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wilfrid brambell interview

WebWilfrid Brambell Friday, 22nd March 1912 - Friday, 18th January 1985 Dublin Ireland. Now I just want to get back to work.. The book certainty shouldn't be titled 'The Authorised Biography. When Molly announced she was pregnant, Wilfrid assumed the child she was carrying was his. The drama centres on the actors' on- and off-screen relationship during the making of the BBC sitcom Steptoe and Son, and is based on interviews with colleagues, friends and family of the actors, and the Steptoe writers, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.1. In the dark stage comedy Stop It, Whoever You Are (1961), he was a factory lavatory attendant who receives sexual attention from a 14-year-old girl (appalled audience members shouted filth during some performances). For Harry, his father had effectively turned his back on him. Wilfrid wasted no time leaving the home and filed for divorce immediately, with Molly and Fisher and the child Wilfrid had raised as his own all leaving the property not long after. The Three Lives of Thomasina. WebGitHub export from English Wikipedia. Could that be the secret of their success? WebBirthday: Mar 22, 1912. [12] The relationship ended in divorce after she gave birth to their lodger's baby in 1955. On 22 December 2010 the BBC Trust Editorial Standards Committee upheld a further appeal by Corbett's brother-in-law. WebWilfrid Brambell Actor Overview Biography Filmography Life Events Photos & Videos About Read More Birth Place Dublin, IE Born March 22, 1912 Died January 18, 1985 Cause of Death Cancer Biography Read More Character player often cast as a crotchety old man. There were good reasons that Brambell could inhabit the role of the wily and begrudging grump so well. That line, inevitably, provides a title for Brambells first biographer. His first acting experience was when he was aged just two, entertaining wounded soldiers returning from action For those in the public eye, the risks were greater still. Picassos ventyr. It could have ended his acting career. It uncovers a life that was far from happy and content as perhaps it should have been. Wilfrid was overjoyed at finding out his wife was pregnant, and he was as fully invested as any new father would be in the months leading up to the birth and the arrival of the baby. Sadly, it did not escape him even after his death. WebBrambells booming baritone voice surprised many listeners: he played the role straight, true to the Dickens original, and not in the stereotype Albert Steptoe character. Relation: Name: Birth: Son: Michael Fisher: 1953: Husband: Wilfrid Brambell: Mar 22 1912: Spotted an error? For many of his millions of fans, Wilfrid Brambell was indistinguishable from the grumpy rag-and-bone man with questionable personal hygiene he played in Steptoe & Son for more than a decade. [8], Brambell died of cancer at his home in Westminster,[13] London, aged 72, on 18 January 1985. Wilfrid wasted no time leaving the home and filed for divorce immediately, with Molly and Fisher and the child Wilfrid had raised as his own all leaving the property not long after. Dapper and fashionable, he was extremely well-spoken. The old man roles arrived long before he was old. As Albert Ladysmith Steptoe, the unscrupulous rag-and-bone man with questionable habits in Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's long-running Steptoe & Son, he quickly became a household name with co-star Harry H. Corbett. , BBC Trust Editorial Standards Findings: Appeals and Other Editorial Issues to the Trust Considered by the Editorial Standards Committee, November 2010, Published 22 December 2010. He also famously starred alongside The Beatles in their film "A Hard Days Night", playing Paul McCartneys fictional grandfather. The Small World of Sammy Lee. It was the pinnacle of a career in which a man who was in fact a very well-spoken actor with roots in the theatre had been continually and unflatteringly There was a problem loading your book clubs. [7], The Curse of Steptoe, a BBC television play about Brambell and his co-star Harry H. Corbett, was broadcast on 19 March 2008 on digital BBC channel BBC Four, featuring Phil Davis as Brambell. This fastidiousness extended to the management of his personal life. "11 In a radio interview on 15 January 2009 Alan Simpson stated that the drama was "not at all accurate", while Ray Galton claimed, "We didn't recognise any of that. He WebAnother Shore. Brambell also played Bert Thomson, an Irish widower, in the film Holiday on the Buses; the character in question started a close friendship with Stan Butler's mother, Mabel. In an interview with Vulture, actor-producer Samberg said that after finding "so much strange behavior surrounding the sport (Wilfrid Brambell) out of trouble. Little is known of Yussof, and he was always referred to as a valet. Wilfrid continued to work and, with finances tight, it often meant he was away from home for several weeks at a time. But neither he nor Molly would be there for much longer. WebAbout the author Wilfrid Brambell 15 books1 follower Ratings Reviews Friends Following Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book! Really didn't." Please try again. In 1971, he starred in the premiere of Eric Chappell's play, The Banana Box, in which he played Rooksby. Between 1948 and 1955, Brambell was married to an Irish actress called Molly Hall. In court, the magistrate, perhaps sensing that the 50-year-old actor may have been the subject of police entrapment, as well as understanding the seriousness of a guilty verdict for him, concluded that the explanation Wilfrid had offered in his defence was entirely plausible. Two men claim Brambell called a dirty old man by his on-screen son in the hit sitcom sexually abused them when they were children in the early 1970s. But he was just 18 months old when his mother died of dysentery. Flame in the Streets. Brambell was featured in many prominent theatre roles. In real life, he was indeed nothing like his Steptoe persona, being dapper and well-spoken. Copy and paste this as Panicked and ashamed, Harold begs him to hurry up and finish. Inside Matt Hancock's 41-hour battle to save his career when photo of 'a snog and heavy petting' with aide 'Arrested at the airport? The book reveals little about Wilfrid's life off screen. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. In 1982, Brambell appeared in Terence Davies's film Death and Transfiguration, playing a dying elderly man who finally comes to terms with his homosexuality. | By British Comedy Classics | Facebook Log In Forgot By David Clayton For The Mail On Sunday We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. The BBC said the allegations surrounding Brambell would be looked at as part of the independent review into Saviles activities. Can't find what At the age of 49, he was cast as John Millss dad in Flame in the Streets (1961), despite being four years his junior. BEL MOONEY:Why does caring for my dad take over my life? He was sent to live with relatives in Manchester and rarely saw his father at all. That production about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business gave viewers their first glimpse of what would eventually become Steptoe & Son scriptwriters Ray Galton and Alan Simpsons greatest achievement, which ran for eight series. As he rummages around his groin for rogue pickles, the camera cuts to Harry H Corbett, returned from the kitchen with four words that would pursue his co-star to the grave: You dirty old man! His delivery is freighted with the knowledge that some 20 million viewers are now imagining a vinegary bulb nudging at Old Steptoes soapy cheeks. A Hard Day's Night. The truth of that will never be known. Saturday, 4th March 2023 See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. He was cremated on 25 January 1985 at Streatham Park Cemetery, where his ashes were scattered. WebHard Day's Night, A (1964) -- (Movie Clip) I Should've Known Better Paul (McCartney) has taken pity on grandfather (Wilfrid Brambell) whom he's had to imprison on the train so his mates (John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr) join them for a hit tune written by John and Paul, early in director Richard Lester's Beatles' movie A Hard Day's Night, 1964. WebWilfrid Brambell was born on 22 March 1912, in Dublin, Ireland. He also knew how it felt to be exposed in the worst way possible because of an incident that cast a shadow over the rest of his life. Television productions: "The Quatermass Experiment", "Nineteen Disney film "In Search of the Castaways" and playing Paul McCartney's The drama was widely acclaimed and won the Royal Television Society Award 2008 for "Single Drama".2 However, the drama generated controversy due to perceived historical inaccuracies, and following complaints to the BBC by Corbett's family, two revised versions of the drama have been broadcast. For the uninitiated, Ray Galton and Alan Simpsons sit-com was set in a totters yard on Oil Drum Lane, Shepherds Bush, but described a relationship drawn from the Beckettian plane: Albert and Harold, father and son, trapped with each other for eternity; the young man desperate to escape into culture and light, the old one conniving to keep him stuck in a domestic wilderness of mildew and taxidermy. Wilfrid wasnt a happy man, in my opinion. Brambell scandalised 1960s Britain, on and off screen. Try again. I was furious and tried to stand up for him but was just told to be quiet. If he was Wilfrids partner, he kept firmly out of the limelight, as Wilfrid would no doubt have insisted. Cancel online anytime. These roles earned him a reputation a month after 30 days. This was adapted for radio the same year, and appeared on Radio 2 on Christmas Eve. With lodgers now in situ, Molly could no longer travel to stay with her husband as often as before. Carry On Again, Doctor. During the mid-1960s, Wilfrid became friendly with a younger Malaysian man named Yussof Bin Mat Saman. Meanwhile, for Wilfrid, as we will learn, a son had been taken away in devastating circumstances. You signed in with another tab or window. His torment led to a secretive life off camera where he did everything possible to stay out of the public eye. They write a series of one-off plays starring actors, not comics who will expect every line to contain a laugh. In a blur of elbows, he stabs at them with a fork. But the films accuracy not least its portrait of a wretchedly hostile relationship between its subjects was so questioned that the BBC withdrew it and rewrote its guidelines on the depiction of real people on the screen. WebDescription: Wilfrid Brambell (born March 22, 1912 in Dublin, Ireland; died January 18, 1985 in London, England, UK) was an Irish film and television actor, best known for his roles in the British television series Steptoe and Son and The Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night. continued to take small roles in various television series and films Wilfrid Brambell was born on 22 March 1912, in Dublin, Ireland. Wilfred Brambell pays tribute to Harry H. Corbett (incomplete) jcowan1985 770K views 12 years ago Actor Bob Grant of On the Buses, interviewed by Pamela During World At all other times they were the acme of professionalism. Nothing more is known of him. Britain by then had become far more liberal, but it would still have been extremely difficult for any relationship to have entered the public domain at that time. The alleged victims, aged between 11 and 13 at the time, claim they were taken to the theatre as a treat but Brambell sexually abused them backstage. The audience watching Albert Steptoe in the bath would have brought their own ideas. Wilfrid continued to work and, with finances tight, it often meant he was away from home for several weeks at a time. He also performed alongside The Beatles in their debut film A Hard Day's Night, playing the fictional grandfather of Paul McCartney. WebDescription: Wilfrid Brambell (born March 22, 1912 in Dublin, Ireland; died January 18, 1985 in London, England, UK) was an Irish film and television actor, best known for his roles in the British television series Steptoe and Son and The Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night. But what we had on that crew was a bunch of awful homophobes who put a sign at the public toilets where we shot a scene that said Welcome home Wilfrid, because it was apparently the one that hed been arrested at. As for Wilfrid, everything was now different. Could that be the secret of their success? Even the shows catchphrase, You dirty old man! uttered by Harry H. Corbett, who played his restless and more aspirational son Harold was synonymous with Brambell himself. That production about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business gave viewers their first glimpse of what would eventually become Steptoe & Son scriptwriters Ray Galton and Alan Simpsons greatest achievement, which ran for eight series. The idea was put to him by a theatre producer. Looks at the difficult off screen relation of actors Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell who grew to hate one another during their years on screen. I have been a fan of Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett since watching Steptoe & Son with my grandma when I was young. Wilfrid Brambell and Margaret Nolan in A Hard Day's Night (1964) People Wilfrid Brambell, Margaret Nolan. After leaving school, he worked part-time as a reporter for The Irish Times and part-time as an actor at the Abbey Theatre before becoming a professional actor for the Gate Theatre. The screenplay was written by Brian Fillis, also responsible for the similarly themed 2006 drama Fear of Fanny, which is about television personality Fanny Cradock off-screen. As it was, the hunger for more of Albert and Harold was insatiable for the viewing millions. You will get an email reminder before your trial ends. He was sent to live with relatives in Manchester and rarely saw his father at all. The magistrate suggested that drink had brought out in Wilfrid excessive friendliness and some sexual tendencies which are normally controlled or sublimated. It was soon sold on, as Wilfrid sought to remove all memory that it had ever existed. During the mid-1960s, Wilfrid became friendly with a younger Malaysian man named Yussof Bin Mat Saman. is the first definitive account of one of Britain's most loved and complex character actors, Wilfrid Brambell. [5] Corbett's nephew released a statement in which he claimed that the actors did not hate each other: "We can categorically say they did not fall out. But neither he nor Molly would be there for much longer. Allen, 1976 - Actors - 189 pages. co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937 before August 21. He notably spoke with a distinct received pronunciation accent, in strong contrast to both his Steptoe cockney accent, and his native Irish accent which he would use where the role dictated. His performance in The Terence Davies Trilogy (1983) won him critical acclaim. Its all in Brambells bony physicality. Having then contacted Wilfrid Brambell to see if he was available, it was Corbett who put the idea forward to writers Galton and Simpson, not the other way round. He may have frowned on it professionally and become incredibly frustrated from time to time, but he accepted it was how Wilfrid was. Retrieved on 2011-02-11 , "The Curse of Steptoe transmissions". Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. There were good reasons that Brambell could inhabit the role of the wily and begrudging grump so well. Retrieved on 2010-12-22. Co-Star Harry H. Corbett continued to revive the characters for special For all of the sitcoms easy charm, it was also a peerless study in hopelessness, repression and barely concealed despair. The Trust also thought the on-screen caption could have been clearer, and warned that "the use of captions such as this should not be regarded as a 'blank cheque' for the indiscriminate and excessive use of dramatic licence".15 Once again, the drama would not be shown again until further editing had taken place. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Irish film and TV actor best known for playing Albert Steptoe in the classic BBC TV comedy series Steptoe and Son which ran for 57 episodes between 1962-1974. The interview was first broadcast the following day from 7.15-7.45am, on the Home Service programme Today. After the pickled onions are back in the jar, Harold gives his father a lecture on cleanliness. In 1952, their combined incomes allowed them to buy an attractive Victorian semi-detached property in Acton, West London. In the 1970s, Yussof Bin Mat Saman, a Malaysian man whom Brambell likely met on one of his many trips to Hong Kong, moved into his Pimlico flat, where he remained until after Brambells death. Sadly, it did not escape him even after his death. Finally, he produces a chip-shop-size jar of pickled onions. His first acting experience was when he was aged just two, entertaining wounded soldiers returning from action during the First World War. One of the victims lived at the islands notorious Haut de la Garenne childrens home where, in a separate incident, Savile is accused of interfering with a vulnerable 10-year-old boy. His television Copy to clipboard. There was a child, probably fathered by their lodger. I didnt understand a lot of the humour back then but enjoyed it, as I have gotten older and rewatched each series a few times over, it became clear that it is one of the best TV shows ever made in Britain, certainly the best comedy series in my opinion. There were good reasons that Brambell could inhabit the role of the wily and begrudging grump so well. And while he was there, his anguish was only too clear to see. ENSA. She says he invited her to his fl at and had sex. Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified. All that we know for certain is that he was someone Wilfrid thought a great deal of and who would remain his live-in companion until his death, two decades later. Clayton quotes, in its entirety, a letter in which the actor Ian Ogilvy professes never to have met Brambell, but the author also dismisses interest in his subjects sexual orientation as pointless tittle-tattle. Corbett had been born in Rangoon, Burma, where his father was in the Army. David Claytons book exhibits a congruence with the physique of its subject unmatched since The Man Who Was Private Widdle (2001), Roger Lewiss slim study of the Carry On actor Charles Hawtrey. WebRMT5AN1B 1964, historical, picture shows Wilton Road, London SW1 and The New Victoria Theatre, London which was showing the Beatles film, A Hard Days Night. In 2012 27 years after he died two men claimed that, at some point in the early 1970s, they had been molested by Wilfrid in a back room at the Jersey Opera House. Featuring original interviews with film directors Richard Lester, Terence Davies and Tony Palmer, as well as recollections from his own family members, the family of Harry H. Corbett and those who worked alongside him, author David Clayton seeks to re-examine the legacy of a man whose loyal fanbase remains undiminished sixty years on from his heyday. Molly then likely in her late 20s or early 30s had an affair with Fisher. Is it too far-fetched to believe that their roles in Steptoe & Son allowed them to creatively fill the voids in both their lives, at least when the cameras were rolling? Brambell clearly went east to enjoy sexual freedoms that were not available to him at home. Perhaps thats why he played it so well indeed, it was a signpost to the on-screen chemistry he shared with his co-star. This article is converted from Wikipedia: The Curse of Steptoe. He trained at Yeatss Abbey Theatre; played Sir Andrew Aguecheek at the Gate, Dublin, in 1942 and the Fool to Hugh Griffiths Lear in an Arts Council tour of 1949. The Curse of Steptoe (BBC4, tonight, 9pm) tells the story of Wythenshawe-raised actor Harry H Corbett, played by Jason Isaacs, and co-star Wilfrid Brambell (Phil Davis). It also "wished to apologise on behalf of the BBC for the original editorial breaches in The Curse of Steptoe and the fact that subsequent remedial action had been ineffective in removing the unfairness. Brambell's booming baritone voice surprised many listeners: he played the role straight, true to the Dickens original, and not in the stereotype Albert Steptoe character. And then theres the question raised by the title. Some say The Human Centipede is the most disgusting thing ever screened; others the coprophagic banquet in Pasolinis Sal. Wilfrids defence was that he had drunk too much at a cocktail party at BBC Television Centre nearby and was not aware that Shepherds Bush was an area peculiar people resorted to. He settles his dinner on the washboard next to a bottle of beer. It starts with Corbett, then a rising Shakespearean actor, starring as Richard II at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, looking beyond that to Henry V at the Old Vic, and tipped to eclipse Gielgud. World War. 1948: Relatives. Brambells compartmentalisation of his existence tells a story about gay and bisexual life in post-war Britain, its pleasures, risks and shames, its narratives of dirt and cleanliness. The family surname was changed from "Bramble" by Wilfrid's grandfather Frederick William Brambell. Inside Matt Hancock's 41-hour battle to save his career when photo of 'a snog and heavy petting' Will Vladimir Putin's empress pay the ultimate price for his war on the West? Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2022, I completely agree with the previous review. Retrieved on 2010-12-28 , BBC Trust "Editorial Standards Findings: Appeals and Other Editorial Issues to the Trust Considered by the Editorial Standards Committee", February 2011, Published 23 March 2011. Unable to add item to List. It ran from 1962 to 1974, including a five-year hiatus. For all his outward bonhomie, he too had endured a life full of heartache, embarrassment and controversy, Carolyn Seymour (right), the actress who played stripper Zita in the first Steptoe & Son feature film, bonded with Wilfrid (centre) on the set. Wilfrid and WebHenry Wilfrid Brambell (22 March 1912 18 January 1985) was an Irish television and film actor and comedian, best remembered for his role in the television series Steptoe and Son. Four weeks before the show was transmitted, Brambell had been all over the papers, thanks to an incident in the gents lavatories at Shepherds Bush Green. This, we should recall, is a country in which the radio personality Gilbert Harding once woke up naked and terrified in the North British Hotel in Edinburgh, his one-night stand having stolen his wallet, his clothes, and all the questions for that weeks Round Britain Quiz. In 1982, a tearful Brambell appeared on BBC news paying tribute to Corbett, after the latter's death from a heart attack. In 1952, their combined incomes allowed them to buy an attractive Victorian semi-detached property in Acton, West London. A Hard Day's Night (1964) 86 of 146. The Sunshine Boys), and The Times praised "the tough, funny, sad script and the subtly glorious performances".6 The Independent's reviewer said, "Anyone who remembers David Barrie's Channel 4 documentary When Steptoe Met Son, broadcast in 2002, won't have found all this particularly revelatory, but Isaacs and Davis played it so well that it had a fresh life. And what a sad, unhappy house it would prove to be, changing Wilfrids destiny forever and leaving him a heartbroken and lost soul. WebHenry Wilfrid Brambell was an Irish television and film actor and comedian, best remembered for playing the grubby rag-and-bone man Albert Steptoe alongside Harry H. Corbett in the long-running BBC television sitcom Steptoe and Son . They continued to work together after the Australian tour on radio and adverts, with it being generally accepted that the relationship between the two actors was under its greatest strain during the tour, though Brambell and Corbett soon settled their differences "fairly amicably", and in the spring of 1978 performed a short BBC radio sketch entitled Scotch on the Rocks. Sarah Ferguson exclusive: Meghan has made Harry very happy, Pineapples, pyramids and hermits: the crazy hidden history of British gardens. But the truth is far stranger. But their separation, coupled with the informal nature of the new living arrangements, meant that things began to unravel. The Offer, in which they cast Corbett, is wildly successful and evolves into an uneasy, decade-long comedy partnership between Corbett and the alcoholic, self-loathing gay man Brambell. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. during the late 1970s and 1980s before losing his battle against cancer His trust in women had been destroyed and his self-confidence shattered. The wedding ceremony took place in July 1948 in Kensington. Published: 22:02 GMT, 6 August 2022 | Updated: 22:07 GMT, 6 August 2022. More info. After the final series of Steptoe and Son concluded in 1974, Brambell had some guest roles in films and on television. He and Harry H. Corbett also undertook a tour of Australia in 1977 in a stage production based on Steptoe and Son. Irish Times and part-time as an actor at the Abbey Theatre. For all of the sitcoms easy charm, it was also a peerless study in hopelessness, repression and barely concealed despair. As he left the court to face dozens of reporters and cameras outside, he said: Thank God my five weeks of hell are over. And this is where the horror begins. Are you sure you want to create this branch? When Harry died of a heart attack in 1982, aged just 57, Wilfrid was said to be absolutely devastated. For all his outward bonhomie, he too had endured a life full of heartache, embarrassment and controversy. It is likely they met on one of Wilfrids trips to the Far East, and Yussof did, at one stage, move into the actors flat in Pimlico. Why is the Ministry of Defence publishing apocalyptic stories? ', Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2022, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 19, 2022, Really enjoyed this book. He appeared as Bill Gaye in the 1962 Maurice Chevalier/Hayley Mills picture, In Search of the Castaways. When it came to pathos, the writing and performances were at times worthy of Samuel Beckett. Bramble is best known as Paul's mischevious uncle in the Beatles romp "A Hard Both agreed that any notion of friction or hatred between Corbett and Brambell was inaccurate, stating, "They worked beautifully together. , "BBC Withdraws Steptoe and Son Documentary After Complaints", The Telegraph, Published online 22 December 2010. The photo libraries reveal him as a dandy of the Peter Wyngarde school: here he is, in a chocolate-brown psychedelic shirt and thin wool tie, fag held deftly between his fingers; there, with a Russian hat, knee-length A-line fur jacket, cravat, gloves and neat little manbag. Now, having been dead for almost three decades, Wilfrid Brambell will never be prosecuted for his alleged horrific crimes, while his brilliant performance as the 'dirty old man' Albert Steptoe will be admired and enjoyed forever. Indeed, many great artists (whose works enrich our lives) have led grotesque personal lives. But he was just 18 months old when his mother died of dysentery. Friends forever! This part was later renamed Rigsby for the television adaptation called Rising Damp, with Leonard Rossiter replacing Brambell in the role. Corbett's stage career fades quickly from typecasting, and his first marriage to comic actress Sheila Steafel suffers from his womanising, while Brambell's drinking and his relaxed approach to acting cause conflict between him and Corbett, a method actor once described as "the British Marlon Brando". After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. WebGitHub export from English Wikipedia. The troubled action hero: Tom Sizemore boasted of affairs with Liz Hurley and Paris Hilton (which he had to Putin's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov provokes gales of laughter as he tells audience the West started Pictured: Honeytrap killers who seduced victim after he posed on Instagram with Rolex watches, drugged him Find out what Uber drivers really think of you! "19, After complaints about The Curse of Steptoe were upheld, the BBC Trust said that it would write to the BBC Executive requesting that the BBC Editorial Guidelines be revised to address dramatised biopics (also termed "docudrama") with regard to the presentation of fact and the use of dramatic licence.20 The new guidelines were published on 12 October 2010, with Section 6.4.29 specifically addressing "Portrayal of Real People in Drama".

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