Latest news with #KenRussell
Times
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Peter Phillips obituary: A founder of pop art movement
In 1962 Peter Phillips was featured in Ken Russell's kaleidoscopic documentary Pop Goes the Easel for the BBC. It confirmed him as one of the pioneers of the burgeoning British pop art movement, which drew inspiration from mass media such as advertising, film and comic books and was seen as a more cerebral and ironic critique of contemporary society than its American counterpart. At 22, Phillips was the youngest of the four artists to appear, along with Peter Blake, Derek Boshier and Pauline Boty. He appeared languid, even imperious: he did little in the film except sip coffee, chain-smoke and chew gum in a black turtleneck and blazer while he dabbed at a large canvas on which he had constructed a surreal hybrid of a racing driver, tiger and motorcycle.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kenneth Colley, Admiral Piett in a Pair of ‘Star Wars' Films, Dies at 87
Kenneth Colley, the British actor who appeared in seven features for director Ken Russell and portrayed the Darth Vader underling Admiral Piett in the Star Wars films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, has died. He was 87. Colley died Monday at his Ashford home in Kent, England, of complications from COVID and pneumonia, his agent Julian Owen announced. More from The Hollywood Reporter How Jamaal Fields-Green Took Charge of the Tony-Favorite 'MJ the Musical' and Made It His Own Why the John Garfield Retrospective at Karlovy Vary May Seem More Political Than Intended Paolo Sorrentino's 'La Grazia' Set to Open Venice Film Festival For Ken Russell, Colley played dramatist Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, younger brother of the famed composer, in The Music Lovers (1971), and he did six other features with the director: The Devils (1971), The Boy Friend (1971), Mahler (1974), Lisztomania (1975) — as Frédéric Chopin — The Rainbow (1989) and Prisoner of Honor (1991). In a career that spanned more than 60 years, Colley also enjoyed a fruitful association with Monty Python and its members; he worked with director Terry Gilliam in Jabberwocky (1977) and with Michael Palin and Terry Jones on a 1977 episode of the BBC's Ripping Yarns and played Jesus in Life of Brian (1979). He had a stutter that he said disappeared whenever he was onstage or in front of a camera. Colley's Firmus Piett served as first officer of the flagship Star Dreadnought Executor under Admiral Kendal Ozzel (Michael Sheard) in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), then assumed command of the ship after Ozzel's death at the hands of Vader. He wasn't expected back for Return of the Jedi (1983). 'But I got a call from my agent saying there's been a lot of fan mail about this character and George [Lucas] has decided to put him in the next one, do you want to do it?' he recalled in a 2008 interview. 'I said sure, yeah. Who wouldn't?' He returned to play Piett once more in the 2012 animated telefilm Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out. Born in Manchester on Dec. 7, 1937, Colley began his professional acting career in 1961 and went to perform for London's Old Vic, The Royal Court Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Also in the 1960s, he showed up on episodes of The Avengers, Coronation Street and Emergency-Ward 10 and in such films as How I Won the War (1967) and Oh! What a Lovely War (1968). Other notable roles included the Duke of Vienna in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure for the BBC in 1979; a Soviet colonel in Clint Eastwood's Firefox (1982); Adolf Eichmann in the 1985 NBC telefilm Wallenberg: A Hero's Story; a Nazi in the 1988-89 ABC miniseries War and Remembrance; the pirate Ben Gunn on the 1986 Disney Channel miniseries Return to Treasure Island; and a crime boss on the BBC's Peaky Blinders in 2016. Colley's work as Piett made him a popular figure at Star Wars conventions and events all over the world. 'If you let it, it becomes a way of life,' he said in that 2008 interview. 'I think we're now into the third generation of people, who were not born, and it keeps it alive. For me, the personal experience is a very long time ago, but this kind of secondary experience is going on all of the time. I've just signed a picture for someone just a minute ago. I think it may outlive me.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Star Wars actor dies aged 87: Kenneth Colley passes away after catching Covid
Star Wars actor Kenneth Colley has died at the age of 87 after contracting Covid and developing pneumonia. The English film and television actor is best known for starring in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as Admiral Piett, an imperial officer in command of Darth Vader's flagship. His agent of 10 years, Julian Owen issued a statement which said that he died 'peacefully' on Monday, June 30, in Ashford, Kent. After injuring his arm after a fall, he was taken to hospital where he caught Covid, which developed into pneumonia. The statement from his agent said: 'He had been admitted after a fall with an injured arm, however he quickly contracted Covid which developed into pneumonia. 'He passed away peacefully with friends at his bedside. Ken Colley was one of our finest character actors with a career spanning 60 years. 'Ken continually worked on stage, film and television playing a vast array of characters, from Jesus in Monty Python's Life of Brian to evil and eccentric characters in Ken Russell films, and the Duke of Vienna in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure for the BBC.' In later years, he reprised his role of Admiral Piett when he voiced the character in the 2012 animated Lego production, Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out. He also had parts in international productions, including Clint Eastwood's Firefox and the Second World War series War and Remembrance. The statement added: 'Ken's favourite part was playing Estragon in the stage production of Beckett's classic Waiting for Godot at the Cockpit Theatre in London in 2014. 'Ken's participation in Star Wars led him to being invited to conventions and official fan events all over the World where he remains one of the best loved actors from the original trilogy. 'Ken loved his garden, art collecting and had a passion for fast cars.' He is also known for playing Jesus in Monty Python's Life of Brian alongside English actors' John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Michael Palin. In recent years, he had stints on Holby City to Peaky Blinders, and appeared on two episodes of a Doctor Who special.
The Guardian
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Ken Russell's Tommy reviewed – archive, March 1975
It is at least arguable that Tommy (Leicester Square Theatre, AA) was not only the first but the best rock opera yet written. Now we have it, in blasting Quintaphonic sound, flung at us from the screen by the amazing Ken Russell. Take your earplugs and possibly a sedative, put on your dark glasses, but go. Some of it is quite extraordinary, a battering but exact synthesis of sound and images the like of which only Russell, of contemporary film-makers, could achieve. Even if you think he's the most irritating director in the world, you have to allow that to him. By his own lights, he could scarcely have done better. Tommy, for the benefit of those who haven't yet seen or heard it, is a parable about a boy who grows up deaf, dumb and blind after a traumatic experience in his youth, somehow survives a series of miracle cures, becomes pinball champion of the world and, finally freed of his disabilities, turns into the Superstar Messiah. All this is built round music that, to some extent, defuses it of portentousness since it is culled from the experience of a group (The Who) that has been one of the most musical around even when Pete Townshend was smashing up guitars. What Russell has done is to marry their work to his style with an abandon that at least gives it freshness even if it often diverts the total experience along different channels. Certainly he has vulgarised, but a rock opera without that quality would seem a contradiction in terms and not much to do with the pop scene from which it was generated. Some sections of the film, such as the superb Pinball Wizard sequence with a mammoth-booted Elton John, the Acid Queen scene with the magnificent Tina Turner and two numbers with Paul Nicholas and Keith Moon as Tommy's tormenting babysitters, are perfectly matched to the songs that the imagination boggles at Russell's audacity and the way he can bring the impossible off by believing in it so utterly. At other points, it will be all too much for those who find Russell hard to take and a combination of him and The Who even harder. Even so, there are some stunning, and stunningly energetic performances to admire which match step for step what Russell is trying for on the screens. Roger Daltrey's innocent, blank-eyed Tommy, Ann Margret and Oliver Reed as his hapless prole parents, and Jack Nicholson in an all-too-brief cameo role as a spurious specialist give everything they have, and sometimes more than we thought they had, to the general-cause. And the sight of leering Reed, striding around Russell's approximation of a fifties Butlin's in teddy boy gear or of Ann-Margret having a nervous breakdown in a torrent of baked beans will live with me for a good deal longer than the film will run. Which is probably a very long time, since Russell going all out in the pop field is an experience that makes the recent spate of disaster films seem like pigmy pinpricks on the subconscious. The experience, like it or not, is quite something.
Associated Press
13-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
WoodenWares Introduces Advanced Birthday Key Designs with Innovative Click n Connect Stands
Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, March 13, 2025 -- WoodenWares, a family-owned business with over eight years of experience in crafting Birthday Keys, has introduced a refined approach to key design and production. The company has implemented industrial-grade UV inks and an exclusive Click n Connect stand system to enhance both the durability and presentation of its keys. Unlike conventional methods that rely on household paints, WoodenWares utilizes industrial UV inks, ensuring a longer-lasting finish. The company specializes in cultural designs, including Samoan, Māori, Cook Islands, Torres Strait, and Tongan themes. WoodenWares has also redefined the traditional stand design. While standard Birthday Key stands are typically single-piece rectangular structures, the Click n Connect system offers a more stable and secure solution that prevents keys from slipping or breaking when moved. This stand is uniquely designed and exclusive to WoodenWares. In addition to material and structural advancements, the company employs computer-assisted color blending to create intricate and detailed patterns, with some designs incorporating hundreds of individually shaded elements. This digital approach provides a visually striking and refined finish. WoodenWares has developed an internal software system to optimize production efficiency, with a standard turnaround time of four days, subject to availability. Customers receive automated updates via SMS and email at key stages of the order process, including draft completion, modification requests, production initiation, and final delivery. A key aspect of WoodenWares' approach is the use of 3D-rendered color drafts. Unlike traditional black-and-white sketches, these computer-generated previews provide a near-realistic representation of the final product, allowing customers to make informed adjustments before production begins. The company also operates a dedicated showroom featuring up to 40 Birthday Keys on display, offering a tactile experience for visitors to assess craftsmanship and materials in person. WoodenWares has received extensive customer feedback, with a significant number of five-star Google reviews, highlighting the company's reputation within the industry. Contact Info: Name: Ken Russell Email: Send Email Organization: WoodenWares Pty Ltd Phone: 0401774795 Release ID: 89155209
