Cinzano

Cinzano [tʃinˈtsano] is an Italian brand of vermouth, a brand owned since 1999 by Gruppo Campari. It comes in four versions:

History

Cinzano vermouths date back to 1757 and the Turin herbal shop of two brothers, Giovanni Giacomo and Carlo Stefano Cinzano, who created a new "vermouth rosso" (red vermouth) using "aromatic plants from the Italian Alps in a [still-secret] recipe combining 35 ingredients (including marjoram, thyme, and yarrow)". What became known as the "vermouth of Turin" proved popular with the bourgeoisie of Turin and, later, Casanova.

Cinzano Bianco followed, based on a different combination of herbs that included artemisia (wormwood), cinnamon, cloves, citrus and gentian; it was followed by an Extra Dry version. Exports began in the 1890s, to Argentina, Brazil and the USA, among others. In Paris in 1912, Cinzano was the first product to be advertised with a neon sign.

Joan Collins

Dame Joan Henrietta Collins, DBE (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Born in Paddington, west London, and brought up in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. After making her stage debut in A Doll's House at the age of 9, she trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. She then signed an exclusive contract with the Rank Organisation and appeared in various British films.

At the age of 22, Collins headed to Hollywood and landed sultry roles in several popular films, including The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955) and Rally Round the Flag, Boys! (1958). While she continued to make films in the US and the UK throughout the 1960s, her career languished in the 1970s, when she appeared in a number of horror flicks. Near the end of the decade, she starred in two films based on best-selling novels by her younger sister Jackie Collins: The Stud (1978) and its sequel The Bitch (1979).

She began appearing on stage, playing the title role in the 1980 British revival of The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, and later had a lead role in the 1990 revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives. In 1981, she landed the role of Alexis Carrington Colby, the vengeful ex-wife of John Forsythe's character, in the 1980s television soap opera Dynasty, winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 1982; she is credited for the success around Dynasty, which was the most-watched television show in America during the 1984-85 broadcast season. Collins also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983 for career achievement.

Leonard Rossiter

Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor with a long career in the theatre. His enduring popularity and fame came in particular from playing Rupert Rigsby in the British comedy television series and film Rising Damp from 1974 to 1980, and Reginald Perrin, in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin from 1976 to 1979.

Early life and stage work

Rossiter was born on 21 October 1926 in Wavertree, Liverpool, the second son of Elizabeth (née Howell) and John Rossiter. The family lived over the barber shop owned by his father. He was educated at Liverpool Collegiate Grammar School (1939–46). His ambition was to go to university to read modern languages and become a teacher. However, his father, who served as a voluntary ambulanceman during the Second World War, was killed in an air raid in 1942 and Rossiter had to support his mother. He therefore could not take up the place he had been offered at Liverpool University. Instead he did his National Service as a sergeant, initially in the Intelligence Corps, then in the Army Education Corps, spending much of the time in Germany writing letters home for other soldiers. After being demobbed he worked for six years as an insurance clerk in the claims and accident departments of the Commercial Union Insurance Company.