m.humphreys
master brummie
yes, Odeon Queensway
just found this
Screen 1 of the Odeon Queensway Birmingham
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/74758790/
If my memory serves me correctly that cinema was the Scala before being Odeon Queensway.
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Birmingham Cinemas
- Thread starter Alf
- Start date
If my memory serves me correctly that cinema was the Scala before being Odeon Queensway.
jennyann
Gone but not forgotten. R.I.P.
I remember my first visit to the Cinephone. Must have been in l960. Saw a film called "The Green Mare's Nest" . Cinema experience up to that point were films about the war,musicals and light material. I remember being shocked but entertained at the same time by this film, We then headed to El Sombrero Coffee Shop and I remember feeling like we had done something really different for Brum entertainment.
These days with so many Film Festivals held all over the world plus rental of foreign films, etc. that experience wouldn't exist.
These days with so many Film Festivals held all over the world plus rental of foreign films, etc. that experience wouldn't exist.
paul stacey
master brummie
hi all
I remember the El Sombrero what an unusual and for that time slightly bizarre frothy coffee shop for Brum, I cannot remember exactly where it was but I know you went up the Horse Fare towards town and it was on your right and also remember it was a bob a coffee which was double the going rate.
paul
I remember the El Sombrero what an unusual and for that time slightly bizarre frothy coffee shop for Brum, I cannot remember exactly where it was but I know you went up the Horse Fare towards town and it was on your right and also remember it was a bob a coffee which was double the going rate.
paul
I wouldn't have known where Bristol St.ended and The Horsefair began,but it was all the A38.
and that's where the Cinephone was.
Have just looked at your photo.the time I am thinking of there was no such place as The Queensway.
There originally wasn't until The Queen came to cut the ribbon and mistakenly-and legally-called it "Queensway".
ethanedwards
Brummie Muso
Besides watching TSOM five or six times.
The Gaumont was also the 'Cinerama' cinema.
I saw How The West Was Won, It's A Mad, Mad, World,
and Fall of the Roman Empire there
Unless it was a much later showing, the ABC Cinerama on Bristol Road would have been the venue for "How the West Was Won". Here's the opening night details www.macearchive.org/Medi.html?Title=6397#
The ABC started off the "Birmingham Battle of the Cineramas" by opening with HTWWW on 16 September 1963, followed by the conversion of the Gaumont on 14 October of that year with "This is Cinerama" which showed up until "Mad,Mad World" opened there on 26 December. "Fall of the Roman Empire" although a widescreen presentation at the Gaumont in 1964 wasn't technically a 'Cinerama'. Filmed in Ultra Panavision 70, which was just step below Cinerama, the photography process nevertheless got moulded into later Cinerama ( and called Cinerama for the un-noticing public) for films such as Battle of the Bulge (later at the ABC Bristol Road) and"The Greatest Story Ever Told".
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ethanedwards
Brummie Muso
Thanks, and yes it probably was later, but it was indeed the Gaumont,
where I saw these movies
Di.Poppitt
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
I have never been to the Cinephone, but the cinema in Bristol Road in the 50's was the Bristol, it was the only Cinema in Birmingham that showed films in 3D. The first one I saw was The Fly, there was another very famous 3D film but I can't get my head around its name.
Di.Poppitt
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
As soon as I stopped thinking I knew the name of that film The House of Wax. A bit of a frightener, worse than The Fly I think.
Chris B
master brummie
and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON was another one of the period.
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 American monster film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes. The film was released in the United States on March 5 1954.
Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed and originally released in 3-D requiring polarized 3-D glasses, and subsequently reissued in the 1970s in the inferior anaglyph format (this version was released on home video by MCA Videocassette, Inc. in 1980). It is considered a classic of the 1950s, and generated two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us, each a year apart. Revenge of the Creature was also filmed and released in 3-D, in hopes of reviving the format.
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 American monster film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes. The film was released in the United States on March 5 1954.
Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed and originally released in 3-D requiring polarized 3-D glasses, and subsequently reissued in the 1970s in the inferior anaglyph format (this version was released on home video by MCA Videocassette, Inc. in 1980). It is considered a classic of the 1950s, and generated two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us, each a year apart. Revenge of the Creature was also filmed and released in 3-D, in hopes of reviving the format.
paul stacey
master brummie
hi all
The thing that frightened me to death was the old hammer dracula films with chris lee, I used to run home top speed from the old weoley castle (wob) cinema, literally ---------- myself till I got safely indoors.
paul
The thing that frightened me to death was the old hammer dracula films with chris lee, I used to run home top speed from the old weoley castle (wob) cinema, literally ---------- myself till I got safely indoors.
paul
Chris B
master brummie
OSCARS ARCHITECT.
Below is a bit of background info' about The ODEON cinemas main firm of architects, and as Mrs Deutch says in the film "ODEON CAVALCADE" Oscar and Harry Weedon became good friends as well as business associates.
Harold William "Harry" Weedon (1887 – 17 June 1970) was an English architect. Although he designed a large number of buildings during a long career, he is best known for his role overseeing the Art Deco designs of the Odeon Cinemas for Oscar Deutsch in the 1930s. Influenced by the work of Erich Mendelsohn and Hans Poelzig - the Odeons "taught Britain to love modern architecture" and form "a body of work which, with London Underground stations, denotes the Thirties like nothing else"
Education and early career
Weedon was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, the son of a commercial traveller, and educated at King Edward's School in the city. He studied architecture at the Birmingham School of Art from 1904, before being articled to the architectural practice of Robert Atkinson. In 1912 at the age of 24 he was made an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects and went into partnership with Harold S. Scott, with whom he designed a cinema in Birchfield, completed in 1913, and several upmarket houses in Warwickshire.
The outbreak of World War I saw building work dry up, however, and in 1914 he volunteered as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps, serving until 1917. On his demobilisation he set about re-establishing his architectural practice, but an affair with the wife of a neighbour resulted in a scandalous double divorce that destroyed his reputation, and he spent the following years in Leamington Spa working as a manager in the catering industry.
The Odeon era
Weedon returned to Birmingham and to architecture in 1925, quickly building up his practice designing housing estates and commercial and industrial premises. It was his work in 1932 designing the enlargement of a factory in Hockley, Birmingham for the firm of Deutsch and Brenner that brought him to the attention of Oscar Deutsch - the factory's owner's son - who was in the process of building up his Odeon chain of cinemas and was dissatisfied with the interior proposed for his cinema under construction in Warley near Birmingham. Weedon was approached by Deutsch to complete the design, but at the time his office numbered only six staff and had nobody other than Weedon himself with any cinema experience, so the young Cecil Clavering was recruited to complete the work.
It was Clavering's next cinema design, built in Birmingham's expanding Kingstanding suburb in 1935, that cemented the relationship between Deutsch and Weedon. Originally designed for another chain and to be called the "Beacon", Deutsch saw in Clavering's simple and original Art Deco design the making of the house style he sought to distinguish the Odeon chain from his rivals. The cinema was quickly bought for the Odeon group and Weedon was appointed to oversee all of the group's designs.
Between Weedon's appointment in 1934 and the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the Weedon office was to design or act as consultant architect to over 250 of Deutsch's cinemas. Not all of these were designed by the practice itself: of the thirty-six Odeons that opened in 1936 only eight were Weedon designs. Even those that were designed by the Weedon practice were not designed by Weedon himself - Weedon's role has been likened to that of an executive producer, creating the house style and maintaining consistent quality. The practice's other major notable building of the era - the Villa Marina, an early British example of a house in the International Style built in Llandudno in 1936 - was designed by Weedon personally.
Clavering himself designed three more Odeons for Weedon after Kingstanding - in Sutton Coldfield, Colwyn Bay and Scarborough, "one masterpiece after the other" considered "the finest expressions of the Odeon circuit style". Later in 1935 however Clavering stunned Weedon by resigning to take up a job with the Office of Works. Weedon approached Clavering's former tutor who recommended Robert Bullivant as Clavering's replacement.
Post-war
In March 1939, Weedon brought four of his senior staff into partnership to form the Weedon Partnership. The outbreak of World War II later that year, and the take-over of the Odeon group by J. Arthur Rank on the death of Deutsch in 1942, saw cinema design work evaporate, and Weedon spent most of the war overseeing the dispersal of Birmingham's wartime industries to protect them during the Birmingham Blitz. This resulted in a wide range of contacts with the Midlands' engineering and industrial firms and the post-war era saw the Weedon Partnership focusing on the design of factories, including notable work at the British Motor Corporation's Longbridge plant and in Cowley, Oxford, and a large factory for Typhoo Tea in Digbeth, Birmingham.
Weedon himself continued design work until his final illness. The Weedon Partnership is still in business and is based in Edgbaston, Birmingham, employing 36 people. The partnership has been involved in a variety of projects including ones at Brindleyplace (Birmingham), Piccadilly Place (Manchester), The Mailbox (Birmingham) and Hicking Pentecost (Nottingham).
Below is a bit of background info' about The ODEON cinemas main firm of architects, and as Mrs Deutch says in the film "ODEON CAVALCADE" Oscar and Harry Weedon became good friends as well as business associates.
Harold William "Harry" Weedon (1887 – 17 June 1970) was an English architect. Although he designed a large number of buildings during a long career, he is best known for his role overseeing the Art Deco designs of the Odeon Cinemas for Oscar Deutsch in the 1930s. Influenced by the work of Erich Mendelsohn and Hans Poelzig - the Odeons "taught Britain to love modern architecture" and form "a body of work which, with London Underground stations, denotes the Thirties like nothing else"
Education and early career
Weedon was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, the son of a commercial traveller, and educated at King Edward's School in the city. He studied architecture at the Birmingham School of Art from 1904, before being articled to the architectural practice of Robert Atkinson. In 1912 at the age of 24 he was made an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects and went into partnership with Harold S. Scott, with whom he designed a cinema in Birchfield, completed in 1913, and several upmarket houses in Warwickshire.
The outbreak of World War I saw building work dry up, however, and in 1914 he volunteered as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps, serving until 1917. On his demobilisation he set about re-establishing his architectural practice, but an affair with the wife of a neighbour resulted in a scandalous double divorce that destroyed his reputation, and he spent the following years in Leamington Spa working as a manager in the catering industry.
The Odeon era
Weedon returned to Birmingham and to architecture in 1925, quickly building up his practice designing housing estates and commercial and industrial premises. It was his work in 1932 designing the enlargement of a factory in Hockley, Birmingham for the firm of Deutsch and Brenner that brought him to the attention of Oscar Deutsch - the factory's owner's son - who was in the process of building up his Odeon chain of cinemas and was dissatisfied with the interior proposed for his cinema under construction in Warley near Birmingham. Weedon was approached by Deutsch to complete the design, but at the time his office numbered only six staff and had nobody other than Weedon himself with any cinema experience, so the young Cecil Clavering was recruited to complete the work.
It was Clavering's next cinema design, built in Birmingham's expanding Kingstanding suburb in 1935, that cemented the relationship between Deutsch and Weedon. Originally designed for another chain and to be called the "Beacon", Deutsch saw in Clavering's simple and original Art Deco design the making of the house style he sought to distinguish the Odeon chain from his rivals. The cinema was quickly bought for the Odeon group and Weedon was appointed to oversee all of the group's designs.
Between Weedon's appointment in 1934 and the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the Weedon office was to design or act as consultant architect to over 250 of Deutsch's cinemas. Not all of these were designed by the practice itself: of the thirty-six Odeons that opened in 1936 only eight were Weedon designs. Even those that were designed by the Weedon practice were not designed by Weedon himself - Weedon's role has been likened to that of an executive producer, creating the house style and maintaining consistent quality. The practice's other major notable building of the era - the Villa Marina, an early British example of a house in the International Style built in Llandudno in 1936 - was designed by Weedon personally.
Clavering himself designed three more Odeons for Weedon after Kingstanding - in Sutton Coldfield, Colwyn Bay and Scarborough, "one masterpiece after the other" considered "the finest expressions of the Odeon circuit style". Later in 1935 however Clavering stunned Weedon by resigning to take up a job with the Office of Works. Weedon approached Clavering's former tutor who recommended Robert Bullivant as Clavering's replacement.
Post-war
In March 1939, Weedon brought four of his senior staff into partnership to form the Weedon Partnership. The outbreak of World War II later that year, and the take-over of the Odeon group by J. Arthur Rank on the death of Deutsch in 1942, saw cinema design work evaporate, and Weedon spent most of the war overseeing the dispersal of Birmingham's wartime industries to protect them during the Birmingham Blitz. This resulted in a wide range of contacts with the Midlands' engineering and industrial firms and the post-war era saw the Weedon Partnership focusing on the design of factories, including notable work at the British Motor Corporation's Longbridge plant and in Cowley, Oxford, and a large factory for Typhoo Tea in Digbeth, Birmingham.
Weedon himself continued design work until his final illness. The Weedon Partnership is still in business and is based in Edgbaston, Birmingham, employing 36 people. The partnership has been involved in a variety of projects including ones at Brindleyplace (Birmingham), Piccadilly Place (Manchester), The Mailbox (Birmingham) and Hicking Pentecost (Nottingham).
ColinB
gone but not forgotten
Moss, The Lyric was located in Edward Street, it was built as the Church of Our Saviour, and renamed as Queen's Hall, it became a full time cinema and renamed The Lyric in 1919. closed in late 1950's and demolished.
Image taken from Birmingham Cinemas, Wilkinson and Hanson, and shows it in 1957
Image taken from Birmingham Cinemas, Wilkinson and Hanson, and shows it in 1957
Darby
master brummie
I watched The High and The Mighty with John Wayne on television Saturday and remarked to the wife" saw this at the Carlton 1954 ", and it occurred to me just how many times I have said that.
I wonder how many others who lived it that area find themselves saying the same thing.
I wonder how many others who lived it that area find themselves saying the same thing.
lencops
gone but not forgotten
The Danilo Story
Remember the Danilo?. Len. The Danilo, Quinton, opened its doors to the public on Bank Holiday Monday, August 7th 1939. The entertainment showing that day was ‘Charlie Chan in Honolulu’ starring Sidney Toler. The supporting programme, which of course was always a feature of cinemas in those days, was Jane Withers in ‘Always in Trouble’. In the week ahead James Mason appeared in ‘I met a Murderer’. Ticket prices at the time were 6d; 1/- and 1/6 and with the opening of a new attraction for the area the Saturday afternoon Matinee was introduced. A weekly serial began on August 12th with Episode One of ‘Blake of Scotland Yard’.
Remember the Danilo?. Len. The Danilo, Quinton, opened its doors to the public on Bank Holiday Monday, August 7th 1939. The entertainment showing that day was ‘Charlie Chan in Honolulu’ starring Sidney Toler. The supporting programme, which of course was always a feature of cinemas in those days, was Jane Withers in ‘Always in Trouble’. In the week ahead James Mason appeared in ‘I met a Murderer’. Ticket prices at the time were 6d; 1/- and 1/6 and with the opening of a new attraction for the area the Saturday afternoon Matinee was introduced. A weekly serial began on August 12th with Episode One of ‘Blake of Scotland Yard’.
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ethanedwards
Brummie Muso
Hi Len,
Thanks for the pic of the old Danilo
In the 70's and 80's I lived in Quinton,
and saw many films at the then Essoldo
Thanks for the pic of the old Danilo
In the 70's and 80's I lived in Quinton,
and saw many films at the then Essoldo
Bill Parker
master brummie
The Danillo at Quinton was my local Cinema for quite a few years although I knew it as an Essoldo. It probably holds some local record for having carried the names of most of the major exhibitors on its frontage over its long career!
From memory it has also been a Classic, Cannon, ABC, Odeon and now a "Reel Cinema" or has it changed again? I have always liked this Cinema and back in the 80s had the pleasure of photographing the projection equipment in the room that served both halves of the former stalls. From memeory they would have been screens 2&3? The former balcony screen1 ? Screen 4 was built in the space that would have existed behind the original screen/ Speaker chambers.
The projectors at this time were Westrex 5000 units each fed by long play "towers" carrying 12.000 ft spools sufficient for a 2 hour programme although I believe it was possible to get slightyl more film than the official capacity. I have reason to believe the Westrex machines have been replaced with Phillips and platter feeds but I might be wrong.
During some refurbishment work some of the wooden panels used to "update" it were removed revealing some of the original "art deco" auditorium lighting and the local papers featured this and detailed how the lights were to be restored. Splendid Cinema and long may it reign.
Bill
From memory it has also been a Classic, Cannon, ABC, Odeon and now a "Reel Cinema" or has it changed again? I have always liked this Cinema and back in the 80s had the pleasure of photographing the projection equipment in the room that served both halves of the former stalls. From memeory they would have been screens 2&3? The former balcony screen1 ? Screen 4 was built in the space that would have existed behind the original screen/ Speaker chambers.
The projectors at this time were Westrex 5000 units each fed by long play "towers" carrying 12.000 ft spools sufficient for a 2 hour programme although I believe it was possible to get slightyl more film than the official capacity. I have reason to believe the Westrex machines have been replaced with Phillips and platter feeds but I might be wrong.
During some refurbishment work some of the wooden panels used to "update" it were removed revealing some of the original "art deco" auditorium lighting and the local papers featured this and detailed how the lights were to be restored. Splendid Cinema and long may it reign.
Bill
lencops
gone but not forgotten
Hollywood starlet Gladys Morgan who began career in Birmingham fish and chip shop dies, aged 79
Mar 12 2010 by Christina Savvas, Birmingham Mail
Lisa Daniels on a publicity poster.
Perdita from the 101 Dalmations voiced by Lisa daniels of Birmingham.
Lisa pictured here with her husband Roger Hill Lewis getting married.
Jean Bytheway with memorabilia of her aunt, Lisa Daniels, who was a famous Hollywood actress.
A collect image from a Newspaper showing hopeful British actresses of the future.
Lisa Daniels on the cover of a magazine.
A photo of Lisa Daniels dated December 1954.
Lisa pictured here with her husband Roger Hill Lewis getting married.
Lisa with her daughter Gabrielle.
Lisa Daniels at a young age.
Lisa pictured at the chip chop where she worked before she became famous.
Lisa winning Miss Birmingham in 1944.
Christina Savvas, Birmingham Mail. looks at the life of a Hollywood starlet who started her career in a fish and chip shop in the back streets of Birmingham.
FROM a chip shop in the back streets of Birmingham to the bright lights of Tinseltown in the USA – that was the amazing journey of former beauty queen Gladys Morgan.
The blonde starlet, who was crowned Miss Birmingham in 1944, lived the American dream becoming a TV and film star in New York and Los Angeles during the heyday of Hollywood.
Gladys, who took the stage name Lisbeth Kearns but became best known as Lisa Daniels, rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names of the small and big screen and was married to the late film executive Roger Hill Lewis – producer of the Shaft series in the 1970s.
The glamorous couple, who later separated, had three children together, all now working in the Hollywood music business.
Lisa’s extraordinary life ended last month when she passed away peacefully in an LA retirement village at the age of 79.
Her lifestyle, living in a New York apartment overlooking Central Park and later the Hollywood hills, was a far cry from the early years of her life which started in Icknield Street, Brookfields – now Hockley.
Lisa Daniels was born Gladys Morgan in the backroom of the fish and chip shop, which her mother May had rented in 1929 after winning cash in a newspaper competition. Gladys’ niece, Jean Bytheway, who was born in the same bed nine years later, told the Birmingham Mail her aunt had lived an ‘extraordinary and colourful life’ which was down to her desire and ambition.
Sorting through the hundreds of photographs and magazine articles, Mrs Bytheway, who now lives in Stourbridge, said: “She was so beautiful, photographs do not do her justice, she had perfect skin and teeth, and she was such a good person, she was practically perfect.”
Mrs Bytheway, 69, said: “Nanny May, who was originally from Aston but lived in Wales, won some money in a newspaper competition so rented the chip shop in Icknield Street.
“She came with my mum Edna and uncle Bill and then Aunt Lisa was born. It was a hard life for them. Nanny used to go to the fish market at 5am. Mum worked in the shop but aunty didn’t, she was always involved in singing and dancing. She was so talented and beautiful.
“Mum and Aunt Lisa went to Ellen Street School and later Camden Street.
“Then at 13 aunty was crowned Miss Birmingham, we kept the photographs and the silver cup she won.
“When she was 14 she was a dancer in Cinderella at the Alexandra Theatre and when Noele Gordon, who was in Crossroads, fell ill, aunt Lisa stepped in as Cinderella.
“Then nanny sent her to London to take part in the musicals and shows.She was wonderful to watch.”
After taking part in West End shows, Lisa, aged 21, became a huge star in England and was one of a handful of British women, along with a young Joan Collins, tipped to make it in the US.
Despite being offered the lead role in a new stage production of Annie Get Your Gun, Lisa was persuaded to move to America by pianist husband John Daniels who had worked with huge artists including Barbra Streisand. But the marriage broke down and was annulled.
Lisa continued to land contracts and starred in a string of TV productions and films with actors such as David Houston, Michael Wilding and Dyan Thomas.
She was in the Cinderella story, The Glass Slipper, in 1955, and played a girl who was murdered by Jack the Ripper in The Man In the Attic. She also had a small part in The Virgin Queen, in which Joan Collins had the lead, and she was the voice of Perdita in the first ever version of Walt Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Mrs Bytheway, recalls visiting her aunt when she was 21 and attending the world premier of West Side Story in New York.
She said: “Although she wasn’t as big as Joan Collins, she did make it, she starred alongside some of the most wonderful and handsome actors in Hollywood. When I visited I experienced the glitz and glamour, I sat alongside stars at the premiere of West Side Story, a truly memorable and wonderful experience. I am extremely proud of my aunt who never forgot her life in Birmingham and was proud of where she came from.” RIP Len.
Mar 12 2010 by Christina Savvas, Birmingham Mail
Lisa Daniels on a publicity poster. Perdita from the 101 Dalmations voiced by Lisa daniels of Birmingham. Lisa pictured here with her husband Roger Hill Lewis getting married. Jean Bytheway with memorabilia of her aunt, Lisa Daniels, who was a famous Hollywood actress. A collect image from a Newspaper showing hopeful British actresses of the future. Lisa Daniels on the cover of a magazine. A photo of Lisa Daniels dated December 1954. Lisa pictured here with her husband Roger Hill Lewis getting married. Lisa with her daughter Gabrielle. Lisa Daniels at a young age. Lisa pictured at the chip chop where she worked before she became famous. Lisa winning Miss Birmingham in 1944. FROM a chip shop in the back streets of Birmingham to the bright lights of Tinseltown in the USA – that was the amazing journey of former beauty queen Gladys Morgan.
The blonde starlet, who was crowned Miss Birmingham in 1944, lived the American dream becoming a TV and film star in New York and Los Angeles during the heyday of Hollywood.
Gladys, who took the stage name Lisbeth Kearns but became best known as Lisa Daniels, rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names of the small and big screen and was married to the late film executive Roger Hill Lewis – producer of the Shaft series in the 1970s.
The glamorous couple, who later separated, had three children together, all now working in the Hollywood music business.
Lisa’s extraordinary life ended last month when she passed away peacefully in an LA retirement village at the age of 79.
Her lifestyle, living in a New York apartment overlooking Central Park and later the Hollywood hills, was a far cry from the early years of her life which started in Icknield Street, Brookfields – now Hockley.
Lisa Daniels was born Gladys Morgan in the backroom of the fish and chip shop, which her mother May had rented in 1929 after winning cash in a newspaper competition. Gladys’ niece, Jean Bytheway, who was born in the same bed nine years later, told the Birmingham Mail her aunt had lived an ‘extraordinary and colourful life’ which was down to her desire and ambition.
Sorting through the hundreds of photographs and magazine articles, Mrs Bytheway, who now lives in Stourbridge, said: “She was so beautiful, photographs do not do her justice, she had perfect skin and teeth, and she was such a good person, she was practically perfect.”
Mrs Bytheway, 69, said: “Nanny May, who was originally from Aston but lived in Wales, won some money in a newspaper competition so rented the chip shop in Icknield Street.
“She came with my mum Edna and uncle Bill and then Aunt Lisa was born. It was a hard life for them. Nanny used to go to the fish market at 5am. Mum worked in the shop but aunty didn’t, she was always involved in singing and dancing. She was so talented and beautiful.
“Mum and Aunt Lisa went to Ellen Street School and later Camden Street.
“Then at 13 aunty was crowned Miss Birmingham, we kept the photographs and the silver cup she won.
“When she was 14 she was a dancer in Cinderella at the Alexandra Theatre and when Noele Gordon, who was in Crossroads, fell ill, aunt Lisa stepped in as Cinderella.
“Then nanny sent her to London to take part in the musicals and shows.She was wonderful to watch.”
After taking part in West End shows, Lisa, aged 21, became a huge star in England and was one of a handful of British women, along with a young Joan Collins, tipped to make it in the US.
Despite being offered the lead role in a new stage production of Annie Get Your Gun, Lisa was persuaded to move to America by pianist husband John Daniels who had worked with huge artists including Barbra Streisand. But the marriage broke down and was annulled.
Lisa continued to land contracts and starred in a string of TV productions and films with actors such as David Houston, Michael Wilding and Dyan Thomas.
She was in the Cinderella story, The Glass Slipper, in 1955, and played a girl who was murdered by Jack the Ripper in The Man In the Attic. She also had a small part in The Virgin Queen, in which Joan Collins had the lead, and she was the voice of Perdita in the first ever version of Walt Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Mrs Bytheway, recalls visiting her aunt when she was 21 and attending the world premier of West Side Story in New York.
She said: “Although she wasn’t as big as Joan Collins, she did make it, she starred alongside some of the most wonderful and handsome actors in Hollywood. When I visited I experienced the glitz and glamour, I sat alongside stars at the premiere of West Side Story, a truly memorable and wonderful experience. I am extremely proud of my aunt who never forgot her life in Birmingham and was proud of where she came from.” RIP Len.
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Betty Hopper
master brummie
Hello,
Every Saturday I used to go to the matinee at the Delicia Cinema Gosta Green and at the end of the programme they always showed an episode of The Serial.
Now I can remember the Star as clear as daylight, it was Buster Crabbe, no way can I remember what the story line was.
Please someone, put me out of my misery.
Betty.
Every Saturday I used to go to the matinee at the Delicia Cinema Gosta Green and at the end of the programme they always showed an episode of The Serial.
Now I can remember the Star as clear as daylight, it was Buster Crabbe, no way can I remember what the story line was.
Please someone, put me out of my misery.
Betty.
Alf
Gone but not forgotten. R.I.P.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B707Ava4wrY&feature=related
Buster Crabbe was also 400 m Olympic Gold Medalist
He also Starred in Tarzan Films
Buster Crabbe was also 400 m Olympic Gold Medalist
He also Starred in Tarzan Films
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paul stacey
master brummie
I saw flash gorden every week at the royalty harborne I was afraid of the emperor ming, but thought the space ships brill
Ray Barrett
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN R.I.P.
Alf,
We probably watched Flash Gordon together at the Globe Cinema.
Do you remember the forms we sat on at the front for 4d.,they used to be turned over quite often,causing wonderful opportunities for a downward spiral into disorder and mayhem.
We probably watched Flash Gordon together at the Globe Cinema.
Do you remember the forms we sat on at the front for 4d.,they used to be turned over quite often,causing wonderful opportunities for a downward spiral into disorder and mayhem.