In this section we will be profiling some famous Blakeley celebrities, including Actors, musicians and talk show hosts! Everything from Shakespearean Actors to Slasher Move Stars and from Blakely's to Bleakleys!

Please let us know if you have any favourites that you would like profiled.

Colin Blakely | Ronee Blakley |Christine Bleakley

Who was he?

''Quite simply, Colin was one of this country's finest actors who has given some of his best work on television.'' Peter Goodchild, head of the BBC Drama and Plays department 1987

Colin Blakely was a renowned British Stage and Television actor who died tragically of Leukaemia at the age of 56.

During his 30 year career, he specialised in character acting, and played many roles from the classic to the comedic. He supported some of the leading actors of the day including Laurence Olivier, Paul Schofield, Alec Guinness and John Gielgud, among others.

Early Life

Colin was born in Bangor, County Down in Northern Ireland. He was educated in Sedburgh School in Yorkshire and at 18 he joined his family firm a sporting goods shop. He also worked as a timber loader on the railways.

Career

In 1957 he joined the Bangor Operatic Society and soon turned professional, joining Group Theatre Belfast.

At the age of 27, Colin had his stage debut, playing Dick McCardle in the play ‘Master of the House’. He followed this up with several roles which garnered him critical acclaim.

In 1961 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, and between 1963 – 1968 he worked at the National Theatre at the Old Vic. He was a renowned Shakespearean Actor and also starred in plays ranging from the classics of antiquity to the contemporary.

His TV career was equally varied, he starred in the highly controversial Dennis Potter play ‘Son of Man’ where he played Jesus Christ; and Jonathon Miller’s critically acclaimed Anthony and Cleopatra.

He also appeared in many films, including ‘This Sporting Life’ 1963, ‘The Private Life of Sherlock Homes’ 1970, ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ 1974, ‘Evil Under the Sun’ 1982.

Personal Life

He died of Leukemia in Middlesex Hosptial, London, in May 1987.

Colin was married to Margaret Whiting for 26 years, they had 3 sons.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Blakely
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/09/obituaries/colin-blakely-actor-is-dead-a-favorite-figure-in-britain.html

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Who is she?

"The Joan Didion of Rock" Variety Magazine

Since the 1970's Ronee Blakley has had a sucessful and varied career as a folk rock singer, songwriter, actress and director. She has worked with some of the top names in the music industry and with some of the film worlds most famous directors. She is still recording music today.

Early Life

Ronee’s parents were Ronald Blakley and his wife Carol and Ronee was raised in Nampa Idaho. In High School she was nominated to represent Girl’s Nation, she later attended Mills College at Stanford University and as a post graduate attended Julliard.

Career

Music
Ronee’s first professional engagement, at the age of 16, was at the legendary Sun Valley. She later cut her teeth improvising to Gershon Kingsley’s Moog music at Carnegie Hall.

In 1972 she released her first folk rock album entitled ‘Ronee Blakley’ with Electra Records, and in so doing won fans as distinguished as Bob Dylan. She wrote all of the songs and played the piano. The album includes ‘Bluebird’ a duet with Linda Ronstat.

In 1975 she released ‘Welcome’ with Warner Brothers, and performed ‘Hurricane’, a duet with Bob Dylan on his Desire Album.

During her recording career Ronee has worked with many of the world’s top singers and musicians, including Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstat, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Ramblin Jack Elliott, Tbone Burnett, Mick Ronson and Leonard Cohen. She has written music for films and her songs have been covered by many artists, including Bette Midler.

Film & TV
She starred in her first film, ‘Welcome Home Soldier’ in 1972 and in 1975 her acting received great critical acclaim when she starred as Barbara Jean in Robert Altman’s ‘Nashville'. She wrote many of the songs for this film and also re-wrote much of her role. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards.

Since this high point she has worked with many other top directors but usually in supporting roles and low budget films. She starred in Wes Craven’s iconic 1984 horror film ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ where she played the alcoholic mother of the heroine.

In 1985 she wrote, starred, directed and produced a docudrama called ‘I played it for you’ which was premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

She appeared in many TV productions during the 1970’s and 80’s including ‘The Love Boat’, ‘Highway to Heaven’ and ‘Tales from the Darkside'.

Personal Life

Ronee was married to German film maker Wim Wenders from 1979 – 1981 and she has one daughter, Sarah, born in 1988.

She has strong interests in Civil Rights, and equal rights for women.

Sources

http://www.roneeblakley.com/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronee_Blakley

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Who is she?

Glamorous TV presenter in Northern Ireland and Mainland Britain.

Early Life:

Christine was born in Newry County Down, Northern Ireland to parents Mina and Frederick. She spent most of her childhood in Newtownards which is a town east of Belfast. She was born on 5th Feb 1979, or 20th January 1980 or 20th January 1981 (which just goes to prove that modern records and sources can be just as conflicting as historical documents!). The Daily Star reported on the controversy over her age in October 2008 when she was appearing on Strictly Come Dancing (read Daily Star article).

Education:

Christine studied her A ‘Levels at Bloomfield Collegiate and later went to Queens University in Belfast to study for a Politics Degree. Whilst studying Christine was also training up as a ‘runner’ and later as a floor manager. She did not complete her degree as her training paid off and she began a full time career in TV with BBC Northern Ireland.

Career:

Christine was a news reader and presenter for Belfast Citybeat between 1995 – 1997 then went into TV. She hosted a number of TV shows for BBC NI, including Town Challenge, and in 2004 Sky High a show where she got to fly round Northern Ireland on a helicopter. She also presented First Stop, a weekly entertainment show, and regularly hosted ‘one off’ shows for TV such as ‘Would you pass your 11 plus?’ and Children in Need. Christine also worked outside Northern Ireland hosting BBC 2’s ‘Let me entertain you’ along side Brian Conley.

Currently she is probably best known for co-hosting BBC 1’s prime time ‘The One Show’ with Adrian Chiles. Christine was part of the original launch team for ‘The One Show’ starting out as an on the spot reporter before replacing Myleene Klass as co-host in August 2007.

Whats in a name?
Her sense of politeness got the better of her when she first started presenting on The One Show. Adrian Chiles her co-host repeatedly mispronounced her name on the first few shows; this resulted in a flurry of letters from other Bleakleys irritated by this this error, prompting Christine to admit that she was just too embarrassed to correct a senior presenter! (Although Adrian is now pronouncing her name correctly, in Bleakley/Blakeley circles the pronunciation debate continues...)

Other TV Work

Christine appeared on Series 6 of Strictly Come Dancing in 2008. She was partnered by Matthew Cutler and was beaten in the dance-off by Rachel Stevens in week 11. In 2009 Christine visited Uganda to make a series of films for Comic Relief.

Other work

Christine is the Ambassador for the Princes Trust in Northern Ireland and is a patron of CineMagic children’s film festival.

Personal life

Christine is dating Chelsea/England Midfielder Frank Lampard and has had a lifelong phobia of Geese!

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Bleakley
http://www.bbc.co.uk/theoneshow/backstage/profiles/christine_bleakley.shtml
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/53762/

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