'Allo 'Allo - série 9

Já comprei há uns dias a nona e última série do 'Allo 'Allo... Falta ainda o episódio especial.

Faz anos hoje - Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy nasceu a 3 de Abril de 1961.

Da Infopédia:

Actor norte-americano, de nome completo Edward Regan Murphy, nascido a 3 de Abril de 1961, no bairro nova-iorquino de Brooklyn, nos Estados Unidos da América. Aos 16 anos já era comediante em bares e aos 19 foi convidado para participar na comédia semanal da NBC Saturday Night Live (1975), pelo seu ar jovem e humor ligeiramente arrogante e o sorriso muito peculiar. Ganhou imensa popularidade e, subitamente, foi-lhe oferecido um papel no melodrama em tom de comédia 48 Hours (1982). Tinha nascido uma estrela que valia 8 milhões de dólares por filme. Protagonizou um dos maiores sucessos da década de 80, Beverly Hills Cop (O Caça Polícias, 1984), que foi seguido por Beverly Hills Cop II (O Caça Polícias II, 1987), um filme considerado pior que os dois anteriores mas, inevitavelmente, outro sucesso, e Beverly Hills Cop III (O Caça Polícias III, 1994). Eddie Murphy também participou em algumas produções para os mais jovens, como The Nutty Professor (O Professor Chanfrado, 1996), que também teve uma sequela, The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (O Professor Chanfrado II, 2000) e Mulan (1998), na voz de uma das personagens. Outros filmes de destaque na sua carreira são The Golden Child (O Menino de Ouro, 1986), Vampire in Brooklin (O Vampiro de Brooklin, 1995), Holy Man (O Guru, 1998) e Bowfinger (O Sem Vergonha, 1999), em que contracena ao lado de Steve Martin. Deu também a voz ao impagável e desbocado Burro em Shrek (2001) e protagonizou comédias bem sucedidas como Showtime (2002), ao lado de Robert de Niro, I Spy (O Espião Sou Eu, 2002), Daddy Day Care (O Guarda-Fraldas, 2003) e The Haunted Mansion (A Casa Assombrada, 2003). A sua carreira estabeleceu-o como um dos mais famosos actores de comédia de Hollywood.

Eddie Murphy. In Infopédia [Em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2010. [Consult. 2010-04-03]

'Allo 'Allo - série 8

Já comprei há uns dias a série 8. Agora só falta a série nove e as edições especiais.

'Allo 'Allo - série 7

O "vício" continua...

'Allo 'Allo - série 4

Comprei antes que esgotasse...

Faz anos hoje - Beny Hill

No dia 21 de Janeiro de 1924 nasceu Banny Hill.

Da Infopédia:

Série televisiva humorística inglesa produzida pela Thames Television (ITV) em Novembro de 1969. Esteve em exibição largos anos, sendo exibido o último show em Maio de 1989. Nessa altura, a ITV alegou que os seus shows tinham deixado de ser politicamente correctos. Esta série tornou Benny Hill um dos cómicos mais famosos de sempre e o comediante britânico mais reconhecido internacionalmente. Outros actores que trabalharam com Benny Hill na série foram Henry McGee, Carol Cleveland, Bob Todd, entre outros, que interpretavam diversas personagens diferentes, tal como Benny Hill. Benny Hill interpretava gags de humor simples em situações divertidas envolvendo personagens burlescas, que viviam rodeados de mulheres sedutoras. São particularmente conhecidas as suas figuras do Professor Marvel, a de cowboy, Captain Fred Scuttle, o chinês Chow Mein e outras, que vivem numa cidade que Benny Hill chamou de Little Dimpton. Usava diferentes pronúncias inglesas para ironizar e brincar, pantominas e mímicas, tendo como imagem de marca perseguir raparigas bonitas e ser perseguido por elas - os Anjos de Hill (Hill's Angels) - ao som da famosa música instrumental intitulada "Yakety Sax" e composta por Randy Randolph e James Rich. A série usava técnicas para criar aquilo que se chamava de live animation, como filmar em grande velocidade e os sight gags. Mais tarde, foi editado The Benny Hill Show, uma compilação composta por 111 episódios de meia hora de diversos sketches com situações hilariantes e provocantes retirados da série. A série foi vista em mais de 100 países, incluindo a Rússia, China e Estados Unidos, onde estreou em 1979, fazendo um grande sucesso. Em Portugal, foi exibida em 1980 e durante toda a década de 80 tornou-se uma série de culto. Em 1980, foi nomeado para o Emmy de Melhor Programa de Variedades ou Musical e, no ano seguinte, voltou a receber uma nomeação destes prémios na categoria de Melhor Programa de Comédia ou Musical.

Benny Hill. In Infopédia [Em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2010. [Consult. 2010-01-21]

'Allo 'Allo - mais uma série...

Mais um presente fora de época...

Desta vez a série 6 do 'Allo 'Allo.

Faz anos hoje - Danny Kaye

No dia 18 de Janeiro de 1913 nasceu Danny Kaye.

Da Infopédia:

Actor e cómico norte-americano, de nome verdadeiro David Daniel Kominski, nascido em 18 de Janeiro de 1913 no bairro nova-iorquino de Brooklyn e falecido em Los Angeles a 3 de Março de 1987, vítima de síncope cardíaca. Durante as décadas de 40 e de 50, foi um dos entertainers mais célebres de Hollywood, muito devido à sua capacidade de improvisação cómica e voz melodiosa. Aos 13 anos, foi obrigado a sair da escola para empregar-se como revisor de transportes públicos. Desde cedo, demonstrou vontade em seguir uma carreira artística e a sua perseverança levou-o a tornar-se cantor de vaudeville, primeiro em pequenos cabarets, depois em boites de luxo. Foi descoberto por um agente de talentos que lhe conseguiu arranjar trabalho numa companhia teatral que operava na Broadway. Aqui estreou-se em 1939 com a peça Straw Hat Revue. Dois anos antes, havia iniciado discretamente a sua carreira cinematográfica no musical de série B Dime a Dance (1937). Gradualmente, tornou-se uma das primeiras vedetas da Broadway, especialmente em 1941, quando alcançou um retumbante sucesso com a peça Lady in the Dark onde, num sketch cómico-musical, conseguia trautear o nome de 54 compositores russos em 38 segundos. O seu talento não passaria despercebido a Sam Goldwyn que não hesitou em propor-lhe um contrato chorudo. No cinema, alcançou sucessos como Up in Arms (1944), A Song is Born (1948), Hans Christian Andersen (1952) e White Christmas (Natal Branco, 1954). A sua interpretação mais célebre foi a de Hubert, um embusteiro que se enreda numa série burlesca de enganos numa corte medieval em The Court Jester (O Bobo da Corte, 1956) que a revista Billboard reputaria em 2001 como uma das dez melhores comédias cinematográficas de todos os tempos. Em 1955, começou a colaborar activamente com a UNICEF o que o levou a rarear as aparições no grande ecrã. The Madwoman of Chaillot (A Louca de Chaillot, 1969) foi o seu último trabalho fílmico antes de se dedicar por inteiro a espectáculos televisivos e na Broadway.

Danny Kaye. In Infopédia [Em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2010. [Consult. 2010-01-18]

Faz anos hoje - Jim Carrey

No dia 17 de Janeiro de 1962 nasceu Jim Carrey.

Da Infopédia:

Reconhecido actor norte-americano, James Eugene Carrey nasceu a 17 de Janeiro de 1962, na cidade canadiana de Newmarket. Desde cedo revelou tendência para a comédia, iniciando a sua carreira em pequenos clubes nocturnos onde fazia imitações de actores. Descoberto pelo humorista Rodney Dangerfield, resolveu emigrar para os Estados Unidos, onde se estreou numa sitcom televisiva. Depois de alguns papéis menores, em filmes como Peggy Sue Got Married (Peggy Sue Casou-se, 1987) e The Dead Pool (Na Lista do Assassino, 1988), Carrey voltou aos meios televisivos para protagonizar uma série de sketches cómicos intitulada In Living Color (1990). Em termos cinematográficos, o filme que lançou a sua carreira foi Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Ace Ventura, Detective Animal, 1994), um filme que celebrizou Carrey pelo seu humor mímico e algo escatológico. A carreira prosseguiu com The Mask (A Máscara, 1994), em que Carrey personificava Stanley Ipkiss, um tímido bancário que, colocando uma máscara, assumia um alter-ego extrovertido. O público americano acolheu muito bem este super-herói pouco ortodoxo que catapultou o actor para o sucesso. Participou ao lado de Jeff Daniels em mais uma comédia desbragada, Dumb and Dumber (Doidos à Solta, 1994), antes de assumir o papel do vilão The Riddler no terceiro filme da saga Batman, em Batman Forever (Batman Para Sempre, 1995), substituindo Robin Williams a meio das filmagens. Em 1996, tornou-se o actor mais bem pago de Hollywood, ao receber 20 milhões de dólares pelo seu desempenho em The Cable Guy (O Melga, 1996). O filme não correu bem do ponto de vista de bilheteira, mas Carrey compensou o fracasso com Liar, Liar (O Mentiroso Compulsivo, 1997), a história de um advogado que, depois de uma promessa feita ao filho, se torna incapaz de dizer mentiras. No ano seguinte, a carreira de Carrey dá uma incrível reviravolta ao revelar um inesperado talento como actor dramático em The Truman Show (A Vida em Directo, 1998), a inusitada história de um vendedor que descobre que a sua vida é um mundo de ficção encerrado num mega-estúdio de televisão e que todos os seus actos são televisionados desde o seu nascimento. Pelo seu desempenho, Carrey venceu um Globo de Ouro. O seu trabalho seguinte foi a personificação do comediante maldito Andy Kaufman, em Man on the Moon (Homem na Lua, 1999), realizado por Milos Forman. O seu notável desempenho mereceu a aclamação da crítica e a sua não nomeação para o Óscar foi uma das maiores injustiças da Academia de Hollywood. Algo desiludido por não ver reconhecida a sua faceta de actor dramático, voltou às comédias, filmando, com os irmãos Farrelly, Me, Myself and Irene (Ela, Eu e o Outro, 2000) e entrando no filme natalício How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Grinch, 2000). Em 2001, regressou aos papéis dramáticos em The Majestic, de Frank Darabont. Em 2003, estreou um dos seus filmes de maior sucesso, Bruce Almighty (Bruce, o Todo-Poderoso), onde interpretou alguém que temporariamente adquire os poderes de Deus (aqui desempenhado por Morgan Freeman). Seguiram-se Eternal Sunchine of the Shotless Mind (O Despertar da Mente, 2003), onde trabalhou ao lado de Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst e Tom Wilkinson, e a comédia familiar Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Lemony Snicket's: Uma Série de Desgraças, 2004), dirigido por Brad Silberling, com Meryl Streep e Jude Law, entre outros artistas.

Jim Carrey. In Infopédia [Em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2010. [Consult. 2010-01-17].

Allô Allô, uma retrospectiva... (XIII) - Comedy Connections

Para o interessados, aqui fica a história da série, com entrevistas a alguns dos actores e aos criadores.

Allô Allô, uma retrospectiva... (XII) - Sam Kelly

Sam Kelly interpretou uma das personagens que mas me fazem rir, agora que estou a rever as primeiras temporadas. O desajeitado e ingénuo Captain Hans Geerring. Participou na série até à quarta temporada e reapareceu num episódio da temporada sete.

Da Wikipédia em Inglês:

Sam Kelly (born 19 December 1943, Manchester) is an English actor. He has had innumerable roles in British sitcoms such as Porridge (Bunny Warren), 'Allo 'Allo! (Captain Hans Geering) leaving after series three, On the Up (as Dennis Waterman's chauffeur) and We'll Think of Something (Les Brooks). From 1995 to 2003, he played Barbara's husband Ted in sitcom Barbara.

He also appeared in the Doctor Who audio dramas The Holy Terror and Return to the Web Planet by Big Finish Productions. He played Bernard in Holding On (1997) and Carl Langbehn in the 1999 four part television drama Christabel. He appeared in Midsomer Murders: down among the dead men as Jack Fothergill and as Majors in the Inspector Morse (TV series) episode Second Time Around.

In the 1990s he co-starred in the comedy television series Haggard, and the miniseries Martin Chuzzlewit. He also performed in H.M.S. Pinafore with the new D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 2002.^[1]

In 1998, Kelly appeared in an episode of the first series of Cold Feet, playing Algernon Gifford.

In radio he played the part of Carter Brandon in the BBC's Radio4 series of the continuing adventures of Uncle Mort and Carter Brandon in Uncle Mort's South Country and Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe. These were written by Peter Tinniswood.

In 2004, he appeared in EastEnders playing Stan Porter; and he also appeared in the comedy series Black Books as the father of Manny.

Sam has starred in Jean-Paul Sartre's play Kean alongside Antony Sher at the Theatre Royal, Bath and in the West End in May 2007.

In December 2007, Kelly was hit by a car in the West End area, injuring him. The status of his role in Kean is unknown but a character he was to play in the episode "Midnight", of the television series, Doctor Who, filmed that month, was played by a late replacement, David Troughton.

In 2008, he guest starred in the Sapphire and Steel audio drama Remember Me.

In November 2008, he starred in the title role of Christopher Reason's radio dramatisation of Jaroslav Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

He is currently starring in the West End musical, Wicked as The Wizard of Oz. He began performances on May 11, 2009 replacing Desmond Barrit.^[2] He took a break from Wicked on July 13, 2009 and returned August 19, 2009. During this period the role of the Wizard was played by understudy Sean Needham with former Wizard, Desmond Barrit playing the role at certain performances.

Captain Han Geering

First episode

Hans is Colonel Kurt Von Strohm's assistant and usually comes with him to the café. (Although not stated on screen, the screenplay says Hans is the Colonel's brother-in-law.) His rank is that of Captain, which is equal to Hauptmann in the Wehrmacht. The rank is denoted by two gilted stars, and the white band around the epaulette gives his arm of service as infantry. In the first episode, however, his uniform is that of a lieutenant, one rank junior to Captain, although he is still referred to as Captain Geering. Hans likes to fool around with the waitress Maria Recamier - while the Colonel prefers Yvette Carte-Blanche - of which he partakes preferentially with egg whisk and/or wet celery (these of course constitute sex toys) for which it is not uncommon to pay extra.

In Episode 1 Hans and the Colonel get their uniforms stolen by René in order to help the British Airmen. They are forced to hide in the waitresses' bedroom.

Development

Hans develops the habit of greeting other officers with the abbreviated line "-tler" (for 'Heil Hitler'). When Hans says this line, many viewers unaccustomed to the programme perceive him as saying 'clop', however this is not the case. He also seems to easily slip into Anti-German thinking as on more than one occasion after learning of something bad another German has done or Germans have done in general he will exclaim "German swine!"

Leaving the series

In the opening episode of Series 4, René, Edith, the waitresses, the Colonel, the British Airmen and Hans are trying to escape a prisoner-of-war camp (Stalag Luft IV, although that camp is actually in Poland). Hans is used for the first test of their escape mechanism, a wooden see-saw. After René jumps from the roof of a hut onto one end, Hans is propelled from the other over the fence, where Communist Resistance girls pick him up and disappear into the woods.

It emerges (via a radio conversation in the following episode) that Hans was mistaken for a British airman by the Communist Resistance and sent to Britain, where he is now working for British Intelligence. The war is over for Hans, and also his role as a main character in 'Allo 'Allo!

Reappearing

In Season 7, René and Yvette are planning to make their way to England in an aeroplane, originally destined for the British airmen. However, it is Edith that accidentally goes with René. They land in London, and Winston Churchill requests their presence. However, they are taken to Intelligence first. Seeing that they are not the airmen, the Intelligence boss calls his interpreter, Captain Hans Geering. However, upon entering the room, he doesn't seem to have gotten rid of the habit of raising his hand and greeting them with a loud 'tler!'. When alone with René and Edith, he explains how he became an English citizen and an ally (as he revealed in "The Great Unescape", he was sent to school in Coventry). He also reveals that he found out, while working with the Intelligence, that René is a Resistance activist.

Hans, a naturalised British citizen, speaks English with an upper-class, "old-chap" British accent. It is revealed that he knew how to speak English even back in Nouvion. (Ironically enough, despite its phonetic similarity to "Göring," Geering is actually an English surname) He takes René and Edith to some important places in London. By night, René and Edith return home.

Allô Allô, uma retrospectiva... (XI) - Richard Marner

Richard Marner desempenhava com imensa graça o papel do atrapalhado e um pouco pateta, Colonel Kurt von Strohm.

Curiosamente o actor chamava-se na realidade Alexander (Sacha) Molchanoff e nasceu na Rússia. Faleceu em 2004.

Da Wikipédia (em inglês):

Richard Marner

Born in Petrograd, Soviet Russia, Molchanoff was the eldest son of Colonel Paul Molchanoff, of the Semionovsky regiment, one of two that were set-up for children of children who had played with Peter the Great of Russia. In 1924, his entire family left Russia and went to Finland and then Germany, before ending up in London, where Alexander's grandmother, Olga Novikov (known in the family as "Babushka London") lived in Harley Street.

After being educated at Monmouth School in Wales, Molchanoff became an assistant to the Russian tenor Vladimir Rosing, where he performed at Covent Garden. During World War II he joined the RAF, and was posted to South Africa with the Air Training Corps. After being invalided out, he changed his name to Richard Marner, and began his long successful career as a stage and film actor.

One of Marner's early stage roles - as Dracula, with Howard Dean - is still regarded by some as the definitive interpretation of the role.^[1]His films include You Only Live Twice, The Boys from Brazil, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The African Queen and the Swiss film Four in a Jeep, in which he did all the Russian dialogue. He was also in the television movie Birth of the Beatles, as the club boss, and in 'Allo 'Allo!.

Latest work included guest shots in Lovejoy (1994) and the movie The Sum of All Fears (as the Russian president).

In 1991, when the then-mayor of Moscow, Boris Yeltsin, convened a "Congress of Compatriots" (an olive branch to some of the post-1917 White Russian diaspora), Marner was one of the 600 people who returned to the motherland. Despite being caught up in a coup, he stayed long enough to watch, through tearful eyes, the first Imperial Russian flag flown in Moscow since the 1920s.

He died in Perth, Scotland and left a wife, actress Pauline Farr, who retained Molchanoff as her off-stage name. Marner was fluent in Russian, English, French and German, and was also survived by a daughter - Helen - and three grandchildren.

Colonel Kurt Von Strohm is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!, which ran from 1982 to 1992. He was played by the actor Richard Marner.

Von Strohm is a Colonel, which is similar to the rank of the Oberst in the Wehrmacht. He is the town Commandant in Nouvion, and often visits the Café René with his assistant Captain Hans Geering and his secretary Private Helga Geerhart. In the later series, after Hans goes missing, he mostly comes with Lieutenant Gruber.

The Colonel enjoys special treatment by the maid Yvette Carte-Blanche in exchange for paraffin, gasoline, sugar and butter. He also forces René Artois to hide some silver, the first cuckoo-clock ever made, and the world famous The Fallen Madonna by van Klomp (or "The Fallen Madonna With The Big Boobies") from Herr Flick of the Gestapo. These valuable artifacts were found in the town's chateau. Von Strohm wants to sell them after the war to have a good pension, but he has to share with the captain, the secretary, with René Artois the café-owner and later on with Gruber. To increase his pension, he also plans to sell the well known Vase with Twelve Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh (or "The Cracked Vase With The Big Daisies"), which was found in the café. Its original owner is Madame Edith's mother Madame Fanny La Fan. She got it as a present from the nowadays popular artist.

But the Colonel fears the Gestapo and his superior General Von Klinkerhoffen, who is a ruthless man. He orders to make forgeries of the paintings, so Herr Flick can send them to Hitler as a birthday gift for Eva Braun. But the Gestapo officer also wants to get rich, so he makes more forgeries. The General is also rapacious, and wants to get his hands on the paintings too. Later Lieutenant Gruber is also involved, as he is ordered to make copies. The artifacts were hidden in various places, like in knockwursts sausages, in wardrobes, in René's cellar, in his kitchen, at the old sawmill, etc.

But the paintings were never sold. In the last episode Gruber finds The Fallen Madonna by mistake in the statue of René. By this time the Madonna has only one big boobie. But Helga possesses the other one, so the painting is complete again. In this episode we also find out that many years after the war Gruber married Helga and hired Von Strohm as his chaffeur.

Allô Allô, uma retrospectiva... (X) - Kristen Cooke

"Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once". Esta é talvez a frase que mais impacto causou durante toda a série.

A Michelle of the Resistence era interpretada pela actriz Kriten Cooke.

Da Wikipédia (em inglês):

Kirsten Cooke (born 4 October 1952, Cuckfield, East Sussex, England) is an English stage actress who trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, London. Almost all of her acting work has been in the field of comedy.

She is best known for her role as Michelle Dubois in the British television series 'Allo 'Allo, produced by the BBC. Before then, she was an occasional member of the ensemble of comedy actors that appeared in Dave Allen's sketches across several of his BBC series. More recently, she starred in several episodes of the BBC children's comedy series ChuckleVision.

Her other television credits include Woolcott, Rings On Their Fingers, The Dawson Watch, and The Upper Hand. She has now gone on to play the role of "Molly" in the British television series Down To Earth. She also appeared as a panelist on Blankety Blank ^[1]

Michelle Dubois is a fictional character in the situation comedy 'Allo 'Allo. The part was played by the actress Kirsten Cooke.

She is a young, dark-haired woman who usually dresses in the unofficial "uniform" of the Gaullist French Resistance, a tan trench coat and black beret. Unlike the other French characters, she speaks fluent English, and is the only local person in Nouvion who can communicate with the two downed Royal Air Force men who are hidden in the town (the only other character to do this is Officer Crabtree). Her undercover alias is that of the post mistress in the other village, who has a lisp.

Her recurring catch-phrase (delivered in a faux-French accent) is: "Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once." She also has a habit of jumping out on Rene with her gun drawn, and asking him "are we alone?", even when in a crowded cafe, and has an obsession with secrecy and disguises.

Although, unlike most of the other women in the show, she is not even remotely attracted to René Artois, she pretends to be in love with him at one point to get him to cooperate with her schemes; René himself is not enthusiastic about the Resistance or the Germans, and would much prefer, given his own inclinations, to just run his cafe and have affairs with his waitresses.

Although Michelle is devoted to the Resistance, there have been episodes when her morals are doubtful. In one episode she shoots the ceiling of René's café to make the customers pay 400 franc for a bottle of wine instead of 200. In another episode she takes some money from the till of the café. She even takes small sums of money from the Resistance and spends it on a hairdresser visit. In another episode she even threatens René and Edith with a gun for money.

Her catchphrase "Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once" was the most used catchphrase in the show and had several variations, the most recurring one being "Look very carefully, I shall show you only once", which was first used when showing off her legs to René and Monsieur Alfonse. Due to the shows popularity "Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once" has also been used infrequently on other show, especially those set in World War II France. A notable example is a Seventh season episode of Goodnight Sweetheart when the main character Gary Sparrow, disguised as a French General, made contact with a member of the French Resistance.

Allô Allô, uma retrospectiva... (IX) - The return of Allô Allô

Andava eu a fazer uma pesquisa no youTube para encontrar um vídeo com o Monsieur Alfonse (sem sucesso), quando descobri vários filmes com o "episódio" de 2007 gravado na Austrália.

Um tesouro. Ainda só vi até ao terceiro filme.

Aguardo os vossos comentários...

Allô Allô, uma retrospectiva... (VIII) - Kenneth Connor

O actor Kenneth Connor encarnou o papel de Monsieur Alfonse. A sua imagem de marca era o seu "dicky ticker". Infelizmente o actor deixou-nos em 1993.

Da Infopédia (em Inglês):

Kenneth Connor, MBE (6 June 1916 – 28 November 1993) was an English comedy stage, radio, film and TV actor, best known for the Carry On films.

Born the son of a naval officer in London, Connor first appeared on the stage at the age of 2 and by 11 had his own act. After periods at drama school and the army during which time he participated in the British invasion of Rome, he returned to the stage, but found most success in BBC radio comedy, particularly in comedian Ted Ray's Ray's a Laugh in which he played the brother-in-law and other 'odd' characters including 'Sidney Mincing'. He had a small role as a taxi driver in The Ladykillers (1955), and was an occasional guest on The Goon Show on radio, being called upon to fill in during regular cast members' illness.

In 1958 he was cast in the first Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant. He became one of the regulars of the series, appearing in 17 of the 30 original films and many of the television productions. In his earlier Carry On appearances he frequently played sympathetic straight roles, often as the romantic lead. His appearances subsided during the middle period of the Carry On film run; however, he returned in the later films. In his later appearances he often played married men with a wandering eye, various lascivious and lusty men, and pompous unsympathetic characters. His son Jeremy appeared as his son in Carry On Nurse.

Together with Kenneth Williams and Eric Barker, Kenneth Connor was the only star of the Carry On's to appear in the first Carry On Sergeant and last Carry On Emmanuelle of the original set of Carry On films excluding Carry On Columbus.

He also starred with fellow Carry On stars Sid James and Esma Cannon in the 1961 British comedy What a carve up!.

Between 1971 and 1973 Connor joined Dad's Army stars Arthur Lowe and Ian Lavender on the BBC radio comedy Parsley Sidings. In contrast with some of his Carry On co-stars, Connor found further success on the London stage playing a leading role alongside Frankie Howerd in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and he also appeared in West End revues. On television he appeared in The Black and White Minstrel Show, in the children's show Rentaghost (1983 – 1984), and as Monsieur Alfonse in 'Allo 'Allo! (1984 – 1992) and Uncle Sammy Morris in Hi-de-Hi! (1986 – 1988). He also made guest appearances in sitcoms, including That's My Boy, You Rang, M'Lord? and he made a memorable cameo in an episode of Blackadder the Third in 1987, alongside fellow veteran comic star Hugh Paddick.

His final TV appearance as Mr Warren in The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes episode The Adventure of the Red Circle was broadcast posthumously in 1994. He was in over fifty movies and was honoured by the Queen with an MBE in 1991.

He made his first stage appearance at the age of two and was still working just 2 days before his death, with an appearance on Noel Edmond's Telly Addicts.

Connor died of cancer at his home in London in 1993, and was survived by his wife Margaret (Miki), his son and three grandchildren, Thomas, Hayley and Rose, all of whom have been accomplished child actors.

Monsieur Alfonse is Nouvion's undertaker, first being seen when local hero René Artois fakes his own death. Alfonse quickly falls in love with the latter's wife, Edith, and René has to propose to Edith or lose his café as everyone believes he is dead.

Alfonse also has a small fortune in a Swiss bank account; therefore, Edith's mother agrees with the match, as Alfonse would make a better husband financially.

The undertaker's catchphrase is "Swiftly and with style", while announcing his services. In addition, he also has a "dicky ticker", which comes on every time something stressful (or arousing) happens, and also suffers from the less publicised "tricky truss". He admires René for all the brave work he does for the Resistance, and agrees to admire Edith from afar. When he finds out about René's affair with waitress Yvette he tells Edith, but René manages to fob her off with another excuse.

Allô Allô, uma retrospectiva... (VII) - Guy Siner

Guy Siner encarnou na série a personagem de Lieutenant Hubert Gruber, que provocava gargalhada geral quanto tentava fleurtar com o René.

Da Wikipédia (em inglês):

Guy Siner (born 16 October 1947) is an American-born British actor known for his role as Lieutenant Hubert Gruber in th e British television series 'Allo 'Allo!.

Early life

Siner was born in New York City. His father was American, born in Newark, New Jersey, and his mother English, born in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. His mother wanted him to be educated in the United Kingdom, and the family returned there when he was five. After attending public school, he trained for the stage at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Career

In 1980, Siner portrayed director Mack Sennett in The Biograph Girl, a short-lived West End musical about the silent film era. He played Lieutenant Hubert Gruber in the sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! between 1982 and 1992. Other credits include I, Claudius, Babylon 5, Seinfeld, You Rang, M'Lord?, The Brittas Empire, Martial Law, 'Diagnosis

Murder, Secret Army, Star Trek: Enterprise and in the Doctor Who story Genesis of the Daleks. He also played a small role in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. In addition to this he also appeared in Chucklevision.

After 'Allo 'Allo came to the end of its run in 1992, Siner worked for a time in the United States, based in Los Angeles, California. He has since returned to the United Kingdom, and now resides in Chesham in Buckinghamshire.

Siner is notable as being one of only ten actors to appear in both the Star Trek and Doctor Who franchises. The others are Simon Pegg, Daphne Ashbrook, Alan Dale, Maurice Roëves, Christopher Neame, Olaf Pooley, John Franklyn-Robbins, Barrie Ingham and Deep Roy. (Gregg Palmer also appeared in both franchises but his role in Star Trek went uncredited.)

In 2006, Siner appeared in two films by writer and director David Roden (of Dimensions In Time fame) called Beginner's Please and The Resurrectionist.

In June and July 2007 he reprised his role of Lieutenant Gruber in the stage play of 'Allo 'Allo, for Twelfth Night Theatre in Brisbane, alongside Gorden Kaye and Sue Hodge, playing their original roles of René Artois and Mimi Labonq. The other characters were portrayed by various Australian actors including Katy Manning, Steven Tandy, Chloe Dallimore, Jason Gann, Tony Alcock and David Knijnenburg.

Lieutenant Hubert Gruber, generally known only as Lieutenant Gruber, is a fictional character from the British sitcom series 'Allo 'Allo! and is portrayed by Guy Siner. Gruber is an Oberleutnant in the Panzer division in the Wehrmacht (evidenced by the rose-pink piping on his uniform and single gilted star on the silver eppaulette), although in very early episodes he wears the rank of Leutnant. He has an armoured car, which he often refers to as "my little tank" and is driven by the unseen character "Clarence". The vehicle resembles a Leichter Panzerspähwagen, probably the SdKfz. 222 version, or possibly a modified Russian Ba64. However dimensions and configuration (the show vehicle has a rear access - the real 222 does not), mean that the show vehicle only resembles an existing model of tank.

Gruber comes from Baden-Baden. He attended art school in his youth, but was expelled (just after they had done fish). Prior to the war, he worked as a window dresser, and as an assistant in an art gallery in Cologne. Later his artistic talent comes useful, when he is ordered by Colonel Von Strohm to make copies of the Fallen Madonna by Van Klomp (or "The Fallen Madonna With The Big Boobies"), and the Vase With Twelve Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh (referred also as "The Cracked Vase With The Big Daisies").

Gruber never admitted his sexuality, though his mannerisms and characteristics are that of a stereotypical gay male who has an obvious crush on René. He often finds René in embarrassing situations, for example by walking into a room and catching René in his underpants. Nevertheless, in the last episode of the series, we discover that Lieutenant Gruber has married Helga, with whom he has had six children after the war, and he is a wealthy art salesmen. He hired his former superior Colonel Von Strohm as his chaffeur. This marriage led to confusion on whether he was really homosexual or if he pretended in order to obtain vital information from both allies and enemies without creating any suspicions to either party. However, in The Return of 'Allo 'Allo!, it was specifically made clear that Gruber was intended to be gay, even though it's shown in the last episode that he could also maintain a relationship with a woman - effectively making him bisexual.

Gruber is the aide-de-camp to General Von Klinkerhoffen, and lives in the local château. Later he also becomes the unofficial assistant of Colonel Von Strohm, after Captain Hans Geering goes missing in series 3.

Allô Allô, uma retrospectiva... (VI) - Richard Gibson

O actor Richard Gibson encarnou em todas as temporadas excepto na nona e última, a personagem de Herr Otto Flick. Sempre vestido de preto, Herr Flick era um implacável e temível inspector da Gestapo.

"Helga, you may kiss me now" era um dos chavões utilizados por esta personagem.

Na nona temporada, Richard Gibson foi substituído pelo actor David Jacson.

Da Wikipédia (em inglês):
Richard Gibson (born 1 January 1954) is an English actor, probably best known for his role as the archetypal Gestapo Officer Herr Otto Flick in the BBC hit sitcom series, 'Allo 'Allo!.

Gibson was born in Kampala, Uganda, before the country gained independence from the UK. He was educated at St Paul's Cathedral Choir School, Radley College and the Central School of Speech and Drama. He took part in 'Allo 'Allo! during the vast majority of the series.

Dressed in an ankle-length leather coat and with the obligatory stiff-legged limp and walking stick, Herr Flick spent his life suppressing peasants, seducing Helga, the German town Commandant's assistant, and vainly trying to get his hands on the original of the painting 'The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies' by Van Klomp.

Gibson then toured with the group when 'Allo 'Allo! transferred to the stage and had successful tours both in the United Kingdom and abroad. The stage version of the show gave rein to his other skills, and he was able to demonstrate his mastery over the violin.

He has also played a wide variety of roles on stage and the TV screen, and in 2006 was a regular guest on The Daily Telegraph's World Cup Pubcast, where he usually took the role of Herr Flick, providing a more biased view of the proceedings. In 2003, he guest starred in the Doctor Who audio drama Flip-Flop.

Gibson was still doing voiceover work in 2009 and working as a sub-editor at The Times newspaper in London.

David Janson (born David Jackson, 30 March 1950) is an English actor whose stage debut was in Oliver! in 1962. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963 in A Midsummer Night's Dream and appeared as the young boy (during Ringo's walk) in The Beatles film A Hard Day's Night.

Janson became well-known for his role as Jimmy Harker in the 1960s British soap opera, The Newcomers. He later starred in the sitcom Get Some In!. He also replaced Richard Gibson as the Gestapo officer Herr Otto Flick in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! in its final 1992 series, after playing Adolf Hitler's double in an episode of series 8.

He has also appeared in a variety of other roles including in Softly, Softly, Doomwatch, Jason King, Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars, Brush Strokes, T-Bag Strikes Again, Ever Decreasing Circles, the postman in Keeping Up Appearances, Get Some In! and The Upper Hand.

David was married to actress Debbie Arnold (who played April Branning in soap opera EastEnders) for 13 years and divorced her in 2002.

The couple have two daughters, Hollyoaks actress Ciara Janson and younger sister Talia Janson.

They both worked on the Streamline English as a Foreign Language video series. He played the role of Kevin Smith and his wife that of his wife Sharon

Herr Otto Flick is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!, which ran from 1982 to 1992.^[1] He was played by the actors Richard Gibson and David Janson.^[2] On The Return of 'Allo 'Allo! it was revealed that the character was based on a combination of Joseph Goebbels and Arnold Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and that Gibson had wished to incorporate all manner of grotesqueries from these characters into his depiction of Flick but had only been allowed a limp.

Herr Flick is an officer of the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police during World War II. On the rare occasions he wears uniform, he is shown to be an SS-Sturmbannführer (Major). He is portrayed as unemotional (his voice never changes in relation to how he feels) and he seems hurt only when he finds Private Helga Geerhart kissing the Italian Captain Alberto Bertorelli. Apart from this, the only emotion he ever shows is anger.

He is the godson of Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS and Gestapo. He explains in one episode that he is an orphan and was raised by nuns when he was little. He has stated that he originally didn't want to join the Gestapo, but Himmler convinced him. Over the course of the programme he receives several letters from Himmler, usually admonishing him for his actions, such as failing to find the portrait of the Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies by Van Klomp. When he is arrested by General Von Klinkerhoffen (once for pretending to be Helga's replacement and the other time for dressing up as a member of the French Resistance), Himmler comes to his rescue by sending a telegram to the General requesting Otto's release.

He is assisted by Engelbert Von Smallhausen, a junior officer of the Gestapo who is not too intelligent. Whenever Von Smallhausen makes a statement that is either stupid or does not agree with Flick's thinking, he always hits Von Smallhausen on the head with whatever object he can find at the time.

Herr Flick is in love with Helga, a fact which he does not often show. When she comes to see him he always says "You may kiss me." She then proceeds to kiss him passionately, while he stands quite still, with his facial expression not changing. He is excessively domineering, not just to her, but to Von Smallhausen as well.

His secret HQ's address is Rue de Gangoine 32. In his dungeon, Herr Flick has many disguises. He and Von Smallhausen are often shown in disguise, trying to gain entry to somewhere he is not supposed to be such as the château. He often adds the word 'Gestapo' as an adjective to various gadgets and items he uses. Examples include: "My powerful Gestapo binoculars", "My Gestapo staff car", and "The Gestapo Dance".

Herr Flick has a fondness for using experimental truth sera made from assorted exotic animals such as the Self-inflating Peruvian Marsh Frog or the Patagonian Fruit Bat. These sera often have interesting physical side effects on his victims.

There is also an extensive collection of Gestapo gramophone records dealing with such subjects as "How to fool French peasants into believing you are English in one easy lesson" - "Faw F-Faw Faw-Faw-Faw..."

He plays the violin extremely well and his favourite animal is the rat (because it is small, shifty and disgusting). He owns a homing pigeon named Boris.

In France, the word "flic" is a derogatory term used towards the police. Herr Flick is also said to be a reference to 'hair flick', the typical gesture with which Hitler adjusted his coiffure.

A website run by Gibson and located at www.askflick.com allows users to ask Herr Flick anything.