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Gladys Cooper was the daughter of journalist William Frederick Cooper and his wife Mabel Barnett. As a child she was very striking and was used as a photographic model beginning at six years old. She wanted to become an actress and started on that road in 1905 after being discovered by Seymour Hicks to tour with his company in "Bluebell in Fairyland". She came to the London stage in 1906 in "The Belle of Mayfair", and in 1907 took a departure from the legitimate stage to become a member of Frank Curzon's famous Gaiety Girls chorus entertainments at The Gaiety theater. Her more concerted stage work began in 1911 in a production of Oscar Wilde's comedy "The Importance of Being Earnest" which was followed quickly with other roles. From the craze for post cards with photos of actors - that ensued between about 1890 and 1914 - Cooper became a popular subject of maidenly beauty with scenes as Juliet and many others. During World War I her popularity grew into something of pin-up fad for the British military.

In the meantime she sampled the early British silent film industry starting in 1913 with The Eleventh Commandment (1913). She had roles in a few other movies in 1916 and 1917. But in the latter year she joined Frank Curzon to co-manage the Playhouse Theatre. This was a decidedly new direction for a woman of the period. She took sole control from 1927 until other stage commitments in 1933. She was also doing plays, some producing of her own, and a few more films in the early 1920s. It was actually about this time that she achieved major stage actress success. She appeared in W. Somerset Maugham's "Home and Beauty" in London in 1919 and triumphed in her 1922 appearance in Arthur Wing Pinero's "The Second Mrs. Tanqueray". It was ironic that writer Aldous Huxley criticized her performance in "Home and Beauty" as "too impassive, too statuesque, playing all the time as if she were Galatea, newly unpetrified and still unused to the ways of the living world." On the other hand, Maugham himself applauded her for "turning herself from an indifferent actress (at the start of her career) to an extremely competent one". She also debuted the role of Leslie Crosbie (the Bette Davis role in the 1940 film) in Maugham's "The Letter" in 1927.

In 1934 Cooper made her first sound picture in the UK and came to Broadway with "The Shining Hour" which she had been doing in London. She and it were a success, and she followed it with several plays through 1938, including "Macbeth". About this time Hollywood scouts caught wind of her, and she began her 30 odd years in American film. That first film was also Alfred Hitchcock's first Hollywood directorial effort, Rebecca (1940). Hers was a small and light role as Laurence Olivier's gregarious sister, but she stood out all the same. Two years later she bit into the much more substantial role as Bette Davis' domineering and repressive mother in the classic Now, Voyager (1942) for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress - the first of three. Though aristocratic elderly ladies were roles she revisited in various guises, Cooper was busy through 1940s Hollywood.

She returned to London stage work from 1947 and stayed for some early episodic British TV into 1950 before once again returning to the US, but was busy on both sides of the Atlantic until her death. Through the 1950s and into the 1960s Cooper did a few films but was an especially familiar face on American TV in teleplays, a wide range of prime-time episodic shows, and popular weird/sci-fi series: several Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, and Outer Limits. When Enid Bagnold's "The Chalk Garden" opened in London in 1955, Cooper debuted as Mrs. St. Maugham and brought it to Broadway in October of that year where it ran through March of 1956. Her last major film was My Fair Lady (1964) as Henry Higgins' mother. The year before she had played the part on TV. In the film, the portrait prop of a fine lady over Higgins' fireplace is that of Cooper painted in 1922. She wrote an autobiography (1931) followed by two biographies (1953 and 1979). In 1967 she was honored as a Dame Commander of the Order of British Empire (DBE) for her great accomplishments in furthering acting.

Roland Culver was born on 21 August 1900 in Crouch End, Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Thunderball (1965), Dead of Night (1945) and To Each His Own (1946). He was married to Nan Hopkins and Daphne Rye. He died on 1 March 1984 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Dusty Springfield has been acknowledged around the world as the best female soul singer that Britain ever produced. With her oddly erotic, throaty voice, she racked up a string of hits from the 1960s onwards. Born in London to Irish parents, Dusty grew up in and around London. Her early work included an all-girl trio, "The Lana Sisters" and, then, with her brother Tom Springfield (Dion O'Brien), The Springfields. Inspired by Phil Spector's "wall of sound", Dusty recorded her first pop song "I Only Want to Be with You" in 1963. It reached No. 4 in the charts and was the first song played on the new BBC TV pop show Top of the Pops (1964). The sixties brought a steady succession of top-ten hits and a lifestyle to match. However, Dusty used to campaign to get the little-known American soul singers a better audience in the United Kingdom which led to her own show The Sound of Motown (1965). In 1970, she moved to America and, although she attempted a few come-back tours, they never really worked. However, time in the studio did produce the seminal album, "Dusty in Memphis". A downward spiral of drugs and drink followed for most of the latter seventies but then she overcame these problems and, helped by lifelong fans "The Pet Shop Boys", came back with songs such as "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and the album "Reputation". Cancer was diagnosed in 1994 and, although it was kept at bay for quite a while, it finally got her.

Dubbed "the funniest woman in the world", comedienne Beatrice Lillie was born the daughter of a Canadian government official and grew up in Toronto. She sang in a family trio act with her mother, Lucy, and her piano-playing older sister, Muriel. Times were hard and the ambitious mother eventually took the girls to England to test the waters. In 1914, Bea made her solo debut in London's West End and was an immediate hit with audiences. A valuable marquee player as a droll revue and stage artiste, she skillfully interwove sketches, songs and monologues with parody and witty satire. In 1924, she returned to America and was an instant success on Broadway, thus becoming the toast of two continents. For the next decade, she worked with the top stage headliners of her day, including Gertrude Lawrence, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. Noël Coward and Cole Porter wrote songs and even shows for her. A top radio and comedy recording artist to boot, Bea's success in films was surprisingly limited, although she did achieve some recognition in such productions as Exit Smiling (1926) and Doctor Rhythm (1938). During the Second World War, Bea became a favourite performer with the troops and, in her post-war years, toured with her own show "An Evening with Beatrice Lillie". Her rather eccentric persona worked beautifully on Broadway and, in 1958, she replaced Rosalind Russell in "Auntie Mame". In 1964, she took on the role of "Madame Arcati" in the musical version of "Blithe Spirit", entitled "High Spirits". This was to be her last staged musical. Sadly, her style grew passé and outdated in the Vietnam era, and she quickly faded from view after a movie appearance in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). At this point, she had already begun to show early signs of Alzheimer's disease, although she managed to publish her biography in 1973. A year later, Bea suffered the first of two strokes and lived the next decade and a half in virtual seclusion. She died in 1989 at age 94.

Britain's clown queen of comedy during the 1980s, Marti Caine's brand of humour combined an appealing dizziness with an endearing vunerability. Often compared to America's Phyllis Diller, she paved the way for women working in British light entertainment, both in nightclubs and in television.

Born Lynn Shepherd in Sheffield, Caine attended several schools in Yorkshire before working as a model, croupier and petrol pump attendant. At 18, she made her first professional appearance as a comedienne in a club in Rotheram and spent the next 15 years playing the Northern working men's club circuit.

She became an overnight household name at the age of 30 on the TV talent show, New Faces (1973). Viewers loved her gawky figure and glamorous looks and she went on to star in her own BBC2 TV show, The Marti Caine Show (1979), throughout the eighties.

In 1982, Caine spent 18 months starring in a stage show in South Africa which caused uproar from anti-apartheid demonstrators and, for a time, she was blacklisted by the United Nations.

During the latter part of her career, she combined TV work with stage shows in Britain and, for 3 years from 1986, was a judge on Central TV's New Faces (1973). She was popular in pantomime and made the part of the "Red Queen" in "Snow White and The 7 Dwarfs" her own, playing in Cambridge, Bath, Bournemouth and London.

A gifted and talented comedienne, Caine was an incisive and intelligent performer who often surprised her critics with her depth as an actress.

Naomi Plaskitt was born on 30 November 1913 in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Wrath of Jealousy (1936), Highland Fling (1936) and Heroes of Comedy (1992). She was married to Alastair Sim. She died on 3 August 1999 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Vicki Brown was born on 23 August 1940 in Liverpool, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Tommy (1975), Shanghai Surprise (1986) and Not Now Darling (1973). She was married to Joe Brown. She died on 16 June 1991 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

David Vine was a multi-purpose sports presenter and commentator for the BBC for 35 years, long associated with snooker and Ski Sunday. Known for his distinctive West Country tones, he always had the assured self-confidence to weather jokes about his middle-of-the-road spectacles and jumpers.

In the 1970s, so often was he targeted that he began to seem like a resident character in Clive James's Observer television column. Once, commenting on the return of one programme with which Vine was instantly identifiable, James wrote: "Back came Ski Sunday, bringing David Vine with it. 'Just watch the way this man has the rhythm through the gates ... ooh, and he's gone! Stenmark has gone!' By now even David must be falling prey to the suspicion that he has the evil eye. All he has to do is start praising a skier for his rhythm and you know the stretcher-bearers are already moving in."

Vine's star status was confirmed when a puppet of the snooker player Steve Davis was seen on Spitting Image boasting: "I'm a mate of David Vine." Later, his popularity led to cameo appearances in French and Saunders (1987) and as a skating commentator alongside the bungling sleuths played by Jasper Carrott and Robert Powell in The Detectives (1993).

Born in Newton Abbot, Devon, Vine was brought up in Barnstaple, where he attended the local grammar school before becoming a reporter on the North Devon Journal Herald. A keen rugby player, he played for South Molton and often covered matches in which he was taking part. After national service in the army's Intelligence Corps, he joined the Western Morning News in Plymouth and rose to be sports editor. Moving to the ITV regional company Westward Television (1962-66), he set up its sports department and was seen on screen as a reporter.

In 1966, the BBC hired Vine as a presenter of the national magazine show Sportscene and he was soon a familiar face in sports coverage on both BBC1 and BBC2. He was a stand-in presenter on the Saturday afternoon programme Grandstand, became a reporter on Rugby Special and hosted the first colour broadcasts from Wimbledon in 1967, remaining presenter of the tennis tournament's highlights programmes until 1982. Any viewers who thought of him as bland had to revise their opinions when he confronted John McEnroe following the US player's "you're the pits" jibe to a Wimbledon umpire in 1981. "What right have you got to call anyone an incompetent fool?" Vine asked McEnroe. "He told me he'd never talk to me again after that," the presenter recalled, "but he did, the following day."

Vine's face was also synonymous with snooker and skiing. Snooker had already built up a television following with Pot Black, which featured the BBC's own knockout snooker competition, when, in 1977, Vine started presenting its coverage of all the major tournaments. Eight years later, 18 million viewers saw Dennis Taylor take the World Championship title with the final black ball of the final frame against the then world No 1, Steve Davis.

"I have been delighted to have been part of one of the most successful and most watched sports on television and to have seen 'unknowns' like Steve Davis, Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry and many others become some of the most famous names in the sport," said Vine after presenting his final tournament in 2000.

Ski Sunday was launched in 1978 after public interest in Franz Klammer's dramatic downhill win at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympic Games, and Vine continued with it for 18 years.

Throughout his time at the BBC, Vine proved adept at hosting sports entertainment programmes. He was a presenter and commentator for the first few years of It's a Knockout (1967-71), whose absurd games between amateur athletics teams in crazy costumes were described by one critic as "a competition to perform the pointless in the quickest possible time".

He will also be remembered by many as the first presenter (1970-78) of the quiz show A Question of Sport, in which two panels of stars - originally captained by the boxer Henry Cooper and the former Welsh rugby international Cliff Morgan - had their sports knowledge put to the test. The busy Vine was succeeded by David Coleman in the chair.

Then came The Superstars (1974-84), in which Vine and Ron Pickering challenged sportsmen and women, past and present, to compete against each other in running, swimming, shooting, canoeing and cycling events, as well as showing their strengths in the gym.

Vine also hosted showjumping events, including The Horse of the Year Show, commentated on bowls and gymnastics, and covered the return to Britain of the round-the-world yachtsman Robin Knox-Johnston. Away from sport, he commentated on the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and, a year later, presented Miss World.

He underwent triple heart bypass surgery in 2001, the year after he retired from the BBC following his final Olympics, in Sydney, as a weightlifting commentator - a specialism he had developed over many games.

Vine's first wife, Shirley May Thorpe, died in 1970; he was survived by his second wife, Mandy (born Joan C Silver), along with their son, Christian, and the son and two daughters of his first marriage, Martin, Kim and Katherine.

Lee Fox was born on 23 November 1912 in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for A Clockwork Orange (1971), BBC Play of the Month (1965) and Juniper Hall (1956). He died on 28 July 2003 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Duncan McIntyre was born on 10 October 1907 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for Kidnapped (1952), San Demetrio London (1943) and Stand by to Shoot (1953). He died on 8 November 1973 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Hilda Trevelyan was born on 4 February 1877 in Clapton, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for What Every Woman Knows (1917), Transatlantic Tunnel (1935) and Sally in Our Alley (1916). She was married to Sydney Blow. She died on 10 November 1959 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Nan Hopkins was born on 19 November 1917 in Steyning, Sussex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for There Ain't No Justice (1939), Somewhere on Leave (1943) and Richard of Bordeaux (1938). She was married to Roland Culver. She died on 11 September 1985 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

John Hunt was born on 22 June 1910 in British India [now India]. He died on 8 November 1998 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Hermione Darnborough was born on 30 August 1915 in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK. She was an actress. She was married to Muir Mathieson. She died on 29 October 2010 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Roy Travers born in London in 1883. He made his stage debut in London in the 1890's. Appeared in his first film playing a Cow in 'The Blue Bird' at the British Gaumont Film Company in 1910 two years later he became a star as a handsome debonair in many adventure, crime and melodrama films, first with the Barker Film Company and followed by the Astra Film Company, from the 1920's he could be seen in mostly second leads, later in few talkies until his last film 'Kiss Me Sargeant' in 1932.

Richard Hamilton was born on 24 February 1922 in Pimlico, London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Greetings (1968), Heads (1969) and Richard Hamilton (1969). He was married to Rita Donagh and Terry O'Reilly. He died on 13 September 2011 in Northend, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

English wild rose Joan Morgan who starred in at least 34 drama, crime, comedy movies from childhood, often under the direction of her father Sidney Morgan, making her film debut in Maurice Elvey's 'The Cup Final Mystery' starring Elisabeth Risdon in 1914, followed by 'The Great Spy Raid' starring Harry Lorraine at P&M Films. In 1919 Joan only 14 was so good in her acting ability she was cast opposite the legendary Ellen Terry in Fred Paul's 'Her Greatest Performance' playing her granddaughter. In 1920 Joan was offered a Hollywood contract by the Famous Players-Lasky Film Co who had opened a studio at Islington - soon to become Gainsborough, and hired Joan to play opposite Bryan Washburn in 'The Road to London' in 1921 she got £30 a week, Famous Players offered her $100 a week to start with, her father Sidney Morgan went up to meet them and they said, what do you think to this offer made to your daughter? he said 'not much' and that was that, Joan said, i just died inside. Through the 1920's she was given some stage roles in the West End her father cast her in his films such as her most favourite role 'Little Dorrit' (1920), and perhaps her most memorable role in 'A Lowland Cinderella' (1922) and her last major role 'A Window in Piccadilly' in 1928. Although Joan made a talkie in 1932's 'Her Reputation' she was no longer in demand as an actress, luckily, she was able to step into screenwriting through the 1930's using the name Joan Wentworth Wood, her most successful was 'The Flag Lieutenant'.

Hetty Payne was born on 21 March 1883 in South Norwood, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Paula (1915) and Kent, the Fighting Man (1916). She was married to John Tomkies. She died on 10 March 1976 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Oliver Raphael was born on 2 October 1892 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Dreyfus Case (1931). He died on 27 April 1945 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

James Carreras was born on 30 January 1909 in Brentford, Middlesex, England, UK. He was a producer and production manager, known for Who Killed Van Loon? (1948). He was married to Vera St. John Smart. He died on 9 June 1990 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Anne Collis was born in April 1943 in Preston, Lancashire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Duchess (2008), De-Lovely (2004) and Love Thy Neighbour (1972). She died on 14 October 2013 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Phyllis Bedells was born on 9 August 1893 in Bristol, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Fairyland (1916) and The Land of Mystery (1920). She was married to Ian Gordon McBean. She died on 2 May 1985 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Claude Maxted was born on 6 November 1893 in Beckenham, Kent, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Taxi for Two (1929) and Paradise (1928). He died in 1964 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Harry Hastings was born in 1928 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an editor and producer, known for All the World's a Stage (1984), Tuesday's Documentary (1968) and The World of Tim Frazer (1960). He died in 1985 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Mary Pratt was born on 6 March 1920 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK. She was an actress, known for White Corridors (1951), All the Way Up (1970) and The Alf Garnett Saga (1972). She died on 6 March 2001 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK.