Paul Vaughan
Acting
Biography
Paul Vaughan was an English actor, author and voiceover virtuoso, known to millions as the “Horizon voice” on BBC2, as well as for Waking Ned Devine (1998), Threads (1984) and The Escapist (2008). His voice was his prize accomplishment, in professional use into his 80s, but it was not the only one. He matriculated at Oxford in 1943, reading English and French at Wadham College in two spells wrapped around national service in the Royal Engineers, finally emerging with a wartime degree. A lifelong clarinettist (self-taught from the recordings of Frank Teschemacher), he most enjoyed sitting in the midst of an orchestra and contributing to its sublime sound. His first books were spin-offs from his career as a medical journalist, including a history of the British Medical Association, and a study of the contraceptive pill (The Pill on Trial, 1972).
Known For
Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
Horizon
Documentary style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England; and the eventual long run effects of nuclear war on civilization.
Threads
Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict twelve years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined to make peace with her before it's too late. He develops an ingenious escape plan, and recruits a dysfunctional band of escapists - misfits with a mutual dislike for one other but united by their desire to escape their hell hole of an existence.
The Escapist
When a lottery winner dies of shock, his fellow townsfolk attempt to claim the money.
Waking Ned
A biographical film, in English throughout, telling the story of film director Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) from his childhood in Riga, Latvia to receiving the 'Stalin Prize' in Moscow. Based on his own writings, the film uses actual film clips of Eisenstein at various points of his life as well as photographs, illustrations and archival film of a variety of locations around the world. Eisenstein's talent as a satirical cartoonist and later an artist is particularly highlighted with many photographs of his work. Films discussed include "Strike", "Battleship Potemkin", "Oktober", "The old and the new", "Alexander Nevsky" and "Ivan the terrible". There is a detailed account of Eisenstein's world tour during which time he met and worked with other leading film-makers, writers and personalities including Einstein, James Joyce, D. W. Griffith and Walt Disney. Includes anecdote on his visit to High Table at Trinity College, Cambridge and its inspiration for a scene in 'Ivan the terrible'.
The Secret Life of Sergei Eisenstein
A tv documentary about a domestic hippo named Jessica and her love for sweet potatoes. Narrated by filmmaker John Waters.
Jessica the Hippo
A BAFTA award nominated documentary looking at the disease, and the current methods of treatment. It further stresses the importance of research into develop new and better treatments.
Leprosy
This is a country of gold, diamonds, and great natural wonders. An ancient land undergoing a dramatic political change. A place where wild animals and modern high-rise cities exist side-by-side, where great deserts contrast with lush farmlands. Visit Johannesburg a city built on gold, and Durban where spices of the East mingle with the influence of the Zulu people. View Cape Town from the summit of Table Mountain and fly over the dramatic Drakensburg Mountains. Take a photo safari at the Londolozi Game Reserve where elephants and lions roam freely in the African wilderness. Out of the conflicts of the past is emerging a new country, a land of amazing natural beauty; one of the world's best-kept secrets.