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