Acting
Howard Lew Lewis
Born August 21, 1941 · London, England
Died January 20, 2018 · aged 76
Howard Lew Lewis was an English comedian and actor best known for his roles in the 1980s sitcom Brush Strokes and Tony Robinson's children's comedy series Maid Marian and Her Merry Men. His first job was with the RAF as a a computer operator and he worked for several years in computing and telecommunications at managerial level before undertaking acting as his chosen career. He often appeared in …
Known For
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves · 1991Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
★ 6.91991
MovieActionAdventure
Nobleman crusader Robin of Locksley breaks out of a Jerusalem prison with the help of Moorish fellow prisoner Azeem and travels back home to England. But upon arrival he discovers his dead father in the ruins of his family estate, killed by the vicious sheriff of Nottingham, Robin and Azeem join forces with outlaws Little John and Will Scarlett to save the kingdom from the sheriff's villainy.
Brazil · 1985Brazil
★ 7.71985
MovieComedyScience Fiction
Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.
Chaplin · 1992Chaplin
★ 7.41992
MovieDrama
An aged Charlie Chaplin narrates his life to his autobiography's editor, including his rise to wealth and comedic fame from poverty, his turbulent personal life and his run-ins with the FBI.
Quills · 2000Quills
★ 7.12000
MovieDrama
In early 19th-century France, the Marquis de Sade is confined to an asylum where his forbidden writings continue to circulate beyond its walls. As the authorities tighten control, a clash unfolds between the Marquis’ unyielding imagination, the reformist ideals of the Abbé in charge, and the repressive measures of a doctor sent to silence him. Desire, power, and censorship collide in a battle over freedom of expression.
Shadowlands · 1993Shadowlands
★ 6.91993
MovieDramaRomance
C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham.
Fords on Water · 1983Fords on Water
★ 9.01983
MovieComedy
Influential, cult classic, UK buddy road movie about two friends, one white and one black, who bond over their desire to escape from boredom and unemployment in Thatcher's Britain.
Chaos and Cadavers · 2003Chaos and Cadavers
★ 6.82003
MovieComedyCrime
Two young newlyweds, geeky Edward and innocent but alluring Samantha, turn up at a majestic and remote country house hotel for their honeymoon, which has been taken over by the high-spirited members of an Undertakers' Annual Convention. Their attempts at romance are quickly dampened as they become helplessly embroiled in an intriguing whodunit when the Head of the Funeral Directors' Association dies under bizarre circumstances.
The Baby Juice Express · 2004The Baby Juice Express
★ 8.02004
MovieCrimeComedy
A middle class London lad’s gangster fantasies go awry when his dodgy uncle puts them into debt to a real life crime boss. Still pulling strings from behind bars, the kingpin’s only desire is to conceive an heir by smuggling his sperm to his wife on the outside. There’s only one way the boys know how to raise the money fast … hijack the ‘baby juice express’. But kidnapping ‘baby juice’ turns out to be fraught with even more peril than the bumbling wannabes could possibly have imagined in this cheeky spin on the gangster genre. Starring Nick Moran (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), with Julian Clary (one of Britain’s funniest) and Joe Bugner (former boxing champion and one of Australia’s toughest!).
Movies
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves · 1991Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
★ 6.91991
MovieActionAdventure
Nobleman crusader Robin of Locksley breaks out of a Jerusalem prison with the help of Moorish fellow prisoner Azeem and travels back home to England. But upon arrival he discovers his dead father in the ruins of his family estate, killed by the vicious sheriff of Nottingham, Robin and Azeem join forces with outlaws Little John and Will Scarlett to save the kingdom from the sheriff's villainy.
Brazil · 1985Brazil
★ 7.71985
MovieComedyScience Fiction
Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.
Chaplin · 1992Chaplin
★ 7.41992
MovieDrama
An aged Charlie Chaplin narrates his life to his autobiography's editor, including his rise to wealth and comedic fame from poverty, his turbulent personal life and his run-ins with the FBI.
Quills · 2000Quills
★ 7.12000
MovieDrama
In early 19th-century France, the Marquis de Sade is confined to an asylum where his forbidden writings continue to circulate beyond its walls. As the authorities tighten control, a clash unfolds between the Marquis’ unyielding imagination, the reformist ideals of the Abbé in charge, and the repressive measures of a doctor sent to silence him. Desire, power, and censorship collide in a battle over freedom of expression.
Shadowlands · 1993Shadowlands
★ 6.91993
MovieDramaRomance
C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham.
Fords on Water · 1983Fords on Water
★ 9.01983
MovieComedy
Influential, cult classic, UK buddy road movie about two friends, one white and one black, who bond over their desire to escape from boredom and unemployment in Thatcher's Britain.
Chaos and Cadavers · 2003Chaos and Cadavers
★ 6.82003
MovieComedyCrime
Two young newlyweds, geeky Edward and innocent but alluring Samantha, turn up at a majestic and remote country house hotel for their honeymoon, which has been taken over by the high-spirited members of an Undertakers' Annual Convention. Their attempts at romance are quickly dampened as they become helplessly embroiled in an intriguing whodunit when the Head of the Funeral Directors' Association dies under bizarre circumstances.
The Baby Juice Express · 2004The Baby Juice Express
★ 8.02004
MovieCrimeComedy
A middle class London lad’s gangster fantasies go awry when his dodgy uncle puts them into debt to a real life crime boss. Still pulling strings from behind bars, the kingpin’s only desire is to conceive an heir by smuggling his sperm to his wife on the outside. There’s only one way the boys know how to raise the money fast … hijack the ‘baby juice express’. But kidnapping ‘baby juice’ turns out to be fraught with even more peril than the bumbling wannabes could possibly have imagined in this cheeky spin on the gangster genre. Starring Nick Moran (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), with Julian Clary (one of Britain’s funniest) and Joe Bugner (former boxing champion and one of Australia’s toughest!).
The Tichborne Claimant · 1999The Tichborne Claimant
★ 8.71999
MovieDrama
Based on a true story, set in the late 19th century: Lord Tichborne, the ninth richest nobleman in England, disappears after a South American shipwreck. Some years later his erudite Afro-English valet, Bogle, is sent to investigate rumors that Tichborne survived and settled in Australia. An alcoholic ruffian answer's Bogle's inquiries claiming to be the lost heir. Bogle suspects fraud, but conspires with the claimant to split the inheritance should the latter succesfully pass himself off to friends, family and the courts. As the claimant returns to England to continue his charade, enough people confirm his identity to make both the claimant and Bogle believe that he just might be the rightful heir after all.
Small Town Folk · 2007Small Town Folk
★ 3.52007
MovieHorror
High above the tiny hamlet of Grockleton stands Beesley Manor, home to the ominous Landlord and his...shall we say, genetically ambiguent...minions, including Pooch, a cross-eyed marksman, and Dobbin, who likes to drink gasoline. The Landlord keeps a watchful eye over his domain, brutally dispatching any strangers who enter - except for females he needs to (involuntarily) sire a Beesley heir...When three unsuspecting travelers arrive, the Landlord plans to make two of them his trophies and the other his bride...unless they can beat him at his own game.
Gobble · 1997Gobble
★ 8.01997
MovieComedyTV Movie
As Christmas celebrations get under way, Britain is rocked by a deadly new food scare - "mad turkey disease".
Knockback: 1 · 1985Knockback: 1
★ 7.51985
MovieDramaThriller
In 1965, at the age of 25, Alan Ackland is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a business associate. In 1971, Sylvia Barker, lonely and depressed after a failed marriage and with two young children to bring up alone, seeks a new direction in her life and applies to become a voluntary prison visitor. Several years later their paths cross.
Rachel and the Roarettes · 1985Rachel and the Roarettes
1985
Movie
A musical about female rebels in the 18th and 20th centuries.
Brewers Droop · 1986Brewers Droop
1986
MovieAnimationComedy
The boss makes a surprise visit with some new business proposals. Made for 'Beer and Skittles', a series of short animated films centred around pubs.
TV Shows
Minder · 1979Minder
★ 7.21979
SeriesComedyDrama
Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Screen Two · 1985Screen Two
★ 7.11985
SeriesDrama
Series of single made-for-television dramas.
The Bill · 1984The Bill
★ 6.81984
SeriesCrimeDrama
The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
Blackadder · 1983Blackadder
★ 8.01983
SeriesComedy
Blackadder traces the deeply cynical and self-serving lineage of various Edmund Blackadders throughout British history, from the muck of the Middle Ages to the frontline of The Great War.
Reilly: Ace of Spies · 1983Reilly: Ace of Spies
★ 7.01983
SeriesCrimeDrama
Reilly, Ace of Spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatising the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian Jew who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the British. Among his exploits, in the early 20th-century, were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of the Bolsheviks in 1918. His reputation with women was as legendary as his genius for espionage.
Noel's House Party · 1991Noel's House Party
★ 7.41991
Series
Noel's House Party is a BBC television light entertainment show hosted by Noel Edmonds that was broadcast live on Saturday evenings throughout the 1990s. It was set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo. The show was broadcast during the autumn-spring season. It was the successor show to Noel's Saturday Roadshow, and carried over some of its regular features such as the Gunge Tank, the Gotcha Oscar and Wait 'Till I Get You Home. In 2010, Noel's House Party was voted the best Saturday night TV show of all time.
The show had many regular guests posing as fictional villagers, including Frank Thornton and Vicki Michelle. The show gave birth to Mr. Blobby in the Gotcha segment. The character became well known, ruining the premise of the segment, but Blobby still made appearances. There was also a contrived rivalry between Noel and Tony Blackburn. In addition, many episodes featured one-off guest stars, including Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer, who came in to find the whole audience dressed as Frank after Fantastic Stuart Henderson from Troon had performed as Frank singing The Beatles song "I Saw Her Standing There", and Ken Dodd in a highwayman's outfit - 'Going cheap at the Maxwell sale' - as Noel's long lost 'twin', Berasent.
Brush Strokes · 1986Brush Strokes
★ 5.91986
SeriesComedy
Jacko is a painter and decorator with an eye for the ladies. He works with Eric, who's married to his sister Jean. The painting and decorating firm they work for is owned by Lionel Bainbridge.
Theatre Night · 1985Theatre Night
1985
SeriesDrama
A series of dramas featuring staged theatre plays.
Chelmsford 123 · 1988Chelmsford 123
★ 7.41988
SeriesComedy
Chelmsford, Britain in the year AD 123; there is a power struggle between Roman governor Aulus Paulinus and the British chieftain, Badvoc. Britain is a miserable place, cold and wet – just the place to exile Aulus for accidentally insulting the Emperor's horse, but also give him something useful to do. Aulus, probably a play on Aulus Platorius Nepos, the governor of Roman Britain between 122 and 125, was a rather delicate Roman, who was usually outwitted by the scheming Badvoc, who hadn't had a haircut for twenty-five years.
Open All Hours · 1976Open All Hours
★ 7.91976
SeriesComedy
Open All Hours is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke, starring Ronnie Barker as penny-pinching corner-shopkeeper Albert Arkwright, and David Jason as his nephew and assistant Granville.
The programme originated as a 1973 episode of Barker’s comedy anthology Seven of One, and later ran for 26 episodes; the first series broadcast on BBC2, the remaining three series broadcast on BBC1.
Keen Eddie · 2003Keen Eddie
★ 8.02003
SeriesDramaComedy
Keen Eddie is an American action, comedy-drama television series that aired in 2003 on the Fox Network. The series follows a brash NYPD detective who goes to London when one of his cases goes sour and remains to work with New Scotland Yard. The basic premise of the show bears a close resemblance to the popular 1980s British series Dempsey & Makepeace, the only notable difference being that the female partner has been replaced by a female housemate. Stylistically, the series derived inspiration from British feature films by Guy Ritchie, such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. The soundtrack and incidental music for the first episode was provided by British techno duo Orbital. Daniel Ash of Love and Rockets scored the rest of the series.
Pennies from Heaven · 1978Pennies from Heaven
★ 7.61978
SeriesDrama
Pennies From Heaven is a 1978 BBC television drama serial written by Dennis Potter. The title is taken from a song of the same name written by Johnny Burke and Arthur Johnston. It was one of several Potter serials to mix the reality of the drama with a dark fantasy content, and the earliest of his works where the characters burst into miming to popular 1930s songs.
During the Great Depression, a sheet music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent schoolteacher.
Maid Marian and Her Merry Men · 1989Maid Marian and Her Merry Men
★ 6.01989
SeriesComedyFamily
Maid Marian and her Merry Men is a British children's sitcom created and written by Tony Robinson and directed by David Bell. It began in 1989 on BBC One and ran for four series, with the last episode shown in 1994. The show was a partially musical comic retelling of the legend of Robin Hood, placing Maid Marian in the role of leader of the Merry Men, and reducing Robin to an incompetent ex-tailor.
The programme was much appreciated by children and adults alike, and has been likened to Blackadder, not only for its historical setting and the presence of Tony Robinson, but also for its comic style. It is more surreal than Blackadder, however, and drops even more anachronisms. Many of the show's cast such as Howard Lew Lewis, Forbes Collins, Ramsay Gilderdale and Patsy Byrne had previously appeared in various episodes of Blackadder alongside Robinson. Like many British children's programmes, there is a lot of social commentary sneakily inserted, as well as witty asides about the Royal family, buses running on time, etc. Many of the plots spoofed or referenced film and television shows including other incarnations of Robin Hood in those mediums.
Mr Pye · 1986Mr Pye
★ 4.31986
SeriesSci-Fi & FantasyComedy
Mr Pye travels to the Channel Island of Sark to spread the love of God. But doing good deeds means something strange starts to happen to him, he starts to grow wings.
The Magnificent Evans · 1984The Magnificent Evans
★ 6.81984
SeriesComedy
The Magnificent Evans is a 1984 BBC situation comedy written by Roy Clarke and starring Ronnie Barker, Sharon Morgan and Myfanwy Talog.