Neil Hannon: 'I settled on Nile Rodgers; he's the coolest man alive, really...'

'I settled on Nile Rodgers; he's the coolest man alive, really...'

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The statue of Fred Perry at Wimbledon on the day of Andy Murray's victory

Why tennis establishment shunned Fred Perry, Britain's previous Wimbledon men's winner in 1936

When Andy Murray was asked, prior to the final, what Fred Perry might have told him going into the biggest match of his life, Murray quipped: "Why are you not wearing my kit?"

One Minute With: Susie Boyt, novelist

Where are you now and what can you see?

<p><em>Gloria Swanson (Norma Desmond): <strong>Sunset Boulevard</strong></em></p>
<p>“There’s nothing else. Just us, the cameras, and those
wonderful people out there in the dark!…All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for
my close-up.”</p>

Hollywood silences leading ladies as speaking roles for women slump

"Mr DeMille, I'm ready for my close up…now give me something to say." Speaking roles for women in Hollywood blockbusters have fallen to their lowest level in five years, a new report has found.

The Saturday Quiz answers

1. The sick man of Europe.

Kanin pictured in 2006 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills

Fay Kanin: Screenwriter who was blacklisted before becoming president of the Academy

Kanin was a true pioneer, who began her career when the film industry was dominated by men

'Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead' closer to number one spot as it reaches top five following Margaret Thatcher's death

Lady Thatcher’s death could propel The Wizard Of Oz track "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead to the top of the charts.

34. Matt Lucas; Comedian and actor

Pompidou: BBC backs Matt Lucas' 'original and ambitious' silent comedy

Comic Matt Lucas is to star in a silent comedy-style show for BBC1 - his first new character series without sidekick David Walliams.

Audrey Hepburn was an early proponent of the look

'I don't bite you know... unless it's called for' - Audrey Hepburn's chat-up line voted best in movie history (but men don't respond to it)

Audrey Hepburn turns to Cary Grant in 1963 film Charade and utters in a clipped, controlled voice, with only a raised eyebrow to indicate flirtation: "Won't you come in? I don't bite, you know...unless it's called for."

Brindley Sherratt and Katherine Manley get to know each other
in ENO's glitzy take on Medea, set in the Second World War

Classical review: Medea - Hello, sailor! The fleet's in and it's one hell of a show

All the nice girls love a sailor. But so do the mad girls and the bad girls. Exquisitely bored by the monotonous hum and click of sewing machines and knitting needles in a snowbound fishing village, Senta annihilates herself for love of the cursed hero of The Flying Dutchman. Enraged by rejection, and pressed on all sides by the complex politics of an uneasy military alliance, the sorceress Medea slaughters her children and poisons her rival to wring hot tears from the cold eyes of unfaithful Jason.

With the Christmas crowds gone and the schools back, you can soak up the heat in relative seclusion

Where's Hot? Port Antonio, Jamaica

Taking the temperature of travel

George Hurrell: Hollywood's icon maker

George Hurrell gave the Golden Age of Hollywood its glossy sheen and soft-focus seductiveness. He was the foremost publicity stills photographer of the day - a man responsible for creating icons.

The Big Six: Century-old sleeps

Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles

Weedon performs at a BBC concert in 1965; he was on the Light Programme almost daily for years

Bert Weedon: Musician whose 'Play in a Day' manuals inspired generations of guitarists

He persuaded his father to buy him his first guitar, for 15 shillings in London’s Petticoat Lane market

Album: Jack White, Blunderbuss (XL / Third Man)

Usually, when a team player strikes out on a solo project, it's a fair bet that the project, volitionally or not, will reveal more of the player's inner workings, allow a glimpse of their soul or spirit.

Career Services

Day In a Page

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Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end