Jenny Geddes is the name tradition gives to a street fruit-seller, who, during the tumult in St Giles' Church, Edinburgh, in July 1637, when the dean attempted to introduce the Episcopalian service-book, threw her stool at his head exclaiming, 'Villain! dost thou say mass at my lug?' (translates as 'Uneducated peasant! Do you preach mass at me?') This tumult led to events which annulled Episcopacy and restored Presbyterianism. The honour of the exploit has been claimed for a Barbara Hamilton, wife of John Mein, merchant in Edinburgh, but Jenny Geddes, the street fruit-seller's claim, has always been the popular one, and a memorial brass was placed in St Giles to her memory. Research Jenny Geddes
Peter Rachman was a Polish-born British property racketeer, villain and pimp. He was born in 1919 and died in 1962. Coming to England in 1956 he first acted as a property agent locating property for prostitutes to rent in London and then later speculated in rented one-bedroom slum properties, evicting tenants by intimidation, renting properties to prostitutes and running prostitutes himself. The term rachmanism meaning exploitation or intimidation of a slum tenant by an unscrupulous landlord derives from his name. Research Peter Rachman
Originally the term villain meant a simple person, a peasant, someone unsophisticated and uneducated. Now the term refers to an unprincipled, depraved person and by extension, colloquially a criminal. Research Villain
Judge Reinhold is an American actor. He was born in 1957. Following his training at the North Carolina School of the Arts, actor Judge Reinhold worked in regional repertory, dinner theatres and 'outdoor' dramas. He gained prominence playing television roles as gawky teenagers, notably the lead in the syndicated 'Capital Cities Special' 'A Step too Slow'. In films from 1979, Reinhold's first major role was high schooler Brad in Fast Times at Ridgemont Hight. He gained recognition in 1984, playing the nice-guy detective sent to trail Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop. Though he has proven a convincing villain when the need has arisen, Judge Reinhold has thrived in parts calling for decency and dependency. Reinhold's career slowed down a bit during the 1990s and in the early part of the decade he seemed destined to be relegated to B movies and television films such as ' Four Eyes and Six Guns' produced in 1993, but in 1994, he appeared in two major features, ' Beverly Hills Cop III' and 'The Santa Clause'. Research Judge Reinhold
Michael Lonsdale is a French actor. He was born in 1931 at Paris. He co-starred in the role of the villain 'Hugo Drax' in the 1979 James Bond film 'Moonraker'. Research Michael Lonsdale
Walter Long was an American actor. He was born in 1879 at Milford, New Hampshire and died in 1952. He was a heavyset character player of the American screen, typically as a snarling, evil-eyed villain. On screen from 1914, he had his start in the films of D.W. Griffith. He is memorable for his many confrontations with Laurel and Hardy in several of their comedy shorts of the early 1930s. Research Walter Long
The Love Bug is a comedy starring Bruce Campbell, Micky Dolenz, John Hannah, Alexandra Wentworth and Dean Jones in a story about a race car driver who becomes a champion with a Volkswagen beetle with a mind and life of its own while coping with an evil villain who creates his own evil version of the car. The Love Bug was directed by Peyton Reed in 1997. Research The Love Bug
The Love Bug is a comedy starring Bruce Campbell, Micky Dolenz, John Hannah, Alexandra Wentworth and Dean Jones in a story about a race car driver who becomes a champion with a Volkswagen beetle with a mind and life of its own while coping with an evil villain who creates his own evil version of the car. The Love Bug was directed by Peyton Reed in 1997. Research The Love Bug
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
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