1986
HIGHLANDER…Director
Russell Mulcahy,,,
Cast Inc…Christopher
Lambert…Sean
Connery…Clancy
Brown…
Just a day on this
dressed as an American
cop standing guard on a
patient outside a
hospital ward..
I think the patient was
my old mate Christopher
Malcolm but I can’t
remember.
MONA
LISA…Director
Neil Jordon…
Cast Inc…Bob
Hoskins…Michael
Caine…Cathy
Tyson…
Filmed at Blackheath in
South London and spent
most of the day chatting
with my pal Sammy Pasha.
(Bob’s stand/in)
ALL
IN GOOD FAITH…Director
John Howard
Davies…Thames
TV…
 
It was good working
alongside Mr. Richard
Briers in this scene from
the series. Richard is
playing a vicar and I'm
there to protect him. Or
was he there to protect
me. It's Directed by Mr.
John Howard Davies who
once was Oliver in David
Lean's Oliver Twist 1948.
I never get to play
Vicars.....Can't think
why.....???
MARY
QUEEN OF SCOTS…BBCTV…
Another day at the office
so to say.. All I have to
do is chop off the Queens
head.
(It doesn’t make you
a bad person/Stieger)
CHANCE
IN A MILLION
Channel 4 sitcom
starring Simon Callow and
Brenda Blethyn
Episode "What shall
we do for a ring?"
(click on the picture for
YouTube video and watch
50 seconds into the
episode to see my bit)
C.A.T.S.
EYES…Producer
Rex Firkin…TVS…
Cast Inc…Jill
Gascoine…Leslie
Ash…Don
Warrington…
A day out in Kent saying
some words..
C.A.T.S Eyes
DEAD
MANS FOLLY…Cast
Inc…Peter
Ustinov…Jonathan
Cecil…
Another film with Tricky
Tringham at the helm and
giving me all sorts to
do..
I end up being the
tombola man and try to
get Peter Ustinov to
spend some money on my
stall.. (You had more
chance of getting a drink
off the man that is
allergic to mahogany)
(Remember, he
doesn’t like going
near the bar when
it’s his round).
I get to work many more
times with David Tringham
and it’s always
great fun when he’s
your boss. He knows the
business inside out.
And as he always says
‘’A happy crew
is an overpaid
crew’’ (Did he
say that, or did I?)
EDGE
OF DARKNESS…Director
Martin
Campbell…BBCTV…
Cast Inc…Bob
Peck…Joe Don
Baker…John
Woodvine…Joanne
Whalley
BIG JOE DON BAKER
WAITING FOR HIS SHIRT TO
BE FINISHED……..
A few days on
this pretending to be a
policeman..
THE
SINGING DETECTIVE…Director
Jon Amiel…Writer
Dennis Potter…
Producers…John
Harris and Kenith
Trodd…BBCTV…
Cast Inc…Michael
Gambon…Janet
Suzman…Patrick
Malahide…
I was called up on this
to do some public
relations work and on the
first day was told not to
let anyone into the
church they were filming
in except for the cast
and crew.
I knew most of the crew
from other jobs and had
worked with a lot of the
cast before.
After a while a man comes
towards me who I
didn’t know.
I said ‘’You
can’t go in there
guv, we’re filming
today’’ He gave
me a look and said,
"Who are
you?’’. I said
"I’m Aitch on
security, why who are
you?". "My name
is Jon Amiel and I’m
the director". I
felt a right lemon so I
said to him,
‘’You’d
better hurry in then guv,
they’re waiting for
you"..
He thanked me later for
doing my job and we did
work on other things over
the coming years. The job
lasted for months…
After working on The
Singing Detective doing
public liaison work for
months in the winter of
'86 it was time I thought
about my future.
I’d been getting up
sometimes at four in the
morning being the first
on location and putting
road cones out to save
the spaces for all the
transport that goes with
a big filming crew.
Jerry and Gypsy Dave were
with me on some days and
sometimes I wouldn’t
get home 'til nine at
night, only to fall into
bed ready to do the same
thing tomorrow..
The cold got to me and as
I was not too far away
from being fifty years
old I decided this would
be my last job as public
liaison.
(TRY TO SEE THIS SHOW,
IT’S GOOD)
A friend
of mine was selling the
lease on a video shop and
I sat in there for a few
nights to see how
business was. It looked
easy. All you had to do
was sit behind a warm
counter, give the
customer a video film,
take the £1 or £1.50
and he brings the film
back the next day. With
500 films in stock this
could be a good earner.
I bought the shop and
spent the next month
working from 10am 'til
8pm seven days a week
getting the lie of the
land. I made a small
profit. But not as much
as I would have earned in
the film game.
Have I just made a big
mistake in buying into
the shop? I was hoping
not..
It sounded good at the
time of taking the £1 or
£1.50 off the punters
all day long but had I
forgotten about the rent
and rates and VAT when I
went to buy my new films
at fifty pounds plus..
During the cold weather
the shop ticked over but
when it got warm I might
as well have stayed shut.
If you only get thirty or
forty people in a day
I’d be running at a
loss.
Weekends were good but
all I was doing was
working 70 hours a week
to earn enough money just
to live.. The rest went
on bills.
Now I want to get rid of
the shop but no one wants
it.
A new film at £50 plus
VAT would have to go out
for a month before it
starts to make a profit
and you need more than
one copy. It only makes a
profit if it doesn’t
get broken or stolen by
the punter. (Some people
moved house and took my
films with them. They
forgot to give me their
new address)
People I knew in the film
game were offering me
work but I couldn’t
do it, I had to try and
recoup the money I had
ploughed into the shop.
(An uphill struggle).
With the help of my
family helping me out in
the shop (unpaid) I went
out to find some film
work during the week and
tried to be in the shop
at weekends..
I was now back in the
film game to try and keep
the shop open..
You can’t just walk
away from a lease.
I wont bore you with what
I had to do for the next
few years concerning the
shop but in 1993 I had to
make a big decision that
was to change my
lifestyle.
Let’s go into 1987
and see what that holds
for me…
WOULD YOU BUY A
USED TANK OFF THIS MAN..
NEXT
- 1987
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