Ray Burdis
Encyclopedia
Ray Burdis is an English
actor
, screenwriter
, director
and film producer
.
Burdis started acting at eleven years old when he trained at the Anna Scher Theatre
in Islington. He appeared in an episode of the classic BBC
sitcom
Steptoe and Son
when he was fifteen, but his first major role was at the age of sixteen, in the Thames Television series You Must Be Joking! , which he also co-created and wrote. He also starred with Phil Daniels
in Four Idle Hands, at the time having two hit networked television shows running alternately in the same hour.
In 1978 Burdis auditioned for a presenting job on the BBC children's programme Blue Peter
as a replacement for John Noakes
. Richard Marson's book celebrating the show's fiftieth anniversary records this fact and film of the audition was shown at a BAFTA celebration in October 2008.
Burdis came to real prominence when he took the part of cowardly inmate Eckersley in the controversial movie Scum
in 1979. He had played the same role two years earlier in a BBC television version of the story, although this was not transmitted for many years due to its graphic nature, hence the cinematic re-make. He later had a small role alongside Daniel Day-Lewis
in the film Gandhi
(1982).
Burdis then played a supporting role as Richard, a gay neighbour in Channel 4
's short-lived sitcom "Dream Stuffing
" in 1984. After this, he played ambitious photographer Nick Tyler in the BBC comedy Three Up, Two Down
. His character was the son and son-in-law respectively of the two lead characters, played by Michael Elphick
and Angela Thorne
. The series rated over 17million viewers and went on for 5 seasons.
In addition to acting, Burdis also co-founded Fugitive - an independent film, television and music production company which started life as a premier music video producer, producing videos for internationally renowned artists such as Elton John
, Queen
, Tina Turner
and George Michael
, placing itself in the Top 5 international music video production companies. Burdis also produced The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
for television, the largest ever live outside broadcast at the time, it was transmitted in every country around the world to an audience 40% larger than Live Aid
. Burdis’ first foray into television drama was creating the series The Fear, for Euston Films
, which was broadcast on the ITV Network. The series was critically acclaimed and was based on the unpublicised real-life gangster scene of the late 1980s.
He went forward to produce the feature films The Passion of Darkly Noon starring Brendan Fraser - Ashley Judd and The Reflecting Skin starring Viggo Mortensen - Lindsay Duncan
Burdis has subsequently concentrated more on writing, producing and directing. He was the producer of The Krays
, the critically acclaimed biopic of the East End gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray
written by Philip Ridley
, and also co-wrote-produced and directed the movies Final Cut and Love, Honour and Obey
starring such actors as Jude Law
, Jonny Lee Miller
, Kathy Burke
, Ray Winstone
, Rhys Ifans
. He also created, co-wrote, produced, directed and starred in the television police fly on the wall docu-comedy Operation Good Guys
for three series. The series was awarded the Silver Rose for Best Sitcom and the Prix de la Presse, voted for by the International Press, at the Montreux Golden Rose Festival.
Turning his hand once again to acting he went on to co-star in the BBC Two comedy drama series Manchild
for two series, along with Nigel Havers, Anthony Head and Don Warrington.
Having launched a new film production company Britflick Productions in 2010, Ray Burdis is shooting the controversial film, 'The Wee Man' which is scheduled for production in the late summer 2011 in association with Carnaby films.
Ray also had an interesting Music background in his teens: Great British Heroes had their roots in Stars & Stripes, a North London band formed early in 1976 by Ray Burdis (vocals), Graham Reed (gtr), Vince (b) and Rowland Rivron (d). In mid-’76 Rivron quit (later to be a TV celebrity). In the autumn the group entered Strawberry Studios in London to record a single for Lightning Records. At Christmas Great British Heroes hired a manager, Jeff Miller, whose lawyer promptly declared the proposed Lightning contract “not a good idea”: the single was shelved, and in November 1978. Great British Heroes (or GBH, as they were sometimes advertised) played all the usual London venues including The Rock Garden, Upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s, the Nashville and even the Roxy, as well as touring Denmark. Eventually, in late 1979 Ray Burdis quit to concentrate on film work (as both an actor and director he would become a central figure in British TV and cinema)
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
.
Burdis started acting at eleven years old when he trained at the Anna Scher Theatre
Anna Scher Theatre
The Anna Scher Theatre is a community-based theatre school based in Islington, North London. The school turns out some of London's best child and adult actors.-Anna Scher:...
in Islington. He appeared in an episode of the classic BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old...
when he was fifteen, but his first major role was at the age of sixteen, in the Thames Television series You Must Be Joking! , which he also co-created and wrote. He also starred with Phil Daniels
Phil Daniels
Philip W. "Phil" Daniels is an English actor, most noted for film and television roles as "cockneys" such as Jimmy in Quadrophenia, Richards in Scum, Stewart in The Class of Miss MacMichael, Mark in Meantime, Kevin Wicks in EastEnders, DCS Frank Patterson in New Tricks and Edward Kitchener "Ted"...
in Four Idle Hands, at the time having two hit networked television shows running alternately in the same hour.
In 1978 Burdis auditioned for a presenting job on the BBC children's programme Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
as a replacement for John Noakes
John Noakes
John Noakes is a British television presenter and personality, best known for co-presenting the BBC children's magazine programme Blue Peter in the 1960s and 1970s. He remains the show's longest-serving presenter, with a stint that lasted 12 years and 6 months...
. Richard Marson's book celebrating the show's fiftieth anniversary records this fact and film of the audition was shown at a BAFTA celebration in October 2008.
Burdis came to real prominence when he took the part of cowardly inmate Eckersley in the controversial movie Scum
Scum (film)
Scum is a 1979 British crime drama film directed by Alan Clarke, portraying the brutality of life inside a British borstal. The story was originally made for the BBC's Play for Today strand in 1977, however due to the violence depicted in the film, it was withdrawn from broadcast...
in 1979. He had played the same role two years earlier in a BBC television version of the story, although this was not transmitted for many years due to its graphic nature, hence the cinematic re-make. He later had a small role alongside Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
in the film Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
(1982).
Burdis then played a supporting role as Richard, a gay neighbour in Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's short-lived sitcom "Dream Stuffing
Dream Stuffing
Dream Stuffing is a British television sitcom which aired on Channel 4 in early 1984.The series followed the exploits of two working class young women, Mo and Jude , who share a flat in a council tower block in London's East End, along with their three-legged cat, Tripod...
" in 1984. After this, he played ambitious photographer Nick Tyler in the BBC comedy Three Up, Two Down
Three Up, Two Down
Three Up, Two Down is a British sitcom starring Michael Elphick and Angela Thorne that ran from 1985 to 1989. It was written by Richard Ommanney.-Cast:*Michael Elphick - Sam Tyler*Angela Thorne - Daphne Trenchard...
. His character was the son and son-in-law respectively of the two lead characters, played by Michael Elphick
Michael Elphick
Michael John Elphick was an English actor. Elphick was known in the UK for his trademark croaky voice and his work on British television, in particular his roles as the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series Boon and later Harry Slater in BBC's EastEnders.Robust and ruggedly good-looking...
and Angela Thorne
Angela Thorne
Angela Thorne is an English actress who is best known for her roles in To the Manor Born and Anyone for Denis?-Early life:Angela Thorne was born in Karachi, British India, , in 1939...
. The series rated over 17million viewers and went on for 5 seasons.
In addition to acting, Burdis also co-founded Fugitive - an independent film, television and music production company which started life as a premier music video producer, producing videos for internationally renowned artists such as Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
and George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, placing itself in the Top 5 international music video production companies. Burdis also produced The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was an open-air concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992 at London's Wembley Stadium, for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the...
for television, the largest ever live outside broadcast at the time, it was transmitted in every country around the world to an audience 40% larger than Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
. Burdis’ first foray into television drama was creating the series The Fear, for Euston Films
Euston Films
Euston Films was a British film and television production company. It was a subsidiary company of Thames Television, and operated from the 1970s to the 1990s, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network...
, which was broadcast on the ITV Network. The series was critically acclaimed and was based on the unpublicised real-life gangster scene of the late 1980s.
He went forward to produce the feature films The Passion of Darkly Noon starring Brendan Fraser - Ashley Judd and The Reflecting Skin starring Viggo Mortensen - Lindsay Duncan
Burdis has subsequently concentrated more on writing, producing and directing. He was the producer of The Krays
The Krays (film)
The Krays is a 1990 film based on the lives and crimes of the British gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray, twins who are often referred to as The Krays...
, the critically acclaimed biopic of the East End gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray
Kray twins
Reginald "Reggie" Kray and his twin brother Ronald "Ronnie" Kray were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s...
written by Philip Ridley
Philip Ridley
Philip Ridley is a British artist working with various media.- Biography :Ridley was born in Bethnal Green, in the East End of London, where he still lives and works. He studied painting at St. Martin’s School of Art and his work has been exhibited throughout Europe and Japan...
, and also co-wrote-produced and directed the movies Final Cut and Love, Honour and Obey
Love, Honour and Obey
Love, Honour and Obey is a 2000 mock gangster film starring several members of the Primrose Hill set. It was jointly written and directed by Dominic Anciano and Ray Burdis as a follow-up to their 1998 film Final Cut...
starring such actors as Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
, Jonny Lee Miller
Jonny Lee Miller
Jonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller is an English actor. During the initial days he was best known for his roles in the 1996 films Trainspotting and Hackers...
, Kathy Burke
Kathy Burke
Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress, comedienne, playwright and theatre director. She is best known for her portrayals of Perry in the Harry Enfield film Kevin and Perry Go Large, and of Linda La Hughes in the British sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme...
, Ray Winstone
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
, Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
. He also created, co-wrote, produced, directed and starred in the television police fly on the wall docu-comedy Operation Good Guys
Operation Good Guys
Operation Good Guys is a British mockumentary, a fly-on-the-wall documentary series about an elite police unit's bid to snare one of Britain's most powerful crime lords. It was first screened on BBC Two from 1997 - 2000. Blurring the line between fact and fiction, it witnesses, on camera, the total...
for three series. The series was awarded the Silver Rose for Best Sitcom and the Prix de la Presse, voted for by the International Press, at the Montreux Golden Rose Festival.
Turning his hand once again to acting he went on to co-star in the BBC Two comedy drama series Manchild
Manchild
Manchild is a British television comedy / drama series that ran for two series on BBC Two between February 2002 and April 2003 with seven episodes in Series 1 and eight episodes in Series 2....
for two series, along with Nigel Havers, Anthony Head and Don Warrington.
Having launched a new film production company Britflick Productions in 2010, Ray Burdis is shooting the controversial film, 'The Wee Man' which is scheduled for production in the late summer 2011 in association with Carnaby films.
Ray also had an interesting Music background in his teens: Great British Heroes had their roots in Stars & Stripes, a North London band formed early in 1976 by Ray Burdis (vocals), Graham Reed (gtr), Vince (b) and Rowland Rivron (d). In mid-’76 Rivron quit (later to be a TV celebrity). In the autumn the group entered Strawberry Studios in London to record a single for Lightning Records. At Christmas Great British Heroes hired a manager, Jeff Miller, whose lawyer promptly declared the proposed Lightning contract “not a good idea”: the single was shelved, and in November 1978. Great British Heroes (or GBH, as they were sometimes advertised) played all the usual London venues including The Rock Garden, Upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s, the Nashville and even the Roxy, as well as touring Denmark. Eventually, in late 1979 Ray Burdis quit to concentrate on film work (as both an actor and director he would become a central figure in British TV and cinema)
External links
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaMWpvxmKdA&feature=related LOVE HONOUR AND OBEY
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2btbAlVTUk MANCHILD TITLES - BBC
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pkRJPGr9x4 MANCHILD - BBC
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PTY7g4SRmM MANCHILD SEASON 2 - BBC
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmRYZmUe0y4 THE BALDY SONG - OPERATION GOOD GUYS - BBC
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDASKtWrTbQ THE SNOW SONG - OPERATION GOOD GUYS - BBC
- http://www.boredteenagers.co.uk/GREAT%20BRITISH%20HEROES.htm G B H ROCK BAND - LIGHTNING RECORDS
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0120987/} IMDB
- http://www.britflickproductions.com BRITFLICK PRODUCTIONS