What Woody Allen Thinks About The Hill (1965) And His Other Film Favourites
Picture above: Ian Hendry (as Staff Sergeant Williams) and Sean Connery (as Roberts). This film still is one of two given to me by my uncle. He also gave me the hat he wore in The Hill. See: Staff Sergeant Williams' Hat� and The Hill (1965)
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I came across a list of 41 of Woody Allen's favorite films in an article at This Recording, which were taken from Allen's 2007 biography written by Eric Lax titled:
Conversations with Woody Allen: His Films, the Movies, and Moviemaking
The book received some fairly hefty praise when it was first published:
'Perhaps the most reveaing book ever written about a living film director, this entralling dialogue spans 36 years' -�The Independent
In the book, Woody Allen discusses his obsession with film-lists:
'When I awake during the night, to quell my existential panic I make lists in my mind. This sometimes helps me fall back asleep. Almost always the lists are of movies - adding and subtracting titles, substituting. My tastes seem to me unremarkable except in the area of talking plot comedies where I seem to have little tolerance for anything and certainly not my own films.'
And now onto some of those lists!
Fifteen of Woody Allen's Favourite American Films
(in no particular order)
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
- Double Indemnity
- Shane
- Paths of Glory
- The Godfather: Part II
- Goodfellas
- Citizen Kane
- White Heat
- The Informer
- The Hill
- The Third Man
- Notorious
- Shadow of a Doubt
- A Streetcar Named Desire
- The Maltese Falcon
Woody Allen goes on to discuss The Hill in more detail:
"For some reason, American audiences do not really know the film The Hill . In a filmography like Sidney Lumet's, which includes many remarkable works, The Hill is perhaps the most successful. I certainly consider it one of the greatest American films. The making of this captivating story is perfect, from the actors' impeccable performances to the inspired camera movements. It's an immediate and total experience. Every time I see it I am surprised that such a wonderful film can pass unnoticed and fall into oblivion, which is what has happened".
Woody Allen
The Hill is a 1965 film directed by Sidney Lumet, set in a British army prison in North Africa in World War II. It stars Sean Connery, Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Ossie Davis, Alfred Lynch, Roy Kinnear and Michael Redgrave.
Plot:
In a British Army �glasshouse� (military detention camp) in the Libyan Desert, prisoners convicted of service offences such as insubordination, being drunk whilst on duty, going AWOL or petty theft etc. are subjected to repetitive drill in the blazing desert heat.
The arrival of five new prisoners slowly leads to a clash with the camp authorities. One new NCO guard who has also just arrived employs excessive punishments, which include forcing the five newcomers to repeatedly climb a man-made hill in the centre of the camp. When one dies a power struggle erupts between brutal Staff Sergeant Williams (Ian Hendry), humane Staff Sergeant Harris (Ian Bannen), Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson (Harry Andrews), and the camp�s Medical Officer (Michael Redgrave) as they struggle to run the camp in conflicting styles.
Extract From The Hill (1965) Wikipedia
Film Trivia:
Awarded best screenplay prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1965. The screenplay by Ray Rigby taken from one of his own stage plays, is based on the author's own experience in a prison camp in North Africa during WWII. The external shots were filmed in Spain, in October, but even so, the heat was scorching, peaking at 45C (113F).
Sidney Lumet - Director
Born in Philadelphia in 1924, Sidney Lumet got his training as an actor on the Broadway stage before turning to directing. In the early 50s he directed television series. 12 Angry Men (1957) was his feature debut and starred his friend Henry Fonda, with whom Lumet made five more films.
In all his films after 12 Angry Men , he continued to deal with social and political issues, such as violence against prisoners in an army camp in The Hill (1965), and corruption in the police force in Serpico (1973). Lumet took on Agatha Christie's famous whodunnit Murder on the Orient Express (1974); he satirized television in Network (1976, Oscars for the two stars Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch); and brought a real-life news item to the screen in Dog Day Afternoon (1975).
Other important works, over the course of a career that ranged from live television theater to an impressive exploration of most of the traditional film genres - with a very personal obsession with the courtroom drama and its unlimited dramaturgic potential, as well as its usefulness for social and political debate - include The Verdict (1982), Family Business (1989) and Gloria (1998). In 2005 the Academy Awards honored him with the Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.
Other lists in the book included:
Woody Allen: Twelve Favourite European Films And Three Favourite Japanese Films
- The Seventh Seal
- Rashomon
- The Bicycle Thief
- The 400 Blows
- Grand Illusion
- Rules of the Game
- Wild Strawberries
- 8 1/2
- Amarcord
- Throne of Blood
- Cries and Whispers
- La Strada
- Breathless
- The Seven Samurai
- Shoeshine
Comedy Favourites of Woody Allen
Woody Allen on comedy:
"I put comedies in two categories - comedian's films which can be awful save for the comedian's work and comedy movies that have plots. Of the comedian's films or broader sillier films that I always laugh at are" :
- Duck Soup
- Monkey Business
- Horse Feathers
- A Night at the Opera
- A Day at the Races
- Monsieur Beaucaire
- You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
- Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
- Casanova's Big Night
- Airplane!
He went on to discuss his�second category of comedy films:
"Of talking plot comedies, I'm hesitant to say my list because my taste is eccentric and there are any number of comedies I love that would make me seem foolish or should I say, foolish in the eyes of the world. Plus there are any number of iconic comedies that never have and never will give me a laugh and I don't like to hurt the feelings of anyone who turns such a tough dollar making screen comedies or even their descendants.
I will admit my list is always topped by The White Sheik, and when I think of American comedies my conviction is that no finer ones exist than Born Yesterday and Trouble in Paradise. Also The Shop Around the Corner is pretty damned good (I get a lot of fishy looks when I tell people I think Born Yesterday is the best all-time American stage comedy but it's the way I feel.
A close second is The Front Page, the play.) After the above four, my insomnia list gets dicey for public consumption with a few predictable choices but many very personal ones. Incidentally, my list never includes my own comedies."
From a note to Eric Lax.
- The White Sheik
- Born Yesterday
- Trouble in Paradise
- The Shop Around the Corner
- The Front Page
Perhaps not surprisingly, the silent comedies in the first comedy�list are all taken up by Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
So what's in your list of favourite films?!
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961) - With Umbrella, Scotch And Cigarettes
^The video above shows the reunion of the two original stars, Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee, as they discuss the very first year of The Avengers on Ian's This Is Your Life (March 1978).
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A very warm welcome to Richard McGinlay who has just written a new book, with co-author Alan Hayes, detailing the story behind the first series of The Avengers. Richard has kindly agreed to answer a few of our questions and also share some of his in-depth knowledge on this cult British TV series.
Their first book, The Strange Case of the Missing Episodes -The Lost Stories of The Avengers Series 1, was co-authored with Alys Hayes and published in June 2013. An interview held with them to discuss this earlier publication can also be found on this website (click here).
The Avengers�ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one hour episodes during it's entire run.�By 1969, the series�was shown in more than 90 countries. But how and why the series began and the story behind that first year has been somewhat shrouded in mystery, due largely to the fact that most of the original tapes of the first series have been lost, presumed wiped.
In their new book, With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes � An Unauthorised Guide to The Avengers Series 1, Richard McGinlay and Alan Hayes have retold that first year in glorious detail. The book is beautifully illustrated by Shaqui Le Vesconte and this article incorporates some of the artwork.
We'll now let Richard explain more as he answers a few of our questions:
Your latest publication, 'With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes...' follows �hot on the heels� of your first book, 'A Strange Case of the Missing Episodes -The Lost Stories of The Avengers Series 1'. Both books deal with this first year of The Avengers , but from slightly different perspectives. Could you explain a little more about the background and structure of each book?
Richard: Certainly. With so many episodes from Series 1 being missing on film, the purpose of The Strange Case� was to recapture those lost adventures as best we could in textual form, working from scripts where possible and (where not even scripts have survived) other sources, such as storyline synopses and photographic evidence.
By contrast, With Umbrella� is an episode guide, which looks at the making of each episode, detailing backstage processes, discussing the talented personnel who worked on the show, and raising points of interest about each story. It also looks beyond the 26 episodes of Series 1 � examining, for instance, two unproduced storylines originally written for the Dr Keel era of the show, and also providing episode guides for Keel and Steed�s two forays into licensed fiction: the 1962 comic strip The Drug Pedlar and the 1990 novel Too Many Targets.
Picture: Book cover artwork for With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes. Book illustration by Shaqui Le Vesconte.
With Umbrella... is the second book that you and Alan have written together. What did you learn from writing the first book together, and how did those experiences help to enhance the second?
Richard: Well, we�ve been a lot more ambitious with this book, spurred on by the success of the previous book and the feedback we�ve had in response to it. For example, whereas the first book included a single essay at the beginning, the second book has two essays, which go into far more depth. Other bells and whistles that we have added this time include a chronology of the major dates covered within the book, a guide to Series 1 related merchandise� and pictures! Amid the positive reviews that we garnered for the first book, several readers commented about the lack of images inside the book.
We agree that it would have been great to have included lots of photographs, because many do
exist, but unfortunately we cannot do that for reasons of copyright. This is why unofficial
guides such as this seldom contain photographs from the programmes they are dealing
with. However, we have been able to add a pictorial element by commissioning a set of
beautiful illustrations from Shaqui Le Vesconte
Picture: Ian Hendry as Dr.David Keel - The Avengers (1961). Book illustration by Shaqui Le Vesconte.
Patrick Macnee was one of the guests on 'This Is Your Life' in March 1978, which featured Ian Hendry. He mentioned that without Ian, The Avengers may never have existed. The book covers this story in detail, but could you outline why Ian was so important to the show and what his major contribution was to the first series?
Richard: I don�t think there�s any �may� about it. The Avengers was created as a vehicle for Ian Hendry when his previous series, Police Surgeon, was cancelled. The television company�s head of drama, Sydney Newman, recognised Ian�s talents and star potential, and didn�t want to risk losing him to a rival company, so the new show was built around him. This is detailed in an essay at the beginning of our book.
We also discuss how, during the making of The Avengers, Ian ruffled a few feathers and kept people on their toes in order to make the programme better. Both Patrick Macnee and director Don Leaver recall Ian demanding or actually carrying out rewrites, and � working together with the rest of the team � generally striving to make the show as good as it could possibly be. The Avengers had been hastily commissioned, and was up against some nail-biting production deadlines throughout its first year, but people like Ian (and producer Leonard White) made sure that the creative team never settled for a second-rate product or an attitude of �that�ll do�.
Picture: Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel and Patrick Macnee as John Steed - The Avengers (1961). Book illustration by Shaqui Le Vesconte.
Given that only two complete episodes and a small portion of a third survive from The Avengers, Series 1, you and Alan needed to form a detective team of your own to uncover the full story. What were the main challenges presented to you both with regard to researching this book and what resources did you find to help you in your quest?
Richard: Actually, the survival rate of the episodes has surprisingly little relationship to how much information is known about the production of each one. For example, we know lots of nitty-gritty details about the making of the missing episode The Springers, thanks to the existence of not only a camera script, but also other documents such as the programme budget sheet, props list, and wardrobe and make-up requirements.
Conversely, not a single scrap of production documentation pertaining to the surviving episode The Frighteners is known to exist today, just a dialogue script that was transcribed from the episode itself decades after the fact (in 1997). Of course, that hasn�t stopped Alan and I from finding things out about The Frighteners, such as the fascinating life of its writer Berkeley Mather, or from making copious observations about it!
To help provide a clearer picture of the whole series, Alan has been in touch with many of the production personnel who were involved (or the relatives of those who are unfortunately no longer with us), who have kindly helped us to fill in the blanks. These include John Whitney and Rosemary Bellman (the widow of John�s co-writer, Geoffrey Bellman). We have also consulted biographical works, such as Leonard White�s Armchair Theatre � The Lost Years, and contemporary press coverage, all of which are duly acknowledged in our book.
Picture: Patrick Macnee as John Steed - The Avengers (1961). Book illustration by Shaqui Le Vesconte.
After so many years, it�s fascinating to see so much interest in The Avengers, Series 1, with the publication of your new books and also the recreation of the episodes by Big Finish as audio productions. Why all this renewed interest and what inspired you and Alan to write these books in the first place?
Richard: I think the StudioCanal DVD releases of The Avengers during 2009�2011 helped a lot, because while Jaz Wiseman was preparing special features for the range it became apparent that Leonard White held Tele-Snaps (off-screen stills) from several of the missing episodes. These were published in a booklet accompanying the first DVD set and led to reconstructions of missing episodes (produced by Alan and his wife Alys) being included as special features across the rest of the range. These presentations really brought the missing Avengers episodes to people�s attention � they certainly brought them to mine!
I think there has also been a healthy interest in vintage TV in general, which has in recent years led to the DVD release of surviving episodes from other shows from a similar period, such as the BBC�s Quatermass serials, A for Andromeda and Adam Adamant Lives! and ABC�s (the ITV company that gave us The Avengers) Pathfinders serials, Public Eye and Callan.
Alan and I (and Alys in the case of The Strange Case�) decided to write about Series 1 of The Avengers because we happened to have a lot to say about it, and we realised that there aren�t any other books out there that cover this mostly missing year in anything like this level of detail. In fact, we originally set out to produce a single book, covering both the storylines and the behind-the-scenes stuff, but it quickly became apparent to us that we had way too much information to fit into just one book, so one became two!
Picture: Book illustration by Shaqui Le Vesconte.
Could you share one of your favourite anecdotes about the first series?
Richard: One of the most surprising for me was that the episode A Change of Bait, an apparently harmless little story concerning insurance scams and an awful lot of chatting on telephones, led to a complaint being made to the Independent Television Authority, which resulted in the episode being screened before a delegation from the ITA and the Home Office! The reason for the complaint is not known, but it seems likely that it had to do with a detailed depiction of arson in the episode. Fortunately, those present at the screening found nothing to substantiate the complaint and in fact greatly enjoyed the show!
Picture: The two Avengers Series 1 books. A Strange Case Of The Missing Episodes (left) and With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes (right)
So you have now completed two fine books on The Avengers - Series 1, but we hear that you and Alan are not yet finished and that a new project is in the pipe-line. What�s the subject matter of your next book and when do you anticipate publication?
Richard: I have already mentioned how one book became two. Well, during the preparation of this second volume, it gave rise to a third! Our researches for With Umbrella�led us to look into Police Surgeon, the �predecessor� to The Avengers. Not much is generally known about that series, which ran for just 13 half-hour episodes back in 1960, of which only one episode survives. However, even we were staggered by how much information we have amassed about Police Surgeon, and so now, though it is covered in this book to a degree, it will also be getting a book of its very own!
It should be ready in the early months of 2015, and it will cover both the narrative and production side of things. I don�t want to go into too much more detail than that as of yet, because the book is still being prepared, and I wouldn�t want to steal the thunder from our current publication, With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes! Together, we like to think of these three volumes (two Avengers books and one Police Surgeon book) as our unofficial �Ian Hendry trilogy�.
Thanks Richard for taking the time to chat with us and sharing some fascinating insights into the series. We wish both you and Alan great success with your new book, which will definitely be a very enjoyable read and valuable resource for the many fans of The Avengers.
Richard: My pleasure!
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Now Available:
With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes - An Unauthorised Guide to The Avengers Series 1
Authors: Richard McGinlay and Alan Hayes.
Published by: Lulu.com
Discount Code: Use the discount code MATEY25 at the checkout on Lulu.com to get an amazing 25% off the price of all paperbacks AND hardcover books. Until September 22nd 2014.
Further Details: For full details of the book and how to purchase, please click on the link below:
>>> For Hard Back/ Paperback Versions: Click here
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For details of their first book, The Strange Case Of The Missing Episodes - The Lost Stories Of The Avengers Series 1 - click here
And lastly! Alan Hayes also runs the The Avengers Declassified website which is well worth checking out. It covers every season of The Avengers as well as the show's reincarnation as the New Avengers. Best wishes Neil Hendry Share With Your Friends!� [shareaholic app='share_buttons' id='396202'] A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography: Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below: Official Website of Ian Hendry - Homepage
Editor, Official Website of Ian HendryFurther Reading
Film Still - The Beauty Jungle (1964)
Picture: A pensive looking Ian Hendry (as Don Mackenzie) is captured in a still from the film The Beauty Jungle (1964)
The film was directed by Val Guest and shot in glorious CinemaScope. It was released as Contest Girl for the US market.
DVD Release Format
The film has been released on DVD, however, the widescreen format has been lost in the recent Region 2 version from Strawberry Media (release date: 3rd June 2013).
There is, however, an Australian release (Region 4) that does retain the widescreen format, which I would recommend (assuming your DVD player can play all regional DVD formats).
CinemaScope
For those interested in the more technical aspects of film-making, CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. It was created in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, Spyros P. Skouras.
The anamorphic lenses theoretically allowed the process to create an image of up to a 2.66:1 aspect ratio, almost twice as wide as the previously common Academy format's 1.37:1 ratio. Although the CinemaScope lens system was made obsolete by new technological developments, primarily advanced by Panavision, the CinemaScope anamorphic format has continued to this day.
CinemaScope wins an Oscar!
An interesting piece of trivia is that Bausch & Lomb won an Oscar in 1953 for their development of the CinemaScope lens.
A more detailed account of the story of CinemaScope can be found on Wikipedia (click here).
Film Plot
While on a seaside holiday a young typist is persuaded by a local journalist to enter a beauty contest. When she wins, she decides to give up her previous career and life and take up entering the contests full-time.
Opening Scene
The opening scene was shot in Weston-super-Mare in Somerset with the Grand Pier prominent in the background. An establishing shot of the beach is followed by the camera panning, bringing a Morris Minor Convertible into view as it descends to the beach. Ian (as Don Mackenzie) and his long-time friend, Ronnie Fraser (as Walter Carey) are then introduced....
Cast
Ian Hendry as Don Mackenzie
Janette Scott as Shirley Freeman
Ronald Fraser as Walter Carey
Edmund Purdom as Rex Carrick
Jean Claudio as Armand
Kay Walsh as Mrs. Freeman
Norman Bird as Mr. Freeman
Janina Faye as Elaine
Tommy Trinder as Charlie Dorton
David Weston as Harry
Peter Ashmore as Lucius
Sid James as 'Butlin' Judge
Jacqueline Jones as Jean Watson
Jackie White as Barbara Lawton
Jerry Desmonde as Swimming Pool MC
Alan Taylor as TV Commentator
Eve Eden as Angela Boynton
Lionel Blair as Talk of Town Producer
Nikki Peters as Cora
Margaret Nolan as Caroline
Other notable cameo appearances include the former Miss World, Rosemarie Frankland, who made her screen debut; Norman Hartnell, Lydia Russell, Duchess of Bedford, Stirling Moss, Linda Christian, and Joe Brown appear as themselves judging the 'Rose of England' contest.
Best wishes
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
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With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes - The Avengers, Series 1 - by Richard McGinlay and Alan Hayes
Book Now Available:
With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes - An Unauthorised Guide to The Avengers Series 1
Authors: Richard McGinlay and Alan Hayes.
Publication Date: 9th September 2014
Published by: Lulu.com
Discount: Use the coupon code SHOP20 at checkout on Lulu and save 20% - until 16th September 2014.
Further Details: For full details of the book and how to purchase, please click on the link below:
>>> For Hard Back/ Paperback Versions: Click here
__________________________________________________________________________________________
A new book has been published, telling the behind-the-scenes story of the first year of The Avengers. It is co-written by Richard McGinlay and Alan Hayes and is beautifully illustrated by Techno Delic.
With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes details the colourful events that led up to the creation of The Avengers. It also covers the creative team involved in the process and the technical challenges facing them as well as the actors who were chosen to spearhead the new series. Only two complete episodes and a portion of a third survive from this very first series, but with great dedication and detailed research, Richard and Alan have retold this fascinating story.
This book is the second in a trilogy of books which will cover Ian's involvement and important contribution to The Avengers. The first book, The Strange Case of the Missing Episodes: The Lost Stories of The Avengers Series 1, was almost entirely on the narrative content of the shows. (An interview with Richard and Alan is available on this website, where they discuss the first book and The Avengers in more detail click here
This new book,With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes, goes in a different direction and examines the series from the perspectives of production, transmission and reaction.
The final book in the trilogy, will tell the story of Ian's first major breakthrough as a lead actor in the TV series Police Surgeon (1960). Whilst the series was not a major commercial success, Ian's potential 'star quality' was recognised by ABC Television, who then began in a quest to create a new series for him. And that series was, of course, The Avengers.
Thanks to Richard and Alan who kindly asked me to write the Foreword for this new book
__________________________________________________________________________________________
With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes - An Unauthorised Guide to The Avengers Series 1
Authors: Richard McGinlay and Alan Hayes.
Publication Date: 9th September 2014
Published by: Lulu.com
Discount: Use the coupon code SHOP20 at checkout on Lulu and save 20% - until 16th September 2014.
Further Details: For full details of the book and how to purchase, please click on the link below:
>>> For Hard Back/ Paperback Versions: Click here
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
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Roger Moore and Ian Hendry - 'The Time And The Place' The Persuaders (1971)
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Picture (above): Roger Moore and Ian Hendry relaxing after a hard days filming for the episode, 'The Time And The Place' - The Persuaders! (1971)
Thanks to Adrian for sharing this picture with us on the Official Ian Hendry Facebook page.
The clip below contains the opening sequence. The opening credits were created to emphasise equal billing between both Roger Moore and Tony Curtis; an important aspect ironed out before Tony would agree to come 'on-board'!
In his autobiography, 'My Word Is My Bond', Roger Moore retells some funny anecdotes of his time filming with Ian. On one particular shoot near Tower Bridge, London, Ian used his charm and experience of acting as a police officer to persuade a drunken by-stander to move on and stop interrupting the filming!
Ian and Roger had worked together previously on the two-part episode of The Saint, 'Vendetta For The Saint' (1969) which was later also released as a film.
Picture: Vendetta For The Saint (1969) - Original Fim Poster
Best wishes
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
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Get Carter (1971) - Behind The Scenes
There's something fascinating about the candid 'behind the scenes' shots from films. The tension before a take or the relaxation of the actors, directors, producers and crew are fully exposed.
Film-making has often been used as a means to suspend reality, but these shots cut through that, often revealing the cast and crew members in another light.
Get Carter is a 1971 British crime film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry,Britt Ekland, John Osborne and Bryan Mosley. The screenplay was adapted by Hodges from Ted Lewis' 1969 novel Jack's Return Home.
The story follows a London gangster, the eponymous Jack Carter (Caine), who travels back to his hometown to discover more about the events surrounding his brother Frank's supposedly-accidental death. Suspecting foul play, he investigates and interrogates, getting a feel for the city and its hardened-criminal element; with vengeance on his mind, the situation builds to a violent conclusion.
Get Carter is mainly set in North East England and was filmed in and around Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, and County Durham. Principal photography took place in the from 17 July � 15 September 1970 (Source: Get Carter in Wikipedia)
Here are some of the best 'behind the scene' shots and some of the locations where this classic film was set.
Picture: Ian Hendry, windswept on Blackhall Beach
Picture: Closing scene at Blackhall Beach. Ian Hendry with Michael Caine and crew.
Picture: Michael Caine on Blackhall Beach with the colliery conveyor behind. The beach has now been cleaned up and the conveyor removed.
Picture: Michael Caine and Brian Mosely. Trinity Square Car Park, Gateshead.
Picture: Location: Trinity Square Car Park, Gateshead. Made famous for it's rooftop scenes involving Michael Caine and Brian Mosely. These pictures were taken shortly before it was demolished in 2010. The first photo of the three shows Tynebridge with the car park in the distance.
Picture: Michael Caine (as Carter) and Dorothy White (as Margaret) on High Level Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne
Picture: Ian Hendry, Wallsend/ Hebburn Ferry Landing
Picture: Ian Hendry, Wallsend/ Hebburn Ferry Landing
Picture: The chairs!
Picture: Petra Markham, Rosmarie Dunham, Michael Caine, Geraldine Moffat and Dorothy White
Picture: Petra Markham, Michael Caine and Dorothy White
Picture: Michael Caine and Britt Ekland
Picture: Michael Caine. Some classic shots taken on Westgate Street, Newcastle upon Tyne
Picture: Funeral Cortege. Filmed at Frank Street in Benwell (now demolished) with the Dunston B Power Station in the distance (demolished in 1986).
Picture: Michael Caine in Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Picture: Mike Hodges (Director)
Picture: Mike Hodges and Michael Caine
Picture: Mike Hodges and Michael Caine
Picture: Mike Hodges with John Osborne
Picture: Mike Hodges, Michael Caine and Michael Klinger (l-r)
Picture: Mike Hodges, Michael Caine and Michael Klinger (l-r)
Picture: Michael Caine and crew on set. Mike Hodges peering down from the beam above and George Sewell follows on the steps behind.
Picture: Ted Lewis typing on set. Ted wrote the novel 'Jack's Return Home' which formed the basis for the film. Michael Caine and Ian Hendry in the distance. Wallsend/ Hebburn Ferry Landing
Picture: Ted Lewis in Benwell, Newcatle upon Tyne
Picture: Ian Hendry with Michael Caine and Michael Klinger, Wallsend/ Hebburn Ferry Landing
Picture: Ian Hendry with Michael Caine and Michael Klinger, Wallsend/ Hebburn Ferry Landing
Picture: Ian Hendry with Michael Caine - Wallsend/ Hebburn Ferry Landing
Picture: George Sewell, Michael Klinger, Ian Hendry with Michael Caine (l-r) at Wallsend/ Hebburn Ferry Landing
Best wishes
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
Sources:
Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
Official Website of Ian Hendry - Homepage
Birth Of The Avengers
Police Surgeon provided a big break in the career of Ian Hendry. Having served his apprenticeship in repertory theatre and several small parts in TV and film, Ian landed the lead role in a new television series produce by ABC Television.
The series starred Ian Hendry as Dr Geoffrey Brent. Its thirteen half-hour episodes were broadcast on ITV at 7pm on Saturday nights from 10 September to 3 December 1960.
The series was created for ABC by Sydney Newman. When Police Surgeon was cancelled, Newman took Hendry and co-star Ingrid Hafner to a new series: The Avengers.
It is sometimes mistakenly claimed that The Avengers was a direct sequel to Police Surgeon, with Hendry playing the same character in both. Although there were similarities, this was in fact not the case. This myth has possibly been encouraged because material relating to Police Surgeon is scarce, and that the first episode of The Avengers aired only one month after the final episode of Police Surgeon. And of course, he did also played a Doctor in both!
Picture: Police Surgeon - Ian Hendry TV Times Cover October 2nd - 8th 1960
Picture: Ian Hendry - Police Surgeon, The Stage July 21st 1960
The importance that Police Surgeon had in the evolution of The Avengers is covered in detail on the following website:
The Avengers TV - Police Surgeon
The article below records the news of the forthcoming series that would provide the new 'vehicle' for the recognised talents of Ian Hendry. It would also, of course, change the course of the career of one Patrick Macnee.
Picture: Ian Hendry and The Avengers - Announcement in The Stage, 1st December 1960
The origins of The Avengers has been well documented in many publications and websites. Most notably in the recent book by Alan Hayes, Richard McGinlay and Alys Hayes who have uncovered the lost stories behind the �birth� of The Avengers. An interview with the authors can be found in the following article on this website:
The Strange Case of The Missing Episodes - The Lost Stories of The Avengers Series 1,
Alan has advised us that there is a second book in the works that will provide further detail on the creation of The Avengers, Series 1, as well as more detail on Police Surgeon, which was in many ways the series that was the catalyst for The Avengers. We will provide updates when more information on this is available. Alan also runs a very comprehensive website on The Avengers:
It was an idea about to happen and the beginning of what was to become a cult British Television show. The photograph below also captures a defining moment in the career of Ian Hendry.
Perhaps the earliest portrait picture of Ian Hendry as he was about to take on a new and exciting role as Dr. David Keel.
Taken by ABC Television at the end of 1960 for use in promotion of their new forthcoming series......called The Avengers!
Photograph: Front
On the rear of the photograph is attached a typed description of the forthcoming programme and the characters that Ian and Patrick Macnee would both play.
And as ABC Televison would have wished. Picture courtesy of ABC Television.
Photograph: Back
Stamped in blue ink is the ABC TELEVISION PICTURE COPYRIGHT FREE IF ABC CREDITED.
In blue ink (encircled) it reads 'Ian Hendry 3" s/c Tel Lancs Weds wanted Tues'. Beneath is written in pencil what looks like 'Used 6-12-01' but most likely it is '6-12-61'.
The main description reads as follows:
Thirteen weeks as ABC's "Police Surgeon" has brought such a following for IAN HENDRY, who celebrates his thirtieth birthday on 13th January, that heads now turn in the street as he passes and he is in demand for Personal Appearances. ABC have rewarded Ian with the starring role in their new adventure series "THE AVENGERS" which will be seen at 10 p.m. in the Midlands and North commencing 7th January.
In the one-hour series, IAN HENDRY will again play a doctor, but this time he will use his medical practice as a cover for his work in fighting crime under the instructions of secret service man PATRICK MACNEE, who will co-star.
At home with his wife Joe in their converted naval craft on the river at Chiswick IAN likes nothing more than messing about in boats, and he is also turning his hand to playwrighting - he aims one day to direct and write as well as act.
Photograph: Back Description
Further press articles on Police Surgeon and The Avengers can be found on the following link:
Ian Hendry Press Articles -1960's
Ian Hendry's original contract for The Avengers:
Ian Hendry's Contract - The Avengers
Should Ian Hendry have stayed in The Avengers? Find out more and some of Ian's thoughts on the issue in the following article:
Best wishes
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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Drama '63 - 54 Minute Affair - Ian Hendry and Jeanette Sterke
The play '54 Minute Affair', by Julian Bond, was filmed during the coldest winter in Britain since 1740! Ian Hendry starred opposite Jeanette Sterke in this Drama '63 TV Production.
Drama 61-67 was an anthology drama series which took a different title, based on year of transmission, each year (e.g. Drama '63). It alternated with Armchair Theatre from ABC in the Sunday evening slot.
The series was described at the time as epitomising ATV drama
The production was filmed at various locations in London, including Marylebone Station which formed the backdrop for the still photograph and a Jazz club where the couple met at the start of a (very) brief romance. Ian was a lifelong fan of jazz and would certainly have approved of this location. Perhaps he even suggested it himself......
Jeanette Sterke (born 1934) is an English actress.
Sterke was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her parents emigrated to England to escape the Nazis. She was schooled in England and attended RADA. She has had a long stage and television career and also appeared in several films including Live Now Pay Later, which of course starred Ian in the leading role.
Here are some reviews of the play.
TV Times Preview 24-30 March 1963
Glasgow Evening Times 23rd March 1963
Cast:
Ian Hendry - Harry Barnes
Jeanette Sterke - Sue Anson
Francesca Annis - Sally
William Gaunt - Ewan
Edward Hardwicke - Jim
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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Interview In The Stage - 9th July 1964
Ian Hendry discusses his forthright views on scriptwriting and the state of television drama in 1964....and much more!
Best wishes
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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Armchair Theatre - Ian Hendry, Kenneth More + (1965)
Picture:�ABC Armchair Theatre actors and actresses pictured together in 1965 when they attended a special reception at the Cheshire Cheese, London to mark the beginning of the tenth season of the series. (left to right) Ian Hendry, Ruby Dee, Caroline Mortimer, Pauline Yates, Kenneth More, Tessa Wyatt, Dick Gregory and Tony Robins.
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Ian's participation in the Armchair Theatre productions was as a direct result of his involvement in The Avengers, where he starred as Dr. David Keel in the first season. �As part of that contract, Ian and his agents negotiated with ABC Television to include two episodes of Armchair Theatre. �One of the plays included Afternoon Of A Nymph (1962), where he met his future wife-to-be, Janet Munro (full contract can be seen here )
Armchair Theatre - Background
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968. Armchair Theatre filled a Sunday-evening slot on ITV, Britain's only commercial network at the time, in which contemporary dramas would be the most common form, though this was not be immediately apparent.
It was launched by Howard Thomas, head of ABC at the time, who argued that "television drama is not so far removed from television journalism, and the plays which will grip the audience are those that face up to the new issues of the day as well as to the problems as old as civilisation." The original producer of the series was Dennis Vance, who was in charge for the series' first two years, and the early years drew heavily on North American sources including the first play, The Outsider, a medical drama adapted from a stage play by Dorothy Brandon, which was transmitted live on 8 July 1956 from ABC's northern studios in Didsbury, Manchester. Reportedly Vance had a preference for classical adaptations, though some of these � such as a version of The Emperor Jones (30 March 1958 by the American dramatist Eugene O'Neill � were not conservative choices. Vance was succeeded by Sydney Newman, who was ABC's Head of Drama from April 1958. The perils of live transmission caught up with the production team on 28 November 1958, early in Newman's tenure. While Underground was being broadcast a key actor suddenly collapsed and died. Such nightmare situations could be handled more easily when Armchair Theatre was able to benefit from prerecording on videotape after production of the series moved from Manchester to the Teddington Studios near London in the summer of 1959.
Migrating from his native Canada to take up his responsibilities with ABC, Sydney Newman objected to the basis of British television drama at the time he arrived: "The only legitimate theatre was of the 'anyone for tennis' variety, which, on the whole, presented a condescending view of working-class people. Television dramas were usually adaptations of stage plays, and invariably about upper classes. I said 'Damn the upper-classes -they don't even own televisions!'" He converted Armchair Theatre into a vehicle for the generation of "Angry Young Men" that was emerging after John Osborne's play Look Back in Anger (1956) had become a great success, although older writers such as Ted Willis were not excluded. His 1958 stage play Hot Summer Night (1 February 1959) was adapted to shift its focus from an unhappy marriage of parents in the play onto their daughter's mixed relationship with a Jamaican man and the potential problems their possible marriage might face. It was one of the earliest British television plays to have "race" as a theme.
Extract:�Armchair Theatre - Wikipedia
One of Ian's early film appearances was in Sink The Bismarck (1960), which starred Kenneth More in the lead, in which he had a small part as a naval officer (see 19 minutes, 47 seconds onwards)
Best wishes
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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This Is My Street (1964) - With June Ritchie
This Is My Street is a 1964 British drama film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Ian Hendry, June Ritchie, Avice Landone, John Hurt and Meredith Edwards. A bored housewife living in a suburban house begins an affair with the lodger, a salesman. He then abandons her for her younger sister.
Wikipedia - This Is My Street Full Cast
"Sixties� backstreets bedroom drama adapted from Nan Maynard�s rather middling novel. Director Sidney Hayers fashions an interesting drama amid the sordid squalor of London and creates a number of genuinely sympathetic characters. Ian Hendry giving a performance of compelling magnetic brilliance as the jack-the-lad charmer capable of turning from seducer to scoundrel and back again in the blink of an eye.
Suburban housewife Margery Graham (June Ritchie) feels trapped living in the shabby Battersea terrace of Jubilee Close with her lazy husband (Mike Pratt) and small daughter. Harry (Ian Hendry), a slick salesman and nightclub owner lodging with her mother next-door continually makes advances towards Marge which are rebuffed, until she finally gives in after he helps find her missing daughter. Bored with Marge, he then abandons her and turns his attentions to her college-educated younger sister, Jinny (Annette Andre). Marge becomes infatuated with Harry, and when she discovers that he plans to marry her sister, she attempts to commit suicide � leaving a note exposing her indiscretions."
Picture: Press Book Cover - This Is My Street (1964)
Picture: Ian Hendry and June Ritchie
Picture: Janet Munro is seen as an extra, sitting in a seat behind Ian Hendry and June Ritchie on the roller coaster!
Picture: Promotional portrait of Ian Hendry for the film, This Is My Street (1964)
Above Pictures: Stills from the film, Ian Hendry and June Ritchie
Picture: An early appearance by a young John Hurt
Best wishes
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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Doppleganger a.k.a. Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun - Show Guide November 1969
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Doppleganger a.k.a. Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun
An article from the November 1969 edition of Show Guide is included below. As a piece of movie trivia, the space helmet that Ian used in the making of this film was used again several years later in the making of The Adventures Of Don Quick, with the only difference being that it had received a respray to a cream/ white colour!
Wikipedia has a detailed entry on the film, which now has a kind of cult status within some circles (click here)
Extract:
"Doppelg�nger is a 1969 British science-fiction film directed by Robert Parrish and starring Roy Thinnes, Ian Hendry, Lynn Loring and Patrick Wymark. Outside Europe, it is known as Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, which is now the more popular title. In the film, a joint European-NASA mission to investigate a planet in a position parallel to Earth behind the Sun ends in disaster with the death of one of the astronauts (Hendry). His colleague (Thinnes) discovers that the planet is a mirror image of Earth.
The first major live-action film of Century 21 writers-producers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, noted for Thunderbirds and other 1960s "Supermarionation" puppet television series, shooting for Doppelg�nger ran from July to October 1968. With Pinewood Studios as the principal production base, Parrish filmed on location in both England and Portugal. The professional relationship between the Andersons and their director became strained as the shooting progressed, while creative disagreements with cinematographer John Read resulted in his resignation from Century 21.
Doppelg�nger premiered in August 1969 in the United States and October 1969 in the United Kingdom. Although the film in general has been praised for the quality of its special effects and set design, the parallel Earth plot device has attracted criticism, with some commentators judging it to be clich�d and uninspired in comparison to the precedent established by previous science fiction. In addition, while Doppelg�nger has frequently been interpreted as a pastiche of major science-fiction films of the 1960s, including 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), certain plot devices and imagery used have been dismissed as weak imitations of the originals. It has been termed a cult film."
The trailer for the film:
For more press articles on Ian from the 1960's and for larger reproductions of these Show Guide pages click here
Best wishes
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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This Is Your Life Camera Script (1978)
Ian Hendry - This Is Your Life (1978)
Recorded: 8th March, 1978.
Broadcast: 15th March, 1978 (8.30pm)
After many years of being hidden away in storage and then transported to Australia by my sister, Karen (thankfully, as I feared all copies had been 'lost' in the passage of time), an extract from my Grandfather's (James 'Jim" Hendry) original camera script is now available below.
The extract includes the seating plan, cast and crew, as well as the original script used by host, Eamonn Andrews and guest Patrick Macnee, at the very start of the show. Both were dressed as 'John Steed', the part made famous of course by Patrick in The Avengers and The New Avengers. The whole programme, taken from the original Thames Television tapes can be seen in the video below.
The show ran for just under 30 minutes and so a tightly scripted programme was required to keep everything on track. The extract below, however, clearly states where a reaction was expected by Ian which should help confirm the fact that the surprised guest is really not in on the 'secret'. In fact, in his book Send In The Clowns, The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry.�Gabriel discusses some of the practices by which Thames Television ensured anonymity of the person to be featured in the show.
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Ian Hendry This Is Your Life (1978) - The Full Original Programme
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A copy of my original This Is Your Life Autograph Book given to all the children on the show, with originals autographs can be seen below:
Original This Is Your Life Autograph Book
And stills captured from the show can be seen here:
________________________________________
Full Cast:
Host:
Eamonn Andrews
Featured:
Ian Hendry
Guests:
Tommy Cooper
Maurice Denham
Ian Ferguson
Ronald Fraser
Anouska Hempel
Patrick Macnee
Neil McCarthy
Patrick Pile
Valentina Poliakoff
Murray Robb
June Ritchie
Heather Sears
Wanda Ventham
Family:
Sandra (Sandy) Hendry
Sally Hendry
Corrie Hendry
Emma Hendry
James (Jim) Hendry
Enid Hendry
Donald Hendry
Valerie Hendry
Karen Hendry
Susan Hendry
Neil Hendry
________________________________________
Well this is quite possibly the last post of 2013, so just to wish you all:
'A Very Happy Christmas And A Healthy And Prosperous New Year!
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
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Peter O'Toole - In Memory
Peter O'Toole
The news that Peter O'Toole has died, aged 81, brings back fond memories of both the charismatic Irish actor as well as reminding me of one of my favourite quotes which, when it became imprinted on my mind in my early 20's, inspired me to pursue many exciting adventures.
All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.
From 'The Seven Pillars Of Wisdom' by T.E. Lawrence
Picture: Original Print and Autograph From The Neil Hendry Collection
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Seven Pillars Of Wisdom - T.E. Lawrence
This epic, sweeping autobiography is made even more incredible by the fact that T.E. Lawrence actually lost his first completed manuscript of the book (except for the introduction and final two books), by leaving it along with his briefcase on a platform at Reading Train Station in 1919....
The film, with it's majestic cast, including Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn and Peter O'Toole, combined with stunning locations, the extraordinary panoramic direction by David Lean and the dramatic score by Maurice Jarre, is a cinematic classic.
It is also certainly of it's time. But perhaps that is also one of the beauties of cinema, that it captures on film not only a story but also the acting techniques and style of it's period.
The Myth And The Man
Lawrence of Arabia as a character and as a story has always been fuelled in equal measures by both the truth and the myth. Where one actually ended and the other one began has always been subject of much speculation. The press reports of war have also always been used as tools of propaganda and spin, further fuelling the sense of public awe that began to surround Lawrence.
Autobiographies are frequently selective with regards to the truth and these question have certainly be asked of this book. But regardless of these issues, perhaps the true inspiration in both the book and film is that it taps into some of deepest and innermost parts of our psyche and imagination. The fact that throughout history, we have loved our stories and our heroes. And when both of these elements are served up with a quirky and offbeat character in the lead role, as is the case with T.E Lawrence 'Lawrence Of Arabia', then the recipe is complete.
Perfect Casting
The perfect casting of O'Toole in the leading role was both masterful and apt. His charismatic onscreen performance of this almost mythical character was further strengthened by his own relative obscurity as an actor at that point. 'Who really is this man?' could have been asked equally, by cinema audiences, of both Lawrence and O'Toole at that time.
Guardian Obituary: Peter O'Toole
An Anecdote With Peter, Ian, Richard Burton And Bob Ponton
Peter O'Toole's passing also reminded me of a colourful anecdote from Gabriel's book, where he recalled the meeting between Ian, Bob Ponton, Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole in a green room of a film studio, where each argued and proclaimed their 'greatness' as an actor. And as Gabriel pointed out, perhaps the only hell-raiser missing from this group was Oliver Reed!
Certainly, Peter O'Toole's death marks another close in a chapter of a 'golden era' of both film and television.
Thanks for the memories Peter.
Peter O'Toole (2nd August 1932 � 14th December 2013)
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_________________________________________
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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ITV Play Of The Week - 'On The Island' (1967) - TV World Magazine
An interesting find......Ian's press picture from a TV play in 1967...
ITV Play Of The Week - 'On The Island' (1967)
Broadcast: 3rd January 1967
Episode Cast (in credits order)
Marius Goring ... Robert Cosgrove
Helen Cherry ... Linda Cosgrove
Michele Dotrice ... Tess Cosgrove
Ian Hendry ... Colonel Guzzman
Directed by
Quentin Lawrence
Writing credits
Jacques Gillies - writer
From IMDB ITV Play Of The Week - The Island (1967)
Trivia:
TV Times magazine was launched in 1955, but only became a national magazine in 1968. Prior to 1968, several of the regional ITV companies - Westward Television, Scottish Television, Tyne Tees Television, Ulster Television, TWW and Teledu Cymru (and briefly WWN) - produced their own listings magazines. The Midlands originally had their own edition of TVTimes listing ATV and ABC programmes, but a separate listings magazine in the Midlands called TV World existed from 1964-68 before TVTimes went national. Until television listings were deregulated in 1991 the TVTimes was the only place where complete weekly listings of ITV programmes could be published
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography: Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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Promotional Pictures - The Early Years
One of these photographs was discovered by my sister, Karen, 'sandwiched' behind another family portrait in an old picture frame. The other was also 'hidden away' for many years. Both are now seeing the light-of-day again here.....
The first picture is a slight challenge to date. �The theatrical makeup, slight ageing for his character part and his more gaunt appearance creates an illusion of maturity. But to hazard a guess, this could have been taken around 1954, as there are definite similarities with how Ian looked whilst at the Central School of Speech and Drama (when featured in the Picture Post article published in March of that year). �Alternatively, it could be slightly later - after he had left college and during one of his spells at the Hornchurch Theatre or Oxford Playhouse.
But if I were to place a bet, it would be 1954.
In this second photograph, we can see Ian as he appeared in the late 1950's, when the use of brylcreem was obviously still at it's height! There are very close similarities with the picture used in the press article 'Tomorrow's Lead' published in Plays and Players, May 1958.
Ian's 'star' was emerging at this time and after a successful run at the Oxford Playhouse, Jean Anouilh's play 'Dinner With The Family' and his part as Jacques,�transferred to�the London West End.
We'll be posting some more interesting finds shortly.
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography: Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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Ian Hendry - Les Fiches de Monsieur Cinema
Monsieur Cinema cards were released from 1976 up to at least 2012 in France only and is the longest running series of cards in the world.� The series covers almost all films ever made from all Countries as well as Biography cards on most movie stars and directors, with probably over 15,000 different cards.
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography: Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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Gabriel Hershman With David Prowse ('Darth Vader' in Star Wars), Caroline Munro + Madeline Smith
Gabriel Hershman at the London Film Memorabilia Convention, Westminster, London on Saturday 9th November 2013.
Attending the event to sign copies of his book, Send In The Clowns - The Yo Yo Life of Ian Hendry, he also met up with Brian Clemens, David Prowse ('Darth Vader' in Star Wars), David Warner, Caroline Munro and Madeline Smith, all of whom left with copies of the book!
Here are some photographs from the event.
Dave Prowse ('Darth Vader' in Star Wars) with Gabriel Hershman
Madeline Smith with Gabriel Hershman
Caroline Munro with Gabriel Hershman
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography: Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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Ian Hendry and Janet Munro At Home c.1964
Some candid shots from c.1964 show Ian and Janet at their island home on the Thames ('Sphinx' on Pharaoh's Island, London).
Jimi Hendrix - Partying In The Pool at Sphinx in the 60s?
Jimi Hendrix may have been a guest at a party held by Ian and Janet at Sphinx in the 60s and even swum in the pool - according to an anecdote from a neighbour:
"The impressive property was home to Avengers actor Ian Hendry and his actress wife Janet Munro in the 1960s before they split, and was also the setting for director John Boorman�s two semi-autobiographical films � Hope and Glory in 1987 and Queen and Country in 2014.
According to the current owner, Andrew Muir, who has lived in the property for six years, there were plenty of wild parties during the 1960s, with one neighbour claiming to have swum in the pool with Jimi Hendrix."
Source: Surrey Live
Until next time,
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography: Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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Ian, Jo, Janet, Britt And A Neurotic Peter Sellers!
Note: A larger format/ text version of the TV Times article is also available here
Very little is know about Ian and his first wife, whom he first met whilst working in repertory theatre in 1955. We recently discovered that she was known to family, friends and referred to in the press by her middle name, Joanna. Her full name was in fact Phyllis Joanna Bell and the marriage was registered in Kensington, London.
Update February 2020: Thanks to Aled for helping me to find out further details about Jo. Her birthname was Phyllis Joanna Chaddock. She married Ian Bell in 1951 and retained her former husband's surname after their divorce.
Pictures: Marriage records: Ian Hendry and Joanna (Phyllis Joanna Bell)
Cubitts Yacht Basin was located near to Chiswick Bridge on the River Thames, a fashionable location and several writers, artists and other actors made their homes there. The off-river dock was sold by its owner, the Duke of Devonshire, in the mid-1970s and was subsequently redeveloped, with much of the basin being filled in and housing and a new marina constructed on the site, renamed Chiswick Quay. (Source: Avengers Declassified)
Cubitts Yacht Basin, Chiswick Before Redevelopment (date unknown)
Aerial View Of Chiswick Quay Marina, Chiswick ( former site of Cubitts Yacht Basin )
Chiswick Quay Marina, Chiswick ( former site of Cubitts Yacht Basin )
A marvellous Pathe Newsreel clip of Cubbits Yacht Basin featuring a London showgirl who lived there (filmed in 1958, the year before Ian and Jo moved there...) can be found here. and another clip from 1951 can be found here.
Ian Hendry and his wife, Joanna - TV Times Article from October 1960
Their home on the water shows the quirkiness of his character and what seemed like domestic bliss. Ian is pictured heading off to work in what looks like a Morris Minor 1000, further illustrating the relative modest nature of his lifestyle at that time.
Here is a rare glimpse into that time, when both lived in a converted naval craft called 'Two Seas' in Cubitts Yacht Basin, Chiswick, London W4.
Note:�A larger format/ text version of the TV Times article is also available�here
TV Times Listing for Police Surgeon - 7pm Saturday evening, just prior to the Vera Lynn Show - Saturday Spectacular!
It was in many ways the 'calm before the storm', so perhaps the nautical setting is apt. Ian was starring in Police Surgeon and his 'star was definitely rising'. The series, although not a hit, was enough to convince those at ABC Television that Ian had the 'star quality' that deserved a lead role in another series. The series created for him was of course The Avengers, which would co-star Patrick Macnee. The earliest known publicity shot of Ian, taken later in 1960 by ABC Television for use in announcing this forthcoming new series can be seen here.
An interesting condition of the original contract that Ian and his agent, Fraser and Dunlop Ltd, negotiated for The Avengers, was that it would also include two future plays in the Armchair Theatre series, the precise titles and dates to be determined 'as soon as suitable material and scripts......become available'.
One�was to be�Afternoon of a Nymph (1962) and the second was A Cold Peace (1965) which starred Britt Ekland in her first appearance on British television, carefully watched by her neurotic husband, Peter Sellers. (The full story is captured beautifully by Gabriel Hershman in the biography Send In The Clowns).
An interesting anecdote is that my sister, Susan Hendry worked in theatre costume design for many years, latterly at the BBC. During her time there, she met a lady who had worked on the making of A Cold Peace and had some rare studio stills of Ian on stage with Britt. When she knew that Sue was Ian's niece, she kindly said, 'perhaps you should have have these now.' When you see them, it is quite easy to imagine a nervous Peter Sellers lurking nearby!
It was whilst filming 'Afternoon of a Nymph' that Ian met his future wife-to-be Janet Munro, which in turn led to the breakdown of his first marriage to Jo. It seems that the increasing fame and opportunities also presented increasing temptations.
Stills from 'Afternoon of a Nymph' can be found here and the full Armchair Theatre production can be watched here.
Extract of part of The Avengers Contact List produced for the episode 'The Springers' (1961) 
The original contract and form of engagement for The Avengers, prepared for Ian Hendry to sign. 
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography: Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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On The Set Of The Avengers (1961)
Great portrait of a relaxed Ian Hendry sitting amidst the studio lights, taking a break from filming during the first season of The Avengers (1961).
Ian Hendry - during a studio break from filming The Avengers (1961)
For further reading on Ian Hendry and The Avengers you may be interested in:
Ian Hendry - Original Promotion Portrait for The Avengers (1960/ 1961)
A Case Reopened : The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961)
Should Ian Hendry Have Stayed In The Avengers?
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
Official Website of Ian Hendry - Homepage
Ian Hendry - The Avengers Original Promotion Portrait (1960-1961)
A rare and�interesting�find.
It was an idea about to happen and the beginning of what was to become a cult British Television show. The photograph also captures a defining moment in the career of Ian Hendry.
Perhaps the earliest portrait picture of Ian Hendry as he was about to take on a new and exciting role as Dr. David Keel.
Taken by ABC Television at the end of 1960 for use in promotion of their new forthcoming series......called The Avengers!
On the rear of the photograph is attached a typed description of the forthcoming programme and the characters that Ian and Patrick Macnee would both play.
Stamped in blue ink is the ABC TELEVISION PICTURE COPYRIGHT FREE IF ABC CREDITED.
In blue ink (encircled) it reads 'Ian Hendry 3" s/c Tel Lancs Weds wanted Tues'. Beneath is written in pencil what looks like 'Used 6-12-01' but most likely it is '6-12-61'.
The main description reads as follows:
Thirteen weeks as ABC's "Police Surgeon" has brought such a following for IAN HENDRY, who celebrates his thirtieth birthday on 13th January, that heads now turn in the street as he passes and he is in demand for Personal Appearances. ABC have rewarded Ian with the starring role in their new adventure series "THE AVENGERS" which will be seen at 10 p.m. in the Midlands and North commencing 7th January.
In the one-hour series, IAN HENDRY will again play a doctor, but this time he will use his medical practice as a cover for his work in fighting crime under the instructions of secret service man PATRICK MACNEE, who will co-star.
At home with his wife Joe in their converted naval craft on the river at Chiswick IAN likes nothing more than messing about in boats, and he is also turning his hand to playwrighting - he aims one day to direct and write as well as act.
And as ABC Televison would have wished. Picture courtesy of ABC Television.
Photograph: Front
Photograph: Back
Photograph: Back Description
For further reading on Ian Hendry and The Avengers you may be interested in:
A Case Reopened : The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961)
Should Ian Hendry Have Stayed In The Avengers?
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
Official Website of Ian Hendry - Homepage
Laurence Payne Obituary - Actor and Crime-Writer of Girl In The Headlines (1963)
Laurence Payne was an accomplished actor, perhaps best remembered for his lead role in the series Sexton Blake. But he was also a crime-writer publishing 11 novels, including Girl In The Headlines which was later made into a film starring Ian Hendry as the lead Inspector Birkett, with Ronald Fraser playing Sergeant Saunders.
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
Official Website of Ian Hendry - Homepage
Should Ian Hendry Have Stayed In The Avengers?
Article Update: New information added July 5th 2013, 10.30pm GMT
Recently, on The Avengers International Fan Forum, I was asked if I thought Ian regretted leaving The Avengers after the first series in 1961. It's an interesting question for a number of reasons. Here are some thoughts.
I think Ian left the Avengers for two main reasons. Firstly, production of The Avengers had stopped due to industrial action at ABC which lasted several months. I am sure if there hadn't been a strike he would have appeared in the second series and then who knows how the story would have developed and how The Avengers would have been affected. Would there even have been a Cathy Gale? It's fun to imagine what might have happened as a consequence.
The second factor though is that Ian's 'star was rising' at that time. Ian was both talented and ambitious and there were film offers that were coming his way. I am sure at that time he saw film as a huge opportunity to establish himself further and make a 'break-through'.
Picture: Ian Hendry (as Dr. David Keel) with Patrick Macnee (as John Steed), The Avengers 1961
In 1962, could anyone have predicted how The Avengers would evolve into being such a cult phenomenon?. Probably not. Also would The Avengers have evolved in the way it did with Ian still in the lead role? Maybe not. The New Avengers did work with two males and a strong female character in lead roles, so you could argue that Patrick (Steed), Ian (Keel) and Honor (Gale) could have been developed to work as well. But then again. if Ian had stayed, would the idea of having a strong female role in the series have become a reality? Possibly not. Interesting, though, to consider what might have been.
I think when you see Ian talk with Patrick and Eamonn about the first series (on This Is Your Life 1978) that it played a a very important part in both their careers, for quite different reasons. I think they both had very fond memories of that time, as seen in the clip below:
But there is no doubt that being associated with a series for a long spell can be beneficial to an actors career. Roger Moore played The Saint throughout much of the 60's and ended up playing Bond. John Nettles long spell as Bergerac no doubt created stability and established him as a leading actor. Patrick Macnee's long-time association as Steed. The list goes on and on. The public likes familiarity. They form a kind of relationship with their 'stars' and the characters they play. It becomes comfortable, like seeing an old friend again, albeit on the screen. Acting ability is just one aspect of becoming successful as an actor. Establishing a 'public', a following which helps guarantee viewing figures for programmes is just as important. Playing a familiar role for a long period of time certainly helps no end in this aspect.
Ian once mentioned to me that sometimes it is better to be in a supporting role, than be cast as the lead, as there is less chance of being type-cast. I think that was something that concerned him.
Also, I am not sure whether Ian would have been satisfied playing the same character in the same show for a large chunk of his career. He liked change and new challenges. So with that in mind I am not sure he would have wished to go back.
In hindsight, would he have wished he had stayed longer in The Avengers? Initially, probably not as his film career began to flourish. After leaving The Avengers, Ian had leading roles in a number if British films, including Live Now Pay Later (1962), Girl In The Headlines (1963), This Is My Street (1964), The Beauty Jungle (1964) and Children Of The Damned (1964). In 1965, he starred in two film classics, The Hill directed by Sidney Lumet and Repulsion directed by Roman Polanski. By the end of the 60's he was on the cusp of breaking through in Hollywood. The Southern Star (1969) starred the legendary Orson Welles, George Segal, Ursula Andress and Harry Andrews was maybe as near as he came to doing so.
The following insight, however, is shared by author Gabriel Hershman on the Avengers International Fan Forum:
"Bruce Montague told me, after I had completed the biography of Ian, that Ian had once confided to him that he did regret leaving The Avengers too soon. But, as we know, that is with the benefit of hindsight. When Ian left he felt that he was on the brink of a lucrative film career. Ian was not the type of actor to stay too long in any one role. He always believed in moving on but I'm sure that he had some misgivings about his decision AFTER the event when he realised that The Avengers had become such a worldwide cult show."
So it seems only natural that later on in his career he would have wished for something more stable. The 1970's was a difficult time for many as the British film industry was in decline. Without an international breakthrough in film, the main source of work was television. The decade also coincided with his personal problems with drink becoming increasingly an issue.
Many colleagues have said though that Ian should have become an international film star. And he did so nearly make that breakthrough.
I think that is what he was aiming for when he left The Avengers all those years ago.
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
Official Website of Ian Hendry - Homepage
The Goldfinch (1977) - Anglia Television
The Goldfinch (1977) by Jack Gardner
A young woman is haunted by the sound of a trapped bird in the chimney, that only she can hear. Set in a converted country mansion, Carole is drawn into a strange relationship with journalist, Alex Fleming (played by Ian Hendry)
Cast
Ian Hendry - Alex Fleming
Carole Mowlam - Edith Rees
Maureen Pryor - Mrs Stratton (Landlady)
Peter Tuddenham - Storyteller
Production
Anglia Television Drama Production (Anglia Television Ltd.)
Press Photograph
Press Coverage
The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961) - A Case Reopened
A very warm welcome to Alan Hayes and Richard McGinlay, two of the co-authors of a new book detailing the narratives of the very first series of the cult British TV series, The Avengers. Both have kindly agreed to an in-depth interview which provides a fascinating insight into the first year of The Avengers.
The Avengers�ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one hour episodes during it's entire run.�By 1969, the series�was shown in more than 90 countries.
Ian Hendry was originally cast as the lead, playing the part of Dr. David Keel, with Patrick Macnee cast as his trusted partner, John Steed.
The video clip above shows the reunion of two original stars, as they discuss the very first year of The Avengers on Ian's This Is Your Life, in 1978.
Picture: Ian Hendry (as Dr David Keel) and Patrick Macnee (as John Steed), The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961)�
But as the result of lost recordings of the show, the first series has become shrouded in a certain amount of mystery. How did it all begin, what was the first series really about and why have Alan Hayes, Richard McGinlay and Alys Hayes been hot on the trail, uncovering the lost stories behind the 'birth' of The Avengers?
In the following interview, Alan and Richard explain the answers to these questions and many more.....
Firstly, why this special interest for you in The Avengers?
Alan: I�ve been fascinated by television in general since childhood, and one of the very earliest �grown-up� series I can remember being engrossed with was The New Avengers, which I saw on its first British transmission. I adored the adventures of Steed, Purdey and Gambit, and never stopped to think that if this series was new, there must have been something old for the distinction to be deemed necessary. I was obviously not as bright a child as my school reports attested! My love of this oft-overlooked revival series has not diminished with the passing years, and in 1982 I discovered its illustrious forebear thanks to the showings on Channel 4. I quickly found it was quite my cup of tea!
Richard: I began watching The Avengers with the 1982 repeats, but ironically, it was the bits that are missing that turned me from being a casual fan into a hardcore devotee and writer on the subject. When the latest DVDs started coming out, I thought to myself, �Hmmm, yes, I�ll buy those at some point.� I had no immediate plans to do so. However, when I learned that the first volume included Tele-Snaps (off-screen stills taken from the original transmissions) from missing episodes in a booklet, I had to get my hands on the DVDs sooner rather than later!
�Picture:�Ian Hendry (Dr David Keel) and Patrick Macnee (John Steed), The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961) 'The Frighteners'
We understand, Alan, that you run a website dedicated to The Avengers. Please tell us more...
Alan: I set up my current site, The Avengers Declassified ( http://declassified.theavengers.tv/ ), in 2009, but had been running websites devoted to the series for ten years before that. For the greater part of that time, I ran a site documenting the little-known radio series of The Avengers that was produced and aired in South Africa in the early 1970s. Wonderful though that series variant is, I eventually felt a little stifled sticking to one small part of The Avengers� legacy, and that�s why I launched Declassified. It deals with the series in all its forms, and its content ranges from detailed episode guides and transmission information to less intense features based on whichever aspect of the series, its spin-offs or merchandise, takes my fancy. It already consists of 425 pages and is always growing, often in unexpected ways!
�Picture:�Ian Hendry (as Dr David Keel) and Patrick Macnee (as John Steed), The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961)
And also, we know that you had involvement with the DVD release of The Avengers series from Studio Canal. Could you tell us some background to this?
Alan: Shortly after launching The Avengers Declassified, I was approached by Jaz Wiseman to be involved in proposing and producing special features for the new DVD range. To begin with, this consisted of suggesting archive extras, including the surviving Police Surgeon episode, starring Ian Hendry of course, and Diana Rigg�s 1964 Armchair Theatre, The Hothouse, among other ready-made programmes and excerpts. After Leonard White offered us the use of off-screen �Tele-Snaps� of otherwise missing Series 1 episodes (also starring Ian Hendry!), we became involved in producing short programmes which attempted to reconstruct these lost stories. Over the next year, we made fourteen of these shorts, and it is these that proved to be the genesis of The Strange Case of the Missing Episodes, the new book, just published, that I have co-authored with Richard and my wife Alys.
�Picture:�Ian Hendry (as Dr David Keel) The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961) 'Brought To Book'
What inspired you to write this particular book and could you tell us what is its focus?
Alan: It came about really from adapting the reconstruction scripts into in-depth online synopses for The Avengers Declassified.
Richard: Having enjoyed all of the reconstructions that Alan and Alys had made, I wanted to know more about the episodes that not been reconstructed (due to lack of images) and were not yet covered on Declassified. I contacted Alan through the site, and he generously aided me in my researches. Partly as a �thank you� to Alan but largely because I was so enthused about these missing episodes, I offered to write up summaries to help plug the Series 1 gaps on Declassified. I did not envisage having a great deal to contribute to the episode guide areas of the site but, as it turns out, I did have quite a bit to say!
Alan: Eleven episodes (including two which survived) remained outstanding, and in just under a year, Richard had tackled each of them, blowing the dust off storylines that had become forgotten in the fifty years since they were televised. As the gaps were filled, we discussed putting them together into a book, along with the production information that we had researched for the site�s episode guide pages. Before long, we realised that such a book would be unwieldy and prohibitively expensive, so we pared the idea back to simply presenting the in-depth Series 1 narratives in synopsis form, many with script extracts.
Richard: A further volume is planned that will take another look at Series 1, from the production side.
Picture: Ian Hendry (as Dr David Keel), The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961) 'Hunt the Man Down'�
Obviously Ian Hendry played a key, but often forgotten role, in the creation of The Avengers. Could you briefly outline the background to the first series?
Richard: Prior to The Avengers, Ian played a different doctor in another ABC drama series called Police Surgeon. It had not been a great success, but viewers and industry insiders alike recognised the charisma and star quality of its lead actor, so when Police Surgeon was cancelled, The Avengers was created as a new vehicle for him, with Patrick Macnee brought in as his co-star. As Patrick himself has recalled in interviews and biographies, Ian took an active interest in the production of the show, often seeking to refine the scripts and generally make the programme as good as it could possibly be.
Alan: In the first episode, we are introduced to Ian�s character, Dr David Keel, and we learn that he and his receptionist, Peggy Stevens, are soon to be married. However, the couple�s plans are overturned in tragic fashion when a gang of drug dealers inadvertently send a consignment of heroin to the surgery. As Peggy took the delivery and saw the courier, the gang decided to kill her, so that she cannot identify the man. Their plan is carried out and Keel finds himself drawn into the underworld as he attempts to avenge her murder. He is helped by a shady, secretive man, who we later learn is John Steed. And so The Avengers was born.
�Picture:�Ian Hendry (as Dr David Keel) and Patrick Macnee (as John Steed), The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961) 'Toy Trap'
What key themes define the first series for you?
Richard: As is common with many TV shows, The Avengers was finding its feet during Series 1. It had not yet settled into the far-fetched fantasy that would define its later years, though you can see aspects of that gradually emerging. The production team, actors and writers were trying out various different styles and subjects, to see what worked best. Therefore, there is a huge variety in the stories of Series 1, everything from down �n� dirty drug dealers to space researchers reaching for the stars. There are some recurring elements. A number of episodes revolve around characters getting kidnapped, while several others see Keel or Steed masquerading as members of the criminal fraternity. I suppose the key defining theme of Series 1 is the sometimes uneasy alliance between Keel and Steed. Here are two people from very different backgrounds and with very different ideals who are united in a common goal. As a doctor and a humanitarian, Keel wants to do what is right, whereas Steed often uses ruthless methods if he thinks the ends justify the means. Keel criticises Steed for this attitude on a number of occasions, and the pair even come to blows about it at the end of the episode Toy Trap. I�d like to think that the later development of Steed into a less callous character is partly as a result of Keel�s influence.
Picture: Ian Hendry (as Dr David Keel) and Patrick Macnee (as John Steed), The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961) 'Toy Trap'
Given that Series 1 starred Ian Hendry as the lead (as Dr. David Keel) and Patrick Macnee as his supporting partner (as John Steed), how does it compare with the subsequent series of The Avengers which saw Patrick take on the lead role, when Ian departed to work more in films?
Richard: Luckily for the show, its format allowed for such a cast change. It was not entitled The Adventures of Keel and Steed � not that titles ever prevented shows like Blake�s 7 or Taggart from carrying on without their respective leads! Also, the focus of the series shifted between its two main characters, particularly during the early live episodes. Some predominantly featured Keel, while certain others turned the spotlight upon Steed. Two episodes (Girl on the Trapeze, which fortunately still survives today, and The Far Distant Dead) did not feature Steed at all, while one other (Dragonsfield) featured Steed alone, and so precedents had already been set for either character to go it alone or to gain a different partner. Though later series would typically revolve around Steed and a female partner, there is some foreshadowing of this in Series 1. Keel�s receptionist Carol Wilson (Ingrid Hafner) plays an active role alongside the doctor in Girl on the Trapeze, and she does so again alongside Steed in Ashes of Roses.
Picture: Ian Hendry (as Dr David Keel) and Ingrid Hafner (as Carol Wilson), The Avengers TV Series 1 (1961)�
Do you think this book will help raise a greater appreciation of Ian's role within the existing fan-base of The Avengers as well as the wider public?
Richard: Being realistic, I don�t think this book will have a huge impact on the wider public. It�s a very niche product and we don�t expect to sell thousands of copies � though it would be lovely to be proven wrong about that! Within the existing fan-base, yes, I think every little helps.
Alan: It�s certainly our intention to redress the balance where Ian Hendry is concerned. Unlike those actors and actresses who followed on from him in The Avengers, Ian doesn�t have the luxury of a full set of prints residing in the archives, that Avengers fans can watch and revisit on TV and DVD. Two full episodes and one extended extract are all that survive from his twenty-six episode stint on the series, and the missing episodes are unseen since 1961. Bearing these facts in mind, it is unsurprising that Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg and Honor Blackman are embedded in the audience�s memories of the series, and Ian is not. However, we really believe in The Avengers Series 1, its narratives, and in the Hendry-Macnee partnership that was forged in them. We wanted to start our Avengers range off with this special publication, which is designed to blow the cobwebs off the forgotten beginnings of The Avengers, explain how the Avengers actually became avengers, and celebrate the contribution to the series of Ian Hendry, a remarkable and gifted actor who should not be forgotten. As Richard says, it�s a niche publication for a niche audience, but in tandem with Gabriel Hershman�s excellent biography Send in the Clowns � The Yo Yo Life of Ian Hendry and your own website, we trust that it will give people cause to look more deeply at Ian�s contribution to The Avengers, and spark interest in his work before and after the series.
Lastly, thank you both for talking to the Ian Hendry Official Website, and we wish you all the very best with your new book!
The Strange Case of the Missing Episodes � The Lost Stories of The Avengers Series 1 is now available from the Hidden Tiger Books website:
�Click Here To Visit The Hidden Tiger Books Website
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Official Website of Ian Hendry � Homepage
BBC Radio Suffolk - Gabriel Hershman Discusses His New Biography On Ian Hendry
Gabriel Hershman Discusses His New Biography On Ian Hendry: Send In The Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry.
BBC Radio Suffolk: Lesley Dolphin talks with Gabriel Hershman (Broadcast: 1st May 2013)
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Further Reading
A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Comment and Share Please!�We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:
Official Website of Ian Hendry - Homepage
Dr. David Keel - The Avengers (1961) | Portrait
Ian Hendry As Dr. David Keel - The Avengers (1961) | Portrait
It is with great pleasure that we bring you the first of what we hope will be a growing collection of artwork, to celebrate the life and work of Ian Hendry. We are fortunate to be able to collaborate with some very talented artists so that we can bring Ian's work to you in a form other than celluloid and pictures. We hope that you enjoy these works.
Ian Hendry was the original Avenger, a fact often forgotten due to the fact that so many of the first series of The Avengers have been 'lost' presumed wiped. Some episodes, however, do remain along with a number of stills from the shows which we will use as inspiration to bring the show to life in other ways, including art.
The Avengers�is a�spy-fi�British television�series created in the 1960s.�The Avengers�initially focused on Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry) and his assistant�John Steed�(Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. Steed's most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women:�Cathy Gale�(Honor Blackman),�Emma Peel�(Diana Rigg), and later�Tara King�(Linda Thorson). Later episodes increasingly incorporated elements of�science fiction�andfantasy,�parody�and British eccentricity.�The Avengers�ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one hour episodes its entire run.
The pilot episode, "Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final Episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 May 1969.
The Avengers�was produced by�ABC Television, a contractor within the�ITV�network. After a merger in July 1968 ABC Television became�Thames Television, which continued production of the series although it was still broadcast under the ABC name. By 1969�The Avengers�was shown in more than 90 countries. ITV produced a sequel series�The New Avengers�(1976�1977) with Patrick Macnee returning as John Steed, and two new partners.
In 2007�The Avengers�was ranked #20 on�TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.
1961: With Dr David Keel (Ian Hendry)
The Avengers�began in the episode�Hot Snow, with medical doctor, Dr David Keel (Ian Hendry), investigating the murder by a drug ring of his fianc�e and office receptionist Peggy. A stranger named John Steed, who was investigating the ring, appeared and together they set out to avenge her death in the first two episodes. Afterwards, Steed asked Keel to partner him as needed to solve crimes.
The Avengers�followed Hendry's�Police Surgeon, in which he played police surgeon Geoffrey Brent.�While�Police Surgeon�did not last long, viewers praised Hendry. Hendry was considered the star of the new series, receiving top billing over Macnee, and Steed did not appear in two episodes.
As the series progressed, Steed's importance increased, and he carried the final episode solo. While Steed and Keel used wit while discussing crimes and dangers, the series also depicted the interplay�and often tension�between Keel's idealism and Steed's professionalism. As seen in one of the two surviving episodes from the first series, "The Frighteners", Steed also had helpers among the population who provided information, similar to the "Baker Street Irregulars" of�Sherlock Holmes.
The other regular in the first series was Carol Wilson (Ingrid Hafner), the nurse and receptionist who replaced the slain Peggy. Carol assisted Keel and Steed in cases, without being part of Steed's inner circle. Hafner had played opposite Hendry as a nurse in�Police Surgeon.
The series was shot on�405-line�videotape using a�multicamera setup. There was little provision for editing and virtually no location footage (although the very first shot of the first episode consisted of location footage). As was standard practice at the time, videotapes of early episodes of�The Avengers�were�reused. Of the first series, two complete episodes still exist, as�16 mm film�telerecordings. One of the episodes remaining does not feature Steed. The first 15 minutes of the first episode also exists as a telerecording; the extant footage ends at the conclusion of the first act, prior to the introduction of John Steed.
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Further Reading
A detailed account of his work in The Avengers is included in the new biography of his life.
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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Official Website of Ian Hendry - Homepage
The Hill (1965) - Australian Day Bill Poster
The Hill (1965) - Australian Day Bill Poster
The Hill is a classic military prison film directed by Sidney Lumet. It features Sean Connery (as Roberts) who was, of course flying high at that time playing James Bond. But with an all male cast it received unfair criticism at the time, purely because it lacked female 'interest'.
In what now seems like quite a humorous move, a scantily clad female dancer appears on the day-bill next to Sean�in the Australian release of the film,. Whilst she does not actually appear in this military prison romp....it does seem that she did play her part by being 'parachuted' into the poster by the marketing department!
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Further Reading
A detailed account of Ian's friendship with Coco The Clown and his early encounters with The Bertram Mills Circus is included in the new biography of his life.
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Neil Hendry
Editor, The Official Website of Ian Hendry
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This Is Your Life - Coco The Clown (1962) + Ian Hendry (1978) : Article
Coco The Clown - This Is Your Life (1962)
In early 1962, Coco The Clown was the subject of This Is Your Life. Ian Hendry, who became a close friend of Coco and his wife during his time as a student at Central School Of Speech and Drama in the early 50's, was one of the surprise guests on the show.
Hendry had since gone on to have a significant breakthrough in television, firstly with Police Surgeon (1960) and then with the first series of The Avengers (1961), a programme which was originally created for him. His first major leading role in a film, Live Now Pay Later, was just a few months away.
Coco was surprised by�Eamonn Andrews (the long-time host of the UK version of This Is Your Life), while he was performing with the Bertram Mills circus during their winter season at Olympia, London.
Born in Latvia, Nicolai was spotted by Mills while performing with Circus Busch in Berlin, and was persuaded to move to England.�He created the moniker of Coco, technically an auguste not a clown, and by the 1950s was probably the most famous clown in Britain.
Coco welcomed his guests on a set styled as a circus ring, as can be seen in the picture below.
The show was broadcast at 7.30pm on�Monday 15th January 1962 (BBC Television)
Photograph below: The photograph below captures Coco sitting down next to Eamonn Andrews at the close of the show. Ian Hendry is standing at the back, sixth from the right-hand side. Coco's wife, Valentina is standing directly behind him, wearing the black cardigan.
Eamonn Andrews + Coco The Clown [1962]
A special guest on the show was�Carol Antcliff, who recalls being a guest on Coco the Clown�s This Is Your Life in an exclusive interview recorded in February 2011 for The Big Red Book.
In the video below she describes how she first met Coco, her visit to London and her appearance on This Is Your Life and then how she met Coco again, years later, in 1974.
Ian Hendry - This Is Your Life (1978)
Some 16 years later, Ian Hendry became the subject of This Is Your Life. Sadly though, Coco had died in 1974, but in an emotional reunion, his wife Valentina appeared on the show to pay tribute to Ian and recall their great friendship. Ian goes on to explain to Eamonn Andrews the reasons for his love of the circus and the attraction of being a clown.
The recording of the show was broadcast at 7.30pm on Wednesday 15th March 1978 (Thames Television).
To find out more about the friendship between Coco The Clown and Ian Hendry read:
Ian Hendry And The Circus That Came To Town - Parts 1 and 2
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Further Reading
A detailed account of Ian's friendship with Coco The Clown and his early encounters with The Bertram Mills Circus is included in the new biography of his life.
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Neil Hendry
Editor, The Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Staff Sergeant Williams' Hat - The Hill (1965)
Staff Sergeant Williams'�Hat -�The Hill (1965)�
Roberts (Sean Connery):�"Funny looking hill, nothing grows on it"
Williams (Ian Hendry):�"Soldiers grow on that hill...they grow weary!"
In the summer of 1975, I was just a typical 8 year old boy living in Ipswich, Suffolk. I loved football and I loved things to do with the war. Life was very simple for me then. �I lived with my two sisters, Karen and Sue, and my parents in a brick-built detached house in Whitby Road. We were near to the local shops, the local school and the local park which must surely have completed the equation of what defined a suburban 'heaven'. �We had a small garden, with a grass lawn that became scorched by the sun in summer and two medium-sized apple trees that provided 'missiles' in the form of miniature apples, that could be launched with a tennis racket into orbit and onto the roofs of the surrounding houses. In one corner, there was a wood and wire-mesh cage full of white guinea pigs with ruby eyes that 'bred like rabbits' ......... and an actual rabbit, called Georgie Bobtail.
(Uncle) Ian was visiting the family. In between work, he had driven up from London with his wife, Sandy, and our cousins Sally and Corrie. It was always an exciting time, we were the 'country cousins' and they were from the 'big city'. We only lived 70 or 80 miles apart, but back then they seemed like 'different worlds' to me.
I remember that day quite clearly. I was upstairs in my bedroom when there was a knock on the door. (Uncle) Ian entered the room with a gift for me that he had brought with him from London. I opened the bag and there, inside, was a khaki coloured army hat.
'Great,' I thought as I took it out and put in on. I was 8 years old and loved anything to do with war.....well it was football and playing 'war' games that made me and most of my friends tick at that age. He mentioned that he had worn it in a film once and maybe he told me it was when he played Staff Sergeant Williams in The Hill. I really don't remember that bit. My main focus was on the fact that it was a cool army hat,�a real one, not some cheap plastic copy.
[On the front of the hat is a silver and gold coloured badge bearing the words 'East Surrey' on the ribbon.�Inside the hat, in white ink, are the details that it was made by J. Compton Sons & Webb, London in 1963, size 7 and one eighth. �The hat is lined with black industrial grade plastic, far from Ideal for filming in the desert heat. Perhaps, though, it added fuel to the part he played as Staff Sergeant Williams, where the use of�cruel treatment and the suffering of the prisoners was seen as the means for his (hopeful) promotion.]
I tried it on but it was a poor fit for me.
I remember my uncle telling me that it had been fitted specially for him. It may have been, �but on me it had a pincer like grip, cutting into both the fore and the back of my head. Head shape was obviously not something that 'ran in the family'.
Back then, in 1975, he was family and my uncle first. I knew he was in films and television and that he was 'somebody', but when you are 8 years old you have a fairly limited and mixed up understanding of the world. At home, we had a black and white valve television set which took at least ten minutes to warm up and become operational. Timing was everything if you wanted to actually see the start of a programme. From time to time, he would appear on it in films or in television programmes and it was always fun to see him. �I knew that didn't happen with my other friends uncles. That certainly made him 'special'.
Then and now....
It was only years later, when I became interested in his work and watched The Hill for the first time, that I began to really 'put all the pieces together'. And with that the significance of his gift to me changed.
When I was 8 years old, it was just a cool army hat from my uncle, which would be a great addition to all my other 'toys'. When I was older I realised that he had given me what must have been a treasured memory from one of his greatest moments on film. He'd obviously kept it after the filming was over and had held onto it over the years. Then one day, he decided to give it to me.
With time many things have come and gone in my life, but fortunately this hat is one thing that I have always held onto. It's older now of course. There is a tiny hole in the fabric on top, where a moth has enjoyed a meal and it's also a little crumpled from a long spell in storage.
But some things haven't changed. Firstly, after all these years, it's still a really cool army hat that he gave me when I was 8 years old. And secondly, I will always think of him as family and my uncle first.
Neil Hendry
Editor, The Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Further Reading
A detailed account of Ian's friendship with Coco The Clown and his early encounters with The Bertram Mills Circus is included in the new biography of his life.
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
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____________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Hill (1965) Background:
Staff Sergeant Williams
Staff Sergeant Williams�is new to the prison, and his ambition is matched only by his cruel treatment of the prisoners; he seeks to use their suffering as means for promotion. "And what are you supposed to be," Roberts asks him when he is accused of cowardice in battle, "a brave man in a permanent base job?" The RSM seems to agree; in another scene, he slyly mentions the fact that the Germans were bombing the UK (including the civilian prison Williams worked at) just as Williams was volunteering for prison duty in Africa.
Plot
In a�British Army�"glasshouse" (military detention camp) in the�Libyan�Desert, prisoners convicted of service offences such as insubordination, being drunk whilst on duty, going�AWOL�or petty theft etc. are subjected to repetitive drill in the blazing desert heat.
The arrival of five new prisoners slowly leads to a clash with the camp authorities. One new�NCO�guard who has also just arrived employs excessive punishments, which include forcing the five newcomers to repeatedly climb a man-made hill in the centre of the camp. When one dies a power struggle erupts between brutal Staff Sergeant Williams (Ian Hendry), humane Staff Sergeant Harris (Ian Bannen), Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson (Harry Andrews), and the camp's Medical Officer (Michael Redgrave) as they struggle to run the camp in conflicting styles.
Ian Hendry And 'The Circus That Came To Town' - Part 2
For Part 1 of this article:�Ian Hendry And �The Circus That Came To Town� � Part 1
The Golden Age Of The Circus In Britain
Nearly a century has passed since the conception of Bertram Mills� original circus, so it may be hard to comprehend the enormous social and entertainment impact this show brought to Great Britain.
When Ian Hendry met Coco The Clown for the first time and discovered The Bertram Mills Circus in 1953, this entertainment form was in it's heyday. It was glamorous, exotic and exciting. It attracted all facets of society. No-one was excluded, it was a form of �entertainment for�everyone. This aspect would certainly have appealed strongly to Ian's sensibilities.�Ian's friendship with Coco and The Bertram Mills Circus is detailed in the new biography�'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
No wonder it made such a huge impression on him. It was a world that would have immediately captured his already renowned imagination, taking him to another place, to somewhere magical. �The intensity and immediacy of the performances, the intimacy and interactions with the audience, the gasps and the laughter. The 'child inside' him would have been itching to join in with the fun.
It's easy to join the bandwagon of today's political correctness and dismiss the traditional circus as something from the 'dark ages'. The use of exotic animals to entertain audiences, being seen as an exploitation and their treatment cruel. Times change, tastes change, perspectives change. Change is the only constant.
- Bertram Mills Circus Programme 1954
The Circus In The 1950's - A Moment In Time
To really understand the significance of the circus at that time, we need to be able to 'picture' the period.
For a moment, let's travel back in time to the early 1950's. It was a time before television had begun to play such a dominant role in family entertainment, before natural history and travel programmes brought wild animals and the world into the living room. �A time before the arrival of cheaper air travel, which then opened up a world of possibilities and the chance of actually visiting these 'exotic' places, to see the wild animals and to explore the different cultures.
In a sense it was a time when the circus brought their version of the world to us. Not a real world of course, but one of make-believe and imagination. It was time when the circus held a special place in the hearts and minds of the people.
After the end of the Second World War, life in London was finally beginning to return to some normality. Buildings, roads and infrastructure were largely repaired. The period of fear, rationing and thrift was left behind and people began to look forwards, not backwards, with optimism. And for a while, at least, the circus became a national institution.
A night out in Olympia, with family or friends, watching the greatest human performance and animal acts from all over Europe was a key part of the social calendar. The sawdust covered big ring, the lights, the noise, the laughter and the surprises.�The circus gave people an experience that thrilled them.
And Ian was certainly no exception.
A Closing Of The Circle - The 'Circus Ring Of Life'
Much later in his life, in 1980, Ian gave a 'life-story' exclusive for the Sunday People news-paper. It is no coincidence that in that piece he acknowledged a very special time in his life. He dressed up as a clown, with make-up that gave reference to the style used by Coco, so that he could be photographed for the article.
If you look closely at the photograph, it appears as if Ian has taken his slip-on leather shoes (his footwear of choice) and turned up the leather tongues to shield his ankles and complete his clown's outfit. Improvisation, perhaps, brought on by the necessity of the moment. He strikes a pose, standing on his left foot and appears to be holding something between the fingers and thumb of his left hand. We can only guess what it is that he is holding, but it has been suggested that it may be the tears of a clown.
Just like the big ring in the circus, he had finally come full circle to the beginning again. Maybe, in some small way,�that felt�like 'going home'.
You can see that picture here:
See:��Ian The Clown
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Further Reading
A detailed account of Ian's friendship with Coco The Clown and his early encounters with The Bertram Mills Circus is included in the new biography of his life.
Read:��'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Neil Hendry
Editor, The Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Ian Hendry And 'The Circus That Came To Town' - Part 1
Ian Hendry's Return To School - And 'The Circus That Came To Town'
When Ian finished his period of National Service in 1951, he returned to work again on 'civvy' street. But this time it was �in London, working for a firm of estate agents in Edgware. Whilst there, he had occupied some of his spare time performing with a local amateur dramatics group, but by the end of 1952 he had finally made the decision to change his career path and follow his heart. After a long discussion with his parents in Ipswich, they finally accepted his decision and offered to back him through college.
He applied for a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama, based at that time in rooms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He was accepted and joined the course in January 1953, somewhat later than that years autumn intake students, but he would soon make up for lost time. This stage in Ian's life is�is detailed in the new biography�'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
This decision would completely change the direction of his life from that point on. He was 22 years old, living in a bedsit in London and about to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming an actor. His excitement at that point must have been immeasurable. An encounter that was about to happen next, would leave an impression on him that would last a lifetime.
The circus came to town.
Bertram Mills Circus - ' The Quality Show'
Bertram Wagstaff Mills�(August 1873 � April 16, 1938) was a�British�circus�owner who ran the�Bertram Mills Circus. Originally from�Paddington,�London, his circus became famous in Britain for its�Christmas�shows at�Olympia�in West London. The circus occupied the Christmas season at Olympia from 1920 until 1966/ 1967 season, with a brief hiatus for the war years. In 1967, rising costs made it prohibitive for the circus to continue. The end of an era had come and the Bertram Mills Circus finally closed for business.
In 1920, however, he was about to oversee the renaissance of the British circus:
"The status in which he was regarded led to a French circus critic describing him as "the renovator of the British circus," and throughout the British Isles, the show he had created in 1920 had become known as "The Quality Show"�a title it bore proudly until its closure in 1967. Without a shadow of doubt, Mills did indeed prove to be the saviour of the British circus for his generation, and perhaps, the United Kingdom will never see another era in which this form of entertainment was held in such reverence."
Extract from��Bertram Mills Circus in Circopedia
"It [Bertram Mills Circus] very quickly became a household name and the annual Christmas event. He made a point of inviting orphans to see the shows for free.�By 1930 (its heyday would last for the next thirty years, when it was without exception the best and most famous live show) he had inaugurated a touring circus which became unique amongst British circuses, always appearing at Olympia for the Christmas season.
The guest lists of the time very clearly indicate the renown of his show.�The Royal family�(who were great supporters) came every year,�Winston Churchill�and other similar dignitaries from Britain and abroad were also annual guests."
Extract from�Bertram Mills Circus in Wikipedia
At Olympia, the circus was also organised around a huge funfair, or carnival, with�attractions�that have included the Plate-Lipped Women from the Congo and the Giraffe-Necked Women from Upper Burma�who were also exhibited with enormous success by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the United States. Ringling�s famous gorilla, Gargantua, was also a�star attraction.
Editor's Note: For an overview of the circus in Britain in the 20th Century:
Read:�Overview of 20th Century Circus - Including Bertram Mills Circus�
Coco The Clown And The Bertram Mills Circus
Coco, whose real name was Nicolai Poliakoff, was born in Latvia in 1900.�His parents worked in the theatre when Nicolai was born, but both lost their jobs a few years later and, in order to survive, Nicolai started busking from the age of five. In 1929 Nicolai, or Coco as he was then called, came to England with his young wife Valentina and began working for�Bertram Mills' Circus.
Technically, Coco is not a clown but an �Auguste�; a foolish character on the receiving end of buckets of water and custard pies.
His makeup exaggerates his features, making the eyes and mouth larger and his costume is usually too big and is characterised by braces holding up colourful trousers and extra large shoes.
"When the outbreak of the Second World War caused the suspension of the Bertram Mills circus, he worked briefly as a hotel porter, labourer, and a performer in pantomime, before enlisting in the Pioneer Corps, arranging shows at the garrison theatre at Sandwich, Kent. Invalided out of the forces with a damaged lung and arthritis, he was demobilized on 8 August 1941, and then worked for ENSA, performing in various theatres for the troops with his son Michael Polakovs (1923�2009). In 1942 he and his son were engaged for the Blackpool Tower circus Easter and summer programmes, and were joined there in 1943 by his daughter Tamara. They remained in Blackpool for each summer and Easter programme until 1946, often sharing the limelight with the French clowns the Cairolis. During the winter season Coco and his family made appearances at the King's Hall Christmas circus at Belle Vue, Manchester, or toured with Tom Arnold's stage circus presentations."
"In 1947, the year after Bertram Mills circus reopened, Coco and his family returned to Britain's �Quality Show�. He appeared on tour with Mills every summer thereafter until the closure of the touring show in October 1964 and at the Grand Hall, Olympia, London, each winter from 1947�8 until the last Christmas show in the winter of 1966�7. He had become an indispensable member of the Mills' clown team, working first with his children Michael, Sascha, and Tamara until they left to join Billy Smart's circus, but also with other members of the Mills clown equipe, including Percy Huxter, Alby Austin, and Jackie Sloan. His name became synonymous with that of the Bertram Mills circus and he quickly became its biggest star attraction in a branch of the entertainment industry that did not normally promote individuals as featured artistes."
Extracts from �Coco The Clown Mini-Biography
Ian Hendry Meets Coco The Clown
It is within this context that Ian Hendry first met Coco The Clown.
Ian, had just started studying at the Central School Of Speech And Drama in January 1953. The school, as mentioned previously, was based in rooms at The Royal Albert Hall.
Coco The Clown, was by then�well-established with The Bertram Mills Circus and had become a well known celebrity figure in Britain.
During the Christmas season, Bertam Mills Circus occupied some land near to the Royal Albert Hall, where they would keep their temporary accommodation/ caravans, lorries and animals.
It was one day in winter then, that a young impressionable student called Ian Hendry met Coco, Britain's most famous clown.
Read Part 2 of this article: Ian Hendry And 'The Circus That Came To Town' - Part 2�
�
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Further Reading
A detailed account of Ian's friendship with Coco The Clown and his early encounters with The Bertram Mills Circus is included in the new biography of his life.
Read: �'Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry' by Gabriel Hershman
Neil Hendry
Editor, The Official Website of Ian Hendry
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Welcome to the Official Website of Ian Hendry
Welcome to the Official Website of Ian Hendry
Our aim is simple. To remember and celebrate the enormous body of work, produced over a 30+ year period, by one of Britain's most talented actors. 600+ television appearances, 30+ films, not to mention numerous theatre and radio plays.
Ian Hendry rose to prominence in the mid-50's, a time when television was also emerging as the powerful new form of entertainment in the home.
With a limited numbers of TV channels, new stars were born and established. Many went on to be familiar faces in the living rooms of the nation in the following decades.
Discussions at work would often revolve around what had been watched on TV the night before. Today, the endless numbers of satellite and cable channels, internet and film rental options has dissipated this viewing phenomenon. But there was a time when the nation did sit down to watch just 2 or 3 channels, all in black and white. �These series were often recorded live, mistakes and all, and broadcast straight into people's homes.
Ian Hendry And The Birth Of 'Popular' Television
Often experimental, television as�the�new form of social entertainment had been born, an opportunity that would ignite the careers of many of Britain's best talent.
The story of Ian Hendry is so entwined with the rise in popularity of television in Britain. But it did not just end there. Increasing exposure and glowing critical reviews of his television appearances, led increasingly to film roles as well.�
We aim to capture the high-points, as well as the inevitable lows, of a life lived in the spotlight.
Creation Of The Official Website For Ian Hendry�
The idea of a site which would bring together the work of my uncle, Ian Hendry, had been on my mind for some time. There was a lot of information on him and his work on the internet. But there was no central �hub� which brought it all together. About a year ago, I checked to see if the domain name�ianhendry.com�was still available, not thinking for one moment that it would be. To my surprise (and continued amazement) it was. The first significant part of the puzzle was completed.
The second part of the puzzle took a little while longer to fall into place. Over a year to be precise. In that time I have moved back to England after 10 years in Hong Kong and also been giving my support to Gabriel Hershman, whose biography,�Send In The Clowns � The Yo Yo Life of Ian Hendry�is due out shortly.
Now, finally, the website is under way. It will evolve and gradually the various facets of Ian's life will be expanded upon. We hope it will form a hub for those who appreciate his work and for those that have yet to discover him.
We hope that you enjoy your visit here. Please interact with us and share your thoughts and memories. If you have material (TV and Film Footage, pictures or memorabilia etc) that you would like to share, then we would love to hear from you too!
Please also sign our Guest Book via the link below:
Share your memories in our Guest Book
A Final Thought
In time, further pieces of the �puzzle� will appear and with it I hope the picture of a charismatic, complex, gifted, multi-faceted, generous, much-loved and yes, at times, difficult and troubled man, will emerge. But the pieces are just that�..elements of a much bigger picture. And as with any picture or painting, we may at times drawn to a certain element or detail that intrigues us so much that we no longer see the bigger picture.
Stand back for a minute and look again, because although the picture may not have changed, the way we see it certainly can.
Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry