HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAY BROOKS

 

OVER AT The Facebook PCASUK Fan Page we are celebrating and wishing actor RAY BROOKS, a VERY Happy Birthday today! Anyone in the UK over the age of 25 would get a flash of nostalgia when they hear #RayBrooks speak. Brooks has rarely been out of work since starting his acting career in 1959. The broadcast of the bleak and hard hitting #KenLoach Wednesday Night Play 'Cathy Come Home' in 1966, showcased Brooks as an actor of substance in the role of Reg Ward in the bleak tale of young girl, Cathy who loses her home, husband and eventually her child through the inflexibility of the British welfare system. Those of us who watched it, would find it hard to forget! Just months before families had been enjoying his appearance with Peter Cushing as David in '#Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 ad' at the local flicks!

 

BUT IT MAYBE for voicing a short series of 13 animated shows for children that he holds a special place in the hearts and minds of most – and the inhabitant of 52 Festive Road is the focus of his new one-man show. A creation of illustrator David McKee, Mr Benn was about an ordinary man in a suit and bowler hat who embarked on extraordinary adventures every time he visited a fancy dress shop. His adventure always ended when, as if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared to bring him back to reality. 

 

THE FULL IMPACT of #MrBenn – and idea for the one-man show – really hit Brooks two years ago when he was at an event marking the 100th anniversary of PETER CUSHING'S BIRTH. “We did the Dr Who film Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150 AD together,” says Brooks. “I was on stage talking about the film and Peter, and the interviewer brought up #MrBenn. When I said the phrase: ‘As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared’ the audience leapt to their feet. I thought it was quite extraordinary." In 2002, he acted in BBC drama Two Thousand Acres of Sky. He joined the cast of the long-running BBC soap opera #EastEnders as Joe Macer in 2005.

 

ON SEPTEMBER 30th 2006, his character left the soap, in a very fitting and dramatic fashion (!!) ... happy to say, RAY is still with us, and here's to many more days and treats of watching Ray's work! A HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ray! - Marcus Check out VIDEO CLIP of Ray Brooks celebrating the 2013 #PeterCushing Centenary with a birthday cake, at the Facebook PCASUK Fan Page HERE! 

 

YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 34,000 others Peter Cushing followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features and prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing  OBE