Raiders of The Lost Ark 1981 premiere
Friday July 31st, Cineworld Cinema - London Leicester Square 5-6 Leicester Square
London WC2H 7NA
London WC2H 7NA
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Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, to Dorothy (Nidelman), a radio actress, and Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), an actor turned advertising executive. His father was of Irish and German ancestry, while his maternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Minsk, Belarus. Harrison was a lackluster student at Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge Illinois (no athletic star, never above a C average). After dropping out of Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he did some acting and later summer stock, he signed a Hollywood contract with Columbia and later Universal. His roles in movies and television (Ironside (1967), The Virginian (1962)) remained secondary and, discouraged, he turned to a career in professional carpentry. He came back big four years later, however, as Bob Falfa in American Graffiti (1973). Four years after that, he hit colossal with the role of Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). Another four years and Ford was Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
Four years later and he received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his role as John Book in Witness (1985). All he managed four years after that was his third starring success as Indiana Jones; in fact, many of his earlier successful roles led to sequels as did his more recent portrayal of Jack Ryan in Patriot Games (1992). Another Golden Globe nomination came his way for the part of Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive (1993). He is clearly a well-established Hollywood superstar. He also maintains an 800-acre ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Ford is a private pilot of both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and owns an 800-acre (3.2 km2) ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, approximately half of which he has donated as a nature reserve. On several occasions, Ford has personally provided emergency helicopter services at the request of local authorities, in one instance rescuing a hiker overcome by dehydration. Ford began flight training in the 1960s at Wild Rose Idlewild Airport in Wild Rose, Wisconsin, flying in a Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer, but at $15 an hour, he could not afford to continue the training. In the mid-1990s, he bought a used Gulfstream II and asked one of his pilots, Terry Bender, to give him flying lessons. They started flying a Cessna 182 out of Jackson, Wyoming, later switching to Teterboro, New Jersey, flying a Cessna 206, the aircraft he soloed in. Ford is an honorary board member of the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope.
On March 5, 2015, Ford's plane, believed to be a Ryan PT-22 Recruit, made an emergency landing on the Penmar Golf Course in Venice, California. Ford had radioed in to report that the plane had suffered engine failure. He was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was reported to be in fair to moderate condition. Ford suffered a broken pelvis and broken ankle during the accident, as well as other injuries.- Probably one of Britain's most underrated actors, Paul Freeman has accumulated literally hundreds of screen credits over several decades, most notably as the main villain in the Steven Spielberg classic Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and he has worked extensively in the theatre, but he has managed to avoid becoming a star or even a household name in his native UK. His hypnotic good looks and talent for accents have often seen him cast as villains.
He originally worked in advertising and then he trained as a teacher, while he participated in amateur dramatics as a pastime. As a professional actor he gained extensive experience performing in repertory in England and Scotland and landed small roles at the Royal Court Theatre. He is also a founding member of the Joint Stock Theatre Company. He acted at the National Theatre and began to get roles on British television. Films included The Long Good Friday (1980) (starring Bob Hoskins) and The Dogs of War (1980) (starring Christopher Walken). His work was noticed by American director Steven Spielberg, who cast Freeman as French archaeologist Rene Belloq, Harrison Ford's charismatic but utterly selfish rival in the blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). He had expected to appear in the next Indiana Jones movie, but Spielberg and George Lucas decided on a different story. Nevertheless, his portrayal of Belloq guaranteed him good work in the following years, during which he continued to showcase his command of dialects and chameleon-like ability to disappear into roles, such as the deliciously evil Professor Moriarty in the Michael Caine comedy Without a Clue (1988).
His notable television appearances have included Will Shakespeare (1978), Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981), Falcon Crest (1981), Inspector Morse (1987), and ER (1994). He has also continued to work as a stage actor. - Actor
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Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies was born in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales, to Mary Margaretta Phyllis (nee Jones), a nurse, and Rhys Davies, a mechanical engineer and Colonial Officer. He graduated from the University of East Anglia and is probably best known to film audiences for his roles in the blockbuster hits Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). He was introduced to a new generation of fans in the blockbuster trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)) in the role of Gimli the dwarf. He has also had leading roles in Victor/Victoria (1982), The Living Daylights (1987) and King Solomon's Mines (1985).
Rhys-Davies, who was raised in England, Africa and Wales, credits his early exposure to classic literature for his decision to pursue acting and writing. He later refined his craft at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (of which he is now an Associate Member). His television credits include James Clavell's Shogun (1980) and Noble House (1988), Great Expectations (1989), War and Remembrance (1988) and Archaeology (1991). An avid collector of vintage automobiles, Rhys-Davies has a host of theater roles to his credit, including "The Misanthrope", "Hedda Gabler", and most of Shakespeare's works. He divides his time between Los Angeles and the Isle of Man.- Actor
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A prolific character actor on British television for three decades, Ronald Lacey was born on June 18, 1935 in the suburbs of London. He began his career in 1961 after compulsory National Service. He attended The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His first notable performance was delivered on stage in 1962 at The Royal Court Theatre in "Chips With Everything". Lacey had an unusual pug look with beady eyes and cherub's cheeks which landed him repeatedly in bizarre roles on both stage and screen. However it was his unforgettable demonic smile and peculiar Peter Lorre mannerisms that would bring Lacey a short period of fame in Hollywood.
After performing on British television throughout the 1960's and 1970's, Lacey finally landed the role for which these characteristics could be used to full advantage. In 1981 he was cast as the villainous Nazi henchman in 'Steven Spielberg' 's widescreen blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) He followed this with a series of various villainous roles for the next five to six years: Firefox (1982) with 'Clint Eastwood', Sahara (1983) with Brooke Shields, and Red Sonja (1985) with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lacey turned in two hilarious cinematic performances in full drag (Disney's Trenchcoat (1983) with Margot Kidder from 1982 and Invitation to the Wedding (1983) from 1985 - in which he played a husband/wife couple!).
Lacey died in London of liver failure on May 15, 1991. A tremendous talent with great depth and many facets, Ronald Lacey will probably be remembered best for his small but significant role as the dapper yet psychotic Nazi in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).- Actor
- Stunts
Proud and passionate Angle, Pat Roach, was born and raised in Birmingham, England and grew to be a mountain of a man standing at six feet, five inches tall, with doorway-wide shoulders and a barrel chest.
Pat wrestled competitively under the name of "Bomber" Roach, and at one time held both the British and European Heavyweight Wrestling Championships. While still in the wrestling game, Roach broke into acting with a bit part in the Stanley Kubrick film Barry Lyndon (1975). He quickly became popular as an enforcer or warrior figure and appeared on-screen with some of Hollywood's biggest names. Many people would remember him as the muscle-bound, bald German guard who hands out a beating to Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), before being cut down by a spinning plane propeller.
In other film roles, Roach nearly eliminates 007 Sean Connery in the Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983), in dual roles as a resurrected demon and as a fierce warrior, he fought Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Conan sequel Conan the Destroyer (1984), and was back as a ferocious Indian guard pummeling poor Harrison Ford once again in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), before falling into a rock crusher.
He also appeared in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Red Sonja (1985) and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). Apart from his film activity, Pat ran a gymnasium in Birmingham, operated a used appliance business in the local markets and was known as a warm-hearted and genial man who was happy to chat with admiring fanatics, sign autographs and pose for photographs.
Roach was also very popular with English television audiences for his portrayal of gentle giant "Brian 'Bomber' Busbridge" in the series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983) and was scheduled to appear in the fifth series of the show, when he died of cancer on July 17, 2004. He was 67 years old.