Sad news: Michael Billington and Ed Bishop have died

[Lew Stringer]

Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the actors
Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv series) both died
this week. Michael Billington was also, of course, in the Prisoner
episode "A Change of Mind".

Full news:
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

[Alan Jones]

Post by Lew Stringer
Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the actors
Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv series) both died
this week. Michael Billington was also, of course, in the Prisoner
episode "A Change of Mind".
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

That is very sad news indeed. My thoughts are with their friends, family and
many, many fans.


--
Al

http://www.thepennyfarthing.com

[Lew Stringer]

Post by Alan Jones

Post by Lew Stringer
Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the actors
Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv series) both died
this week. Michael Billington was also, of course, in the Prisoner
episode "A Change of Mind".
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

That is very sad news indeed. My thoughts are with their friends, family and
many, many fans.
--
Al
http://www.thepennyfarthing.com

Six of One have just updated their site and added the news. It reads:
"Sad News: Prisoner actor Michael Billington passed away on June 3rd,
2005. (Date is reported incorrectly elsewhere.) We were asked to
wait to report the sad news, and we respected those wishes."

Inappropriate comments about who knew first aren't important. I'm sure
the news saddens *all* Prisoner fans, and at this time our thoughts
should, as Alan and Michele have aready said, be with Mr.Billington's
family, friends, and worldwide fans.

[redcat]

Post by Lew Stringer
Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the actors
Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv series) both died
this week. Michael Billington was also, of course, in the Prisoner
episode "A Change of Mind".
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

Oh, boy, that's very sad. RIP Michael and Ed.

Knocking on Heaven's Door just came on the radio.

cat

[numb6]

Inappropriate comments about who knew first aren't >important.

So why are YOU attacking Six of One over their reserved and humble
comments??? They are mourning their friend!!!

N6

[Lew Stringer]

Post by numb6

Inappropriate comments about who knew first aren't >important.

So why are YOU attacking Six of One over their reserved and humble
comments??? They are mourning their friend!!!
N6

I stand by what I said.

[Michele]

Post by Lew Stringer
Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the actors
Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv series) both died
this week. Michael Billington was also, of course, in the Prisoner
episode "A Change of Mind".
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

That is indeed sad news. UFO was one of my favorite shows. My thoughts
and prayers are with their family and friends.

Michele

[Ronster]

Post by Lew Stringer
Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the actors
Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv series) both died
this week. Michael Billington was also, of course, in the Prisoner
episode "A Change of Mind".
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

Sad and eerie, too, losing both in such a short space of time :-/

Not the way I had hoped to start the weekend.

Ronnie

[redcat]

Post by Ronster

Post by Lew Stringer
Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the actors
Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv series) both died
this week. Michael Billington was also, of course, in the Prisoner
episode "A Change of Mind".
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

Sad and eerie, too, losing both in such a short space of time :-/
Not the way I had hoped to start the weekend.
Ronnie

Damn, you know what makes it even sadder, if it could be any sadder,
that Michael Billington was just starting to attend shows and cons and
enjoy these little side trips that fame bestows. It sounds like he was
such a joyful, generous man.

Cat

[Lew Stringer]

Post by redcat
Damn, you know what makes it even sadder, if it could be any sadder,
that Michael Billington was just starting to attend shows and cons and
enjoy these little side trips that fame bestows. It sounds like he was
such a joyful, generous man.
Cat

I know what you mean. It is good though that he had attended these
events to discover how well respected his work has been. Same goes for
Ed Bishop, who has attended a few of the huge Memorabillia Shows over
the past few years. At least they knew their careers were respected,
and that their performances were remembered and appreciated. Like you
say, from all accounts Mike Billington sounds like he was a very nice
person. It's good that he was able to connect with his fans at such
events and I'm sure those who met him will remember him fondly.

[Ivor Jones]

Post by redcat

Post by Ronster

Post by Lew Stringer
Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the
actors Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv
series) both died this week. Michael Billington was also, of
course, in the Prisoner episode "A Change of Mind".
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

Sad and eerie, too, losing both in such a short space of time :-/
Not the way I had hoped to start the weekend.
Ronnie

Damn, you know what makes it even sadder, if it could be any sadder,
that Michael Billington was just starting to attend shows and cons
and enjoy these little side trips that fame bestows. It sounds like
he was such a joyful, generous man.

I saw him at Portmeirion at the last 6o1 event (yes, I know, but I was in
the area on a bike ride..!) and although he looked a little off colour he
was very cheerful and chatting with everyone.

I have most of UFO on tape somewhere, I must start re-watching them.

Ivor

[Rick Davy]

Post by Lew Stringer
Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the actors
Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv series) both died
this week. Michael Billington was also, of course, in the Prisoner
episode "A Change of Mind".
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

Very sad news indeed. UFO is one of my all-time favourite series, due in no
small part to those 2 fine actors. RIP.

Rick
http://www.theunmutual.co.uk

[Brian Watson]

Post by Lew Stringer
Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the actors
Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv series) both died
this week. Michael Billington was also, of course, in the Prisoner
episode "A Change of Mind".
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

It made the alt.obituaries ng yesterday and immediately elicited several
postings expressing scepticism and disbelief.

Sadly, it appears not to be a hoax.

Ed Bishop was acting with his customary style and panache until quite
recently and Michael Billington popped up on radio quite often too.

[Bill Sherren]

Sad news indeed.
I remember seeing Ed Bishop at an early Fanderson saying how once when he
was between jobs, he did some casual decorating work. While he was in a
family's house they had to rush off to watch their favourite show "UFO"
never realising that Straker was doing up their house! :)
I see that cancer was the cause of Michael Billington's death. Having lost
my sister Kate only this May of cancer it is such a awful and tragic loss,
and cuts short too many lives.

bill

[redcat]

Post by Bill Sherren
Sad news indeed.
I remember seeing Ed Bishop at an early Fanderson saying how once when he
was between jobs, he did some casual decorating work. While he was in a
family's house they had to rush off to watch their favourite show "UFO"
never realising that Straker was doing up their house! :)
I see that cancer was the cause of Michael Billington's death. Having lost
my sister Kate only this May of cancer it is such a awful and tragic loss,
and cuts short too many lives.
bill

Condolences from a stranger, Bill. Best wishes to you and your family
during this very rough time.

Great memory from Ed Bishop! Here I thought I was the only one who
didn't recognize actors when I pass them on the street.

Cat

[Ivor Jones]

redcat wrote:

[snip]

Post by redcat
Great memory from Ed Bishop! Here I thought I was the only one who
didn't recognize actors when I pass them on the street.

How do you know if you pass them if you don't recognise them..?!!

Ivor

[redcat]

Post by Ivor Jones
[snip]

Post by redcat
Great memory from Ed Bishop! Here I thought I was the only one who
didn't recognize actors when I pass them on the street.

How do you know if you pass them if you don't recognise them..?!!
Ivor

Because my husband then says to me, "Do you know who that was?" :-)

Otherwise, I'm lost. OK, I did recognize Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis,
Yoko Ono, Art Garfunkle and other biggies. But otherwise I see people
and I think, "oh, she looks familiar." but I don't know from where --
the building or TV!

Cat

[Ivor Jones]

Post by redcat

Post by Ivor Jones
[snip]

Post by redcat
Great memory from Ed Bishop! Here I thought I was the only one who
didn't recognize actors when I pass them on the street.

How do you know if you pass them if you don't recognise them..?!!
Ivor

Because my husband then says to me, "Do you know who that was?" :-)
Otherwise, I'm lost. OK, I did recognize Dustin Hoffman, Geena
Davis, Yoko Ono, Art Garfunkle and other biggies. But otherwise I
see people and I think, "oh, she looks familiar." but I don't know
from where -- the building or TV!

I get that when I watch a programme. I see someone and I think "I know
that face" but I can't remember who it is. So I wait until the end and
then what..?

You guessed it, they squeeze the credits into a quarter of the screen so
they can show a trailer for something in which I have no interest
whatsoever, and I can't read the name..! Grrrrrr....!!!!

Or the American favourite (sorry, favorite..!) of showing just the actor's
name and not associating it with the character's name...

Ivor

[redcat]

redcat wrote:>>
Or the American favourite (sorry, favorite..!) of showing just the actor's
name and not associating it with the character's name...
Ivor

I hate that. Remember the good old days when they'd show the actor as he
or she appears in a scene and has the person's name associated with this
clip? I seem to recall Casino Royale had this.

Now in America what they do is at the end of a show they whack the
credits into a small box at the side of the screen -- too tiny AND too
swiftly scrolled to read, while a talking head taking up the lion's
share of the screen gives you a soundbite about why you should stay
tuned for the news. It's madness.

Cat

[g***@aol.com]

Post by redcat

redcat wrote:>>
Or the American favourite (sorry, favorite..!) of showing just the actor's
name and not associating it with the character's name...
Ivor

I hate that. Remember the good old days when they'd show the actor as he
or she appears in a scene and has the person's name associated with this
clip? I seem to recall Casino Royale had this.
Now in America what they do is at the end of a show they whack the
credits into a small box at the side of the screen -- too tiny AND too
swiftly scrolled to read, while a talking head taking up the lion's
share of the screen gives you a soundbite about why you should stay
tuned for the news. It's madness.
Cat

As Ivor said, they do that here to, only here it's a soundbite (without
talking head) about why you should stay tuned for "Celebrity Wrestling"
or "Celebrity Love Island" or "Celebrity Turdspotting"

For Mrs Cat's benefit, as she doesn't get to see the shows, I must
confess that one (but only one) of those titles (the other two being
from one of our five universally available mainstream channels) was
made up (although ISTR we did get "Celebrity Detox" in which various
"popular", i.e. newspaper-filling, nonentities examined their own poo,
on screen - damn, I've just given the answer away). Next time you hear
someone say "British TV's the best in the world", just bear this in
mind. At its best, it might well be, but at it's worst, we're down
there in the gutter with everyone else. Please don't get me started on
the new-look BBC weather forecast.
Gareth

[Lew Stringer]

Post by g***@aol.com
For Mrs Cat's benefit, as she doesn't get to see the shows, I must
confess that one (but only one) of those titles (the other two being
from one of our five universally available mainstream channels) was
made up (although ISTR we did get "Celebrity Detox" in which various
"popular", i.e. newspaper-filling, nonentities examined their own poo,
on screen - damn, I've just given the answer away). Next time you hear
someone say "British TV's the best in the world", just bear this in
mind. At its best, it might well be, but at it's worst, we're down
there in the gutter with everyone else. Please don't get me started on
the new-look BBC weather forecast.
Gareth

Remember about 10 years ago when UK clip shows hosted by Clive James
would sneer at the extreme progs from other countries? "It could never
happen here" was the sort of snooty attitude they had. Well, it *has*
happened here, once again proving that people are alike all over and
that you can never under-estimate how low some will go just to get on
tv.

[Des]

<***@aol.com> wrote in message news:***@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
. Please don't get me started on

Post by g***@aol.com
the new-look BBC weather forecast.
Gareth

I just wish they could explain how they expect to present a readable weather
forecast without isobars.
I want my isobars back.

Des.

[Ivor Jones]

Post by g***@aol.com
. Please don't get me started on

Post by g***@aol.com
the new-look BBC weather forecast.
Gareth

I just wish they could explain how they expect to present a
readable weather forecast without isobars.
I want my isobars back.
Des.

Bring back the magnetic letters, I say. Sorry about the F in fog..!

Ivor

[David Mackenzie]

On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 11:08:47 +0000 (UTC), "Des"

Post by g***@aol.com
. Please don't get me started on

Post by g***@aol.com
the new-look BBC weather forecast.
Gareth

I just wish they could explain how they expect to present a readable weather
forecast without isobars.
I want my isobars back.

The weather report on the Scottish news not only shows the isobars (on
a flat map!) but tells important information for hill climbers,
skiiers and sailors.

[redcat]

***@aol.com wrote:
. Please don't get me started on

Post by g***@aol.com
the new-look BBC weather forecast.
Gareth

I wasa there at its birth! It was dizzying -- and gave no more weather
information than before.

Of course, here in NYC, they get it wrong as many times as they get it
right.

And I've learned that as soon as there's a crawl warning about
"dangerous storms" in the area that those storms are well gone.

Celebrity Detox? Why not just call it Celebrity Poo?

cat

[Des]

Post by g***@aol.com
. Please don't get me started on

Post by g***@aol.com
the new-look BBC weather forecast.
Gareth

I wasa there at its birth! It was dizzying -- and gave no more weather
information than before.

No, it only appears to give more information than before. If it doesn't
display situation charts showing the isobars, then it can't be delivering
the same amount of quality data that can be interpreted further than the
comments on the display or from the meteorologist.

Once upon a time we got satellite photos, a talk from Bill Giles and an
explanation of the weather patterns worldwide. We could plot the storm
fronts spinning anticlockwise around the depressions and clockwise around
the high-pressure zones. The world weather pattern was easily read.

One of the depressing aspects of UK weather in recent years is the regular
formation of a "mid Atlantic high" which blocks weather patterns leaving us
British on the fringes, in the rain shadow while France bakes and (last
Summer at least) thousands die. TV meteos try not to talk about it, if only
because to do so is to cause Australia House to get swamped with phonecalls
from would-be escapers.
This new weather format is very convenient for those who don't want us to
connect changing weather patterns with other nation's failure to support the
Kyoto accords. All our weather comes from the West.

I wouldn't be surprised if the new format was adopted by broadcasters
right across the NATO countries. I wonder if they'll have any choice.

Des.

Post by g***@aol.com
cat

[Des]

Post by g***@aol.com
. Please don't get me started on

Post by g***@aol.com
the new-look BBC weather forecast.
Gareth

I wasa there at its birth! It was dizzying -- and gave no more weather
information than before.

Typo, or rather my clumsy choice of words; this is clearer, I hope.


No, you are dead right that it only appears to give more information than
before. If it doesn't display situation charts showing the isobars, then it
can't be delivering the same amount of quality data that can be interpreted
further than the comments on the display or from the meteorologist.

Once upon a time we got satellite photos, a talk from Bill Giles and an
explanation of the weather patterns worldwide. We could plot the storm
fronts spinning anticlockwise around the depressions and clockwise around
the high-pressure zones. The world weather pattern was easily read.

One of the depressing aspects of UK weather in recent years is the regular
formation of a "mid Atlantic high" which blocks weather patterns leaving us
British on the fringes, in the rain shadow while France bakes and (last
Summer at least) thousands die. TV meteos try not to talk about it, if only
because to do so is to cause Australia House to get swamped with phonecalls
from would-be escapers.

This new weather format is very convenient for those who don't want us to
connect changing weather patterns with other nation's tremendous plumes of
pollution. All our weather comes from the West.

I wouldn't be surprised if the new format was adopted by broadcasters
right across the NATO countries. I wonder if they'll have any choice.

Des.

Post by g***@aol.com
cat

[Bill Sherren]

Post by redcat
Condolences from a stranger, Bill. Best wishes to you and your family
during this very rough time.

Thanks Cat

bill

[Rick Davy]

Post by Lew Stringer
Heard some very sad news tonight. In a tragic coincidence, the actors
Michael Billington and Ed Bishop (stars of the UFO tv series) both died
this week. Michael Billington was also, of course, in the Prisoner
episode "A Change of Mind".
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/news.html#EdandMike

There is an obit for Mr Billington in today's Independent.

Rick