
Acting
Jess Conrad
Born 1936-02-24 · Brixton, London, England, UK
Jess Conrad (born Gerald Arthur James, 24 February 1936, Brixton, London) is an actor and singer from England. He was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s with a number of hits to his credit, "Cherry Pie", "This Pullover", "Mystery Girl" and "Pretty Jenny". He has recorded for Decca, Columbia, Pye President and EMI record labels. During the late 1950s and in to the mid 1960s Conrad appeared in a number of cult films, namely Serious Charge (uncredited), The Boys, Rag Doll, (filmed in 1960, and released in 1961); Kill 1 and Konga. He also featured in a cameo role in the Sex Pistols film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. Odeon recently re-issued one of his 1970s films on to DVD - Cool It Carol!. He appeared in the 1984 TV series of Miss Marple in the episode entitled The Body in the Library as Raymond Starr. He also starred in the 1990s film, The Punk And The Princess. A Freemason, he is a member of Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, the membership of which is made up of entertainers. Conrad has been married to wife Renee for over forty years. In recent years, Conrad has appeared in a number of documentaries and television programmes, often offering entertaining stories of violent encounters with other famous people. In a BBC Arena documentary about the legendary record producer Joe Meek, Conrad boasts of biting off part of the nose of singer Heinz during a confrontation backstage at a package show in the early 1960s.Similarly, in Sex, Secrets & Frankie Howerd, he tells of threatening to cut off comedian Frankie Howerd's ears, when Howerd made untoward advances to Conrad in a dressing room.
Acting credits
7.6A bawdy pantomime filmed during the sellout 1995 nationwide tour.
Sinderella Live
1995
6.7In 1908 London, a women's rights campaigner discovers the Assassination Bureau Limited, an organization that kills for justice. When its motives are called into question, she commissions the assassination of its chairman. Knowing that his colleagues have recently become more motivated by greed than morality, he turns the situation into a challenge for his board members: kill him or be killed.
The Assassination Bureau
1969
5.5A musical adaptation of Colin MacInnes' novel about life in late 1950s London. Nineteen-year-old photographer Colin is hopelessly in love with model Crepe Suzette, but her relationships are strictly connected with her progress in the fashion world. So Colin gets involved with a pop promoter and tries to crack the big time. Meanwhile, racial tension is brewing in Colin's Notting Hill housing estate...
Absolute Beginners
1986
5.5Set against a backdrop of early '60s London, Telstar is the story of the world's first independent record producer, Joe Meek. A maverick genius who enjoyed phenomenal success with Telstar – the biggest selling record of it's time – before bad luck, depression, heartbreak and paranoia led to his downfall.
Telstar: The Joe Meek Story
2008
6.9The true story of airman Douglas Bader who overcame the loss of both legs in a 1931 flying accident to become a successful fighter pilot and wing leader during World War II.
Reach for the Sky
1956
6.4Documentary chronicling the extraordinary life and tragic death of Mary Millington - Britain's most famous pornographic actress of the 1970s.
Respectable: The Mary Millington Story
2016
6.2Norman Truscott is a store worker who dreams of stardom. Vernon Carew is a singer whose star is fading. Vernon manages to get a recording of Norman singing and passes it off as himself.
Follow a Star
1959
7.5A night watchman at a garage is found murdered, and four teddy boys are put on trial for the crime. Witnesses and suspects give differing accounts of the lead-up to the crime, and the truth emerges.
The Boys
1962
6.4A rather incoherent post-breakup Sex Pistols "documentary", told from the point of view of Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, whose (arguable) position is that the Sex Pistols in particular and punk rock in general were an elaborate scam perpetrated by him in order to make "a million pounds."
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
1980
3.7In his quest to make the most realistic monster movie ever made, an insane movie director begins production on a film about a half-man half-octopus.
Mantopus
2025
5.7Actors rehearsing a show at a mysterious seaside theater are being killed off by an unknown maniac.
The Flesh and Blood Show
1972
4.4John Smith has been happily involved in a bigamous marriage for five years. He lives with Stephanie in Finsbury and Michelle in Stockwell. Fortunately, for John, he's a taxi driver which involves varying shift work! Simple? Well, when John unwittingly becomes a have-a-go hero and the Finsbury and Stockwell police forces discover something suspicious in their paperwork, John's happy bubble is about to be burst. The action of the movie takes place during the next hectic 24 hours as John, with the assistance of his gullible neighbor Gary, rush between North and South London attempting to thwart the police and prevent the two loving wives coming face to face!
Run For Your Wife
2012
5.5This movie debut for saucy British TV comic Benny Hill has Benny leaving his job as a sweeper after winning some money. He becomes a private detective and investigates a plot to assassinate British scientists.
Who Done It?
1956
5.5Barry, a wretched playboy, expects to get rich from the legacy of an uncle of his, the king of roast meat sauce, but his lawyer informs him that the secret of the sauce recipe has been lost along with his uncle, and there is nothing to inherit except for a small island in the Aegean - called Eftychia - where his uncle came from. A hotel keeper, Richard, is interested in the island and plans to create a tourist resort on it, so the two men come hastily to Greece to arrange the sale. On the island of Eftychia they meet a beautiful young teacher, Aliki, and her mother Anna, who are determined to stop foreigners and tourist development from coming to the island. Aliki's beauty and charm seduce Barry, while Richard is enslaved by the wonderful cooking of Anna. One day while they are tasting her food, Richard discovers that Anna possesses the secret of the famous sauce, by which Barry can really become rich. Thus the island is saved, and everyone celebrates their unexpected good fortune.
Aliki My Love
1963
4.4Dr. Decker returns from Africa after a year, presumed dead. In that year, he discovered a way of growing plants and animals to an enormous size. He brings back a baby chimpanzee to test out his theory. As he has many enemies at home, he decides to use his chimp, 'Konga', to 'get rid of them'. Then Konga grows to gigantic proportions and wreaks havoc all over London!
Konga
1961
5.5A British drama about a girl becoming a woman after she relocates to London. She and her young boyfriend become tempted by one of her older admirers money.
Rag Doll
1961
3.6A beautiful journalist will stop at nothing to get revenge for her daughter's murder. With no help from corrupt cops she decides to take the law into her own hands and joins a vigilante gang of gangsters and football hooligans to track down the sick, sadistic killers and get her justice....
Mob Handed
2016
3.8Tank is an investigative reporter and jailbird, framed on scant evidence supplied by the London mob. Helen is the sensuous call-girl who offers Tank ammunition and retribution. But, retaliation is swift and brutal, in the guise of Sir Robert Knights and his equally lethal lawyer, Dunboyne. A series of hideous murders follow as the devil protects his own. Only Malling and Helen can halt the onslaught. But, for how long, and at what price?
Tank Malling
1989
8.0On the run from the police, a female thief and her band of robbers take refuge on a desert island where they discover a mansion inhabited by a family whom they take hostage. One of the robbers falls for the couple's daughter.
Hell Is Empty
1967
6.2Howard Phillips, a vicar who's new in the town of Bellington, wants to reach out to youth. The previous vicar's daughter, Hester Peters, who fears being a spinster, wants to be his wife. He tells her he's not interested. When he confronts a tough kid about something the youth has done, the lad sets out to frame the vicar. Hester, who's walked in on the confrontation, backs the youth's story. The town sides with her and the lad, turning against Phillips. He has a crisis of faith. What options does he have; can no one help him, his reputation, or his calling?
Serious Charge
1959
8.0During the Cold War, a British family struggles to overcome cultural differences as they welcome two Russian social workers into their home for a visit.
Friends and Neighbours
1959
6.0Henry Jekyll was always the outsider, a bungling and awkward buffoon, relegated to waiting for his invitation to participate in life that never arrived: until he discovers a medical formula developed by a dead uncle, which claimed to turn 'a man of timid disposition into a bold, fearless dragon'. Taking a draught of the elixir Henry is transformed into suave, sophisticated and highly desirable Teddy Hyde. Armed with his new persona, Teddy is ready to face the world; but is Henry ready for the consequences?
The Ugly Duckling
1959
9.0Celebrating the life and career of legendary British blonde bombshell Diana Dors, who died in 1984. Friends remember her affectionately and film clips illustrate her big screen movie roles.
Blondes: Diana Dors
1999
5.6A naive couple leave their small town for success in London's adult entertainment culture.
Cool It, Carol!
1970