1980
THE
LONG GOOD FRIDAY
Director:
John Mackenzie
Writer:
Barrie Keeffe (writer)
Cast
Paul Freeman ... Colin
Leo Dolan ... Phil
Kevin McNally ... Irish
Youth
Patti Love ... Carol
Benson
P.H. Moriarty ... Razors
Derek Thompson ... Jeff
Bryan Marshall ... Harris
Bob Hoskins ... Harold
Shand
Helen Mirren ... Victoria
Ruby Head ... Harold's
Mother
Charles Cork ... Eric
Olivier Pierre ... Chef
Pierce Brosnan ... 1st
Irishman
Daragh O'Malley ... 2nd
Irishman
Dave King ... Parky
This in my
mind is the best ever
British gangster film.
The whole cast at their
best
I only had a couple of
days on the film driving
round in a police car and
never got to see any of
the action.
I had known Brian Hall
for a good few years and
we were mates and worked
together many more times
until his death from
cancer in the
90s
(Not forgotten)
Dave King I remember as a
singer in the 50s and 60s
and was in the charts in
56 with a song called
Memories Are
Made Of This
A lot of the boys (Faces)
got a lot of work out of
this film but I was off
to pastures new.
HOPSCOTCH
Walter
Matthau
Glenda
Jackson
Director
Ronald Neame
Filmed for a day at the
Borough Market and it was
nice to see the Grumpy
Old Man in person, I
remember him with Elvis
in King
Creole in the
50s
HEAVENS
GATE
Director:
Michael Cimino
Writer:
Michael Cimino (writer)
Cast
Kris Kristofferson ...
James Averill
Christopher Walken ...
Nathan D. Champion
John Hurt ... Billy
Irvine
Sam Waterston ... Frank
Canton
Brad Dourif ... Mr.
Eggleston
Isabelle Huppert ... Ella
Watson
Joseph Cotten ... The
Reverend Doctor
Jeff Bridges ... John L.
Bridges
Ronnie Hawkins ... Major
Wolcott
Paul Koslo ... Mayor
Charlie Lezak
Geoffrey Lewis ...
Trapper Fred
Richard Masur ... Cully
Rosie Vela ... Beautiful
girl (as Roseanne Vela)
Mary Catherine Wright ...
Nell (as Mary C. Wright)
Nicholas Woodeson ...
Small man
A bunch of
us were coached up to
Oxford for a couple of
days and there seemed to
be a lot of hanging
around. Still the weather
was nice and we had
plenty of time to chat.
On the second day some of
us were finished at
lunchtime but had to wait
till 6pm to catch the
coach back to London.
I thought I might as well
pop in the local pub and
have a swift half.
As I walk to the bar and
order a pint of the black
stuff a voice behind me
says,
Ill get
that Aitch.
Its John Hurt
It seems Johns
finished as well and
production are trying to
find a car to take him
home.
We chat about old times
and one pint leads to
another and then
Johns driver walks
in.
You ready Mr
Hurt John
looks at me then says to
the driver,
Go and have a
kip in the car for an
hour or so Ill come
and find you when
Im
ready
Again someone local
brings in a guitar and
the afternoon passed
quite quickly to the
strains of the Everly
Bros and more songs from
the 50 and early
60s..
I didnt see the
going of John but I was
nice and nice by the time
the coach turned up.
A good 90 minute sleep
back to London and I was
ready to start all over
again.
(Motto) Another day
another lost dollar)
BREAKING
GLASS
Director
Brian Gibson
Cast Inc. Hazel
OConnor
Jon
Finch
Phil
Daniels
Jonathan
Price
This was another case of
rioting punks and punk
music.
There were about twenty
of us in police uniforms
trying to control about a
thousand screaming kids..
(Mostly kids off the
street)
Again they were told to
use the rubber bricks and
plastic bottles to throw
at us but as the day went
on they found it more fun
throwing the real thing.
After Ronnie Woods got
hit in the mouth by a
real brick the rest of us
decided we didnt
want to play anymore.
They sent in some stunt
men dressed as coppers
and got the shots.
(Motto
Acting is
pretending, if you get
hurt its not
acting)
FLASH
GORDON
Director
Mike Hodges
Cast Inc
Sam J.
Jones
Topol
Brian
Blessed
Only a couple of days on
this production dressed
as something from the
future.
Remember what I told you
many years back,
Look at the
back of the set and see
whos the furthest
away.. (Me)
All dressed up with
nowhere to go
SUPERMAN
II
Christopher
Reeve
Director
Richard Lester
Played a Cop searching
the ice flows of the far
north.
Never left the
studio
THE
ELEPHANT MAN
Director
David Lynch
Cast Inc
John
Hurt
Anthony
Hopkins
Freddie
Jones

John Hurt
at his best.
This is one of the only
films I could watch again
and again.
I filmed for a couple of
days in the old St
Leonards Hospital in
Hoxton.
This was a few minutes
away from the canal I
used to swim in as a kid.
I was dressed as an old
time copper but would
have been just as well
dressed up in a monkey
skin with a large pipe in
my gob
I never got to see John
on this production but
theres plenty of
films still to do..
THE
BORGIAS
Director Brian
Farnham
BBCTV
Cast Inc
Oliver
Cotton
Adolfo
Celi
Alfred
Burke
Anne
Louise
I worked on quite a few
of the ten episodes that
was made and always
seemed to play a baddie..
There was plenty of sword
fighting and murders
going on..
Brian Farnham is a gently
spoken man and came to
employ me in many things
over the coming
years
Thanks
Brian
THE
GENTLE TOUCH
Jill
Gascoine
Director
Tony
Wharmby
LWT
Running around as a plain
clothes cop in a few of
these episodes..
Good fun to do
THE CHINESE
DETECTIVE
David
Yip
Director Tom
Clegg
BBCTV
I had worked for Tom
Clegg before on things
like The Sweeney and got
on very well with him. I
was in the Sweeney films
1 and 2
He liked my cockney voice
and would always let me
ad lib if it fitted the
scene.
On one episode of Chinese
Tec I get to work with
Derek Martin (Whos
now a big name in
EastEnders) and although
I had seen him over the
years I didnt Know
him too well.. (As it
turns out hes a
nice man to work with)
Anyway, Im trying
to sell a car to David
Yip and Im ad
libbing like fury
Its a
really nippy car and you
can have it for a take
away price
Tom and Derek were trying
to hide their giggles at
the in jokes but it
worked as I went from a
walk/on to a BBC Artists
contract..
I went on to work again
and again for Tom but for
the best job to get I
would have to wait till
next year
Derek and I did work
again on a few things but
I have not worked on
EastEnders with
him
(YET)
ARMCHAIR
THRILLER...Episode
Dying Day....Sir Ian
McKellen....Director...Robert
Tronson.
I got sent this
from a friend on the
Minder forum...
You were a man at
Paddington railway
station who looked
suspicious enough to
cause Ian McKellen's
character to panic.
McKellen plays a nervous
type who thinks someone
is out to kill him. The
sight of you, Aitch,
innocently standing at
the station was enough to
make him panic!

Well
looking at the picture
I'd make the Prime
Minister panic.....
NEXT
- 1981
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