TV Shows We Used To Watch - British TV show - BBC Till Death Us Do Part
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Till Death Us Do Part was a British television sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1968, 1970, and from 1972 to 1975. First airing as a Comedy Playhouse pilot, the series aired for seven series until 1975. Six years later, ITV continued the sitcom, calling it Till Death.... From 1985 to 1992, the BBC produced a sequel In Sickness and in Health.
Created by Johnny Speight, Till Death Us Do Part centred on the East End Garnett family, led by patriarch Alf Garnett (Warren Mitchell), a reactionary white working-class man who holds racist and anti-socialist views. His gentle and long-suffering wife Else was played by Dandy Nichols, and his daughter Rita by Una Stubbs. Rita's bright but layabout husband Mike Rawlins (Antony Booth) is a socialist.
The character Alf Garnett became a well known character in British culture, and Mitchell played him on stage and television up until 1998, when Speight died.
In addition to the spin-off In Sickness and in Health, Till Death Us Do Part was re-made in many countries, from Brazil to Germany (Ein Herz und eine Seele), and Hong Kong (All in a Family), with the most notable remake being the long-running 1970s American series, All in the Family.
Many episodes from the first three series are thought to no longer exist, having been wiped in the mid 70s as was the policy at the time.
The series became an instant hit because, although a comedy, in the context of its time it did deal with aspects of working-class life comparatively realistically. It addressed racial and political issues at a difficult time in British society.
The attitude of those who made the programme was that Alf's views were so clearly unacceptable that they were risible, but some considered the series uncomfortable and disturbing.
Some were oblivious to the fact that Johnny Speight was satirising racist attitudes. Ironically, many who held similar opinions to the character enjoyed the show, perhaps missing the point that Alf's opinions were offensive and that they were being ridiculed.
Mitchell imbued the character of Alf Garnett with an earthy charm that served to humanise Alf and make him likable. According to interviews he gave, the fact that some viewers overlooked Alf's views and regarded him as a rough diamond disappointed Speight.
The show captured a key feature of Britain in the 1960s - the widening generation gap. Alf (and to a lesser degree his wife) represented the old guard, the traditional and conservative attitudes of the older generation.
Alf's battles with his left-wing son-in-law were not just ideological but generational and cultural. His son-in-law and daughter (a supporter of her husband rather than an active protagonist) represented the younger generation.
They saw the positive aspects of the new era such as relaxed sexual mores, fashions, music, etc. The same things were anathema to Alf - and indicative of everything that was wrong with the younger generation and the liberal attitudes they embraced.
Alf was portrayed as the archetypal working-class Conservative. The subjects that excited him most were football and politics, though his actual knowledge of either was limited.
He used language not considered acceptable for television in the 1960s. He often referred to racial minorities as "coons" and similar terms.
He referred to his Liverpudlian son-in-law as "Shirley Temple" or a "randy Scouse git" (Randy Scouse Git as a phrase caught the ear of Micky Dolenz of The Monkees who heard it while on tour in the UK - and who co-opted it as the title of the group's next single - though their record label re-named it "Alternate Title" in the UK market to avoid controversy) and to his wife as a "silly moo" (a substitute for "cow" which was vetoed by the BBC's head of comedy Frank Muir).
However, Michael Palin writes in his diary 16 July 1976 that Warren Mitchell told him that 'silly moo" wasn't scripted, "It came out during a rehearsal when he forgot the line "Silly old mare".' Controversially, the show was one of the earliest mainstream programmes to feature the swear word "bloody".
The show was one of several held up by Mary Whitehouse as an example of the BBC's moral laxity.
In a demonstration of Speight's satirical skills - on learning that Mary Whitehouse was a critic of the show - Speight created an episode where Alf Garnett was seen as a fan of Whitehouse. He was seen proudly reading her current book. "What are you reading?" his son-in-law asks.
When he relates that it is Mary Whitehouse - his son-in-law sniggers. Alf's rejoinder is "She's concerned for the bleedin' moral fibre of the nation!"
Ultimately "silly moo" became a comic catch phrase. Another Garnett phrase was "it stands to reason", usually before making some patently unreasonable comment.
Alf was an admirer of Enoch Powell, a right-wing Conservative politician known particularly for strong opposition to the immigration of non-white races into the United Kingdom.
Alf was also a supporter of West Ham United (a football club based in the East End) and known to make derogatory remarks about "the Jews up at Spurs" (referring to Tottenham Hotspur, a North London club with a sizeable Jewish following). This was a playful touch by Speight, knowing that in real life Mitchell was both Jewish and a Spurs supporter. In interviews, Speight explained he had originally based Alf on his father, an East End docker who was staunchly reactionary and held "unenlightened" attitudes toward black people. Speight made clear that he regretted his father held such attitudes - beliefs Speight regarded as reprehensible. Speight saw the show as a way of ridiculing such views and dealing with his complex feelings about his father.
The series switched to colour in 1972 and Rita had a baby son, Micheal.
Toward the end of the series Dandy Nichols fell ill and was unable to attend the live-audience recordings. The problem was solved by having her pre-record her lines which were then edited into the show.
Eventually even this was too much and so in a later episode Else was seen leaving for Australia, to Alf's dismay. Patricia Hayes, who had been seen from time to time previously as next door neighbour Mrs. Reed, was given a first name Min and became a starring character along with her husband Bert, previously played by Bill Maynard and now by Alfie Bass.
The show's rating began to suffer and in 1975, the series was dropped. The final episode, saw Alf lose his job and receive a telegram from Else asking for a divorce.
As with most BBC sitcoms Till Death Us Do Part was recorded before a live studio audience. The programs were recorded onto 2 inch Quadruplex videotape. From 1966 to 1968 the show was both taped and transmitted in black and white. When the show returned in 1970 it was recorded the same way only in colour.
The opening titles/end credits of the first colour episodes originally used the b/w sequence from the 60's tinted in red, as seen on UKTV Gold repeats in 2006.
CAST
Warren Mitchell ... Alf Garnett
Una Stubbs ... Rita
Dandy Nichols ... Else Garnett
Anthony Booth ... Mike Rawlins
See video clip
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h36UigPqHqs&feature=related
Warren Mitchell (born 14 January 1926) is an English actor who rose to initial prominence in the role of bigoted cockney Alf Garnett in the BBC television series Till Death Us Do Part (1965-1975) scripted by Johnny Speight. He holds both British and Australian citizenship and has enjoyed considerable success in stage performances in both countries.
Mitchell was born Warren Misel in Stoke Newington, London. He is of Russian Jewish descent[1], but describes himself in interviews as an atheist who sometimes believes in God.[2] His father was a glass and china merchant. He was interested in acting from an early age, and attended the Gladys Gordon's Academy of Dramatic Arts in Walthamstow from the age of seven. He did well at school and read physical chemistry at University College, Oxford, for six months. There he met his contemporary Richard Burton, and together they joined the RAF in 1944. He completed his navigator training in Canada just as the war ended.
Dandy Nichols (21 May 1907 – 6 February 1986) was an English actress most noted for her role as Else Garnett, the long-suffering wife of the racially bigoted and misogynistic character Alf Garnett in the BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part.
Born Daisy Sander in Hammersmith, London, she started her working life as a secretary in a London factory. Twelve years later, after drama, diction and fencing classes, she was spotted in a charity show by a producer, who offered her a job in his repertory theatre company in Cambridge. During her early career on stage she acted under the name Barbara Nichols but later changed it to Dandy, her childhood nickname.
When the Second World War broke out, she returned to office work but later undertook a six-week tour with ENSA. When the war was over, she returned to the theatre and also began appearing in films: usually comedies and invariably as a maid or char.
Her successes in theatre include the Royal Court Theatre and Broadway productions of Home. Her big screen debut was in Hue and Cry, in 1947, followed with performances in Nicholas Nickleby, The Winslow Boy, The History of Mr Polly, Scott of the Antarctic, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire and Dickens' The Pickwick Papers.
Una Stubbs (born 1 May 1937) is an English actress and former dancer who has appeared extensively on British television and less frequently in films or on the stage. She is particularly known for her roles in the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part and the children's series Worzel Gummidge.
Una Stubbs was born at Hinckley, Leicestershire. She first appeared on television as one of The Dougie Squires Dancers on the British TV music show Cool for Cats in 1956.
Her first major screen role was in Cliff Richard's 1963 film, Summer Holiday. A few years later, she made her breakthrough in television comedy, playing Rita Rawlins, the married daughter of Alf Garnett in Till Death Us Do Part. She also appeared in the short-lived sitcom Till Death... (1981), again playing Rita.
From 1970 to 1972, Stubbs appeared on most editions of It's Cliff Richard! and It's Cliff! on BBC1, singing, dancing and acting along with the host and the weekly guests. When she took maternity leave from the show, her TV mother Dandy Nichols appeared on the show with Cliff to cover for her absence. She also appeared in the 1972 West End revue, Cowardy Custard, and two years later in the revue Cole, at the Mermaid Theatre.
Stubbs featured in the Fawlty Towers episode "The Anniversary". She played Rita a third time in a few episodes of the BBC sitcom In Sickness and in Health (1985-92). But after 1986, she stopped appearing as Rita, due to technical arguments with the BBC. However, she played Rita a fourth time in the Granada series, A Word With Alf.
Stubbs played Aunt Sally in the ITV children's series Worzel Gummidge opposite Jon Pertwee, and was for several years a team captain in the weekly game show Give Us a Clue. She had an ongoing role as Miss Bat in the TV series The Worst Witch and has appeared in shows such as Midsomer Murders, Heartbeat, Casualty, Keeping up Appearances and as Edith Pagett in ITV's 2006 adaptation of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple story Sleeping Murder. Stubbs has also appeared in The Catherine Tate Show playing various characters.
On stage, Stubbs appeared in Noël Coward's "Star Quality" in 2001. She also appeared in La Cage Aux Folles at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2008.
Antony "Tony" George Booth (born 9 October 1931 in Liverpool, better known as Tony Booth) is an English actor, best known for his role as Mike Rawlins in the BBC series Till Death Us Do Part. His daughter, Cherie, a prominent Queen's Counsel, is married to former Prime Minister Tony Blair. He is a cousin to the Booth family of 19th-century American actors.
Booth was born into a working class family in Jubilee Road, Liverpool. His father was a merchant seaman during World War II, his mother was of Irish descent. He attended St Edmunds Infant's School and spent a year in hospital as a child with diphtheria. He then passed the 11 plus examination and attended St. Mary's College, Crosby where he was awarded a bursary to cover the cost of his books. Hopes that he could progress to university were dashed when he had to leave school and get a job after his father was badly injured in an industrial accident. He then worked as a clerk in a docklands warehouse and at the United States Consulate in Liverpool, before being called up for national service with the Royal Corps of Signals.
TV Shows We Used To Watch - 1970's British TV show - Love thy Neighbour
Image by brizzle born and bred
'Love Thy Neighbour' was a popular British sitcom, which was aired from April 13, 1972, until January 22, 1976, spanning seven series.
The sitcom was produced by Thames Television and broadcast by ITV. The main cast included Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Nina Baden-Semper and Kate Williams. In 1973, the series was adapted into a movie, with a sequel series set in Australia. The series was created and largely written by Vince Powell and Harry Driver, and was based around a suburban white working class couple who unwittingly found themselves living next door to a black couple, and the white couple's attempts to come to terms with this.
Love Thy Neighbour was hugely popular in the 1970s. During that era, Britain struggled to come to terms with its recently-arrived population of black immigrants, and Love Thy Neighbour exemplified this struggle. It aroused great controversy for many of the same reasons as the earlier Till Death Us Do Part.
The views of the white male character (Eddie Booth, played by Smethurst) were presented in such a way as to make him appear stupid and bigoted, and were contrasted with the more tolerant attitude of his wife.
His use of terms such as nig-nog to refer to his black neighbour, despite being intended as ironic by the script-writers, attracted considerable criticism from viewers. The male black character was, in contrast educated and sophisticated, although stubborn and also capable of racism using the terms Honky, Snowflake, Paleface or Big White Chief to describe his white neighbour.
The series has since been repeated on satellite television stations in the UK, however, each episode begins with a warning about content at the start of each show.
Eddie Booth (Jack Smethurst) is a white socialist. His world is turned on its head when Bill and Barbie Reynolds move in next door. He is even more annoyed when Bill gets a job at the same factory as him, and refers to him as a "nig-nog", "Sambo", "choc-ice" or "King Kong".
He also has a tendency to call Chinese, Pakistanis or Indians names like "Fu Manchu", "Gunga Din" and "Ali Baba". He is a very devoted supporter of Manchester United Football Club. His catchphrases include "Bloody Nora!", "Knickers!", "The subject is closed", "you bloody nig-nog!" and "Get knotted!"
Joan Booth (Kate Williams) is Eddie's wife. She does not share her bigoted husband's opinion of their black neighbours, and is good friends with Barbie. Her catchphrases include "Don't be ridiculous!" and "Don't talk rubbish!".
Bill Reynolds (Rudolph Walker) is a West Indian and a Conservative. Whenever Eddie tries to outdo him, Bill usually ends up having the last laugh. He occasionally refers to Eddie as a "white honky" and "snowflake", and doesn't like catching Eddie staring at his wife.
He also has a very high-pitched laugh. His catchphrases include "Hey, honky!", "Cobblers!" and "You talking to me, snowflake?".
Barbie Reynolds (Nina Baden-Semper) is Bill's wife and gets along very well with her next door neighbour, Joan Booth. Eddie is sometimes fascinated by her, especially in the pilot episode when she bent over while wearing hot pants.
Jacko Robinson (Keith Marsh) is an elderly white man and socialist who works with Bill and Eddie. His catchphrase is "I'll have half", in reference to a half pint of beer.
Arthur Thomas (Tommy Godfrey) is another of Eddie and Bill's co-workers at the factory, and is often seen in the local pub playing cards and talking about trade union issues.
Love Thy Neighbour has been criticised for its politically incorrect handling of issues of race, although its writers have claimed that each episode included both anti-white and anti-black sentiment.
It is often used as shorthand for television before the era of political correctness. Although both characters were bigoted and intolerant, Bill usually had the last laugh and rarely got his comeuppance.
See 'Love Thy Neighbour' Video Clip
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_gN7zlpnz8
Is this really our school mascot?
Image by lisa.williams
I found these on a rack of school-spirit gear at a local store. Our town's high school football team is called the Raiders, but I've never seen the "red indian" mascot before. Is this really the team's mascot -- or is this just a manufacturer who picks whatever clip art goes with the name? I have a hard time believing the local school would put this on a uniform.
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