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Lives Well Lived - Season 2025 Episode 1 -
2025
2025
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00:00:00All-American Luke's made him one of Hollywood's biggest stars from the 1960s.
00:00:05He was part of the new wave of actors who transformed film forever.
00:00:10How do you do, old sport? I'm Gatsby.
00:00:12His death this year saddened generations of movie fans.
00:00:16Nobody knows whereabouts he come from and don't seem to matter much.
00:00:19He was beautiful
00:00:282025 saw the passing of pioneering singers with a unique and unforgettable style.
00:00:41Then it was, what do you think of Marx?
00:00:45I said I think their pants have dropped off.
00:00:47Household names from stage and television.
00:00:50You'll find that I am famous locally for my candlelight suppers.
00:00:56A political giant who drove change in Thatcher's Britain.
00:01:00I was a conservative, I think, before I knew there was a thing that was called the Conservative Party.
00:01:10And a beach boy who broke the mould and rewrote the rules of pop music.
00:01:17We may never have met them, but they form the patchwork of our own lives.
00:01:24The lasting legacies of lives well lived.
00:01:28The
00:01:49Robert Redford in his most famous role, the Sundance Kid.
00:02:09I think he was enough dynamite there, Bush.
00:02:13He was a movie idol for more than 60 years.
00:02:16I can see what an incredibly economical screen actor he is, very beautiful.
00:02:24Don't do anything. Be quiet. Get in the car. Don't make a sound. Don't be dumbed.
00:02:29Yeah, he never acts, he just is.
00:02:32Hello, good people.
00:02:34When you look at his films, there's always a wit, a sense of humor.
00:02:38Why didn't you wait for me?
00:02:40Rich girls don't marry poor boys, Jay Gatsby.
00:02:44But there's always a commitment to entertaining films that make you think, make you feel.
00:02:54The stars are at the Sundance Film Festival to flog their movies.
00:02:57Robert Redford is the man behind the whole thing and he's been told...
00:03:00And he was a champion of independent cinema.
00:03:03This is a person who truly cares about storytelling and about creating opportunities for others.
00:03:08Going barefoot in the park...
00:03:12His first big-screen triumph was in a romantic comedy with Jane Fonda.
00:03:18And is Mrs. Bratter staying with you?
00:03:21My mother?
00:03:22Oh, Mrs. Bratter, yes. Mr. and Mrs. Bratter.
00:03:26How long will you be staying with us, Mr. Bratter?
00:03:29Six days.
00:03:30And nights?
00:03:31It was Paul Newman who pushed for him to play the part of Sundance.
00:03:38The studio didn't want me in that film because I was not known.
00:03:43They were trying to have a star comparable to Paul to be with.
00:03:48And I practically did it for nothing, that film, because I just felt comfortable playing that role.
00:03:53I'll jump first.
00:03:54Nope.
00:03:55Then you jump first.
00:03:56No, I said.
00:03:56What's the matter with you?
00:03:57I can't swim!
00:03:59Their natural on-screen chemistry as bank robbers on the run is unforgettable.
00:04:08Why, are you crazy?
00:04:10The fall will probably kill you.
00:04:13I probably had more fun making that film than any film that I've made.
00:04:18He's waiting for you in the card room.
00:04:20Let him wait.
00:04:22They teamed up again in the crime caper The Sting.
00:04:27You just worry about your own kid.
00:04:34Off camera, they had a lifelong friendship.
00:04:38Katie, you expect so much.
00:04:42Oh, but look what I've got.
00:04:45Robert Redford was the biggest box office superstar of the 1970s.
00:04:50Your girl is lovely, Hubble.
00:04:52Why don't you bring her for a drink when you come?
00:04:58I can't come.
00:05:00His magnetic presence shone opposite Hollywood's most popular leading ladies.
00:05:05I know.
00:05:05I love the way we were.
00:05:15I just loved it, the two of them.
00:05:18He and Barbra Streisand just captured something in a bottle that was magic.
00:05:24Every day, it seems, there's some fresh revelation of impropriety involving the admitted burglary
00:05:31and bugging of the Democratic Party headquarters by Mr. Nixon's henchmen.
00:05:36Actor Robert Redford is preparing a film on the Watergate investigation.
00:05:40Acting success gave him the power and money to make a movie based on real events which rocked America.
00:05:47Hi, I'm Bob Woodward of the Washington Post.
00:05:52Yes, yes.
00:05:53What is it?
00:05:54I was just kind of wondering why your name and phone number were in the address books of two of the men arrested at Watergate.
00:06:00Good God.
00:06:02Carl Bernstein and I were covering the Watergate story.
00:06:05We were up against a hostile president and hostile White House.
00:06:14I got a call from Robert Redford, the actor.
00:06:18First, I thought, can't be him.
00:06:21And he said with his power and enthusiasm, I know how to tell the Watergate story.
00:06:30May I have it, please?
00:06:31Please tell me your conclusions.
00:06:32May I have it?
00:06:32Yes, I'm not looking for a fight.
00:06:34I'm not looking for a fight either.
00:06:35I'm just aware of the fact that you've only been here nine months.
00:06:39What has that got to do with anything?
00:06:40Well, I've been in the business since I'm 16.
00:06:42What are you saying?
00:06:43Well, I'm trying to tell you that if you'd read mine and then read yours...
00:06:46Yeah, read yours?
00:06:46Yeah.
00:06:48Don't do it about Nixon.
00:06:50Do it about you and Carl Bernstein covering the story.
00:06:55It's a reporting story.
00:06:57And he drove this with all of his mind and spirit and, of course, he turned out to be right.
00:07:09He built a relationship of trust with myself and Carl.
00:07:14I wouldn't quote you even as an anonymous source.
00:07:17I mean, you'd be on deep background.
00:07:19The power of his conviction overwhelmed us.
00:07:23You can trust me.
00:07:24You know that.
00:07:25We became friends.
00:07:27He's got this wonderful outlaw personality.
00:07:30And I, even to this day, run into people who say I got into journalism when they say it's because of the movie.
00:07:43Preserve and protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
00:07:47So help me God.
00:07:48So help me God.
00:07:51Three ordinary people are about to live an extraordinary story.
00:07:56In 1980, Robert Redford directed his first film.
00:08:02You stand behind me in the choir.
00:08:04Oh, I do.
00:08:05You do?
00:08:06Is that you?
00:08:06You have a lot of energy.
00:08:08I do?
00:08:09Yeah, I mean, that's good.
00:08:11My name's Janine Pratt.
00:08:13Nice.
00:08:13Hi.
00:08:14I was in high school.
00:08:16They were looking at massive amounts of kids for this movie called Ordinary People that they needed high school students for.
00:08:24So that was how I got started.
00:08:27Why is it so hard the first time you talked to somebody?
00:08:31You make it look easy.
00:08:36Really?
00:08:38My biggest memory was how easy it was.
00:08:43I don't remember any kind of heavy-handed direction or guidance.
00:08:49When Robert Redford looked at you and talked to you, you felt he was so absolutely 100% interested in you and there and listening to what you had to say.
00:09:01And you're really a terrific tenor.
00:09:04How are you just saying that?
00:09:07It's no accident that he continually got great acting performances out of people.
00:09:16I think because of this natural interest he had in other people and in actors and in how to uncover the core of who they are.
00:09:27The nominees for the best achievement in directing are...
00:09:30That insight earned him an Oscar nomination.
00:09:34He faced tough competition.
00:09:37And the winner is Robert Redford.
00:09:40Well, I just didn't think I was going to see this.
00:09:47I had a farm in Africa.
00:09:51But he was still in demand as the leading man in epic dramas.
00:09:55Do you sing?
00:09:58Never.
00:10:00Can you tell a story then?
00:10:02I happen to be very good at stories.
00:10:06I believe that.
00:10:09I think of Out of Africa and him and Meryl and that.
00:10:13That was a movie that just made me want to be in movies.
00:10:16Just the scope of it.
00:10:17Lay your head back.
00:10:18He prayeth well, who loveth well, both man and bird and beast.
00:10:38That's better.
00:10:44He made more movies,
00:10:46including the true story about a game show contestant
00:10:49caught up in a fixing scandal.
00:10:54I met Robert Redford in Manhattan.
00:10:56It was my first time ever flying to America.
00:11:00I was reading for the part of Charles Van Doren,
00:11:02the quiz show contestant.
00:11:04I was taken to an office and there's Robert Redford
00:11:06looking like Robert Redford.
00:11:07Very charming.
00:11:09I immediately liked him.
00:11:11I immediately felt this is a good guy talking to me.
00:11:16I could take a whack at it.
00:11:18And maybe less than a week later,
00:11:20I was told to expect a call from Robert Redford
00:11:22and the phone rang at the designated hour
00:11:25and he said,
00:11:26Rafe, Bob here,
00:11:30yeah, the audition was great
00:11:32and I'd like you to play Charles Van Doren.
00:11:35Something like that.
00:11:36I think it's a very natural path
00:11:49for some screen actors to become directors.
00:11:51You become curious about what it is you're making as an actor
00:11:55and you become curious about camera angles and editing.
00:11:59Do you know the name?
00:12:03A film set is by nature a pressurised place.
00:12:07I can remember just a gentleness.
00:12:09The voice never gets raised.
00:12:10He's calm.
00:12:12If you can have a director who just holds the space
00:12:14with a kind of ease and confidence,
00:12:17then I think good work flourishes.
00:12:19Robert Redford made his home far from Hollywood
00:12:24in the Rocky Mountains of Utah.
00:12:28It's where he set up the Sundance Institute.
00:12:31It's a place that cultivates filmmakers and actors and writers.
00:12:36It's a laboratory.
00:12:38It's a place where people can fail and grow.
00:12:41I was lucky enough when I was 17 years old
00:12:44to be one of the actors at the Sundance Filmmakers Lab.
00:12:48They got to do a five-day experiment
00:12:51where they made a small film or three scenes.
00:12:54They got their cast.
00:12:56They got hair, makeup, lighting, costumes.
00:12:59There are two points in the process
00:13:00that we feel are the most important.
00:13:03I went to Sundance to be an actor
00:13:07for the new filmmakers that were doing their films
00:13:10and I saw him and I remember,
00:13:13I think we had dinner at his house
00:13:14and I remember Paul Newman coming up actually
00:13:17and I have this funny memory
00:13:20of being in the back of a car
00:13:21and the two of them were in the front seat
00:13:24and it was a bit like
00:13:25I was Catherine Ross on the back of their horse
00:13:28as we were driving this beautiful sunset.
00:13:32That is where my brain went,
00:13:35but only for a second.
00:13:36It's like every time I ever got burned by and weed,
00:13:39same thing, man.
00:13:39I felt funny about it.
00:13:40Director Quentin Tarantino developed
00:13:42what was to become Reservoir Dogs at Sundance.
00:13:45The film premiered there.
00:13:47Money!
00:13:48I need you cool!
00:13:50All right, what's done is done.
00:13:51I need you cool.
00:13:52Are you cool?
00:13:53I've had several films
00:13:55in the Sundance Film Festival over the years
00:13:56and I've encountered Robert Redford there.
00:13:59When I was a very young, inexperienced filmmaker,
00:14:03he treated me like an equal
00:14:05and like a colleague.
00:14:06Independent cinema is Robert Redford
00:14:11and the fact that he did that
00:14:12and was also this iconic movie star
00:14:15and also a brilliant director.
00:14:18Yeah, the impact of the festival that he created
00:14:20is still enormous.
00:14:24He was honoured by the Academy
00:14:26for his work in film.
00:14:27I was thrilled to be his leading lady
00:14:31and I'm thrilled to present this award
00:14:34to Robert Redford.
00:14:35As an artist,
00:14:45I just can't think
00:14:47of a better life
00:14:49than the one that I've been blessed with.
00:14:51It's just a great ride
00:14:53with many wonderful relationships
00:14:55and experiences along the way.
00:14:57Can I tell you something?
00:14:59He continued acting into his 80s.
00:15:01So you walk right up,
00:15:04look her in the eye
00:15:05and you say,
00:15:05ma'am, this is a robbery
00:15:07and you show her the gun like this.
00:15:10You say,
00:15:11I want you to fill that bag with money
00:15:12and hand it over to me
00:15:13and don't do anything stupid or foolish.
00:15:15My favourite Robert Redford film
00:15:17would have to be one of the last films he made.
00:15:20He embraces his age
00:15:21and you see years and years of screen acting
00:15:24just effortlessly in him
00:15:26as this quite quirky parable
00:15:29about a man's last attempt to rob a bank.
00:15:33Oh, you're crying?
00:15:35Don't cry.
00:15:37What are you crying for?
00:15:38This is my first day.
00:15:40Well, there's always a first time
00:15:42for everything, isn't there?
00:15:43There's some thing in his spirit
00:15:45which is particularly potent and moving.
00:15:48I will remember Robert Redford as an artist.
00:15:53He had vision,
00:15:55intelligence
00:15:56and an ability to bring out the best
00:16:02in those around him.
00:16:04I think actors are probably
00:16:06the most misunderstood element
00:16:08in the filmmaking process.
00:16:09He did so much for independent cinema.
00:16:13So for that,
00:16:15I will always remember him fondly.
00:16:17We were doing a story on this
00:16:19and I was wondering
00:16:19if you would care to comment or explain.
00:16:21To be completely honest with you,
00:16:24I loved Robert Redford.
00:16:28As a dear friend,
00:16:31a powerhouse
00:16:32in the business of making movies,
00:16:37quite frankly,
00:16:38someone who changed my life.
00:16:41I think the time has come
00:16:42when the American people realize
00:16:46that we're in this together.
00:16:50I'll remember Robert Redford
00:16:52for the very qualities
00:16:53that I first noticed
00:16:54when I walked in the room
00:16:55to meet him for the audition,
00:16:58which was openness
00:16:59and a real kindness.
00:17:04Why not?
00:17:05He had a noble spirit
00:17:08and a warmth.
00:17:15A kind of radiant ease.
00:17:19That's what I remember.
00:17:20We also celebrated the work
00:17:29of those like Robert Redford
00:17:31who changed cinema
00:17:32in the last 50 years.
00:17:34Director David Lynch,
00:17:35who died in January,
00:17:37brought us the weird
00:17:38and wonderful worlds
00:17:39of Twin Peaks
00:17:40and Blue Velvet.
00:17:41And we lost other
00:17:43Oscar-winning movie stars
00:17:44who captivated us
00:17:46with their dramatic
00:17:47and comic performances.
00:17:49She's a true style icon
00:17:51and a Hollywood legend.
00:17:53Welcome for the first time,
00:17:54the great Diane Keaton, everybody!
00:17:58Yes!
00:18:00Diane Keaton shot to fame
00:18:03in the 1970s
00:18:04in the epic Godfather films
00:18:06directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
00:18:10They're fantastic actors
00:18:11and of course Francis
00:18:12was so articulate.
00:18:13I wish everyone could
00:18:14hear him tell the stories
00:18:16about what he went through
00:18:17to make that movie
00:18:18and every single choice
00:18:19that he made
00:18:20was just like a genius choice.
00:18:23My father made him an offer
00:18:24he couldn't refuse.
00:18:27What was that?
00:18:29Luca Brazzi held a gun
00:18:30to his head
00:18:31and my father assured him
00:18:33that either his brains
00:18:34or his signature
00:18:34would be on the contract.
00:18:37I remember always saying,
00:18:38why did he cast me?
00:18:39It was a little odd
00:18:40for that part.
00:18:42That's a true story.
00:18:42But then when I saw it
00:18:45this recent time
00:18:46I thought,
00:18:46oh, I kind of see why.
00:18:48She didn't really have
00:18:49a voice of her own
00:18:50and she was kind of
00:18:51overwhelmed by it.
00:18:53That's my family, Katie.
00:18:55It's not me.
00:18:56Michael?
00:18:57But she did find her voice.
00:18:59What?
00:18:59Look, look what's happened
00:19:00to us, Mike.
00:19:01My God, look what's happened
00:19:03to our son, Michael.
00:19:04Nothing's happened to us.
00:19:05Don't tell me nothing
00:19:06that's happened to us.
00:19:06Anthony's fine!
00:19:07I don't want to hear about it.
00:19:08You will have to say that.
00:19:09I don't want to hear about it.
00:19:10Anthony's fine!
00:19:10I don't want to hear about it!
00:19:11I don't want to hear about it!
00:19:15Over!
00:19:21Well,
00:19:22bye.
00:19:24And with Woody Allen
00:19:25she created
00:19:26an Oscar winning role.
00:19:28You play very well.
00:19:29Oh yeah?
00:19:30So do you.
00:19:31Oh God,
00:19:32what a dumb thing to say, right?
00:19:34I mean, you say
00:19:34you play well
00:19:35and then right away
00:19:36I have to say
00:19:37you play well.
00:19:39Oh, oh.
00:19:40Oh God, Annie.
00:19:41Well.
00:19:42Oh well.
00:19:44La-dee-da.
00:19:45La-dee-da.
00:19:46La-la.
00:19:46How close is the role
00:19:48of Annie?
00:19:49Pretty close.
00:19:50To you?
00:19:52Pretty close.
00:19:54Certain, you know,
00:19:55obvious sort of
00:19:56characteristics that are
00:19:57mine that, you know.
00:19:59Yeah.
00:20:00And I love what you're wearing.
00:20:01Oh, you do?
00:20:01Yeah?
00:20:02Oh, well, it's a
00:20:03this is a
00:20:04this tie is a present
00:20:05from Grammy Hall.
00:20:06Who?
00:20:07Grammy?
00:20:08Grammy Hall?
00:20:09Yeah, my Grammy.
00:20:10One of you,
00:20:10what'd you do grow up in?
00:20:11Why did you
00:20:12use your own clothes
00:20:13in Annie Hall?
00:20:14Well, because
00:20:15this was a
00:20:16kind of a close
00:20:17film to Woody and I
00:20:19about
00:20:20primarily
00:20:20kind of in general
00:20:22about
00:20:22he and I.
00:20:23So I thought
00:20:24it should reflect
00:20:25myself in that sense
00:20:26and that's sort of
00:20:27the way I dress.
00:20:28All right, here.
00:20:29Here you go.
00:20:30Don't give it to me.
00:20:31Don't.
00:20:31It was an enduring
00:20:33and remarkable
00:20:34relationship on
00:20:35and off screen.
00:20:36Get out of here
00:20:37with that thing.
00:20:38Jesus.
00:20:39Get in.
00:20:40Talk to him.
00:20:41You speak shellfish.
00:20:42I was talking to
00:20:44a friend of mine
00:20:45and we were talking
00:20:46about Diane
00:20:46and we actually
00:20:48realised that
00:20:50both of us
00:20:50spent a year
00:20:51trying to be
00:20:52Diane Keaton
00:20:54when we were in
00:20:54high school
00:20:55at the same age.
00:20:56It's a kind
00:21:00of a joie de vivre.
00:21:02She captured
00:21:03that sense
00:21:05of frailty
00:21:07and insecurity
00:21:08and made it
00:21:10so appealing
00:21:11and so attractive
00:21:13that both men
00:21:14and women
00:21:15wanted to
00:21:16either be with her
00:21:17or be her.
00:21:23I guess I should
00:21:24straighten my life out,
00:21:25huh?
00:21:26I mean Donnie
00:21:26my analyst
00:21:27is always telling me.
00:21:27Your analyst Donnie?
00:21:29Yeah, I call him Donnie.
00:21:31I could never
00:21:31think of a joke.
00:21:32I think I'm okay
00:21:33with behaviour.
00:21:34I think I can add
00:21:35a certain kind
00:21:35of behaviour attitude,
00:21:37you know?
00:21:37The brightest men
00:21:38just drop dead
00:21:39in front of a beautiful face
00:21:40and the minute
00:21:41you climb into the sack
00:21:42and do the least
00:21:42good giving,
00:21:43they're so grateful.
00:21:44Yeah, I know I am.
00:21:45Diane Keaton
00:21:45was just such an original.
00:21:47She taught so many
00:21:49of us
00:21:50young actresses
00:21:51that you could be
00:21:52wholly original
00:21:53and uniquely yourself
00:21:54and be accepted.
00:21:55She began directing
00:21:58in the 1990s.
00:22:02Hey Alice!
00:22:03This here's my brother Sammy.
00:22:05Good to meet you Alice.
00:22:08No thanks,
00:22:09I'm not hungry.
00:22:09You kind of got to speak up Sammy,
00:22:11she can't hear too well.
00:22:12I was lucky enough
00:22:13to work with her
00:22:14when I was 15
00:22:14so I had a really
00:22:16reverent relationship
00:22:17to her,
00:22:18I really looked up to her
00:22:20and her advice
00:22:21just meant the world
00:22:22to me.
00:22:23She would always
00:22:24check in on me
00:22:24and making sure
00:22:25I was, you know,
00:22:27doing okay
00:22:28and I felt safe
00:22:29in our business
00:22:29and she was just
00:22:31always really nurturing.
00:22:32At least we know
00:22:33they can't start
00:22:34without us.
00:22:35And she continued
00:22:35to star in romantic comedies
00:22:37that became
00:22:38box office hits.
00:22:40Thank you George.
00:22:42You shouldn't look
00:22:42this beautiful,
00:22:43it's not fair
00:22:43to the bride.
00:22:47God is here!
00:22:48I think you like
00:22:49the on-screen romance,
00:22:50don't you?
00:22:50It's the best.
00:22:51I mean,
00:22:52quite frankly,
00:22:52it doesn't get better
00:22:53than on-screen romance.
00:22:54Frankly,
00:22:58you know,
00:22:58think of all the men
00:22:59that you get to kiss
00:23:00and you don't pay the price.
00:23:04You know,
00:23:05like in other words,
00:23:06you don't actually
00:23:06have to have a,
00:23:07you know,
00:23:08the relationship is perfect
00:23:09because you're telling
00:23:10the story,
00:23:10you're in the midst
00:23:11of the story.
00:23:12So, yeah,
00:23:13I've enjoyed it.
00:23:13Oh my God.
00:23:14Oh, wait,
00:23:15who, who,
00:23:16who is that?
00:23:17Oh boy.
00:23:18She would project
00:23:19this kooky image
00:23:21but that belied
00:23:22a very
00:23:23intelligent
00:23:25person
00:23:27underneath
00:23:27who
00:23:28figured out
00:23:30exactly
00:23:31who she was
00:23:33and
00:23:33how to
00:23:34sell it.
00:23:35Wait,
00:23:36right here.
00:23:36Okay?
00:23:37Okay.
00:23:38Put it in there.
00:23:43All right.
00:23:44First Wives Club
00:23:45will come to order.
00:23:46Over the years,
00:23:46we would have
00:23:47dinners.
00:23:48She would
00:23:49light up a room
00:23:50projecting
00:23:51the opposite
00:23:51of arrogance
00:23:52and meet that
00:23:53as sort of
00:23:54a deeply
00:23:54secure
00:23:55person.
00:23:59She's had a lot
00:24:00of passion
00:24:01for
00:24:01everything in life.
00:24:03take a good look,
00:24:19I'm Buck Barrel.
00:24:21But now,
00:24:21Gene Hackman,
00:24:22the cinema's most
00:24:23improbable superstar.
00:24:24I say improbable
00:24:27because he doesn't
00:24:27look like a superstar.
00:24:28Happy birthday,
00:24:29hon!
00:24:30Maybe by climbing
00:24:31out of here
00:24:31we can save ourselves.
00:24:33You got any sense
00:24:33you'll come along
00:24:34with us.
00:24:35Grab a hold.
00:24:35Gene Hackman
00:24:36helped redefine
00:24:37the role
00:24:38of the leading man
00:24:39in movies.
00:24:41You're not really
00:24:42in the kind of
00:24:42pretty mold
00:24:43of Robert Redford
00:24:43in the superstar,
00:24:45are you?
00:24:45I don't know.
00:24:46I thought I was.
00:24:47Perhaps you're not
00:24:48quite as pretty
00:24:48as Robert Redford.
00:24:49Do you think
00:24:50that the average
00:24:50American,
00:24:51for instance,
00:24:52identifies with you
00:24:52more than he does
00:24:53with Redford or McQueen?
00:24:55I have no idea.
00:24:56I ask myself that
00:24:57every morning
00:24:57when I shave.
00:25:03Gene?
00:25:04Can't stand it anymore.
00:25:06Magnificent actor.
00:25:07Why?
00:25:08Why?
00:25:09I know me too.
00:25:11No, don't.
00:25:12I have no idea.
00:25:13Very physical actor.
00:25:14No idea.
00:25:15Underrated for that.
00:25:16Not afraid to show
00:25:17the uglier sides
00:25:18of masculinity
00:25:19and the way
00:25:21he presented it.
00:25:22The honesty
00:25:23with which he presented
00:25:24it.
00:25:25It wasn't like
00:25:25he was excusing
00:25:26the behavior.
00:25:27He was saying
00:25:28this is how people are.
00:25:31And I think
00:25:31in that sense
00:25:31it was revelatory.
00:25:33You don't have
00:25:33much faith in a law.
00:25:35I'm agnostic.
00:25:36I knew there was
00:25:37something I liked
00:25:38about you.
00:25:40I remember being
00:25:40just very funny
00:25:42and imposing.
00:25:46Really
00:25:46a formidable presence.
00:25:50I didn't see you
00:25:51coming.
00:25:52Obviously I
00:25:52underestimated you.
00:25:55And as a rule
00:25:56I don't do that.
00:25:59Make damn sure
00:26:00you don't underestimate me.
00:26:06The major role
00:26:07that won you
00:26:08the Academy Award
00:26:08was of course
00:26:09Popeye Doyle
00:26:10in the French Connection.
00:26:11Popeye's here.
00:26:19Get your hands
00:26:20on your heads.
00:26:21Get off the bar
00:26:21and get on the wall.
00:26:22Come on move.
00:26:23Move.
00:26:23I was pretty much
00:26:25over my head.
00:26:26Matter of fact
00:26:26the second day
00:26:27of shooting
00:26:27I had asked
00:26:28the director
00:26:28to replace me
00:26:29because I just
00:26:30didn't feel
00:26:30I could do it.
00:26:32I was popping
00:26:34these guys
00:26:35in the mouth
00:26:35and playing
00:26:37this tough guy
00:26:37and it was
00:26:38real tough.
00:26:39I had never
00:26:39played a role
00:26:40quite that demanding.
00:26:50I think one
00:26:51tends to overlook
00:26:52the fact that
00:26:52you are actually
00:26:53a very skilled
00:26:54comic actor.
00:26:55My background
00:26:56was sort of
00:26:56in comedy
00:26:57and I think
00:26:57it gives you
00:26:58good sense
00:26:58of timing
00:26:59which
00:26:59which is
00:27:01certainly
00:27:01invaluable
00:27:02to any actor.
00:27:04Good evening
00:27:04Warden.
00:27:05I think
00:27:06these two men
00:27:06should be
00:27:06safe here
00:27:07with you
00:27:07now
00:27:07until they
00:27:07can get
00:27:07a fair trial.
00:27:08Who is it
00:27:09Superman?
00:27:12Lex Luthor.
00:27:13I play
00:27:13the kind
00:27:14of arch villain.
00:27:16He's a very
00:27:16funny character
00:27:17too.
00:27:18It's an interesting
00:27:19concept that film.
00:27:20I would hope
00:27:21that it
00:27:21would have
00:27:23worked
00:27:24for an audience
00:27:26because it's
00:27:27pure entertainment.
00:27:30Possibly you've
00:27:30heard the name
00:27:30the greatest
00:27:31criminal mind
00:27:32on earth.
00:27:33I told you
00:27:33this was a
00:27:34puny planet.
00:27:35Wait a moment.
00:27:36I played
00:27:37Ursa in
00:27:38Superman 1
00:27:39and Superman 2.
00:27:40Wait!
00:27:41Look, I can
00:27:42give you
00:27:43anything you want.
00:27:44He was just
00:27:44like an affable
00:27:45uncle.
00:27:46Revenge!
00:27:47Revenge!
00:27:47And not
00:27:48intimidating at all.
00:27:49I have this
00:27:49affinity for
00:27:50beachfront property.
00:27:54What do you want?
00:27:57Australia.
00:27:58He came on
00:27:59the set.
00:27:59He was always
00:27:59very, very
00:28:00well prepared.
00:28:01Wait!
00:28:02Wait!
00:28:03Hey!
00:28:03He would just
00:28:04pull little things
00:28:05out of the bag
00:28:05that you weren't
00:28:06expecting, which
00:28:07for us was
00:28:08very difficult
00:28:09because you
00:28:09were, particularly
00:28:10for the three
00:28:11villains, because
00:28:12we were supposed
00:28:13to be very
00:28:13poker-faced.
00:28:14Plus, Lex Luthor's...
00:28:16There is a scene
00:28:17where we're in the
00:28:17White House and I
00:28:18actually crush his
00:28:20hand.
00:28:20Lex Luthor's
00:28:21school of
00:28:21better...
00:28:22There is a
00:28:24photograph where
00:28:24he'd actually
00:28:25got his hand
00:28:26on top of mine
00:28:27and he was
00:28:28gently just
00:28:29tickling the
00:28:29inside of my
00:28:30hand and, of
00:28:31course, I've
00:28:31got a slight
00:28:32smirk on my
00:28:33face, which
00:28:33was absolutely
00:28:34not to be
00:28:35done.
00:28:36He switched
00:28:36it.
00:28:37He did it
00:28:38to them.
00:28:39I mean, the
00:28:39lights were on
00:28:39out here.
00:28:41He pointed out
00:28:41that it didn't
00:28:42matter what the
00:28:43film was, whether
00:28:44it was a B-movie
00:28:45or whatever it
00:28:45was.
00:28:46As long as
00:28:46you're prepared,
00:28:47as long as
00:28:47you give your
00:28:47all to whatever
00:28:48the project.
00:28:49Gene Hackman
00:28:58would win his
00:28:59second Oscar,
00:29:00starring in
00:29:01Clint Eastwood's
00:29:02gritty western
00:29:03Unforgiven.
00:29:04All right,
00:29:05gentlemen, he's
00:29:07got one barrel
00:29:07left.
00:29:09When he fires
00:29:10that, take out
00:29:11your pistols and
00:29:12shoot him down
00:29:12like a mangy
00:29:13scoundrel he
00:29:14is.
00:29:19Misfire.
00:29:33More awards
00:29:34followed in one
00:29:34of his last
00:29:35comic roles.
00:29:36I will remember
00:29:53Gene with great
00:29:55affection, great
00:29:56warmth.
00:29:57I can't think of
00:29:58any day that wasn't
00:29:59a pleasure to be
00:30:00with him.
00:30:01He was always
00:30:02there for me and
00:30:03just an absolute
00:30:04delight.
00:30:06and a consummate
00:30:07professional.
00:30:08It was a delight
00:30:09to be around.
00:30:10Wonderful.
00:30:11Couldn't have
00:30:11said it better
00:30:11myself.
00:30:20I'm going to sit
00:30:21right down and
00:30:22write myself a
00:30:23letter.
00:30:24What a voice.
00:30:25I can't make
00:30:26believe it came
00:30:27from you.
00:30:33I'm going to sit
00:30:34right down and
00:30:34write myself a
00:30:35letter.
00:30:36And make
00:30:37this easy
00:30:38case from you.
00:30:40The most
00:30:41incredible vocal
00:30:42range.
00:30:42I'm always happy
00:30:43when I'm
00:30:44rising up
00:30:45right here.
00:30:47tonight, Cleo Lane,
00:30:57Britain's top jazz
00:30:58singer.
00:30:59This is your
00:31:00life.
00:31:01Oh, God.
00:31:07A huge star on
00:31:09both sides of the
00:31:09Atlantic.
00:31:11Dame Cleo Lane
00:31:12was the first female
00:31:13singer nominated for
00:31:15Grammy Music Awards
00:31:16in jazz, pop and
00:31:18classical music.
00:31:21She grew up in
00:31:22South Hall in West
00:31:23London.
00:31:25My mother hoped
00:31:26that I might become a
00:31:27dancer.
00:31:29But I didn't have the
00:31:30body.
00:31:31I had the vocals,
00:31:32but not the body.
00:31:34Her father, Alec,
00:31:35was born in Jamaica.
00:31:36When I started as a
00:31:38professional, I had a
00:31:40repertoire to die for.
00:31:42And it was my father
00:31:43that taught me all those
00:31:45old songs that were
00:31:47wonderful, really.
00:31:49She left school at 14
00:31:51and became a hairdresser's
00:31:53apprentice.
00:31:55Cleo's life changed forever
00:31:56when she met Johnny
00:31:58Dankworth.
00:31:58He was a leading jazz
00:32:03composer, musician, and
00:32:05arranger.
00:32:06I went down and sang for
00:32:07my audition with John
00:32:09down in the dungeon, which
00:32:10I'd never been in a jazz
00:32:12club in London before.
00:32:14So it was all very
00:32:15exciting.
00:32:17They offered me six
00:32:18pounds and I said,
00:32:19make it seven, and I got
00:32:20it.
00:32:23It's not a lot of money,
00:32:24really.
00:32:25Even in those days, it
00:32:26wasn't a lot of money.
00:32:28Oh, sweet and lovely
00:32:30Lady Be Goody.
00:32:33Oh, Lady Be Goody
00:32:36to me.
00:32:39Cleo had a God-given
00:32:41talent.
00:32:42I feel like a lonesome
00:32:45baby in the woods.
00:32:47The greatest thing that
00:32:48happened to her was
00:32:49meeting Johnny.
00:32:50Because he recognised her
00:32:53talent and he built her
00:32:54talent and he broadened it
00:32:55and he brought all sorts of
00:32:57new ideas to her.
00:33:01She wasn't the only star
00:33:03he discovered.
00:33:05Dudley Moore lives in a
00:33:06flat in the Kilburn High
00:33:07Road, a flat which used to
00:33:09belong to Johnny Dankworth,
00:33:10who got him his first job,
00:33:11and to Cleo Lane, with whom
00:33:13Dudley Moore does cabaret.
00:33:14I did a show with Dudley Moore and I
00:33:32remember Dudley and I talking
00:33:33about her and he respected her
00:33:35hugely.
00:33:36But Cleo Lane wanted new and exciting
00:33:55challenges.
00:33:56And I thought, no, I'm not going to
00:33:59just be a singer of songs every now
00:34:01and again.
00:34:03Since my baby said goodbye.
00:34:07So it was then that I decided that I
00:34:10wasn't going to stay with the band,
00:34:11that I was going to go off and try to
00:34:14do something solo-wise.
00:34:16And that was when I started acting at the
00:34:19Royal Court Theatre.
00:34:20For there's nobody who cares about me.
00:34:27When I said I was leaving, he said,
00:34:29will you marry me?
00:34:30That was a good ploy, wasn't it?
00:34:32The critics loved her acting debut.
00:34:41It introduced her to a whole new
00:34:43audience and through the theatre,
00:34:45she made new friends.
00:34:47The talented young comedian who filmed
00:34:49this message to you from her dressing
00:34:51room, Sheila Hancock.
00:34:53Hello, Cleo love.
00:34:55I wish so much I could have been with
00:34:57you tonight.
00:34:58We've had some giggles together,
00:35:00haven't we?
00:35:00Will you ever forget the first night
00:35:03of that tour?
00:35:03So tell me what you and Cleo were like
00:35:06as very young women when you got
00:35:07together.
00:35:08Well, to begin with, I was a bit in awe
00:35:10of her because it is a remarkable
00:35:13talent, but she was so down to earth
00:35:17and funny.
00:35:18I was in a lot of musicals at the time
00:35:20and I was constantly doing vocal
00:35:24exercises.
00:35:25I mean, before a show, I did a vocal
00:35:26warm-up.
00:35:27Cleo just walked on and she had this
00:35:30range, I think it was about a three or
00:35:32four octave range.
00:35:34I don't ever remember her doing an
00:35:36exercise.
00:35:37Make someone happy
00:35:41Make just one someone happy
00:35:45And you will be happy
00:35:48She would go on and do something
00:35:49incredibly complicated and it just
00:35:53flowed out of her.
00:35:54She'd be given in a number an impossible note to hit, but she didn't blink.
00:36:06She was utterly, utterly original.
00:36:17She combined her singing with theatre work for decades.
00:36:30Roles kind of flowed in.
00:36:31I did Hedda Gabler and Titania and Hippolyta for Shakespeare.
00:36:38And it went on and on and on and on like that.
00:36:40And then I started doing musicals.
00:36:42So I've done quite a resume.
00:36:47Summertime
00:36:47Summertime
00:36:50And she collaborated with many of the greats.
00:36:54And the living is, the living is
00:36:58From Ray Charles
00:37:00To the man with the golden flute
00:37:10When I first met her, she was playing in the
00:37:34marquee club in Oxford Street.
00:37:38And I went back to the club week after week
00:37:43because Cleo made such an impression on me.
00:37:46Summertime
00:37:51I thought, well, maybe I should try and play the flute like Cleo
00:37:54singing.
00:37:55She absolutely knocked everybody off the platform.
00:38:01When Cleo and I played together on TV, it was mind-boggling.
00:38:18She was so great in the virtuosity of her voice.
00:38:30She just made everything happen.
00:38:35She was a star on every stage.
00:38:37Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Cleo Layne.
00:38:46It's only a thing if you ain't got that sweet.
00:38:54Two, three, four.
00:38:56Back home, Cleo and Johnny created The Stables, a theatre and music education centre in their back garden.
00:39:17Half a century after it was founded, it's still going strong.
00:39:22They were determined to introduce the world of music to as many people as possible.
00:39:32My name is Candace Springs. I'm from Nashville, Tennessee.
00:39:36I got to be part of Cleo Layne's 90th birthday party.
00:39:57I got to sing Solitude, and that's some of the songs that she had done.
00:40:06So I hope I did a little justice that night.
00:40:10Days gone by
00:40:12I'll definitely look up to her as a mixed-race woman myself
00:40:16and just seeing her be so successful.
00:40:18In my soul
00:40:21She's one of the greats.
00:40:23She's a queen. She's a goddess.
00:40:26So I walk up and I'm like, wow, I feel so honored to even be near her.
00:40:31I was so nervous.
00:40:32Whew, she melts my soul when she sings.
00:40:35She brings me to tears.
00:40:37You just don't find talent like that much anymore.
00:40:48Working with Cleo was a real pleasure.
00:40:51It wasn't like work.
00:40:52It was just being in the presence of a great singer.
00:40:56I remember Cleo as being a wonderful partner on the stage and a wonderful friend off the stage.
00:41:16What do you think of her kind of artistic legacy?
00:41:23Because, you know, she became so incredibly well known.
00:41:26It's fortunately that she's left behind some wonderful recordings.
00:41:30And I'm really glad that I have her music to listen to.
00:41:36And I have been listening to it a lot.
00:41:38I mean, you can have photos, but to have her voice being wonderful is a great treat.
00:41:45When I'm singing, I'm more alive than at any other time.
00:41:58It's like being completely and utterly fulfilled.
00:42:01My first pleasant duty is to say thank you to Norman Tebbit.
00:42:21He was at the heart of Margaret Thatcher's political revolution.
00:42:29A loyal ally of the Conservative Prime Minister.
00:42:32In the 1980s, he pushed through radical reforms.
00:42:36I shall remember him as a man who helped change this country immensely.
00:42:44Without him, Britain would have been a very different place.
00:42:48He was revered by the Tory faithful.
00:42:50Heavens! Heavens! Heavens!
00:42:53Staunchly right-wing, he was plain speaking and uncompromising.
00:42:58And in some cases, the hotel is staffed by foreigners who've come here to get the jobs which are available working in the hotel.
00:43:05Oh, that's a disgrace.
00:43:06No, no, it does happen in some cases.
00:43:08Sorry, why is it disgrace?
00:43:09Because here we have...
00:43:11Whilst I disagreed profoundly with him, I understood where he was coming from
00:43:15and that actually he did want the best for the people that he saw he represented.
00:43:22He was considered the natural heir to Mrs Thatcher.
00:43:25But catastrophic events meant he stepped back from the front line.
00:43:35Norman Tebbit's childhood was to shape his future views.
00:43:40It was tough. It was tough.
00:43:42My father lost his job, like many others.
00:43:45Lost his home.
00:43:46He'd been reasonably prosperous.
00:43:49And we had a rough time for a while.
00:43:52He was politically engaged from the age of 15.
00:43:56I was a conservative, I think, before I knew there was a thing that was called the Conservative Party.
00:44:01I was instinctively individualistic.
00:44:05After national service with the RAF, he became an airline pilot.
00:44:11Active in their trade union, he led them out on strike, twice.
00:44:14He was 39 when he became an MP and rose through the party ranks.
00:44:21I'm Michael Dobbs. I'm a bit of a political hack and an author. I wrote House of Cards.
00:44:28Our last speaker, Mr Norman Tebbit.
00:44:29I met Norman, I think it was 1977.
00:44:35And I have to say very quickly, it became apparent that he had the sharpest mind and the sharpest teeth.
00:44:42Inside that sort of Vulcan domed head of his, there were all sorts of ideas.
00:44:50Notable moves. Norman Tebbit, of course, to employment.
00:44:52He's always been a controversial figure.
00:44:55In his first Cabinet job, Norman Tebbit was tasked with tackling the trade unions.
00:45:03And he wasn't afraid to face down opposition.
00:45:06All you are interested in is profit. All you are interested in is your class.
00:45:10You're not interested in people like us.
00:45:12By 1981, there was rising unemployment.
00:45:15And riots blighting a number of inner cities.
00:45:20Groups of youths who ran down side streets suddenly launched their first attack with bricks, bottles and other missiles.
00:45:26I grew up in the 30s with an unemployed father.
00:45:30He didn't riot. He got on his bike and looked for work.
00:45:34And he kept looking till he found it.
00:45:36His famous phrase about get on your bike and look for a job.
00:45:40Well, actually, my grandfather had done that in the 1930s.
00:45:44And whilst it was a very, very harsh thing to say in the middle of three million people unemployed, he really meant it.
00:45:51Do you ever regret that get on your bike phrase?
00:45:58No, not really.
00:46:00You could be lumbered with worse things, couldn't you?
00:46:04Tell him, Norman!
00:46:06Yes, leader.
00:46:08When were you last in an NHS hospital for, let's say, a concussion?
00:46:13I wasn't quite certain about it when I first saw my spitting image.
00:46:17But I came to realise that he was doing me a lot of good.
00:46:22When did your last cause a near riot by depriving the...
00:46:25He did have a sense of humour.
00:46:26And I think Norman got the message that that, in a very strange way, whilst people were laughing or poking fun, it did humanise him.
00:46:37You were once regarded as Thatcher's natural successor.
00:46:43What went wrong?
00:46:45The IRA.
00:46:47It was the Brighton bomb?
00:46:49Yes.
00:46:50Well, sadly, we start breakfast time today with the news that, early this morning, a major bomb explosion rocked the Brighton Hotel, where Mrs Thatcher and other Conservative leaders are staying.
00:47:03The front of the hotel was blown apart.
00:47:05I remember the sound of the bomb exploding and saying to my wife, that's a bomb.
00:47:13The building beginning to sway, the chandelier or lampshades, whatever they were, swinging as the ceiling came down.
00:47:21And then the extraordinary feeling of being bundled hurly-burly in the midst of a mass of debris until one came to a rest.
00:47:32You were trapped for four hours, weren't you?
00:47:36But you were able to reach over to your wife's hand?
00:47:39Yes, that's right.
00:47:41Then we saw Mr Tebbett's feet.
00:47:44The firemen worked very gingerly to free him without further injury.
00:47:48I vaguely remember being lowered down on the stretcher and how exceptionally good it smelt and tasted to have a bit of fresh air.
00:48:02Even as he was being dragged out of the ruins of the Grand Hotel, you know, are you allergic to anything, Norman?
00:48:13Only bombs?
00:48:15I mean, it takes a certain type of person, certain type of character to be able to stay in control of himself that much that he can still be making cracks.
00:48:26The IRA attack in 1984 killed five people and injured more than 30 others.
00:48:34I was more knocked about. I looked as though I had 14 rounds with Tyson and then had a car accident.
00:48:40But Margaret Tebbett was seriously injured and remained partially paralysed for the rest of her life.
00:48:50Although I can be angry about it, I've always been careful to discipline myself not to become bitter about it because bitterness is a self-destructive sickness.
00:49:05And there's nothing in it for me or for my wife.
00:49:09Nice to see you. How are you? How are you feeling? Fine.
00:49:14Back at work as party chairman, he masterminded a record third term for Mrs Thatcher in 1987.
00:49:21The Prime Minister is now just arriving down at Smith Square.
00:49:25Norman had been responsible for planning all the aspects of the election campaign, the organisation, the communications, the strategy.
00:49:36Receives a huge bunch of red roses from Norman Tebbett.
00:49:42She won with a record majority, which Norman delivered.
00:49:47Norman wanted very much to be Prime Minister. He was ambitious. He saw there was a job still to be done.
00:49:57He was a very farsighted politician, trying to think ahead of the challenges.
00:50:02He would have loved a crack at that.
00:50:06But the other Margaret in his life was always his priority.
00:50:10I felt that I had to be on hand to do more, to help look after my wife.
00:50:20And that was a very, very difficult decision to take.
00:50:24But I decided that I was married to one woman and that had to take precedence.
00:50:29His most obvious family commitment to his wife was overwhelming.
00:50:40And it was that side of him that endeared me to what was then seen as a major political opponent.
00:50:47It was Margaret's first outing afterwards at the Lord Mayor's Banquet.
00:50:53All dressed up. And she has a little tear in her eye.
00:50:59Norman is reaching across to wipe it.
00:51:04What many people don't know is that he'd probably done her make-up as well.
00:51:13That didn't mean he left the political stage. And he remained outspoken.
00:51:18Mr Tebbett said many British Asians would fail the cricket test.
00:51:21In other words, they would support their former country rather than England.
00:51:25If you come to live in a country and if you take up the passport of that country
00:51:30and you see your future and your family's future in that country,
00:51:34it seems to me that's your country.
00:51:37I was deeply opposed to Norman's remarks about the cricket test.
00:51:40I understood what he tried to say, but he said it in such a Norman Tebbett way
00:51:46that it really did upset people.
00:51:47I think now we'd have a rigorous debate about it.
00:51:51And as the Conservatives argued over Europe, the now Lord Tebbett still had the power to electrify his party.
00:52:00Do you want to be citizens of a European Union?
00:52:03No!
00:52:04Now's the time to negotiate anew. It's a task in which I stand ready to join John Major whenever he is ready to begin.
00:52:13Norman being a friend for over 50 years, through thick and thin, we'd gone through a lot.
00:52:24He trusted me.
00:52:26We fought together.
00:52:28He was always the number one, I was just the bag carrier, but we were a bit like Butch Cassidy in the Sundance Kid.
00:52:33And he obviously would be Butch, not me.
00:52:38I will remember Norman Tebbett as a formidable opponent, as a genuine, committed politician.
00:52:46Norman didn't have the humanity showing on his sleeve, he had it very much in his heart.
00:52:55I found every single moment of my time with Norman challenging and inspirational.
00:53:06Funnily enough, I remember his tenderness.
00:53:09Deep down he was an extraordinarily tender man.
00:53:12My goodness me, how hard he fought to hide it.
00:53:14The world of sport remembered the former Scotland striker, Dennis Law, who died aged 84.
00:53:35Dennis Law, and he's scored! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!
00:53:41Dubbed the King and the Lawman, he played for both Manchester United…
00:53:48Pulled across for Law!
00:53:49…and Manchester City.
00:53:51Dennis has done it!
00:53:55He was the only Scottish player to be named the world's best footballer.
00:54:00The one and only king of the standard end, Dennis Law!
00:54:02The Queen of the British Bonk Buster, Dame Jilly Cooper, died in October at the age of 88.
00:54:14She sold more than 11 million books in the UK alone, with her novel Rivals, adapted for a new generation of fans last year.
00:54:22Shall I be mother?
00:54:26Queen Camilla described her friend as a legend in her own lifetime.
00:54:30You can get it if you really want
00:54:41And in November, we celebrated the musical legacy of Jimmy Cliff, one of the most famous faces of reggae, who died aged 81.
00:54:51A star since the 1960s, he helped bring the sound of Jamaica to Britain and the world.
00:55:01And then the harder they come, the harder they fall, the harder they fall.
00:55:07My name is Bouquet. B-U-C-K-E-T.
00:55:24No, it's not Bucket, it's Bouquet.
00:55:28There's one thing I can't stand, it's snobbery and gonna…
00:55:31People who try to pretend they're superior makes it so much harder for those of us who really are.
00:55:43Patricia is about as far away from Hyacinth as I think you could be.
00:55:48She wasn't pretentious and she wasn't someone that wanted to brag about what she did.
00:55:53This is the sort of letter I prefer. Do dogs go to heaven? Hello Catherine. No, they don't.
00:56:09Dame Patricia Routledge's acting career spanned seven decades.
00:56:14I was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire. My first professional engagement was at the Liverpool Playhouse, which was a repertory theatre of some distinction and tradition.
00:56:30And I would observe how people got laughs, how to pace a scene, all those things, just absorbing it all the time.
00:56:40So you reckon you're alright now, do you love? Remember a good old-fashioned belt on the side of that tilly if you get stuck and…
00:56:45I did three episodes of Coronation Street. They built a cafe for me.
00:56:49Mind you, you mustn't flaunt yourself. Just watch me and you'll be alright.
00:56:52But I knew I didn't want to end my days there. I wanted to be other people, explore the experience of other characters.
00:57:03Tell me what your memories are of Patricia Routledge.
00:57:05Well, they go back to the 50s. We did Me and My Gal together and I played the leading girl, Sally I think she's called, and she played a duchess.
00:57:14And it was the first time I'd heard her sing because she had an amazing singing voice and was very funny and very talented and wonderful.
00:57:22When you shrink on the brink of disaster.
00:57:29Patricia Routledge could do it all.
00:57:31Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. She set the pattern, really.
00:57:37Patricia Routledge.
00:57:41Hold it, babe.
00:57:42Hold it, babe.
00:57:43She won a Tony when she was younger, which was given to her by Groucho Marx.
00:57:50I always used to brag to my friends about that.
00:57:52You did me a very great honour inviting me over here to be in a musical.
00:58:00Thought you might need this. Have it go.
00:58:02Have it go.
00:58:03In the 1960s, she appeared on the big screen alongside Oscar winner Sidney Poitier.
00:58:11Alcohol is a stimulant.
00:58:12It's the greatest.
00:58:14And the king of comedy, Gerry Lewis.
00:58:17I have some peppermints with me.
00:58:18Oh, good.
00:58:20She performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
00:58:28On the small screen, she enjoyed great success playing Lancashire's Miss Marple.
00:58:34Hetty Wainthrop was this northern lady who was retiring and had no interest in sitting at home and watching paint dry.
00:58:44She wanted to get out and about.
00:58:45So she had a lot of gumption and intelligence.
00:58:49I'm not a senior citizen and I'm not joining any club.
00:58:53No.
00:58:55What she lacked was probably the running skills and the speed.
00:58:59And I ended up playing her assistant, Geoffrey.
00:59:02And the way that we come together is she's volunteering, I believe, in a post office.
00:59:07And I come in as this kind of homeless rat bag.
00:59:11Hey, you!
00:59:13Back in a minute.
00:59:14And steal a charity box.
00:59:17Gotcha!
00:59:18And she collars me in an alleyway.
00:59:20Look at that.
00:59:22Children in need.
00:59:23How could you?
00:59:25We got on really well.
00:59:26I mean, we worked together for four years.
00:59:28So if you worked together for four years, there's a lot that you share.
00:59:33Don't eat too many of those.
00:59:35Not good for your pimples.
00:59:36Patricia was a guide and a mentor.
00:59:37And she also told me about, you know, plays that I should read or films that I should watch, performances.
00:59:47She was extremely instrumental in starting my career.
00:59:51You jump into conclusions, Geoffrey.
00:59:54I have a good coach, Mrs. Wainthrop.
00:59:58Olympic standard.
01:00:00I absolutely loved it.
01:00:02And I knew those sensible North Country ladies, down to earth, honest, straightforward, in their little Kangal woolly hats and sensible overcoats.
01:00:17No, I knew her very well.
01:00:25Alan Bennett turned to her, too, for his own astute portraits of women from the North of England.
01:00:30A lot of the characters I create and that Patricia Routledge plays are based on my aunties, really.
01:00:39Prison.
01:00:42They have it easy.
01:00:45Television, table tennis, art.
01:00:48It's just a holiday camp.
01:00:50Do you wonder there's crime?
01:00:52And people say, well, what can you do?
01:00:55Well, you can get onto your MP for a start.
01:00:57I do regularly.
01:01:00Got an answer to one letter only this morning.
01:01:03I'd written drawing his attention to a hitherto unnoticed factor in the rise in crime.
01:01:08Namely, the number of policemen these days who wear glasses.
01:01:13What chance would they have against a determined assailant?
01:01:17She has an enormous amount of zest and brio,
01:01:21and she puts a lot of air into the language and so it lifts dialogue which might otherwise seem to be quite banal.
01:01:33Created by the late, great Victoria Wood, Kitty from Cheadle is perhaps Patricia Routledge's finest comic performance.
01:01:40Now honestly, Morag, I do think that brillo has helped your freckles.
01:01:45I think the first time that I saw Patricia...
01:01:47What?
01:01:48...would have been this incredible character of Kitty that Patricia plays,
01:01:54who to a certain extent I think is like a precursor to Hyacinth Bouquet.
01:01:58First day I met her, she said...
01:02:02She said, I'm a radical feminist lesbian.
01:02:06I thought, what would the Queen Mum do?
01:02:09So I just smiled and said, we shall have fog by tea time.
01:02:16Just kind of jumped off the screen that performance by Patricia.
01:02:22If I was Prime Minister, and thank goodness I'm not because I've been the length and breadth of Downing Street
01:02:28and never spotted a decent wool shop.
01:02:32But if I were, I should put a hot drinks machine into the Houses of Parliament and turn it into a leisure centre.
01:02:42Kindly inform whoever it is that I am at home and that I will receive them momentarily.
01:02:47But she was voted Britain's favourite actress for her role as the snobby and domineering housewife in Keeping Up Appearances.
01:02:55Now, tell me, is it suitable? I mean, does it give the right impression?
01:03:02Pretension, and particularly social pretension, is at the very heart of comedy.
01:03:08Oh, you do your letters like that, do you? Sort of lumpy and carefree.
01:03:11We can all spot the people with pretensions.
01:03:14They make... they get up my nose, actually.
01:03:17I can't stand that sort of thing.
01:03:20And so, in a way, I suppose it's my way of getting my own back.
01:03:27I want you to sit here, Vicar.
01:03:31I've had many a religious inspiration on that sofa.
01:03:35Tell me about her versatility as an actor.
01:03:38Well, she was obviously brilliant at serious acting.
01:03:41She was a fine actress.
01:03:43But when it came to comedy, I think she was really cooking on gas.
01:03:47It's an exercise, you know, for the hips!
01:03:51She could do great things with physical comedy that I don't think there's any other actress I know could match that.
01:03:58If the assembled company would please excuse me.
01:04:01Tell me about the teapot scene.
01:04:02Well, that was the very first time that the Vicar appeared.
01:04:06She gave me a lovely moment.
01:04:08Pat put in a couple of things that weren't actually in the script.
01:04:12Rather than leave a stain on the table, she rushed over and dumped it in the lap of the Vicar.
01:04:18Which, of course, got a huge laugh.
01:04:20And it just really made that scene.
01:04:21My favourite episode, of course, of all time, was the five-day cruise on the QE2.
01:04:34That was thrilling.
01:04:35That was so unforgettable.
01:04:41Sheridan!
01:04:44Oh, I love the phone calls from Sheridan.
01:04:49How sensitive of you to call, dear.
01:04:52What a close psychic link we have, you and I.
01:04:55What does he want?
01:04:57I don't know that he wants anything. He's just ringing his mother.
01:05:00You need how much, Sheridan?
01:05:01How much, Sheridan?
01:05:04Ray, stop!
01:05:06Trevor, I wish you a light!
01:05:11I did all my stunts, except two.
01:05:15And I leave you to choose which they were.
01:05:20Richard, raise yourself!
01:05:23That's what I'm trying to do!
01:05:26Well, try a bit harder!
01:05:27I'm amazed at the enormity of its success.
01:05:41Elizabeth, dear, give me a hand...
01:05:43It's still being shown throughout the world.
01:05:46I won't have the wrong people drinking out of my hand-painted periwinkles.
01:05:50I'm very big in Botswana, you know.
01:05:52Ah, Vicar!
01:05:53I miss watching somebody who was so dedicated...
01:05:56Just the man I want to see!
01:05:58...and so brilliant at her work.
01:06:00She was grand, but she was humble.
01:06:03She was serious, she was funny.
01:06:06She was... she could do anything.
01:06:10I saw her about two or three months before she sadly passed away.
01:06:15She was still laughing about some of these things that we experienced together.
01:06:23And we had a glass of champagne and she wasn't... she wasn't...
01:06:27I didn't have to convince her to have a glass of champagne, which I loved, you know.
01:06:30The three things that I would like to hear as I approach the pearly gates are a champagne cork popping, the sound of an orchestra tuning up, and the sound of my mother laughing.
01:06:46...
01:06:53Hyacinth Bouquet became one of television's most famous characters.
01:06:56And in 2025, we remember another actress whose iconic sitcom role still entertains audiences half a century later.
01:07:04Goodbye, thank you so much.
01:07:14Hello, Fawlty tears?
01:07:16Prunella scales as Sybil Fawlty, the long-suffering wife of Basil, trying to bring order to a Torquay hotel.
01:07:24You going to have a flutter, Fawlty?
01:07:25No, no, no, no, no, no.
01:07:27No, Basil doesn't bet any more major, do you, dear?
01:07:29No, I don't, dear, no.
01:07:30No, no, that particular avenue of pleasure has been closed off.
01:07:37And we don't want it opened up again, do we, Basil?
01:07:40No, you don't, dear.
01:07:42In just 12 episodes, she gave one of British comedy's most legendary performances.
01:07:50Oh, Riley, I have seen more intelligent creatures than you lying on their backs at the bottom of ponds.
01:07:55I have seen better organised creatures than you running round farmyards with their heads cut off.
01:07:58Now, collect your things and get out!
01:08:02She was a stage actress of considerable talent.
01:08:05You're supposed to be holding the steps that could have fallen flat on my face.
01:08:10I think you already have.
01:08:12Your Majesty, I'm so sorry.
01:08:13Not at all, it was most instructive.
01:08:15She had some great parts and she pulled it off.
01:08:18I mean, she played the Queen, didn't she, in that wonderful Alan Bennett thing.
01:08:23I don't think there was anything she couldn't do.
01:08:26She was a proper, proper actress.
01:08:29You put Basil in the racket's way!
01:08:32Yes!
01:08:33He's from Barcelona.
01:08:36Play hard and strong, all the way.
01:08:50Are we ready? Let's go.
01:08:51Take five.
01:08:52Good vibrations.
01:08:53I'm picking up good vibrations.
01:08:54Brian Wilson was a songwriter with the Midas touch.
01:09:09He's considered a genius.
01:09:20The spectacular sound he created with the Beach Boys changed pop music forever.
01:09:26If I was to describe him, I'd say he was like a heart with two legs.
01:09:31How could someone that sensitive sort of survive?
01:09:39Brian Wilson was born into a musical family.
01:09:46From an early age, he taught his younger brothers harmonies.
01:09:52Our forte is harmonics.
01:09:54There's a certain family blend.
01:09:56Our throats are similar or something.
01:09:58I don't know what the case is.
01:09:59We all have different voices, but nevertheless, we blend well.
01:10:03Al Jardine.
01:10:04Hi, Al.
01:10:05Dennis Wilson.
01:10:06Duke.
01:10:07Brian Wilson.
01:10:08Kara Wilson.
01:10:09Mike Love.
01:10:10Surfing is the only life, the only way for me.
01:10:12Now I surf.
01:10:14I'm Al Jardine of the Beach Boys.
01:10:17What do you remember of meeting Brian Wilson at school?
01:10:21I bumped into Brian on campus.
01:10:24We were going to college.
01:10:25And when the DJ tells me that the surfing is fine.
01:10:29I said, Brian, we've got to start a band.
01:10:30He said, okay.
01:10:32So we headed straight for the music room.
01:10:35And the rest is history.
01:10:38I became a Wilson.
01:10:39Let's put it that way.
01:10:40I was that voice, that extra component.
01:10:43To you, Brian's talent was obvious way back then.
01:10:47Yeah.
01:10:48Yeah, of course.
01:10:50He invented the Beach Boys, our style of singing.
01:10:53Surf.
01:10:55It didn't occur to him that he was inventing a new style of music.
01:11:02The Wilson's father, Murray, became the band's first manager.
01:11:06But he had a violent temper.
01:11:08I was in awe of him as a child.
01:11:10I couldn't believe it.
01:11:11I thought his music was great.
01:11:13He was a very good songwriter, I know.
01:11:15I loved my dad because of his songwriting.
01:11:17But I didn't like him because of his...
01:11:19He used to beat us up, you know.
01:11:22Our first number one record was I Get Around.
01:11:24I Get Around, I Get Around, I Get Around, I Get Around.
01:11:29It was a winning formula.
01:11:31Brian, who didn't surf, brought the beach life of California
01:11:35to the rest of America.
01:11:42The songs all came easy.
01:11:44We milked it dry.
01:11:46I wish they all could be California
01:11:50I wish they all could be California
01:11:53Every possible angle and song we can get about surfing.
01:11:57But to me, we just needed to grow.
01:12:01In 1964, the band toured the world playing more than a hundred shows.
01:12:07But Brian found the strain of travelling, writing and producing too much.
01:12:13We had a meeting one day and I said,
01:12:15Guys, I'm sorry to say I have to quit the touring group.
01:12:18But listen, it's going to be well worth it
01:12:20because I'm going to write you some good songs.
01:12:22And I did.
01:12:23I wrote some great songs.
01:12:25Here we go.
01:12:26Wouldn't it be nice?
01:12:27Take one.
01:12:33And those songs were groundbreaking.
01:12:37Pet Sounds, pretty revolutionary.
01:12:40You know, everybody in England.
01:12:42Beatles, they had Lennon, McCartney, all creating all that magic out there.
01:12:46And then there was this one guy in Southern California and they were doing this sort of arms race of, you know, God music.
01:12:57Would it be nice if we could wake up?
01:12:59Pet Sounds was Brian Wilson's masterpiece with meticulously complex musical arrangements.
01:13:06Well, you know, there's a thing called combination of instruments where you combine a guitar and a piano together like...
01:13:17That's a piano and a guitar both and that turns into a different sound.
01:13:24Today, many in the industry regard Pet Sounds as one of the most significant albums ever produced.
01:13:34I'm drawn to not just the songs and how they sound, it's Brian's personal ambition to push the boundaries of what popular music is.
01:13:44A lot of the guys didn't like it. They said, Brian, don't mess with the formula, but he was already there.
01:13:53You know, he already arrived. We had to catch up.
01:13:57Then came Good Vibrations.
01:14:03It was a global success, topping the charts around the world.
01:14:07But behind this artistic explosion was the beginning of Brian Wilson's drug-fuelled mental unraveling.
01:14:20I started there generally with what I considered a recluse period.
01:14:25After John Cusack starred in a film telling the story of Brian's struggles with illness and feelings of isolation.
01:14:47Hi, how are you?
01:14:49I'm fine, thanks.
01:14:50Do you know who this man is? Brian Wilson.
01:14:52Brian Wilson.
01:14:55Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
01:14:58Ah.
01:14:59I was playing a part of him that was so hidden from the public and shrouded in secrecy.
01:15:06I was so fortunate to be able to be around him and get access to him, I wanted to just sort of immerse myself in him.
01:15:11I'm right here.
01:15:13I'm right here.
01:15:14I can't live his life anymore.
01:15:16Okay.
01:15:17I'm gonna say help.
01:15:19Please.
01:15:20Let's go.
01:15:22You and me.
01:15:24And I think he really wanted the movie to help people that were having mental health problems.
01:15:31And he wanted to take away the stigma and the shame of that.
01:15:33So he really wanted it told in, you know, in its truth.
01:15:38With the support of his family, he returned to recording and performing in the 1990s.
01:15:51The world of pop music welcomed back one of its true pioneers.
01:16:02There was such a sophistication in his music.
01:16:06I thought, okay, I don't really want to be a pop star.
01:16:08I want to be a virtuoso.
01:16:10And he was one of those people who inspired me to at least try to become that rather than just a singer of pop songs.
01:16:18I met Brian backstage at a benefit show we were both doing.
01:16:27I introduced myself.
01:16:28I said, you know, you taught me harmony.
01:16:32He said, really?
01:16:33I learned harmony at your feet.
01:16:36And he said, what's your favorite song?
01:16:38I said, okay, my favorite song is called In My Room.
01:16:41He said, would you like to hear it?
01:16:55I said, yeah?
01:16:57He said, come to the dressing room.
01:16:58And he walked to his dressing room, opened the door, and his band were all sitting there.
01:17:02Oh, this is Sting, and he wants to hear In My Room.
01:17:05And they started to sing four-part harmony, this beautiful song.
01:17:08In my room
01:17:16And I started crying.
01:17:19How fortunate am I to be in this room with this man, with this composition and this singing.
01:17:25I've never forgotten that.
01:17:27But yes, he's hugely influential in my life.
01:17:29If you play that first, we've got the first intro.
01:17:41And he lent his genius to a new generation of songwriters.
01:17:44Brian's about to enter now, so.
01:17:52I had a crazy idea that wouldn't it be wonderful if we could somehow get Brian to add his vocals, or something, to the track called Nick.
01:18:02Nature Is The Law.
01:18:03He went down to a studio in Los Angeles and spent, I imagine, a good few hours stacking these vocals and these harmonies.
01:18:08How's a dumb dude from Wigan got Brian Wilson on his album on his album, you know, it's like, it's outrageous.
01:18:15It's pure genius.
01:18:16It's pure genius.
01:18:17It's just something else.
01:18:18He elevated it to a different level.
01:18:19We just put it up on the big speakers.
01:18:20on its own.
01:18:21these vocals and these harmonies. How's a dumb dude from Wigan got Brian
01:18:25Wilson on his album? You know, it's like, it's outrageous.
01:18:34It's pure genius. It's just something else. He elevated it to a different level.
01:18:42We just put it up on the big speakers on its own. Just blown away by it.
01:18:48Yeah, religious, godlike type of sound. Maybe Angeli. It's like pure syrup.
01:18:59Where is he? Come on, Brian.
01:19:03He's coming. He's coming. He's coming with a new chunk.
01:19:18Yeah, I'm happy with that. Legendary behavior, Brian.
01:19:26Now we're going to do a song. It's called, I don't know who knows, man. I hope you like it because I love this tune, man.
01:19:30I may not always love you, as long as there are stars above you.
01:19:41I remember Brian as a humble, brilliant, and absolutely commanding presence. He had a commanding
01:19:52presence when it came to music. As soon as he heard something in his head, he wanted you to get it
01:19:57right then and there. There's no mercy. And if you were to close your eyes and think about him now.
01:20:07I don't know. I just knew that that guy with that voice, with that talent,
01:20:11you have a very special gift. And I loved him greatly.
01:20:16I remember him as a very complex success story, when everything's said and done.
01:20:26For as tumultuous a life as he had, at the end, he was surrounded by people who loved him,
01:20:32loved his music, and just wanted to support him. He was a pretty happy, happy guy at the end of his life.
01:20:40Thank you, Brian. God rest your soul.
01:20:44God only knows where I'd be without you
01:20:49If you should ever leave me
01:20:56The life would still go on, believe me
01:21:00The world could show nothing to me
01:21:04So what good would living do me
01:21:08God only knows what I'd be without you
01:21:13Whoa- sergeant, the play movie
01:21:15Yeah
01:21:16Ooh- Ah-wa-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma
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