Jack and Jill may refer to:

• "Jack and Jill" (nursery rhyme)

Media[link]

• Jack and Jill, an adult film featuring Jack Wrangler
• Jack & Jill (comics)
• Jack and Jill (film), a 2011 film starring Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, and Al Pacino.
• Jack and Jill (magazine)
• Jack & Jill (novel), by James Patterson
• "Jack & Jill", a song by Raydio on the album Raydio
• "Jack & Jill", a 1969 song written and performed by Tommy Roe
• Jack & Jill (TV series)
• Jack and Jill: A Village Story, by Louisa May Alcott
• Jack and Jill vs. the World, a 2008 film directed by Vanessa Parise

Companies and organizations[link]

• Jack and Jill (organization), an African American prestigious-social group
• Jack and Jill Ice Cream
• Jack and Jill School, a Philippine elementary school

Other uses[link]

• Jack and Jill bathroom
• Jack and Jill (dance)
• Jack and Jill (party)
• Clayton Windmills, nicknamed Jack and Jill

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Adam Sandler
Sandler in February 2011
Born	Adam Richard Sandler (1966-09-09) September 9, 1966 (age 45) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, screenwriter, film producer
Years active	1987–present
Influenced by	Mel Brooks, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield[1]
Spouse	Jacqueline "Jackie" Titone (2003–present)
Children	2
Website
adamsandler.com

Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician and film producer. After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office.^[2] He is best known for his comedic roles, such as in the films Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), The Waterboy (1998), Big Daddy (1999), and Mr. Deeds (2002), though he has ventured into more dramatic territory. In 1999, Sandler founded Happy Madison, a film and television production company that has produced numerous films and developed the 2007 television series Rules of Engagement.

Early life[link]

Adam Sandler was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents,^[3] Stanley, an electrical engineer, and Judy Sandler, a nursery school teacher.^[4] When he was five, his family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he attended Manchester Central High School. He found he was a natural comic, and nurtured his talent while at New York University by performing regularly in clubs and on campuses. Sandler graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1988.^[5]

Later in his career, he would draw on his earliest experiences for material for his comedy, music and movies. The song "Lunchlady Land" from his debut album They're All Gonna Laugh at You! is dedicated to Emalee, the lunchlady at Hayden Dining Hall at New York University.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Acting career[link]

Sandler at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival

In the mid to late 1980s, Sandler played Theo Huxtable's friend, Smitty, on The Cosby Show (1987–1988). He was a performer for the MTV game show Remote Control, on which he made appearances as the characters "Trivia Delinquent" or "Stud Boy". Early in his career, Sandler performed in comedy clubs, taking the stage at his brother's urging when he was seventeen. He was discovered by comedian Dennis Miller, who caught Sandler's act in Los Angeles. Miller recommended him to Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. Sandler was hired as a writer for SNL in 1990 and became a featured player the following year, making a name for himself by performing amusing original songs on the show, including "The Chanukah Song".^[6] Sandler told Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show that NBC fired him and Chris Farley from the show in 1995.^[7]

In 1994 he co-starred in Airheads with Brendan Fraser and Steve Buscemi. He starred in Billy Madison (1995) as a grown, though uneducated, man repeating grades 1–12 to earn back his father's respect, along with the right to inherit his father's multi-million-dollar hotel empire. In At the Movies, Siskel and Ebert gave the film a very bad review, and said of Sandler "...Not an attractive screen presence, he might have a career as a villain or a fall guy or the butt of a joke, but as the protagonist his problem is he creates the fingernails on the blackboard" with Siskel adding "...you don't have a good motivation for the character's behavior".^{[citation needed]} He followed this film with other financially successful comedies such as Bulletproof (1996), Happy Gilmore (1996) and The Wedding Singer (1998). He was initially cast in the bachelor-party-themed comedy/thriller Very Bad Things (1998), but had to back out due to his involvement in The Waterboy (1998), one of his first hits.

Although his earlier films did not receive critical praise, his more recent films, beginning with Punch-Drunk Love (2002), have received more positive reviews - although they lack the meagre humour of his earlier films. Roger Ebert, in his review of Punch-Drunk Love, concluded that Sandler had been wasted in earlier films with poorly written scripts and characters with no development.^[8] Sandler has moved outside the genre of slapstick comedy to take on more serious parts such as the aforementioned Punch-Drunk Love (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe), Spanglish (2004) and Reign Over Me (2007). He played a loving father figure in Big Daddy (1999). During filming, he met Jacqueline Samantha Titone—his future wife and mother of his two daughters -— who was cast as the waitress from The Blarney Stone Bar.^{[citation needed]}

At one point, Sandler was considered for the part that went to Jamie Foxx in Collateral (2004). He also was one of the finalists along with Jim Carrey and Johnny Depp for the role of Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).^{[citation needed]} He returned to more dramatic^{[neutrality is disputed]} fare with Mike Binder's Reign Over Me (2007), a drama about a man who loses his entire family in 9/11 and rekindles a friendship with his old college roommate (played by Don Cheadle). He starred in the film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) alongside Kevin James, as a New York City fireman pretending to be gay to keep up an insurance scam so that his best friend's children can have benefits. Sandler headlined You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008), a comedy about a Mossad agent who fakes his own death and moves to the United States to become a hair stylist. The film was written by Sandler, The 40-Year-Old Virgin writer-director Judd Apatow (who was an old roommate of Sandler's when both were starting out), and Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog creator Robert Smigel, and was directed by Happy Gilmore director Dennis Dugan.

"Like Will Ferrell, Sandler has layers of tenderness under layers of irony under layers of tenderness—plus a floating anger like Jupiter’s great red spot," wrote David Edelstein of New York magazine in a review of You Don't Mess with the Z. "Some performers become stars because we can read them instantly, others—like Sandler—because we never tire of trying to get a fix on them."^[9]

Sandler at the premiere of Funny People in Berlin, 2009

Sandler starred in Bedtime Stories (2008), a fantasy film directed by Bringing Down the House director Adam Shankman, about a stressed hotel maintenance worker whose bedtime stories he reads to his niece and nephew begin to come true. This marked Sandler's first family film and first film under the Walt Disney banner.^[10] Keri Russell and English comedian Russell Brand co-starred.

In 2009, Sandler starred in Judd Apatow's third directorial feature Funny People. He played a very successful stand up comedian who finds out he has a terminal illness and he takes a young inexperienced comic, played by Seth Rogen, under his wing. Filming began in October 2008 and finished in January 2009. The film was released on July 31, 2009.^[11] At one point, Sandler was in talks to star in Quentin Tarantino's World War II film Inglourious Basterds, which he confirmed, but he did not appear in it due to a scheduling conflict with Funny People.^[12] Following the release of Funny People, it, along with Punch-Drunk Love were cited in the June 2010 announcement that Sandler was one of 135 people (including 20 actors) invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[13]

Sandler appeared in Grown Ups, teaming up with Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and David Spade (all of whom have worked with Sandler before) for a film about five best friends from high school who reunite 30 years later on the July 4 weekend. Other costars include Salma Hayek (playing Sandler's wife), Maria Bello (playing James' wife), and fellow SNL alumna Maya Rudolph (playing Rock's wife), Colin Quinn, Tim Meadows, and Norm Macdonald. Sandler and Dickie Roberts scribe Fred Wolf wrote the script and Dennis Dugan directed the film.^[14]

Sandler starred in the 2011 film Just Go with It, with Jennifer Aniston, a romantic comedy written by Allan Loeb and Tim Dowling and directed by Dennis Dugan. He played a plastic surgeon who asks his office manager, played by Aniston, to pose as his wife, in order to prove his honesty to his much younger girlfriend, played by Brooklyn Decker. Sandler also provided the voice of a capuchin monkey in Kevin James' Zookeeper, released on July 8, 2011.^[15] He filmed That's My Boy with Andy Samberg, which tells the story of a man, played by Sandler, who fathered a son, played by Samberg, with his teacher in high school. Then years later, visits his son on the eve of his wedding where he clashes with the bride (played by Leighton Meester).

Happy Madison Productions[link]

Sandler has collaborated with Henry Winkler and Kevin James for several film projects

Sandler formed his film production company, Happy Madison Productions,^[16] in 1999, first producing fellow SNL alumnus Rob Schneider's film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. Happy Madison has produced all of Sandler's subsequent films to date with the exceptions Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish. Reign Over Me and Funny People were produced by Happy Madison but under the subsidiary label "Madison 23".

Sandler is known for consistently working with a core group of friends and associates through Happy Madison, frequently casting fellow SNL performers in various roles in his films. Sandler and Happy Madison produced SNL contemporary Rob Schneider's vehicles Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), The Animal (2001), The Hot Chick (2002), and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005), and The Benchwarmers (2006), with Sandler making cameo appearances in the middle three. Meanwhile, Schneider has appeared in cameo roles in Sandler films The Waterboy, Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds, Click, The Longest Yard, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and Bedtime Stories. Schneider had larger roles in Sandler films Big Daddy, 50 First Dates, Eight Crazy Nights, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and Grown Ups.

The handprints and shoeprints of Adam Sandler in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Happy Madison produced David Spade's Joe Dirt, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, and The Benchwarmers, which also featured Rob Schneider.^[16] Spade additionally made a cameo appearance in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and had a prominent supporting role in Grown Ups. Sandler cameoed as a special audience member in an episode of The Showbiz Show with David Spade. SNL contemporary Kevin Nealon has appeared in ten Happy Madison productions or Sandler films, including Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, Little Nicky, Joe Dirt, Eight Crazy Nights, Anger Management, Grandma's Boy, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Just Go With It and the Dana Carvey vehicle, The Master of Disguise.

Happy Madison also produced Paul Blart: Mall Cop, the first starring vehicle for Kevin James. James had costarred with Sandler in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Grown Ups and made a cameo appearance in You Don't Mess with the Zohan. Happy Madison also produced James' second starring vehicle Zookeeper.

He appeared as the featured guest on the final episode of John McEnroe's eponymous CNBC talk show, airing in late 2004. McEnroe appeared as himself in three of Sandler's films (Mr. Deeds, Anger Management, and You Don't Mess with the Zohan).

Anna Faris, who appeared in The Hot Chick, became the first female actor to headline a production for Happy Madison with The House Bunny and will headline another film for Happy Madison in the near future.

Others who frequently appear in Sandler films include Steve Buscemi, Chris Rock, John Turturro, Jon Lovitz, Clint Howard, Norm Macdonald, Nick Swardson, and longtime Sandler pals Allen Covert, Peter Dante, and Jonathan Loughran. In particular Allen Covert plays unique and eccentric characters in Sandler's films. Most notably as a limo driver in The Wedding Singer, Ten Second Tom in 50 First Dates, and Nicky's roommate in Little Nicky. Covert starred in his first leading role in Grandma's Boy, also produced by Happy Madison productions.

In June 2007, it was announced that Happy Madison had made a preemptive acquisition for Mitch Albom's screenwriting debut.^[17]

In June 2008, it was announced that Sandler will be executive producer for a horror thriller titled The Shortcut under a nascent genre label for Happy Madison called "Scary Madison".^[18]

In October 2009, it was announced that Sandler and Happy Madison will produce the Richard Pryor biopic Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said? for Sony, the company's first major dramatic production. The film was written by Bill Condon, who is set to direct, and Pryor will be played by Marlon Wayans, who is replacing Eddie Murphy.^[19]

Personal life[link]

Sandler with his two daughters in February 2011

On June 22, 2003, Sandler married actress Jacqueline Samantha Titone, and they are the parents of two daughters, Sadie Madison Sandler (born 2006)^[20] and Sunny Madeline Sandler (born 2008).^[21] Sandler lives with his family in Los Angeles, but also owns homes in New York City and Florida.^{[citation needed]}

Political and charitable donations[link]

In 2007, Sandler made a $1 million donation to the Boys and Girls Club in his hometown, Manchester, New Hampshire.^[22] He donated $2,100 to Republican Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign the same year.^[23]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Awards[link]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Adam Sandler

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Adam Sandler

• Official website
• Adam Sandler at the Internet Movie Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Its only attribution is to IMDb, which may not be a reliable source for biographical information. Please help by adding additional, reliable sources for verification. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2008)

Vanessa Howard (born 1948) is a British former film actress. She married film producer Robert Chartoff in July 1970.

Filmography[link]

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1967) - Audrey
The Blood Beast Terror (1968) - Meg Quennell.
Corruption (1968) - Kate
A Promise of Bed (1969) - Barbara
Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly (1969) - Girly
Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969) - Hoyden
Some Girls Do (1969) - Robot Number Seven
All the Way Up (1970) - Avril Hadfield
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970) - Patricia Cartwright
What Became of Jack and Jill? (1972) - Jill Standish
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973) (TV) - Sybil Vane

External links[link]

• Vanessa Howard at the Internet Movie Database

Howard R. Paul (born November 15, 1960 in Petersburg, Virginia) is President/CEO of Benedetto Guitars, Inc., a company he co-founded with American luthier Robert Benedetto in June 2006 following Benedetto's departure from a seven year licensing agreement with Fender Musical Instruments Company. Benedetto Guitars was begun in 1968 and is an boutique American archtop guitar manufacturer internationally renown for building hand-carved instruments popular with jazz guitarists and collectors. The company is currently based in Savannah, Georgia and produces 150 to 300 instruments per year.

Paul, a professional guitarist and business man partnered with Benedetto following a ten year career as a US Army logistics officer (TC 1987-1996) and ten years as an executive with www.chathamsteel.com (1996-2006). He holds a BA in Political Science from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1984) and was commissioned as a lieutenant following completion Infantry Officer Candidate School in January 1987 and the US Army Transportation School. He served tours of Desert Storm assigned to 3rd Army HQ and Somalia attached to the 10th Mountain Division.

Paul's musical background began at age four in Northfield New Jersey with his first guitar. He began playing jazz at age ten and worked professionally beginning at age thirteen in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His recent work includes performances with pianist/composer Bob James, George Mesterhazy, guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, Jack Wilkins, Joe Beck, Andreas Oberg, Jimmy Bruno, Joe Negri, and Frank Vignola. He's performed in venues include The Savannah Jazz Festival and Savannah Music Festival, Smithsonian Jazz Cafe, The Jazz Corner (Hilton Head, South Carolina), The Jazz Kitchen (Indianapolis, Indiana), Kuumbwa Jazz Center (San Jose, California, Yoshi's (Oakland, California), and The Blue Wisp (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Silo Jazz (Napa, California). His recent recordings include Bob James & Howard Paul, Just Friends: The Hamilton Hall Sessions', and Ali Ryerson Trio, Jamin' At The Jazz Corner. He was inducted into the Savannah Coastal Jazz Hall of Fame in 2011.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)

Paul Nicholas
Background information
Birth name	Paul Oscar Beuselinck
Born	(1945-12-03) 3 December 1945 (age 66)
Origin	Peterborough, England
Genres	Pop, stage, screen
Occupations	Singer, actor
Years active	1960–present

Paul Nicholas (born 3 December 1945) is an English actor and singer. He started out with a pop career, but soon changed to musical theatre. Later, in the 1970s, he began a screen career. He returned to the pop charts, starring in the 1983 BBC TV sitcom Just Good Friends, for which he is best known. After the show ended, he returned to musical theatre and various other entertainment roles.

Biography[link]

Nicholas was born as Paul Oscar Beuselinck in Peterborough, England. His grandfather — who originated from Belgium — had been a chef in the merchant navy during World War II, before becoming Head Chef on The Union-Castle Line ships between England and South Africa. His maternal grandfather was a London docker.

Nicholas' father Oscar Beuselinck, a former MI6 agent, became a highly esteemed entertainment solicitor, whose clients included: MGM, Jack Hylton, John Osborne, The Rolling Stones, Tony Richardson, Richard Harris, Sean Connery, Yes, Robert Stigwood, and The Who.

The family spent holidays at his maternal grandparents' home on the Isle of Sheppey, until Nicholas was 10. After his parents divorced when he was 12, his father's family home was at Letchmore Heath, Watford opposite the Bhaktivedanta Manor. Nicholas' paternal grandparents, Winnie and Oscar, lived in a small cottage on the grounds.

Career[link]

Nicholas began his pop career as early as 1960. Adopting the stage name Paul Dean, he formed Paul Dean & The Dreamers ^[1] who were booked to support The Savages, the backing band for the British rocker, Screaming Lord Sutch. It was here that Sutch first noticed the young Nicholas, who was soon to become vocalist and pianist with The Savages.

Still using the name Paul Dean, Nicholas released two solo singles in 1965-66. After taking a new stage name, Oscar, he began a long association with the Australian-born entrepreneur, Robert Stigwood. In 1966, Nicholas signed with Stigwood's Reaction Records label and his first single under his new name, "Club of Lights", ^[2] scraped into the lower reaches of the Radio London Fab Forty chart.

The second Oscar single was a version of a Pete Townshend song "Join My Gang", which The Who never recorded. His third single, a novelty song called "Over the Wall We Go" (1967) is notable for being written and produced by a young David Bowie and it gained a degree of notoriety because of Bowie's tongue-in-cheek lyrics concerning escaped prisoners and incompetent policemen, which satirised a rash of highly publicised prison break-outs in the UK and was banned by the BBC.

After settling on the stage name Paul Nicholas, Nicholas eventually found success in the UK in musicals, beginning with the leading role of Claude in Hair (which Stigwood produced) before winning the title role in the original London production of Jesus Christ Superstar. The part of Danny to Elaine Paige's Sandy made them the first British couple to play the leads in Grease. He joined The Young Vic under Frank Dunlop and played Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing and appeared in Crete and Sgt. Pepper by John Antrobus. He appeared as the Bully of the Boulevard in Richard O’Brien’s T-Zee at London's Royal Court Theatre. He also performed in Prospect Theatre Company's Carl Davies musical Pilgrim. It was while touring with O'Brien in Hair in 1970 that he first heard songs from the yet to be produced Rocky Horror Show and made the first professional recording with O'Brien singing "That Ain't No Crime". On the b-side was a song entitled "Very 50s", where O'Brien introduces the characters Brad, Janet, and Dr. Scott (In 2005 Nicholas sent O'Brien a CD copy of the recordings with a view to releasing them as an historical record). Thereafter Nicholas returned to the West End starring in Harold Fielding's revival of Charlie Girl with Cyd Charisse.

Nicholas' film career began in 1970 in a French film with Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin called Cannabis. Whatever Happened To Jack and Jill followed, in which he played Mona Washbourne's character's ungrateful grandson. He followed this as a psychotic killer in Richard Fleischer's Blind Terror. In 1975, he gained international attention when he played the cameo role of the title character's sadistic Cousin Kevin in Robert Stigwood and Ken Russell's film Tommy. He worked again for Russell in Lisztomania, playing Richard Wagner.

In 1976, he embarked on a short-lived but high profile pop career, with three Top 20 hits in the UK Singles Chart "Reggae Like It Used To Be", "Dancing With The Captain", and "Grandma's Party", the last two of which reached the Top 10.^[3] He released the single "Heaven on the 7th Floor" in 1977. This only just reached the UK Top 40, but reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 listings in the US. He followed this with "On The Strip" which entered the Billboard Hot 100 but failed to enter the UK chart. In the mid 1970s he hosted his own pop show on children's TV, titled Paul.

In 1978, he co-starred in the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as Dougie Shears. Further films followed including Nutcracker with Joan Collins, Yesterday's Hero with Ian McShane and Susan Summers, The World Is Full of Married Men with Carol Baker, the romantic lead in Invitation To A Wedding, and the loutish punk singer in The Jazz Singer.

Having done the workshop with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Nicholas returned to the West End stage in 1981 to create the role of the capricious cat Rum Tum Tugger in Webber's musical Cats. He followed this originating the title role in Blondel by Sir Tim Rice and Stephen Oliver. That same year he starred in Two Up, Two Down, a short-lived sitcom co-starring Su Pollard. Then in 1983, Nicholas got his first high-profile television role (he had acted in plays and one-off roles through the 1970s on TV) in which he was cast as Vince Pinner in the BBC TV sitcom Just Good Friends, written by John Sullivan.

The show, for which Nicholas also sang the theme tune, was a success. He was also nominated for a BAFTA. It ended in 1986 with the marriage of the two main characters in Paris. Nicholas went on to star in two highly successful series for ITV. In the major drama series Bust he was nominated Best Actor. He acted in two series of Close to Home, a sitcom about a vet. During this period Nicholas was seldom off television with many appearances including four Royal Variety Shows. He also appeared in TV commercials for Rougemont Castle British wine, and magazine advertisements for Farah slacks.

Nicholas returned to the theatre playing numerous roles on screen in both movie and television projects. He starred as The Pirate King in Joseph Papp's version of The Pirates of Penzance at the London Palladium and the Manchester Opera House, touring again in the same role in the late 1990s. Nicholas starred in Barnum in the first national tour and followed this with a highly successful season at The Dominion Theatre in the West End. At the end of 1991, while touring with Barnum, Nicholas was the subject of This Is Your Life. For his services to show business and charity, Nicholas was awarded a Silver Heart from the Variety Club of Great Britain and a Gold Badge Award from BASCA. Nicholas then starred in the national tour of Singin' in the Rain, which was directed by Tommy Steele.

In June 1996, Nicholas played the role of King Arthur in the Covent Garden Festival’s production of Camelot. He repeated his role of King Arthur in a BBC Radio 2 production of Camelot. Other radio work included Gracie Field's husband Bert in BBC Radio 4's Gracie. Nicholas then hosted two series of BBC Radio 2's Mad About Musical', as well as his own hour long TV special, Paul and Friends, for Thames Television. Nicholas fronted the Radio 4 children's series Cat's Whiskers during the 1980s.

Nicholas was also the narrator of the children's animated series The Adventures of Spot, part of the Spot the Dog franchise, in 1985. Although he was briefly replaced by Peter Hawkins for the first phase of It's Fun To Learn With Spot, Nicholas reprises the role in time with the production of a second season of The Adventures of Spot in 1992, and also performed the narration for the second phase of It's Fun To Learn With Spot. His involvement with the franchise ended in 1996, with his last credited appearance in the series being in the special Spot's Magical Christmas. Such was Nicholas' association as the narrator of the franchise that he also narrated four stories featuring Spot the Dog that was released directly to cassette and CD in the late 1980s, and was also the voice featured on the Spot the Dog children's ride, which was first manufactured in 1995.

In 1997, Nicholas starred as the anti-hero of Karoline Leach's The Mysterious Mr. Love at the Comedy Theatre in London's West End. Nicholas continued to appear as the lead in numerous straight roles thereafter: Simon Gray's Stagestruck, a national tour of Michael Cooney’s The Dark Side with Jenny Seagrove, Catch Me if You Can with Christopher Eccleston, and two plays by Eric Chappell: Mixed Feelings, in which he played a transsexual, and Snakes and Ladders with Ian Ogilvy. Nicholas starred as John Smith in the original production of Caught In The Net. He then co-produced, with Bill Kenwright, a new musical based on Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities, in which he starred as Sidney Carton. The musical then played Windsor with a Christmas season in Birmingham.

In 2000, Nicholas appeared in the BBC television comedy drama Sunburn, playing the role of David Janus, owner of the self-titled holiday company that the series centered around. He also played the role of Ronnie Buchan in the new police drama series Burnside. Further television work followed with parts in The Bill and Holby City. Nicholas then played the title role in the national tour of Doctor Dolittle and followed this with the role of Tevye in UK Productions' national tour of Fiddler On The Roof.

In the summer of 2006, he was a celebrity showjumper in the BBC's Sport Relief event Only Fools on Horses, as well as appearing in Doctors, Heartbeat and Holby City. That autumn, Nicholas was attached to star in the British film Cash and Curry, and also in that year he co-produced and starred in the musical Jekyll & Hyde in a UK national tour.

In 2007, Nicholas and his business partner David Ian took part in a search for Danny and Sandy in the ITV1 show Grease is the Word. David Ian was a judge and Nicholas the acting coach to the contestants. He performed with his son Alex Beuselinck in Schwartz Stories, a new musical at the Kings Head. Also in 2007 Nicholas produced and directed Keeler, a new play based on Christine Keeler's autobiography 'The Truth At Last'.

At the beginning of 2007, Nicholas starred as Julian Marsh in the UK tour of 42nd Street, directed by the author Mark Bramble. Nicholas left prematurely so that he could film the new daily ITV1 medical series The Royal Today in which he played the consultant surgeon Mr. Woods. In 2008 Nicholas played Alan Boon in BBC Four's Consuming Passions - a hundred years of Mills and Boon. He also directed and produced A Tale of Two Cities at Upstairs at the Gatehouse. In 2009 Nicholas played Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard for the Carl Rosa Opera Company at the Tower of London Festival. He co-produced Jest End, Garry Lake's take on the West End musical at the Jeremyn Street Theatre. In 2010 Nicholas returned to BBC Television with an appearance in Missing. Nicholas undertook a UK tour playing the Pirate King in the Carl Rosa Opera Company production of The Pirates Of Penzance. In November 2010, Nicholas and Sean Maguire starred in a new play, The Haunting. The Haunting continued in 2011 with Nicholas and Charlie Clements. In September 2011 Paul will produce and direct a UK Tour of 'Keeler' a new play written by Gill Adams based on Christine Keeler's book 'The Truth At Last' starring Alice Coulthard as Christine Keeler. Nicholas will direct the musical 'Tale Of Two Cities' at the Charing Cross Theatre(Players)April/May 2012

Business[link]

In 1990 whilst starring with David Ian in a production of The Pirates of Penzance at the London Palladium, Nicholas offered Ian a partnership in co-producing and starring in a touring production of the New York Shakespeare Festival version of the popular Gilbert and Sullivan opera. Paul Nicholas & David Ian Associates Ltd were formed to produce the 20th anniversary production of Jesus Christ Superstar on a UK-wide tour, which sold out. They then produced a nightly fully staged version of The Pirates of Penzance in which Nicholas starred and again they sold out.^[4]

The company has since produced numerous shows making both partners millionaires, including:

• Jesus Christ Superstar - concert version
• Pirates Of Penzance - UK tour
• Grease - West End-Broadway - Tony Award nomination for Best Revival 2008
• The Rocky Horror Show - directed by Paul Nicholas
• Ain't Misbehavin' - West End
• Singin' in the Rain - UK tour
• Evita - UK tour
• Chess - UK tour
• Happy Days - UK tour
• Saturday Night Fever - at the London Palladium and Minskoff Theatre (NYC), Producer,co-adapter
• Tale of Two Cities - UK tour, Nicholas co-produced with Bill Kenwright
• Jekyll & Hyde - UK tour, Nicholas co-produced with UK Productions
• Keeler - produced and directed by Paul Nicholas 2007
• Tale of Two Cities - produced and directed by Paul Nicholas "Upstairs at the Gatehouse" 2008
• Grease US tour co-producer 2008/9, West End 2007-
• Jest End - musical parody, producer, Players and Jermyn Theatres London 2009
• Grease - South Africa/Far East Tour 2010, co-producer US&UK tours 2010/11
• Keeler (Play) Producer/Director UK Tour September/November 2011 http://keelertheplay.co.uk
• The Tale Of Two Cities (Musical) The Charing Cross Theatre April/May 2012 Director http://ataleoftwocitiesthemusical.co.uk/

School of acting[link]

In 2006 Nicholas set up a franchise operation, the Paul Nicholas School of Acting & Performing Arts, aimed at teaching acting to school-age children.^[5] There are currently thirty franchises across England.

In January 2008 Nicholas launched Paul Nicholas Community Arts, a project designed to engage disenfranchised children in the arts. The pilot scheme will be funded for fourteen weeks by Wyre Borough Council in the North West of England. A twelve week scheme began on the 28 May 2008 in Blackpool.

Personal life[link]

Nicholas has been married twice, and has six children. His first wife, Susan, died in a car accident in 1977. Nicholas married his second wife, columnist Linzi Beuselinck, in 1984.

Music charts[link]

Literature[link]

• Paul Nicholas (with Douglas Thompson): Behind the Smile autobiography, hardcover, 218 pages published in October 1999 by André Deutsch Ltd; ISBN 0-233-99748-2

References[link]

External links[link]

• Paul Nicholas at the Internet Movie Database
• Paul Nicholas discography at Discogs