Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore, KBE died on 23rd May 2017. He is best known for playing secret agent James Bond in seven feature films between 1973 and 1985. He also played Simon Templar in the television series “The Saint” between 1962 and 1969.
Pat Heigham
I was fortunate to work on two Bond films (Sound Crew) “The Man With the Golden Gun” and “The Spy Who Loved Me”, when Roger played Bond.
I felt that he always considered himself as one of the boys – part of the crew – and never played ‘the unapproachable star’. On ‘Spy’, we worked at Pinewood over Christmas, and he bought presents for the whole crew!
He also bought his first Rolls Royce, which for publicity, was delivered to the 007 Stage at Pinewood. As we fell out of the stage, there was Roger, with the keys of the splendid car, offering lifts to the canteen to whoever wanted one!
I recently sent him a DVD of some 8mm cine footage that I had taken while on location in Thailand for ‘Golden Gun’, and he graciously e-mailed his thanks, saying it stirred up memories.
John Henshall
My friend, actress Maddy Smith, was on “Good Morning Britain” early 24th May 2017, talking about being the first Bond girl to sleep with him…
Pat Heigham
These are a couple of other stories:
Bangkok – 007 “The Man with the Golden Gun”
This was Roger Moore’s second playing of Bond, and the unit was billeted in a Swiss-run hotel in Bangkok for several weeks. There was a bierkeller in the basement with small combo playing in the evenings. On one of the last Sundays, the hotel threw a thank-you party for the cast and crew and the band came in on their day off, for dancing.
A Charleston started up, and grabbing the daughter of the English ‘fixer’, we took to the floor. As we gave it everything, others stood back and clapped along. Roger looked over to see what the fuss was about, and seizing Britt Ekland onto the dance floor, the four of us gave an exhibition Charleston!
BAFTA
Another occasion when I met up with Roger took place at BAFTA in Piccadilly. I was there to record some interviews for US TV, and bumped into Roger, who recognised me (that was nice) and inquired what I was up to.
I explained that sadly he was not on our list of interviewees, but that Michael Winner was. Roger asked where our camera was. It was on the half landing above the bar. He said to get my cameraman to roll when Winner came in. As the man approached the bar, Roger grabbed him and gave him a full-on-the lips kiss. Looking up at our camera, he gave a thumbs up behind his back. The fact that Roger recognised me was very rewarding, since Winner, in spite of my being on set with him in the Caribbean for 8 weeks or so, completely blanked me.
Unfortunately, as we were on NTSC standard I did not have the immediate facility to make a copy of that shot before the tape went off to the USA!
A further story that I remember:
Pinewood 007 “The Spy Who Loved Me”
Scene: The final chapter when 007 and Triple X have escaped from the villain’s doomed underwater hideaway in an escape capsule. Once surfaced, Bond rummages in a locker and finds a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne. They do not make a theatrical (ginger ale) version, so it was the real stuff.
Having opened it, Roger blew the first take – “Props: new bottle please!”
Then, Roger proceeded to screw up the next ten takes – belching, farting, blowing his dialogue etc. Each time a fresh bottle.
Finally after a perfect take, Roger says to Lewis Gilbert, the director: “Have I opened enough for everyone to have a sip?” Lewis grinned and said mildly: “Roger, you are naughty!”
Moore knew that with perhaps only two bottles broached, only the actors and directing staff would benefit from finishing up the champagne, and such was his nature that he thought all the crew should have a taste. Lovely guy!
Dusty Springfield
Bernie Newnham
Does anyone have any Dusty stories?
Vernon Dyer
Well, here goes …
We were doing "The Dusty Springfield Show" in the Theatre, and if you remember the amount of mascara she used, the lighting director (forget who, might have been Ken McGregor?) wanted to get as much soft light into her eye-sockets as he could, so put a 10-light on a floor stand as close to her eyeline as possible. Unfortunately it was just too close to the Mole’s tracking line, and it wasn’t long into rehearsal when I just clipped it with the footboard as we went past. I watched with horror as, oh-so-slowly at first, it tipped over and fell with an almighty crash, so that was that!
I also remember on one show she sang a comedy song, the first two lines of which were:
"Oh, it ain’t all honey and it ain’t all jam,
Being the conductor of a Blackpool tram."
… and that’s all I remember. Not her usual style at all! Never seen any reference to this song anywhere (not too surprising, I suppose!) but somehow that little snippet has stuck in my memory for 50-odd years.
Dave Mundy
I remember that Dickie Chamberlain was called to Dusty’s dressing room on one TOTP to sort out a ‘sound problem’. She was in tears and explained that the problem was with the tracking foldback operator who (quote) ‘wasn’t looking at me!’. Dickie assured her that it would be sorted and it was.
Dave Plowman
The story I remember hearing was Dusty on a Crackerjack. CRACKERJACK.
With Richard Chamberlain mixing.
On rehearsal, she was holding her handmic at navel level and complaining she couldn’t hear herself.
Dick went on production talkback and said to the FM, "Tell the silly cow to hold the mic to her mouth."
And the FM did. Verbatim.
Pat Heigham
This must have been a very much later programme. In the mid-nineteen-sixties, we never had wedge foldback speakers or IEM’s.
Dickie was instrumental (pun) on TOPT by making 6 strings sound like a full symphony orch section by clever miking and a ton of echo!
Lovely man, and much missed.
Dave Plowman
The singist heard themselves coming back from the PA.
First I ever saw to use BK6 slung round the player’s neck. And into a parallel box too, if I recall correctly. But of course using personals for strings became very fashionable in TV. Much to the amusement of ‘recording engineer’ types.
Graham Maunder, David Denness, Graeme Wall
Possibly the one Dusty story I’d better not tell on a family show? Involved being late for dress rehearsal…Does it involve Sean Connery? Not on TOTP. Or Madeleine Bell? Could be…
Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice died Monday, 16 October 2017
Dave Mundy
I was lucky enough to be gram. op. on one of Roy’s best performances (in my opinion) in “Brief Lives” by John Aubrey. I saw the whole thing several times from outside rehearsals to the actual recording in TVC and thoroughly enjoyed every one. Unfortunately, it was transmitted only once and then went onto DVD.
Roger Bunce
We saw “Brief Lives” on stage, as a one man show. Absolutely brilliant. I share your opinion. Roy Dotrice never left the stage. He was there, apparently asleep in a chair as the audience assembled, woke up to perform the first half, fell asleep again through the intermission, woke up to do the second half, and was apparently asleep again (or possibly dead) as we all left. And a superbly funny performance throughout.
I hadn’t realised that there was a TV version. Does anyone have a copy?
“Misleading Cases” was also wonderful, of course.
Dave Mundy
Amazon sell a DVD of “Brief Lives” but unfortunately it is only a VHS copy, the original tape was lost some time ago. The quality is pretty naff apparently with jump cuts and other defects but you can always listen to it with your eyes closed (isn’t that called radio?)
Geoff Fletcher
I remember visiting the studio in a bit of break time to marvel at the set of “Brief Lives” at TVC. Wasn’t the designer Julia Trevellyn-Oman?
A wonderful performance from Roy, both on stage and in the TV version.
Keith Wicks
From BBC Genome:
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Tony Booth
Alasdair Lawrance
Sorry to hear about the death of Tony Booth. I know he was best known for “’Till Death…”, but I remember him from "Catch Hand", a sort of forerunner of “Auf weidersen, pet”.
The other main character was played by Mark Eden, who did quite a lot with the BBC, as I recall. He’s married to Sue Nicholls, Corrie’s Audrey Roberts.
Nine of ten episodes are lost according to IMDB. I hardly recognise any names in the crew/cast list, although only film people get mentioned, as usual.
Dave Mundy
I have a 1/4 inch copy of the “Catch Hand” sig. tune as I used to collect them! Not many people know that!
Brian Cant (12 July 1933 – 19 June 2017)
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Roger Bunce
Have just heard of the death of Brian Cant, known to most of us from working on “Playschool” and “Playaway”, and as the voice of “Trumpton”, “Chigley” and “Camberwich Green” – not to mention presenting one of those Christmas Tapes. Always fun to work with, and a genuinely nice guy.
David Lawson
A very sad day for all of us who trained in Riverside on “Playschool” with Brian and all the others. Raise a glass in R3 for all of us remaining.
Dave Mundy
How sad, one of the really nice guys. Fondly remembered.
Geoffrey Hawkes
Sad news indeed, I heard it announced on “Front Row” this evening (19th June 2017). They followed it with the “Playaway” song as a playout. I think they thought it was him singing but it didn’t sound like him to me and the announcer made a back ref to it having been "through the round window", which of course was from “Playschool”.
Although Brian featured in a big way on “Playaway” with all those Christmas cracker type jokes which I’m sure lots of us remember, along with Jeremy Irons and Julie Covington who went on to great things, I think “Front Row” would’ve been better to have kept with the “Playschool” intro and Brian’s famous voiceover, "….What’s the day, ready to play…"
Albert Barber
Yes sad indeed, His Parkinsons in later years was very sad to see.
As many have said he was an influence on us and many generations of children that children’s TV sadly does not cater for now.
As many know I worked, writing and Directing on “PlayAway” and “Playschool” and for me it was a formative time. It was all the things that we write about here – Fun, exciting, formative, and during the golden age of British Television. It also gave many children, now adults, a start in a life of exploration.
Ian Hillson
This clip is doing the rounds on Twitter – genius on a limited budget!
https://twitter.com/80s_Kidz/status/876867962187251713
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Roger Bunce
About 7 years ago, we were taking our 3-year-old Grandson to a music-based playgroup called "Jo Jingles". They were selling a CD of all the songs the children were learning to sing and perform (‘Wind the Bobbin Up’, etc.). As dutiful Grandparents we bought a copy.
Playing the CD at home, I thought, that the voices are very familiar, but I couldn’t think why. Reading through the small print, on the sleeve, I found ‘Brian Cant and Jonathan Cohen’. Waves of nostalgia flooded over me, waking forgotten memories of “Playaway” and “Playschool”. Somewhere, I still have the score for the “Playaway” theme, which Jonathan Cohen wrote out for my wife, when she was playing the piano for our local nursery school.
I last saw Brian at the “Playschool” 50th Anniversary Party, at Riverside. He was very unwell. He was unable to take any active part, but he seemed to be enjoying the activity around him.
So, farewell Brian, a humorous, spontaneous, friendly performer, always a pleasure to work with, and genuinely a very nice guy.
