Acting

John Rapley

Born April 18, 1935 · West Ham, Essex, England, UK

Died April 18, 2016 · aged 81

John Rapley was born on 18 April 1935 in West Ham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Elephant Man (1980), Jane and the Lost City (1987) and Goodnight Sweetheart (1993). He died on 18 April 2016 in Theydon Bois, Essex, England, UK.

Known For

The Elephant ManThe Elephant Man · 1980
The Elephant Man
8.11980
MovieDramaHistory
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.
TerrorTerror · 1979
Terror
5.41979
MovieHorror
The descendants of a witch-hunting family and their close friends are stalked and killed by a mysterious entity.
Jane and the Lost CityJane and the Lost City · 1987
Jane and the Lost City
4.51987
MovieAdventureComedy
Jane and the Colonel must journey to Africa to the lost city to retrieve the diamonds before the Nazis do. Comedy based on the popular wartime comic strip.
Lost In LondonLost In London · 1985
Lost In London
6.51985
Movie
Facing his parent's impending divorce and emotional upheaval, a young boy runs away and joins a gang of London street urchins who live by their wits, begging, and thievery.
Our Miss FredOur Miss Fred · 1972
Our Miss Fred
6.11972
MovieComedyWar
Danny La Rue stars in this 1970s drag comedy as Fred Wimbush, a Shakespearean actor who is drafted into WWII and is appearing in a camp show in France when the Nazis advance. Unless he continues in his female costume, Fred is certain to be shot as a spy. The risque gags and double entendres fly as he attempts to make his escape in the company of a troupe of Girl Guides.
Pit StrikePit Strike · 1977
Pit Strike
1977
Movie
1972: striking miners converge on London's power stations. Among them, the huge, dignified figure of Joshua.
The Death of GloryThe Death of Glory · 1973
The Death of Glory
1973
Movie
Prevented by health reasons from joining the Army, a man lives out his military fantasies by leading a failing marching band. His life changes when he discovers his beloved ex-Army father has a secret.
CoppersCoppers · 1988
Coppers
7.01988
MovieCrime
Two bored twentysomethings buy a Vauxhall Cavalier kit it out with a siren and spend their evenings masquerading as police officers in this Screen One TV movie

Filmography

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The Onedin LineThe Onedin Line · 1971
The Onedin Line
7.01971
SeriesDrama
The Onedin Line is a BBC television drama series which ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and deals with the rise of a shipping line, the Onedin Line, named after its owner James Onedin. Around this central theme are the lives of his family, most notably his brother and partner, shop owner Robert, and his sister Elizabeth, giving insight into the lifestyle and customs at the time, not only at sea, but also ashore. The series also illustrates some of the changes in business and shipping, such as from wooden to steel ships and from sailing ships to steam ships. It shows the role that ships played in affairs like international politics, uprisings and the slave trade.

Barman

Shine on Harvey MoonShine on Harvey Moon · 1982
Shine on Harvey Moon
7.71982
SeriesDrama
Shine on Harvey Moon! is a British comedy-drama series made by Central Television for ITV from 8 January 1982 to 23 August 1985 and briefly revived in 1995 by Meridian. This generally light-hearted series was created by comedy writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. The series is set in the East End of London shortly after the Second World War. Upon being demobbed RAF serviceman Harvey Moon, played by Kenneth Cranham, returns home and finds his family involved in various troubles. His wife Rita, played by Maggie Steed, is not interested in resuming their relationship, and works in a seedy nightclub frequented by American servicemen. He becomes involved with the Labour Party and the union movement. The name of the series is a wordplay on the title of the popular 1908 song 'Shine On, Harvest Moon'. The first series was commissioned and recorded by ATV at their Elstree studios with the remaining series filmed at newly constructed facilities in Nottingham.

Bull

Danger UXBDanger UXB · 1979
Danger UXB
8.01979
SeriesDrama
Danger UXB is a 1979 British television series developed by John Hawkesworth and starring Anthony Andrews as Lieutenant Brian Ash, an officer in the Royal Engineers. The programme is titled and partly based on the memoirs of Major A. B. Hartley, M.B.E, RE, Unexploded Bomb - The Story of Bomb Disposal, with episodes written by Hawkesworth and four screenwriters. The series chronicles the exploits of the fictional 97 Tunnelling Company which, as a result of thousands of unexploded bombs in London during the Blitz, has become a bomb disposal unit. As with all his fellow officers, Ash must for the most part learn the techniques and procedures of disarming and destroying the UXBs through experience, repeatedly confronted with more cunning and deadlier technological advances in aerial bomb fusing. The storylines were primarily military, with a romantic thread between Ash and an inventor's married daughter, and other human interest vignettes.

Silversmith

tlctlc · 2002
tlc
6.22002
SeriesComedy
tlc is a darkly surreal farce-like sitcom created and written by Fintan Coyle, set in a fictional NHS hospital called South Middlesex where coffee is traded like drugs and pretty much everyone has a personality complex. Dr Laurence Flynn finds himself thrown in at the deep end when he gets his first job after leaving Medical School (where he failed his finals). Always the butt of jokes by other staff (being called on to revive dead people)he has to cope not only with the patients but mad colleagues too – an ex surgeon now the hospital chaplain and a German theatre assistant with a masochistic kink. The show never confirms what 'tlc' stands for, although it's presumed to be a sarcastic reference to the widely used abbreviation for 'tender loving care', but could equally refer to the alternative yet related abbreviation 'total lack of concern'.

Exterminator