Actors from the 78 Famous Five Series

Wouter · Post by **Wouter** » 04 Oct 2006, 20:11

Hello Eljay,

Did you find any time to seek trough your collection Look-ins yet?

Nice link you presented here. It also reveals a little bit about what happened with Jennifer Thanisch, who played Anne.

Regards - Wouter

Stephen · Post by **Stephen** » 11 Oct 2006, 22:40

I read a rather upsetting thread on another forum that Michele actually passed away about five years ago, but I haven't got the faintest idea whether there's any validity in this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n500WcI0Rc0

Post by **Anita Bensoussane** » 12 Oct 2006, 12:42

It is sad to read that. We've heard rumours before that Michele had passed away, but the "YouTube" comment purports to come from someone who knew Michele "very well" and it gives some idea of how long ago she died (if indeed she has died, but sadly it's looking more and more as if that may be the case.) I can't help wondering about Michele's relatives and whether they realise what great affection fans of the 1970s Famous Five TV series still have for her. I wonder if any of her friends or family would be willing to make a brief comment on Michele's life. Surely it can't have been all bad and, even if it was - or perhaps particularly if it was - it may be of some comfort to her family to know what fond memories people have of Michele in the part of George Kirrin.

Anita

Lucky Star · Post by **Lucky Star** » 12 Oct 2006, 15:56

Anita Bensoussane wrote:It is sad to read that. We've heard rumours before that Michele had passed away, but the "YouTube" comment purports to come from someone who knew Michele "very well" and it gives some idea of how long ago she died (if indeed she has died, but sadly it's looking more and more as if that may be the case.) I can't help wondering about Michele's relatives and whether they realise what great affection fans of the 1970s Famous Five TV series still have for her. I wonder if any of her friends or family would be willing to make a brief comment on Michele's life. Surely it can't have been all bad and, even if it was - or perhaps particularly if it was - it may be of some comfort to her family to know what fond memories people have of Michele in the part of George Kirrin.

Anita

Thats a very good point Anita, but it boils down to trying to contact her relatives who may not wish to be contacted by strangers. I notice that the Youtube site has a "send message" facility similar to Ebays message service. Perhaps we should draft a message to the person who posted the comment and try to get more details? What do people think?

Post by **Anita Bensoussane** » 12 Oct 2006, 16:19

Oh, I agree that it wouldn't be quite right to try to track down Michele Gallagher's relatives. I was just wondering whether they might ever stumble upon a Forum like this, and whether they realise that she still has so many fans from her days as George Kirrin.

It may be an idea to send a message to the person on "You Tube" as you said, Lucky Star, but again, if Michele was a personal friend of theirs they may not wish to say much. They'd probably be pleased to hear that so many Blyton fans enjoyed watching Michele as George, though. (I suppose we can't even be certain that the person really knew Michele, but there's something about the way the message is expressed that makes me think it's probably genuine.)

Anita

George@Kirrin · Post by **George@Kirrin** » 12 Oct 2006, 17:42

I was thinking of sending a message saying I was a mod here and there were members concerned and it had been mentioned by MArcus at the day in May etc...

Am happy to send something if people would like me to

Lucky Star · Post by **Lucky Star** » 12 Oct 2006, 18:48

George@Kirrin wrote:I was thinking of sending a message saying I was a mod here and there were members concerned and it had been mentioned by MArcus at the day in May etc...

Am happy to send something if people would like me to

I too would be happy to send a message but I think it would be better if it came from someone who has met Micheles's friend Marcus at the EBS day and who is a moderator on an EB messageboard. That would lend a bit of weight to the enquiry and would show this person that its a serious question. If the guy is genuine, and i'm inclined to agree with Anita that it seems so, then it would clear up the mystery once and for all.

Eljay · Post by **Eljay** » 12 Oct 2006, 18:54

George@Kirrin wrote:I was thinking of sending a message saying I was a mod here and there were members concerned and it had been mentioned by MArcus at the day in May etc...

Am happy to send something if people would like me to

I think that's a good idea, George. The message on Youtube was posted only recently (a day ago), so there is every chance of receiving a reply. But obviously the subject should be broached sensitively, as we don't want to appear intrusive.

The person does sound genuine, and he is around the same age (42) as the 'kids' in the 70s Famous Five series are now - although he spells Michele's name wrong and is uncertain about when she 'passed away'. But I agree that this needs to be cleared up, if possible! I think you need a Youtube account to message a user on there - do you have one?

Yan · Post by **Yan** » 12 Oct 2006, 20:22

@ George:
I would be happy, too, if someone tries to send a message to this woman or man. And I think a moderator of this board would be just the right person to do this.

On the other hand, I received the message (from another person who in my view is genuine, too) that Michele even died a much longer time ago. So I don't really know what to think about this Youtube-user.

Anyway, the fact that he spells her name wrong is not a sign that he (she) is not genuine because Gary Russell (and Marcus Harris) did the same.

But just as Eljay said - we should be careful and sensitive.

Post by **Anita Bensoussane** » 12 Oct 2006, 20:33

I agree with Eljay that the subject needs to be broached sensitively and, like others, I'd be happy for George@Kirrin to send an email.

Anita

George@Kirrin · Post by **George@Kirrin** » 12 Oct 2006, 21:08

Roger that people - I'll draft a message tomorrow after work - on an early shift - and will send it tomorrow night and post a copy of it here also.

Moonraker · Post by **Moonraker** » 13 Oct 2006, 13:20

Agree with all that's been said. I thought he spelt Michelle's name correctly; it was the tv company that mis-spelt it.

Yan · Post by **Yan** » 13 Oct 2006, 20:00

moonraker wrote:Agree with all that's been said. I thought he spelt Michelle's name correctly; it was the tv company that mis-spelt it.

Hi, moonraker

No, he/she didn't.
The correct spelling is: Michele Gallagher.

On the German Fanpage you can find an autograph of her, where she wrote her name in this way.

So the tv company spelt her name incorrectly, too (Michele Galagher) and also Gary Russell spelt it incorrectly in his article (Michelle).

George@Kirrin · Post by **George@Kirrin** » 13 Oct 2006, 20:47

This is the message I have sent on behalf of all of us

Dear Graeme

I hope you do not mind me contacting you with regards to a post you made on You Tube.

I am the moderator of an Enid Blyton forum, http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/forums/ part of http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk and there are quite a number of people on the site, including myself, who are avid fans of the 1978 TV series of famous five starring, among others, Michele Gallagher.

It was with sadness that I read your post reporting her early death. It had been suspected for some time and when I spoke to Marcus Harris (who played Julian in the same series) at this years Enid Blyton Day in the south of England he said there had been rumours but that there was nothing confirmed as Michele had lost touch with the others.

Members of the society and I were wondering if you could provide us with any more information regarding Michele. I appreciate that you may not wish to communicate with me about this, but would hope that you do, as she is very popular on the forum and any information would be welcomed "“ after various rumours over the years it would be a sad relief to know the truth.

Yours respectfully

Zoe (user id on the Enid Blyton forum George@Kirrin)

Post by **Anita Bensoussane** » 13 Oct 2006, 21:09

Thanks, Zoe (George@Kirrin.) That sounds fine and I hope Graeme will answer.

Anita