Betty Evelyn Box (25 September 1915 - 15 January 1999) was a prolific British film producer. Usually credited as Betty E. Box, she is considered one of the best of her generation, with a flair for making genuinely popular British films.^[1]

Born in Beckenham, Kent, she entered the motion picture industry in 1942, joining her brother Sydney Box and his wife Muriel at Verity Films, where she helped produce more than 200 wartime propaganda shorts. Following World War II, she made an easy transition to feature films, beginning with The Years Between in 1946. When her brother assumed control of Gainsborough Pictures that year, he named her Head of Production at the Poole Street, Hoxton studio, where she produced ten films during the next two years. While tight budgets and shooting schedules compromised the quality of some of them, others - such as When the Bough Breaks (1947) - proved to be among the most politically interesting films of the period. She was also known for the trio of popular Huggetts films, starting with Here Come the Huggetts in 1948 and followed by Vote for Huggett and The Huggetts Abroad in 1949.

When Gainsborough closed in 1949, Box moved to J. Arthur Rank's Pinewood Studios, where she collaborated with director Ralph Thomas on some thirty-odd films, including the highly successful Doctor series, beginning with Doctor in the House in 1954 and ending with Doctor in Trouble in 1970. The comedies contained a wacky irreverence which clearly struck a chord with contemporary audiences and helped to make stars of the young Dirk Bogarde and Donald Sinden.^[2]

Box was awarded the OBE in 1958. She was married to Peter Rogers, producer of the Carry On film series, from 24 December 1948 until her death. They did not have any children, but their godson was actor & theatre producer Marc Sinden, the son of Sir Donald Sinden, who starred for Betty Box in, amongst other films, Doctor in the House, Doctor at Large and Mad About Men.^[3] She died in Chiltern, Buckinghamshire aged 83 from cancer in 1999.^[4]

A posthumous autobiography Lifting the Lid: The Autobiography of Film Producer Betty Box was published in 2000.^[5]

Selected filmography[link]

• The Olive Tree (1975)
• Percy's Progress (1974)
• Percy (1971)
• Some Girls Do (1969)
• Deadlier Than the Male (1966)
• The Wild and the Willing (1962)
• Conspiracy of Hearts (1960)
• The 39 Steps (1959)
• A Tale of Two Cities (1958)
• Doctor at Large (1957)
• Mad About Men (1954)
• Doctor in the House (1954)
• A Day To Remember (1953)
• Venetian Bird (1952)
• So Long at the Fair (1950)
• It's Not Cricket (1949)
• Don't Ever Leave Me (1949)
• Miranda (1948)
• Dear Murderer (1947)

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/479395/
2. ^ Morley, Sheridan (1999). Dirk Bogarde: Rank Outsider. Bloomsbury (London) (second edition). ISBN 978-0-7475-4698-6.
3. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0801790/bio
4. ^ Deaths England and Wales 1984-2006
5. ^ ISBN 978-1-85776-489-5

Lifting the Lid by Betty Box, published posthumously in 2000

External links[link]

• IMDb page
• Betty Box biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline

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Parov Stelar aka Marcus Füreder (born November 27, 1974) is a musician^[1] who lives and works in Linz, Austria. He performs with his band — the Parov Stelar Band — and as a DJ worldwide. Parov Stelar is the head of Etage Noir Recordings.^[2]

Biography[link]

After gaining experience as a DJ at nightclubs during the mid-late 1990s, Parov Stelar got involved in producing and publishing in 2000 for the first time.

After early works under the pseudonym Plasma and his real name, and also being a partner of the label Bushido Recordings, in 2004 he started producing under the pseudonym Parov Stelar. In the same year he founded his own label: Etage Noir Recordings.

His first release, for Etage Noir, "KissKiss EP" and the soon after released LP  "Rough Cuts", provided him immediate breakthrough on the international electronic music scene. His specific approach to music production, combined with a proven sense of sound aesthetics, led to massive reaction of audience and colleagues all around the world, giving him reputation as the founder of a new genre: "electro swing" ^[3]

The following albums Seven and Storm, Shine and latest the double album Coco, as well as numerous singles and remixes made Parov Stelar one of the most wanted and successful artists of his kind. Parov Stelar's tracks have been used on more than 700 compilations (for example: Hôtel Costes, Buddha Bar, Electro Swing) and have been the soundtrack for numerous TV ads, TV shows, TV series and movies. In 2012, his retro-song "Booty Swing" was featured in the US television advertising campaign entitled "Just the Right Amount of Wrong" for the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas resort and casino.^[4]

The Parov Stelar Band[link]

After starting as a solo artist and gaining initial success, in 2005 Parov Stelar decided to expand his on-stage music with a full band. This collaboration with four (later five) musicians noticeably influenced his work. Since that time, the Parov Stelar Band has increased in popularity.

Current instrumentation of the Parov Stelar Band[link]

• Max the Sax aka Markus Ecklmayr (sax)
• Jerry Di Monza (trumpet)
• Cleo Panther (vocals)
• Willie Larsson Jr. (drums)
• Michael Wittner (bass)
• Parov Stelar (programming)

Former members of the Parov Stelar Band[link]

• Beate Baumgartner (vocals)
• Gianna Charles (vocals)
• Andi Lettner (drums)
• Eva Klampfer (vocals)
• Stefan Hölzl (bass)
• Wolf Myer (drums)

DJ sets[link]

Parov Stelar's DJ sets include live performance by his band members Markus Ecklmayr (Max The Sax) (sax) and Jerry di Monza (trumpet).

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2001: Shadow Kingdom LP (2x12" Vinyl & CD, Bushido Recordings, as Plasma)
• 2004: Rough Cuts (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2005: Seven and Storm (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2007: Shine (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2008: Daylight (CD, Rambling Records)
• 2009: That Swing - Best Of (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2009: Coco (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2012: The Princess (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)

EPs[link]

• 2001: Shadow Kingdom EP (12" Vinyl, Bushido Recordings, as Plasma)
• 2002: Lo Tech Trash (12" Vinyl, Bushido Recordings, as Marcus Füreder)
• 2004: KissKiss (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2004: Move On! (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2004: Wanna get (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2004: Primavera (12" Vinyl, Auris Recordings)
• 2005: Music I believe in (12" Vinyl, ~Temp Records, as Marcus Füreder)
• 2005: A Night In Torino (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2005: Spygame (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2006: Parov Stelar EP (12" Vinyl, Big Sur)
• 2006: Charleston Butterfly (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2007: Jet Set EP (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Special)
• 2007: Sugar (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2008: The Flame Of Fame (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2008: Libella Swing (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2009: Coco EP (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2010: The Phantom EP (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2010: The Paris Swingbox EP (Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2011: La Fête EP (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2012: Jimmy's Gang EP (Etage Noir Recordings)

Singles[link]

• 2000: "Synthetica/Stompin' Ground" (12" Vinyl, Bushido Recordings, as Marcus Füreder)
• 2001: "Guerrilla" (12" Vinyl, Bushido Recordings, as Marcus Füreder)
• 2004: "Get Up On Your Feet" (12" Vinyl, Sunshine Enterprises)
• 2005: "Faith" (Maxi-CD, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2007: "Rock For / Love" (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)
• 2007: "Shine" (Maxi-CD, Etage Noir Recordings)

Video clips[link]

• Seven (from the album Seven and Storm)
• Love (from the album Shine)
• Shine (from the album Shine)
• Matilda
• Coco
• Let's Roll
• The Phantom
• Jimmy´s Gang (from the album The Princess)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Parov Stelar at Discogs
• BBC music's review of his album Shine