Ben Cross, the English actor best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 Best Picture Oscar winner Chariots of Fire and as Sarek in the 2009 reboot Star Trek, died today in Vienna after a short illness. He was 72.
The veteran stage and screen star’s family confirmed the news to Deadline.
Cross was born Harry Bernard Cross in London in 1947 to a working-class family. He began acting at a young age, participating in grammar school plays, but left school to work as a window cleaner, waiter, joiner and carpenter before being accepted into London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts at age 22. He excelled at Rada and won the acting school’s prestigious Vanbrugh Prize for performance of the year. He would go on to claim a string of key stage roles and made his big-screen debut on 1977 World War II epic A Bridge Too Far.
The veteran stage and screen star’s family confirmed the news to Deadline.
Cross was born Harry Bernard Cross in London in 1947 to a working-class family. He began acting at a young age, participating in grammar school plays, but left school to work as a window cleaner, waiter, joiner and carpenter before being accepted into London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts at age 22. He excelled at Rada and won the acting school’s prestigious Vanbrugh Prize for performance of the year. He would go on to claim a string of key stage roles and made his big-screen debut on 1977 World War II epic A Bridge Too Far.
- 8/18/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
BBC One has revealed casting and a first image for Matt Lucas's new comedy series Pompidou.
The six-parter - now shooting for broadcast in 2015 - is inspired by Lucas's passion for classic silent comedy, such as the works of Charlie Chaplin.
Billed as a "visual comedy series", Pompidou will star the Little Britain comic as the title character - an elderly oddball aristocrat who has fallen on hard times.
Alex MacQueen (The Inbetweeners) plays Hove - Pompidou's long-suffering butler - while the likes of Bella Emberg, Roy Barraclough, Jane Asher and Tony Way will make cameo appearances.
"Matt has worked incredibly hard on creating a unique comedy universe for Pompidou," said Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning for the BBC.
"Only someone of his immense talent and experience could achieve something that feels so modern and inventive which also has an underlying nod to past classic comedy masters like Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy.
The six-parter - now shooting for broadcast in 2015 - is inspired by Lucas's passion for classic silent comedy, such as the works of Charlie Chaplin.
Billed as a "visual comedy series", Pompidou will star the Little Britain comic as the title character - an elderly oddball aristocrat who has fallen on hard times.
Alex MacQueen (The Inbetweeners) plays Hove - Pompidou's long-suffering butler - while the likes of Bella Emberg, Roy Barraclough, Jane Asher and Tony Way will make cameo appearances.
"Matt has worked incredibly hard on creating a unique comedy universe for Pompidou," said Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning for the BBC.
"Only someone of his immense talent and experience could achieve something that feels so modern and inventive which also has an underlying nod to past classic comedy masters like Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy.
- 6/17/2014
- Digital Spy
Matt Lucas and the BBC have revealed the first details of their silent comedy project Pompidou.
The Little Britain comic's new series has been inspired by Lucas's passion for classic silent comedy such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Mr Bean.
Pompidou, a six-part series, will air in late 2014.
"I'm delighted to be back at the BBC with another show full of new characters - however, unlike Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, this one has no dialogue at all," said Lucas.
"I've been working for a while with two great writers - Julian Dutton and Ashley Blaker - to create a bunch of new faces which we hope will appeal to audiences in Britain and beyond. At the centre of it is Pompidou himself, an elderly aristocratic English oddball who has fallen on hard times but who remains upbeat and resourceful."
The show has been commissioned by...
The Little Britain comic's new series has been inspired by Lucas's passion for classic silent comedy such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Mr Bean.
Pompidou, a six-part series, will air in late 2014.
"I'm delighted to be back at the BBC with another show full of new characters - however, unlike Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, this one has no dialogue at all," said Lucas.
"I've been working for a while with two great writers - Julian Dutton and Ashley Blaker - to create a bunch of new faces which we hope will appeal to audiences in Britain and beyond. At the centre of it is Pompidou himself, an elderly aristocratic English oddball who has fallen on hard times but who remains upbeat and resourceful."
The show has been commissioned by...
- 3/25/2013
- Digital Spy
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