Rula Lenska
Birthday: Born in 1947-09-30 in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
Deathday: Alive
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Rula Lenska (born Róża Maria Leopoldyna Łubieńska, 30 September 1947) is an English-Polish actress. She mainly appears in British stage and television productions, but is known in the United States for a series of commercials for Alberto VO5 hairspray in the late-1970s and early-1980s. Lenska was born at St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, England. Her family are members of the Polish nobility, and bearers of the Pomian coat of arms. They once owned a castle and estate in Kazimierza Wielka, Poland. Her father, Major Count Ludwik Łubieński, was personal secretary to Józef Beck, Minister for Foreign Affairs in Poland before the Nazi occupation of the country. Later, he became adjutant to General Władysław Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish Government in Exile and chief of the Polish military mission in Gibraltar during World War II. Łubieński later became head of the CIA-funded Polish Section of Radio Free Europe in Germany during the Cold War. Her mother was Countess Elżbieta Tyszkiewicz who escaped from Poland during the Nazi occupation, to Italy, but was captured with her own mother and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp where they survived for two years. Lenska was educated at the Ursuline Convent School in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent. Her big break was as Little Ladies' band member, "Q", in the British TV series Rock Follies (1976) and its sequel, Rock Follies of '77, the following year. By this time, she had renounced her title as a Polish countess. Lenska appeared in advertisements for the hair product Alberto VO5, which were shown on US television. Though Lenska was a popular actress in the UK, she was virtually unknown in the United States. In a Tonight Show monologue broadcast after the commercials started running, Johnny Carson asked "Who the hell is Rula Lenska?" and began using Lenska's name as a running joke on his show. Around the same time, Jane Curtin played Lenska in a sketch on Saturday Night Live.
TV Credits
Doctor Who
Character: Styles
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs....
Minder
Character: Natasha
This comedy drama series featured Terry McCann, a former boxer with a conviction for G.B.H., and Arthur Daley, a second-hand car dealer with an eye for a nice little earner. Alongside his many business ventures, Arthur would regularly hire Terry out as a minder or bodyguard, later replaced by nephew, Ray Daley....
Take a Letter, Mr. Jones
Character:
Take a Letter, Mr. Jones was a short-lived British sitcom from Southern Television starring John Inman and Rula Lenska which aired in 1981....
Robin of Sherwood
Character: Morgwyn of Ravenscar
Robin of Sherwood was a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 1984 to 1986 on the ITV network. In America it was retitled Robin Hood and shown on the premium cable TV channel Showtime and on PBS. The show starred Michael Praed and Jason Connery as two different incarnations of the title character. Unlike previous adaptations of the Robin Hood legend, Robin of Sherwood combined...
Rock Follies
Character:
Rock Follies, and its sequel, Rock Follies of '77, was a musical drama shown on British television in the 1970s. The storyline, over 12 episodes and two series, followed the ups and downs of a fictional female rock band called the "Little Ladies" as they struggled for recognition and success. The series starred Rula Lenska, Charlotte Cornwell and Julie Covington as the Little Ladies, with support from Emlyn Price, Beth Porter, Sue Jones-Davies, Stephen Moore and Little Nell among others. The ser...
Private Schulz
Character: Gertrude Steiner
Private Schulz is a BBC television comedy drama serial set mostly in Germany, during and immediately after World War II. It stars Michael Elphick in the title role and Ian Richardson playing various parts. Other notable actors included Tony Caunter, Billie Whitelaw, Billy Murray and Mark Wingett. Over six one-hour episodes, it tells the story of a German fraudster and petty criminal who is forced against his will to serve in the SS. In a story based on the real, though unrealised, plot by the G...
GMTV
Character: Self
GMTV is the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end. The final edition of GMTV was broadcast on 3 September 2010....
Minder
Character: Kate
This comedy drama series featured Terry McCann, a former boxer with a conviction for G.B.H., and Arthur Daley, a second-hand car dealer with an eye for a nice little earner. Alongside his many business ventures, Arthur would regularly hire Terry out as a minder or bodyguard, later replaced by nephew, Ray Daley....
Minder
Character: Sandra Last
This comedy drama series featured Terry McCann, a former boxer with a conviction for G.B.H., and Arthur Daley, a second-hand car dealer with an eye for a nice little earner. Alongside his many business ventures, Arthur would regularly hire Terry out as a minder or bodyguard, later replaced by nephew, Ray Daley....
Casualty
Character: Circus Owner
Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives....
The Detectives
Character: Duchess
The absurd adventures of two defective detectives, who - despite unbelievable incompetence - somehow manage to solve their cases (or be nearby when the cases are solved) and retain their jobs....
Return of the Saint
Character: Diana Lang
Follow the swashbuckling exploits of Simon Templar, a modern-day Robin Hood of sorts....
Ideal
Character: The Red King
Sitcom about a small-time dope dealer and his strange collection of acquaintances....
Celebrity Big Brother
Character: Self - Contestant
Celebrity Big Brother is a British reality television game show in which a number of celebrity contestants live in an isolated house trying to avoid being evicted by the public with the aim of winning a large cash prize being donated to the winner's nominated charity at the end of the run....
Inside No. 9
Character: Celia
An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales, each one taking place behind a door marked 'number 9'....
Space: 1999
Character: Joan Conway
The crew of Moonbase Alpha must struggle to survive when a massive explosion throws the Moon from orbit into deep space....
Cluedo
Character: Mrs. Peacock
Cluedo was a UK television game show based on the board game of the same name. Each week, a reenactment of the murder at the stately home Arlington Grange of a visiting guest was played and, through a combination of interrogating the suspects and deduction, celebrity guests had to discover who committed the murder, which of six weapons and in which room it was committed, whilst viewers were invited to play along at home....
Movie Credits
Gypo
Character: Irina
Gypo is the story of a working class family in Margate, Kent, a town where immigrants have become the focus of most of the public's discontent. The film tells the story of the a couple of weeks in this family's life, beginning when a young Czech girl, Tash, comes to visit. The film is made in the Dogme95 tradition, so no costumes, no lighting, no props or sets, which gives the film a gritty texture appropriate to the story....
Jack Says
Character: Garvey
Jack struggles with memory loss while he seeks revenge....
Agatha Christie's Seven Dials Mystery
Character: Countess Radzsky
When two mysterious deaths mar an otherwise pleasant weekend in the English countryside, unflappable flapper Lady Eileen Brent teams up with the dashing Jimmy Thesinger to solve the dastardly deeds. Their sleuthing leads them into a world of espionage and international intrigue as they discover a secret society known as "The Seven Dials" and the attempted theft of top-secret government documents....
Queen Kong
Character: Luce Habit
A female film crew journeys to Africa where a giant ape, Queen Kong, falls in love with the crew's male star....
Alfie Darling
Character: Louise
Alfie meets his romantic match when the modern-day Casanova falls in love with a career woman. Alfie soon realises that Abby, a magazine editor, is just as romantically ruthless as he is....
Alice in Terrorland
Character: Beth
A recently bereaved teenage girl goes to live with her aunt in a secluded woodland house, unaware that sinister forces lurk within....
The Huntress of Auschwitz
Character: Amelia Kaminska
A young American girl travels to Europe to track down the Nazi guard responsible for the murder of her great-grandparents....
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Character: Narrator (voice)
A modern day retelling of Oscar Wilde’s cautionary tale, it follows actress Dorian as she travels to Matera to be tutored by reclusive screen icon Lady Amelia Wotton for her upcoming Broadway debut as Lady Macbeth. When Wotton asks her granddaughter Evie to photograph Dorian, the girls grow close but is their relationship as innocent as it appears to be, or is there a more sinister curse at work?...
Wolf Manor
Character: Maleva
Shooting a vampire flick in an old, abandoned manor house should have worked like a dream, but the film crew is out of their depth, over schedule and desperate to get the shoot finished and go home. However, as the moon turns full, the nightmare begins. Blood flows and the body count rises as cast and crew meet the manor’s resident werewolf…...
An Audience with Dame Edna Everage
Character:
Dame Edna Everage takes questions from a celebrity audience about her life and career....
The Winter Witch
Character: Omi
At the behest of her boss, journalist Ingrid returns to her ancestral home when several children are found slaughtered in nearby woodland. With the village suspecting the infamous Winter Witch, together with daughter Eleanor and estranged grandmother Omi, Ingrid must uncover the truth and stop the curse of Frau Perchta once and for all....
Jesus
Character: Herodias (scenes deleted)
Three and a half years of Jesus' ministry, as told in the Gospel of Luke....
Oh, Little Spark!
Character: Janina/Babcia
During a weekend together, a grandson's obsession with his Polish grandmother's wartime memories causes a rift in their relationship as a tragic secret is revealed and they must confront the finality of death and the legacy of those traumas....
Aubrey
Character: Mabel Beardsley
A biographical portrait of pen-and-ink artist, Aubrey Beardsley....
Bait
Character: Linda
Two women who dream of opening their own café in a work-depressed northern town go to the wrong person for a loan. Unable to meet the payment demands, the hardened duo take bloody retribution....
To the Manor Born: Britain's Best Loved Comedy
Character: Self-Mlle Dutoit
A feature-length special retrospective of one of Britain's most beloved sitcoms, with new and archival interviews and footage examining the production and enduring cultural impact of the BBC's 'To the Manor Born'....
Soft Beds, Hard Battles
Character: Louise
In this comedy, set during the Nazi occupation of France, Peter Sellers plays most major male parts, so he stars in nearly every scene, always bumbling in inspector Clouseau-style....
It Could Happen to You
Character: Rita
An educational film about the perils associated with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The drama is interspersed with scenes of a medical adviser directly addressing the camera giving advice and information about STDs....
The Deadly Females
Character: Luisa
Toothsome Tracy Reed (remember her in Dr. Strangelove and A Shot in the Dark?) heads the cast of Deadly Females. The ladies in question are female assassins, specializing in knocking off lascivious males. Like the proverbial black widow spider, the girls lure their victims with promises of sexual favors, then strike when said victims are exhausted. Naturally, this requires plenty of exposed female flesh....
Royal Flash
Character: Helga
Cowardly rogue Harry Flashman's (Malcolm McDowell) schemes to gain entry to the royal circles of 19th-century Europe go nowhere until he meets a pair of devious nobles with their own agenda. At their urging, Flashman agrees to re-create himself as a bogus Prussian nobleman to woo a beautiful duchess. But the half-baked plan quickly comes unraveled, and he's soon on the run from several new enemies who are all calling for the rapscallion's head....
Confessions of a Pop Performer
Character: Receptionist
Either you've got it or you haven't - some like randy young Timothy Lea (Robin Askwith), manage to get it all the time! Signing up with a pop group, our boisterous hero progresses rapidly from local gigs to scoring a titillating hit with The Climax Sisters, with plenty of ribald adventures along the way!...
The New Media Bible: The Gospel According to St. Luke
Character: Herodias
A dramatic presentation of the Bible from (New Media Bible), and producer John Heyman. spoken word-for-word from the King James Version by the narrator, as the actors speak in original Aramaic / Hebrew, this feature brings the characters of the New Testament and their world to life. The content follows Scripture entirely with no added commentary or embellishment. As you see the people, places, and events of The Bible come to life, you will gain new understanding and appreciation for Scripture....
Amazing Stories
Character: Ms Fandom
Weird tale of a sci fi convention and a family who are apparently being taken over by vegetables....
Aura
Character: Ada
A couple discovers a Kirlian Photography apparatus in their new house. Intrigued by the concept of photographing peoples' Auras they unwittingly release an ancient evil. Only the local psychic can help and she knows far more than she reveals....
Design for Living
Character: Gilda
Design for Living presents a trio of neurotic but intensely artistic characters: Gilda, Otto and Leo. Set in Paris, Otto and Leo both fall in love with Gilda. She cannot make up her mind which man she loves, so the three decide to live together in a platonic friendship. Among Coward's trademark sparkling wit, the play explores deeper themes including infidelity, the pressures of fame on an unstable mind, and morality (or immorality) of a menage a trois....
7 Up & Me
Character: Self
In celebration of the release of 63 Up, the 2019 installment of Michael Apted's groundbreaking documentary series that began in 1964, a number of British and American celebrity fans now discuss its impact on popular culture and its lasting legacy. The film also candidly explores pivotal moments of celebrities’ own lives—from school days and first loves to family and fulfilled ambitions—while tapping into changes in social history around topics such as class, education, and parenting....
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
Character: Styles
Captured in a time corridor, the Doctor and his companions are forced to land on 20th century Earth, diverted by the Doctor's oldest enemy - the Daleks. It is here the true purpose of the time corridor becomes apparent: after ninety years of imprisonment, Davros, the ruthless creator of the Daleks, is to be liberated to assist in the resurrection of his army. Not even the Daleks foresee the poisonous threat of their creator. Indeed, who would suspect Davros of wanting to destroy his own Daleks ...
Mr. H Is Late
Character:
A team of inept undertakers attempt to get a coffin to a funeral on time. An undertaker is in charge of moving a coffin from a home to the church. The home is on the 26th floor of a skyscraper; the stairs are narrow; the lift is small and prone to stop working. Chaos ensues....
Jeepers Creepers
Character: Self - Fantasy Lover (voice)
After twenty years as a struggling variety turn and then a prolific scriptwriter and television star, comic genius Marty Feldman found screen stardom with his very first Hollywood role in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. With his wife Lauretta as the power behind the throne, his rise and fall and decline is related through bittersweet memories of the past and intoxicated infidelities in the present....