Who's Who in Neath Port Talbot
Hywel
Bennett
Born in Garnant in the Amman Valley on April 8th, 1944 Hywel
Bennett went to Henry Horton Grammar School in London, became a
member of the National, Youth Theatre at the age of 14 and trained
at RADA.His TV appearances include an early showing in a Doctor Who
story in 1965 and as Willy the Swansea delinquent in Dennis
Potter's 1966 Where the Buffalo Roam and as Tom in the author's
1978 Pennies from Heaven.
Other small screen appearances include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier,
Spy, The Sweeney and Harper and Iles. Probably his best loved TV
role was as the intellectual layabout Shelley on Thames Television
in the 1970's.
Hywel was born into a Welsh-speaking family but forgot the
language when the family moved to London. When he appeared in the
Welsh thriller Night of the Hunter, which was filmed in English
first and then Welsh, he needed to pick his mother's brains for
help in playing the Welsh language scenes.
His theatre roles include Toad in Toad of Toad Hall, Marlowe in
She Stoops to Conquer, Prince Hal in Henry IV (Parts I and II) and
Andrei in Chekov's The Three Sisters. He was made an honorary
fellow of the Welsh College of Music and Drama in July
1997.
Michael
Bogdanov
Born in Neath in 1939 of Russian and Welsh parents Michael
Bogdanov is one of Britain's best-known theatre directors. He
studied in England, Ireland, Germany and France and has produced,
written and directed for television in England and Ireland, but his
primary interest has been the theatre. Among his many other
credits, he has directed eight productions for the RSC, among them
The Taming of the Shrew, for which he received a Director of the
Year Award in 1979. From 1980 to 1988 he was Associate Director of
the Royal National Theatre and during that time he also worked in
various theatres internationally. From 1989 to 1992 he was
Intendant of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg - the first
non-German to ever hold such a post.
In 1986 he co-founded the English Shakespeare Company as Joint
Artistic Director and in 1990 received the Laurence Olivier Award
for Best Director for a seven-play history cycle of The Wars of the
Roses.
Since 1992 he has continued to work throughout Europe and the
world including directing a 90-minute film based on The Tempest in
Wales in 1996. He has also returned to Wales to direct productions
at Theatre Clwyd, Mold.
Max Boyce
Max Boyce was born and raised in Glynneath where he still lives
with his family.
It was in this community that he was to find the rich vein of
humour evident in much of his work.
Over the last 25 years his songs and stories have become part of
Welsh folk culture and his Hymns and Arias has become a familiar
anthem whenever Wales is playing. In the last year a series of
hugely successful television appearances and sell out concerts have
been testimony to the enduring appeal and popularity of this unique
inspired entertainer.
Richard
Burton
Born in 1925 in Pontrhydyfen in the Afan Valley, his real name
was Richard Jenkins.
He was educated at the Port Talbot Secondary School in Port
Talbot where he met his English teacher, Philip Burton, whose
influence introduced him to the world of acting. He went on to
study at Oxford University.
He met his future wife, Elizabeth Taylor, in 1962 during the
making of the film that was to make him famous, Cleopatra.
In 1966 he won the British Academy Award for Best British Actor
for both his films, The Spy who came in from the Cold and Who's
afraid of Virginia Woolf. Some of his other notable films include
Where Eagles Dare and Anne of a Thousand Days as well as numerous
Shakespearean stage plays.
He died in Celigny, Switzerland in 1984.
Bruce
Dargavel
Born 1905. After leaving school at 14 he worked as a moulder in
a local factory before auditioning for the Carl Rosa Opera Company.
Despite never having any formal musical training they realised they
were listening to a special talent and snapped him up straight
away. His first professional part at the age of 24 was as Sylvio in
I Pagliacci and he went on to astound audiences in all the major
opera houses in Europe including Covent Garden and Dublin.
Conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham once went on record as saying Mr.
Dargavel had the finest baritone voice in the world.
Mr. Dargavel, who came back to his native Neath after his
retirement, was still performing well into his 70's. He died in
November 1985 at the age of 80.
Harry Parr
Davies
Harry Parr Davies, born in Briton Ferry in 1914, was a child
prodigy who had written many songs as well as operettas by the age
of 13.
He went on to compose songs for George Formby, Jack Buchanan,
Flanagan and Allen and Dame Anna Neagle amongst others. However,
it's as a songwriter ("Sing as you go" and "Wish me luck as you
wave me Goodbye") and accompanist to Gracie Fields that Harry Parr
Davies achieved his greatest fame. His tragic early death in 1955
at the age of 41 prevented his name from becoming as well known as
that other great 20th century Welsh songwriter Ivor
Novello.
Ivor Emmanuel
Pontrhydyfen is able to boast of another famous singer in Ivor
Emmanuel. Born in 1929 he began his singing career at two local
operatic societies, but a successful audition for the hit show
"Oklahoma" took him from his native Wales. A string of West End
musicals followed "South Pacific","The King and I", "Damn Yankees"
to name but a few. His famous television series "Land of Song"
spanned seven years.
A Royal Command performance and a part in the film "Zulu" led to
Broadway and the musical "How green was my valley". Over the years
he has made guest appearances on many famous shows including
Morecombe and Wise, Billy Cotton, Benny Hill, Tom Jones and Alma
Cogan.
Rebecca Evans
Pontrhydyfen born soprano Rebecca Evans is one of the world's
leading opera stars.
Hailed by the British Press in 1991 as the "Operatic Discovery
of the Year", she has performed at many of the world's most famous
opera houses including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and
played a number of major roles with the Welsh National Opera
Company.
Peter Hain
Although born in South Africa, Peter Hain has made his home in
Resolven since April 1991 when he became MP for Neath. Educated in
Queen Mary College, London and the University of Sussex his family
were forced to leave South Africa in 1966 due to their involvement
in the anti-apartheid movement.
Since becoming MP Peter Hain has held the office of Opposition
Whip (1995/96), Opposition spokesperson for employment (1996/97),
Under Secretary of State, Welsh Office (1997/99), Minister of
State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1999/2001 and has recently
been appointed Energy Minister. He has written a number of books,
including a novel "Political Connection" in 1995.
In Who's Who he lists his recreations as soccer, cricket, rugby
player, fan of Chelsea FC and Neath RFC and rock and roll music
fan.
Sir
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Anthony Hopkins is Wales' greatest living actor whose career
has spanned over thirty years.
He was born in Port Talbot in 1937, the son of a Taibach baker.
His career saw its beginnings at the local YMCA club. Educated at
Port Talbot's Central School, West Mon School, Pontypool and
Cowbridge Grammar School, he won a scholarship to the Cardiff
College of Music and Drama, where he studied for two years. RADA
trained from 1961 to 1963 he spent a few years working in rep with
various companies before, in 1965, he began working with Laurence
Olivier and the National Theatre.
His first real film was the 1958 The White Bus. His subsequent
films include Magic (1978), Elephant Man (1980), Mutiny on the
Bounty (1984), 84 Charing Cross Road (1986), The Silence of the
Lambs (1990), Howard's End (1991), Dracula (1992), The Remains of
the Day and Shadowlands (both in 1993) and Nixon (1995). In 1998 he
played opposite Swansea born Catherine Zeta Jones in The Mask of
Zorro. His performance as the cannibalistic Hannibal Lector in The
Silence of the Lambs won him not only the British BAFTA Best Actor
Award, but also the prestigious Hollywood Oscar for Best Actor.
He is a long-time resident of the United States and on April
12th, 2000 he became a US citizen. He has not forgotten his roots
and has made substantial donations to save Snowden for the nation
and has also made donations to the Welsh College of Music and Drama
and also to Port Talbot YMCA where his interest in acting first
began.
He is currently to be seen reprising the role of Hannibal Lector
in Hannibal, the sequel to The Silence of the Lambs.
Lord Howe
Lord Howe, formerly Sir Geoffrey Howe, was born in Penycae, Port
Talbot, in 1926, the son of a well known family.
Educated at Bryntirion School, Bridgend, he went on to win
scholarships to Winchester and Cambridge. He became a barrister in
1952 before being appointed a QC in 1965.
He entered Parliament in 1964 as MP for Bebington and later
served as MP for East Surrey from 1970-1992. He played an extremely
important part in politics serving in Margaret Thatcher's
government as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1979-83), Foreign
Secretary (1983-89) and Deputy Prime Minister between 1989-90.
He was elevated to the House of Lords in 1992 adopting the title
lord Howe of Aberavon.
Della Jones
Della Jones, one of Great Britain's leading mezzo-soprano has
appeared with all the major British opera companies and orchestras.
Foreign engagements have taken her throughout Europe, USA, Canada,
Japan, Hong Kong and Russia. She is a regular broadcaster on radio
and television and has made over seventy recordings of complete
operas, oratorios and recitals.
Ray Milland
Born in Neath in 1908, Ray Milland was the first Welsh actor to
win an Oscar. His real name was Reginald Truscott-Jones and as a
young man he joined the household cavalry at Buckingham Palace but
soon found the stage to be his career.
His most famous film "The Lost Weekend" won him an award for the
Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival as well as an Oscar. Other
films include "The Gilded Lily", "Beau Geste" as well as playing a
villain in Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder".
Ray Milland died in March 1986.
Sian Phillips
Sian Phillips was born on May 14th, 1934 at Ty Mawr farm, Betws,
a mountain farm high above Gwaun Cae Gurwen. She grew up being able
to read music and play the piano and was educated at Pontardawe
Grammar School, the University College of Wales, Cardiff and RADA
(where she won the Bancroft Gold Medal). Originally known as Jane -
her Welsh teacher at school, Eic Davies called her Sian. At the age
of 11 she won the National Eisteddfod for the first time and has
never stopped working since. In 1955 she began work as a BBC
newsreader and announcer and was a member of the BBC Repertory
Company.
She has since appeared in many TV productions including How
Green was my Valley, Off to Philadelphia in the Morning, Tinker,
Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People.
She has made a number of films, among them Becket, Goodbye,
Mr.Chips, Under Milk Wood and Age of Innocence.
She undertook her first professional singing role when she
appeared in Pal Joey in London's West End in 1981 and currently she
has been wowing West End audiences with her show Marlene; a tribute
to Marlene Dietrich where she sings fifteen songs. She has also
taken the show to Broadway.
One of her best known TV roles was the scheming Livia in the
1976 BBC production of I, Claudius for which she won a BAFTA award.
Other BAFTAs were given for best actress in How Green was my Valley
and for The Borrowers in 1992. In June, 2000 Sian was awarded the
CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honour's List.
Michael Sheen
Born in Newport on February 5th, 1969 Michael Sheen moved to
Port Talbot, where his family was from, at the age of eight. He
went to Glanafan Comprehensive School and joined West Glamorgan
Youth Theatre when he was fourteen years old and later the National
Youth Theatre of Wales.
Michael attended RADA where he won the Society of West End
Theatres/Laurence Olivier Bursary. In 1991 he was seconded from
RADA to play a young Greek pianist with Vanessa Redgrave in the
West End production of When She Danced.
Since then he has gone from strength to strength and won acclaim
for his many performances. At the National Theatre his credits
include "The Ends of the Earth", "The Homecomings", "Look back in
Anger" while his film credits include "Mary Reilly", "Othello" and
"Wilde".
After a successful season playing Mozart in "Amadeus" at the Old
Vic, and in 1999 he went on to play the same role in Los Angeles
and New York where he received rave reviews from the critics.
He is founder member of the theatre company Thin Language (set
up to do plays about Wales with Welsh actors) and directed them in
Badfinger at the Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden. He has also
founded a production company called The Foundry to encourage
especially the work of newer writers
Rachel Thomas
Black haired, pale skinned and with strong features, Rachel
Thomas will always be remembered as the archetypal Welsh Mam.
Born in Alltwen, Pontardawe on February 10th, 1905 her maiden
name was Rachel Roberts. She was educated at Ystalyfera County
School in the Swansea Valley and had a short career as a teacher
before marrying a headmaster called Howell J. Thomas.
Her father, a miner, encouraged her to sing and recite poetry at
the local eisteddfodau. Her first big break came in the 1930's when
she was heard on the radio reading a lesson from her local church.
The BBC was inundated with hundreds of callers wanting to know who
she was and Rachel was offered an audition.
She has appeared in such films as Proud Valley, The Captive
Heart, Blue Scar, David, and Undercover. She was in the 1959 film
Tiger Bay, and appeared with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in
the 1971 film of Under Milk Wood.
A Welsh-speaking Welshwoman she loved Wales and the Welsh
language passionately and appeared in the Welsh-language soap Pobl
y Cwm from 1974 to 1992.
Awards have been showered on her, in 1968 she was awarded the
OBE for services to Wales and in 1990 was created a member of the
Gorsedd y Bardd at the National Eisteddfod and a year later was
given the BAFTA Cymru Lifetime Achievement Award.
She died in Cardiff on February 11, 1995.
Viscount
Tonypandy
George Thomas, a former speaker of the House of Commons whose
cry of "Order, order!" in his distinctive lilting accent became a
British catchphrase, was born in Port Talbot, though brought up in
the Rhondda. He began his working life as a schoolmaster, but then
went on to become MP for Cardiff Central in 1945. He was Secretary
of State for Wales between 1968 and 1970 and later appointed
speaker of the House of Commons by Harold Wilson, a position he
held until retirement in 1983. He was elevated to the House of
Lords where he took the title Viscount Tonypandy.
A prominent lay preacher, Viscount Tonypandy often returned to
his home town to preach at the Trinity Methodist Church.
Andrew Vicari
Port Talbot born Andrew Vicari is recognised as one of the
world's most talented and exciting painters, whose works can be
found in major art collections and museums, both private and
public.
Now living in Monaco, Mr. Vicari has been court painter to the
Saudi Royal Family. He is currently working on depicting the Gulf
War through 200 paintings.
The son of Italian parents, some of Mr. Vicari's early work can
be seen at the former Tirmorfa Infants School, now Rhos Afan Welsh
Primary School, on the Sandfields Estate, where a mural featuring
pupils and staff was painted by him more than 40 years ago.
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Last Updated: 25.02.2009 at 17:05