on CBS as a midseason replacement in March 2002. The Baby Bob character had previously been on television since February 2000, appearing in commercials for FreeInternet.com. While actual infants played Bob, the effect to make him look like he was talking was achieved through computer editing.
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The Skulls
Title: The Skulls
Character: Starting Judge
Released: March 31, 2000
Type: Movie
A senior at an Ivy League college, who depends on scholarships and working on the side, gets accepted into the secret society The Skulls. He hopes it betters chances at Harvard but The Skulls is not what he thought and comes at a price.
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Saving Grace
Title: Saving Grace
Character: Sgt. Alfred Masely
Released: January 24, 2000
Type: Movie
Unexpectedly widowed, prim and proper housewife Grace Trevethyn finds herself in dire financial straits when she inherits massive debts her late husband had been accruing for years. Faced with losing her house, she decides to use her talent for horticulture and hatches a plan to grow potent marijuana which can be sold at an astronomical price, thus solving her financial crisis.
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Title: Six Experiments that Changed the World
Released: June 1, 1999
Type: TV
Using archive footage and stills to set the scene as well as real-life re-enactment presenter Ken Campbell recreates six revolutionary scientific experiments that changed mankind's perception of the world we live in forever.
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Title: Dooley Gardens
Released: March 3, 1999
Type: TV
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Alice in Wonderland
Title: Alice in Wonderland
Character: Mr. Duck
Released: February 28, 1999
Type: Movie
Alice follows a white rabbit down a rabbit-hole into a whimsical Wonderland, where she meets characters like the delightful Cheshire Cat, the clumsy White Knight, a rude caterpillar, and the hot-tempered Queen of Hearts and can grow ten feet tall or shrink to three inches. But will she ever be able to return home?
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The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story
Title: The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story
Character: Wolf 1 (voice)
Released: September 28, 1998
Type: Movie
Told from Mowgli's point of view, it's the story of how a boy became a mancub and a mancub became a man.
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Extraordinary Visitor
Title: Extraordinary Visitor
Character: Rodney
Released: September 2, 1998
Type: Movie
As the new millennium approaches, God considers pulling the plug on the planet unless St. John the Baptist finds a reason to spare humanity. John travels to the Newfoundland city that bears his name where he becomes entangled in the lives of talk-show host Marietta, her husband Rick. (Toronto International Film Festival)
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Hard Men
Title: Hard Men
Character: Mr Ross
Released: October 28, 1996
Type: Movie
British Gangster film with a tongue-in-cheek approach to the genre, including a part played by 'Mad' Frankie Fraser. When Tone's ex girlfriend resurfaces with a daughter he never knew he had, he moves from the world of blackmail, extortion and the occasional hit into the realm of nappies and lullabies. His pals, Speed and Bear, feel let down, but his employer Pops Den is furious and decides the best thing to do is wipe Tone out...but who will do it...and at what price?
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Title: Local Heroes
Released: March 17, 1996
Type: TV
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Title: Reality on the Rocks
Released: February 12, 1995
Type: TV
A trilogy of films in which the comic actor, Ken Campbell, tries to get to grips with Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.
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Title: Middlemarch
Character: Mr Mawmsey
Released: April 10, 1994
Type: TV
19th century Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution brings both the promise and fear of change. In the provincial town of Middlemarch, the progressive Dorothea Brooke desperately seeks intellectual fulfillment in a male-dominated society and is driven into an unhappy marriage to the elderly scholar Casaubon. No sooner do they embark on their honeymoon than she meets and develops an instant connection with Casaubon's young cousin, Will Ladislaw. When idealistic Doctor Lydgate arrives, his new methods of medicine sweep him into the battle between conservatives and liberals in town. He quickly becomes enamored of the beautiful, privileged Rosamond Vincy, a woman whose troubles seem bound to destroy him.
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Title: Heartbeat
Character: Hector Plumpton
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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A Different Hand
Title: A Different Hand
Character: The Doctor
Released: March 23, 1992
Type: Movie
A musical comedy drama about a young woman (played by Tina Leslie) rebelling against society's attitudes (including her parents, her doctor, her priest and teacher) towards people like her who are without hands or in other ways different. Everyone is trying to force her to wear artificial hands, everyone except for her disabled friend (Nabil Shaban), who assists in her revolt.
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Secret Nation
Title: Secret Nation
Character: Parkinson
Released: January 2, 1992
Type: Movie
A graduate history student returns to her native Newfoundland, searching for proof of a conspiracy surrounding the referendum that saw Newfoundland join Canada.
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Crimestrike
Title: Crimestrike
Character: Julius Caesar
Released: October 1, 1990
Type: Movie
What would happen if the nation’s criminals decided to go on strike? A comedy drama based on an idea by Czech writer Jaroslav Hasek.
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Wings of Fame
Title: Wings of Fame
Character: Head Waiter
Released: March 23, 1990
Type: Movie
A famous movie actor claims that he has written a book. As result, a real author, not a very well known writer, vengefully kills him but then dies as a result of an accident. Next, they both find themselves in after-life, where souls of all famous people are gathered.
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Scandal
Title: Scandal
Character: Editor of Pictorial
Released: March 3, 1989
Type: Movie
An English bon-vivant osteopath is enchanted with a young exotic dancer and invites her to live with him. He serves as friend and mentor, and through his contacts and parties she and her friend meet and date members of the Conservative Party. Eventually a scandal occurs when her affair with the Minister of War goes public, threatening their lifestyles and their freedom.
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A Fish Called Wanda
Title: A Fish Called Wanda
Character: Bartlett
Released: July 15, 1988
Type: Movie
While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.
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Title: Erasmus Microman
Character: Erasmus Microman
Released: March 3, 1988
Type: TV
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Smart Money
Title: Smart Money
Character: Mr. Sayles
Released: October 26, 1986
Type: Movie
Leon, a hacker convicted for a crime he did not commit, escapes from detention centre following the death of his father, to take revenge on the man who really did it.
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Title: Lovejoy
Character: Ted Goat
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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Letter to Brezhnev
Title: Letter to Brezhnev
Character: Newspaper Reporter
Released: November 15, 1985
Type: Movie
The factories, pubs, clubs, hotels and streets of 1980s Liverpool form the backdrop for this tale of love, friendship, sex and a letter to the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev. Two Liverpool lasses, Teresa and Elaine meet two Russian sailors, Sergei and Peter and hook up for a night of fun and frolics. Teresa is looking for sex and a smile, Elaine wants love, romance and the dream of a life far away from the grime of the Liverpool docklands. A classic British romantic comedy filled with new wave tunes, 80s fashion, a little politics and a lot of heart.
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A Zed & Two Noughts
Title: A Zed & Two Noughts
Character: Stephen Pipe
Released: October 4, 1985
Type: Movie
Twin zoologists lose their wives in a car accident and become obsessed with decomposing animals.
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Dreamchild
Title: Dreamchild
Character: Radio Sound Effects Man/March Hare (voice)
Released: October 4, 1985
Type: Movie
Eighty-year-old Alice Hargreaves is about to visit Columbia University to attend a reception in honor of author Lewis Carroll. As a child, Alice had a close friendship with the writer, and their relationship was the creative catalyst for Carroll's most beloved work. However, as Alice reflects on her experiences with the author, she realizes the complexity of their bond has had lasting, deeply felt ramifications.
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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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The Moon Over Soho
Title: The Moon Over Soho
Character: Geoffrey Hargreaves
Released: August 18, 1985
Type: Movie
A wily publisher of arts magazines tries to cope with ever-growing financial problems - and also his formidable German mother.
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The Bride
Title: The Bride
Character: Pedlar
Released: August 16, 1985
Type: Movie
Doctor Frankenstein creates a mate for his monster, a woman called Eva, who promptly rejects the male creature. In turn, the doctor becomes obsessed with Eva, and tries to make her a perfect victorian woman.
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Title: Home to Roost
Character: Mr Prendergast
Released: April 19, 1985
Type: TV
Home to Roost is a British television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television in the 1980s. Written by Eric Chappell, it starred John Thaw as Henry Willows and Reece Dinsdale as his 18-year-old son Matthew. The premise is that Henry Willows is forty-something, who has been divorced from his wife for seven years and is perfectly happy living alone in London. That is, until his youngest child, Matthew arrives to live with him, after being thrown out by his mother. The plots generally revolved around Henry's annoyance at having his solitude disturbed, and the age gap clash. Henry employed two cleaners throughout the show's life; first Enid Thompson, and, in the third season, Fiona Fennell.
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Ligmalion: Or How to Help Yourself in Self-Help Britain
Title: Ligmalion: Or How to Help Yourself in Self-Help Britain
Character: Samuel Smiles
Released: April 8, 1985
Type: Movie
Drama documentary which takes the form of an up-dated version of Pygmalion. With a special music score by jazz group Working Week, with real "society" characters and locations from 1984.
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In the Secret State
Title: In the Secret State
Character: Hoskins
Released: March 10, 1985
Type: Movie
A Government Department with data on us all in its computers is not functioning quite as its ex-Head intended. Frank Strange sets out to clear his own name and finds he is investigating a murder.
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Unfair Exchanges
Title: Unfair Exchanges
Character: Tim Rickett
Released: January 20, 1985
Type: Movie
Julie Walters stars as a single mother seemingly haunted by a sinister telephone system that seems to have become an evil intelligence in its own right.
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Title: Super Gran
Character: Unlucky Luciano
Released: January 20, 1985
Type: TV
Adapted from Forrest Wilson's books, the children's programme revolves around a grandmother with super powers and her arch nemesis, The Scunner Campbell.
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Joshua Then and Now
Title: Joshua Then and Now
Character: Sidney Murdoch
Released: January 1, 1985
Type: Movie
Based on a novel by Mordecai Richler, allegedly his autobiography, it tells the story of a Jewish writer, from his life as a young boy in Montreal to his more complicated grown-up life.
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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: Sherlock Holmes
Character: James Ryder
Released: April 24, 1984
Type: TV
Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend Dr. Watson.
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Towers of Babel
Title: Towers of Babel
Released: July 9, 1981
Type: Movie
A BAFTA award nominated black comedy about life and death in a London tower block.
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Title: Private Schulz
Character: Krauss
Released: May 6, 1981
Type: TV
Private Schulz is a BBC television comedy drama serial set mostly in Germany, during and immediately after World War II. It stars Michael Elphick in the title role and Ian Richardson playing various parts. Other notable actors included Tony Caunter, Billie Whitelaw, Billy Murray and Mark Wingett. Over six one-hour episodes, it tells the story of a German fraudster and petty criminal who is forced against his will to serve in the SS. In a story based on the real, though unrealised, plot by the Germans known as Operation Bernhard, he tricks the Nazis into making counterfeit British five pound notes, millions of which will be used to destroy the British economy. However, Schulz is primarily interested in stealing them. Other elements of the story based on the history of the period include the Venlo incident, when two British intelligence officers were abducted from the Netherlands at the very start of the war, and Salon Kitty. This was a Berlin brothel which was secretly run by the SD, for the purpose of spying on its wealthy clients, who were often prominent German government officials or military officers. Additionally, many of the main characters are real people.
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Breaking Glass
Title: Breaking Glass
Character: Publican
Released: October 1, 1980
Type: Movie
Breaking Glass is the story of punk singer Kate and her meteoric rise to stardom. Starting out in the rock pubs of London, Kate, assisted by her manager Danny, becomes a huge star overnight. Once at the top the pressure is immense as Kate's band are squeezed out and she is left to cope alone in the spotlight.
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Title: The Gentle Touch
Released: April 11, 1980
Type: TV
The Gentle Touch is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which ran from 1980-1984. Commencing transmission on 11 April 1980, the series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police detective as its leading character, ahead of the similarly themed BBC series Juliet Bravo by four months.
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The Secret Policeman's Ball
Title: The Secret Policeman's Ball
Character: Various Roles
Released: December 22, 1979
Type: Movie
Amnesty decided not to present a benefit show in 1978 in order to consider how to make better use of the performing talent so favourably disposed to assist it in raising funds. Peter Luff left Amnesty in 1978 and the organisation's new fund-raising officer, Peter Walker, was deputed to work with Lewis on reconfiguring the show to raise more money and greater awareness of Amnesty. Lewis proposed to Cleese that in addition to the comedy performances the show should feature some contemporary rock musicians. Cleese delegated this responsibility to Lewis who recruited Who guitarist Pete Townshend to perform, as well as New Wave singer-songwriter Tom Robinson.
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Title: Minder
Character: Seedy Customer
Released: October 29, 1979
Type: TV
This comedy drama series featured Terry McCann, a former boxer with a conviction for G.B.H., and Arthur Daley, a second-hand car dealer with an eye for a nice little earner. Alongside his many business ventures, Arthur would regularly hire Terry out as a minder or bodyguard, later replaced by nephew, Ray Daley.
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The Tempest
Title: The Tempest
Character: Gonzalo, an honest councillor
Released: September 13, 1979
Type: Movie
Prospero, a potent magician, lives on a desolate isle with his virginal daughter, Miranda. He's in exile, banished from his duchy by his usurping brother and the King of Naples. Providence brings these enemies near; aided by his vassal the spirit Ariel, Prospero conjures a tempest to wreck the Italian ship. The king's son, thinking all others lost, becomes Prospero's prisoner, falling in love with Miranda and she with him. Prospero's brother and the king wander the island, as do a drunken cook and sailor, who conspire with Caliban, Prospero's beastly slave, to murder Prospero. Prospero wants reason to triumph, Ariel wants his freedom, Miranda a husband; the sailors want to dance.
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Phoelix
Title: Phoelix
Released: August 1, 1979
Type: Movie
An aged art connoisseur (Beaumont) and his young female neighbour (Coles), who has a job posing naked in a club, meet and exist in fantasy and reality. Although this raises certain much-discussed questions about the nature of representation, and about the construction of narrative and daydreams in films, 'Phoelix' tends to treat these as just pretty and pertinent issues, opting instead for a mannered concentration on detail.
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The Last Window Cleaner
Title: The Last Window Cleaner
Character: DC Denis Deacey
Released: February 13, 1979
Type: Movie
When DC Denis Deacey finds himself surprisingly transferred to Belfast he gets digs in a most unusual boarding house called The Crumlin View where no one is what they seem and everyone has been living with 'the troubles' for far too long...
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Dinner at The Sporting Club
Title: Dinner at The Sporting Club
Character: Neville
Released: November 7, 1978
Type: Movie
John Thaw plays Vinny Mathews a small time boxing promoter who struggles with his conscience as to whether or not to provide a fighter for a Sporting Club promotion, a fighter he knows is unfit against an opponent who is way out of his league. However Mathews needs sponsorship and this would be the ideal opportunity to mix with the "frilly shirted" sportsmen who enjoy their lavish lifestyle as fighters slug it out as the steak is served!
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Title: Law & Order
Character: Alex Gladwell
Released: April 6, 1978
Type: TV
Law & Order is a series of four British television plays written by G. F. Newman and directed by Les Blair. It was first transmitted in 1978 on BBC2.
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Title: An Audience with...
Character: Self
Released: January 8, 1978
Type: TV
An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style.
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Title: The Professionals
Character: Parker
Released: December 30, 1977
Type: TV
The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contentious, but they are the top men in their field, and the ones to whom Cowley always assigned to the toughest cases.
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The Story of Pantomime
Title: The Story of Pantomime
Character: Self
Released: December 23, 1976
Type: Movie
This 1976 BBC documentary sees Ken Campbell (and his Roadshow) investigate the origins and the development of the traditional British Christmas pantomime.
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Justine by the Marquis de Sade
Title: Justine by the Marquis de Sade
Character: Dubourg
Released: January 1, 1976
Type: Movie
A series of non-dramatic tableaux representing scenes from De Sade's novel.
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Title: Fawlty Towers
Character: Roger
Released: September 19, 1975
Type: TV
Owner Basil Fawlty, his wife Sybil, a chambermaid Polly, and Spanish waiter Manuel attempt to run their hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding guests.
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The Ken Campbell Roadshow
Title: The Ken Campbell Roadshow
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1971
Type: Movie
The Ken Campbell Roadshow brings entertainment to the streets and pubs of Kirkby New Town.
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The Big Flame
Title: The Big Flame
Character: Journalist
Released: February 19, 1969
Type: Movie
After a prolonged industrial dispute in the Liverpool Docks, the striking workers reject management demands of a return to work and decide instead to occupy the docks and run the operation themselves.
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Inspector Clouseau
Title: Inspector Clouseau
Character: Reporter
Released: July 19, 1968
Type: Movie
Detective Inspector Jacques Clouseau is borrowed from the Surete on special assignment for Scotland Yard in hopes that a fresh outlook will help the government recover the loot from the Great Train Robbery, which is being used to underwrite a new crime wave. What they don't count on, however, is having more than one Clouseau on the job.
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Poor Cow
Title: Poor Cow
Character: Mr. Jacks
Released: December 5, 1967
Type: Movie
A young woman lives a life filled with bad choices. At a young age she marries and has a child--with an abusive thief who quickly ends up in prison. Left alone, she takes up with the guy's mate, another thief, who seems to give her some happiness but who also ends up locked up. She then takes up with a series of seedy types who offer nothing but momentary pleasure--if that.
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The Heroism of Thomas Chadwick
Title: The Heroism of Thomas Chadwick
Character: Thomas Chadwick
Released: September 26, 1967
Type: Movie
Thomas Chadwick is a man of dignity. He knows what's right and nothing will deter him from it. Unfortunately he cannot quite find the right job to go with his ideals, and he tries just about everything.
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Title: Mystery and Imagination
Released: January 29, 1966
Type: TV
Mystery and Imagination is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by the ITV network and produced by ABC and Thames Television.