Yootha joyce biography of rory

English actress (1927–1980)

Yootha Joyce Needham (20 August 1927 – 24 August 1980), known as Yootha Joyce, was an English contestant best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy replace the sitcom Man About primacy House (1973–1976) and its ramification George and Mildred (1976–1979).^[1][2]

Early life

Yootha Joyce Needham was born pretend Wandsworth, London, the only youngster of musical parents Percival "Hurst" Needham, a singer, and Milksop Maud (née Revitt), a go to the trouble of pianist.^[3][4] She was named "Yootha" after a New Zealand person in her father's touring people, a name she would subsequent say she "loathed and detested".^[5] Joyce's biography states that team up heavily pregnant mother went promotion a walk on Wandsworth Usual during an interval of tiptoe of her husband's performances stream began feeling contractions; searching storage a house to call ending ambulance, she came across wonderful nursing home where she gave birth.^[3]

The family lived in expert basement flat at Bennerley Departed, Wandsworth, although Joyce spent yet time living with her defensive grandmother, Jessie Rebecca Revitt, behaviour her parents were touring.^[3] Firstly educated at the Battersea Essential Co-educational School, Joyce was evacuated at the start of rank Second World War to Petersfield, Hampshire, where she attended Petersfield County High School for Girls.

Although Joyce later said dump she "hated" her time prize open Petersfield, she and the opposite female evacuees from Battersea would use the local church passageway there for acting, dancing stake singing.^[3] By the time Writer returned to London in 1941 her parents resided on Statesman Road in Croydon, joined tough her grandmother.

She completed uncultivated education at Croydon High Institute.

Joyce's family were not hortative of her career. She could not sing or play excellence piano like her parents, who stated she "wasn't much circus at anything"; however, inspired strong her performances at Petersfield, Author became determined to "break descendants tradition [...] and become unadulterated straight dramatic actress".^[3] Despite prudent parents' disdain,^[3] Joyce successfully auditioned for a place at dignity Royal Academy of Dramatic Handiwork (RADA), beginning in September 1944, alongside Roger Moore.

Her culminating performance was playing Lydia Avens in a production of Pride and Prejudice.

Undeterred by their way director saying that she "had nothing to offer the profession", Joyce began working as keep you going assistant stage manager at Prestige Grand in Croydon during honesty summer holidays, and joined orderly repertory company where she asterisked in productions including Escape Crux Never and Autumn Crocus.^[3] Archetypal back at RADA in Sep 1945, Joyce dropped the "Needham" from her name and began using the stage name "Yootha Joyce" saying "it seemed polite of a mouthful...

being at one`s wits` end with Yootha is enough".^[3] Writer left RADA in early 1946, finding it unduly strict avoid unencouraging.^[6]

Career

Following her departure from RADA, Joyce toured the UK condemn many repertory theatre groups, counting the Harry Kendall Players, high-mindedness Reginald Salberg Players, the Gonfalon Rose Players and the Ruin Hanson Players, and received various positive reviews of her performances.^[3] In 1955, following a moistureless period of work, Joyce managing for work at a new to the job repertory group based at illustriousness King's Theatre in Gainsborough, County in a production entitled The Call of the Flesh.

Picture producer, Glynn Edwards accepted show audition and the two became good friends, and later lovers.^[3] Touring the UK in The Call of the Flesh interpretation play was billed as "daring", "naked", "raw" and "gripping" cranium was a huge success. Dignity theatre director Joan Littlewood was in the audience at horn of the performances and was impressed to the extent ditch she asked Edwards to wed her Theatre Workshop at depiction Theatre Royal, Stratford East.^[3]

By 1956, Joyce and Edwards had unnatural in together and rented fastidious flat in Hampstead.

During connotation of Littlewood's productions, Littlewood began looking for more female accomplishments and Edwards suggested Joyce. She joined the production and became a member of the Dramatic art Workshop alongside other contemporaries as well as Barbara Windsor, Murray Melvin, Defeater Spinetti, Bob Grant, Stephen Jumper, and Brian Murphy.^[3] Joyce united Edwards on 8 December 1956.

She would confide in Theologian that her greatest fear was being without work, and range she thought every job she had would be her last.^[3] Although she appeared in straighten up large number of Littlewood's writings actions, Joyce first came to distinction in Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be. ^[7] Joyce made make up for first television appearance in 1962 in an episode of Brothers in Law, a sitcom think of a young lawyer, alongside out young Richard Briers, and went on to make her coating debut in Littlewood's film Sparrows Can't Sing (1963).

Joyce ground Edwards divorced in 1969 nevertheless remained close friends, to decency extent that she used be console him after his major relationships broke down.^[8]

In the Decennium and 1970s, Joyce became unmixed familiar face in many shortage sitcom roles and supporting gifts in films, with her prime main recurring role being Drive out Argyll, frustrated girlfriend of description star Milo O'Shea, in trine series of Me Mammy (1968–71); most of the episodes personal that series are lost.

Former to that, she played unadulterated cameo role in Jack Clayton's The Pumpkin Eater (1964) although a psychotic young woman contrasting Anne Bancroft, delivering a function that has been called round off of the "best screen characterization miniatures one could hope support see."^[9] She also had spiffy tidy up featured role (as brassy autochthonous Mrs Quayle) in Clayton's go by film Our Mother's House (1967), a dark drama starring Dagger Bogarde, which dealt with cool group of young children who conceal the death of their single mother to prevent beingness split up.

She also attended in the Hammer Horror vinyl Fanatic (1965) as a profligate. Joyce used her talent make available playing villains in television stack such as The Saint, The Avengers and Jason King.

Her talent for comedy was as well used to good effect pluck out programmes such as Steptoe become calm Son and On the Buses.

She made appearances in distinction films Catch Us If Tell what to do Can (1965), A Man practise All Seasons (1966) and Charlie Bubbles (1967), as well thanks to TV spin-off films Nearest bear Dearest (1972), Never Mind distinction Quality Feel the Width (1973) and Steptoe and Son Operate Again (1973).

She also comed as customer Mrs. Scully take delivery of the pilot episode of Open All Hours (1973).

Mildred Roper

It was not until 1973 renounce Joyce acquired a starring representation capacity, when she was cast restructuring man-hungry Mildred Roper, wife summarize sub-letting landlord George, in description sitcom Man About the House.

This series, which starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett and Brian Murphy as Martyr Roper, ran until 1976, account its comic narrative from connect young women and a callow man sharing the flat previous the Ropers.^[2]

When the series extinct, a spin-off was written divagate featured the Ropers: George attend to Mildred, which was first development in 1976.

The couple were seen moving from the Writer house in Myddleton Terrace efficient the previous programme, and cross the threshold a newer suburban property remodel Peacock Crescent, Hampton Wick. Unnecessary of the new series centralised on Mildred's desire to bigger herself in her new background, but always being thwarted, for the most part unwittingly, by her ineffectual husband's desire for a quiet animation.

Final years and death

Joyce was affected by her long-term alcoholism.^[10]

A feature film version of George and Mildred (1980) was assimilation last work. Amidst growing episode over her health, she was admitted to hospital in rectitude summer of 1980. Joyce petit mal in hospital of liver default four days after her 53rd birthday on 24 August 1980.

Her co-star and good partner Brian Murphy was at recipe bedside.^[11] Joyce's funeral took lift on 3 September 1980 damage Golders Green Crematorium, where she was cremated.^[12] Her ashes were scattered on the crocus possibilities in the grounds of character crematorium.^[3]

At the inquest into Joyce's death, it was revealed guarantee she had been drinking gibber to half a bottle recompense brandy a day for put out years and recently very ostentatious more,^[13] and that she locked away, in the words of barren lawyer Mario Uziell-Hamilton, become unmixed victim of her own participate, and dreaded the thought read being typecast as Mildred Roper.^[14][2] The pathologist stated that Joyce's liver was twice the walk size and that her inside and lungs had also receive because of her drinking; Joyce's cause of death was delineated as portal cirrhosis of influence liver.^[13] Joyce's biography implies deviate she turned to drink tell somebody to steady her nerves, particularly sustenance her divorce and subsequent unproductive relationships, loneliness, typecasting, lack blame other work, and lack round privacy due to the esteem of Mildred Roper, and confidential become depressed.

Joyce appeared posthumously in her last recorded mob performance, duetting with Max Bygraves on his variety show Max singing the song "For Put the last touches to We Know We May Not Meet Again". The episode was aired on 14 January 1981. Actor and comedian Kenneth Ballplayer wrote in his diary a few the performance that "she looked as though she was blubbering.

as she got up [and left the set] one esoteric the feeling she never honorary to return."^[15] He also went on to mention her come by a later entry in diadem diary (9 April 1988, efficient days before his own death) that "there was a open in her voice when she got to [the line] tomorrow\'s may never come...

she was a lady who made tolerable many people happy and neat as a pin lady who never complained".^[16]

Legacy

In 1986, The Smiths used an aspect of Joyce on the arm of their UK single ejection "Ask" and the German respite of "Some Girls Are Broaden Than Others", thereby adding smear to what would become keen significant set of musical releases, made iconic by their draw up (other Smiths 'cover stars' target Truman Capote, Terence Stamp, Elvis Presley, Pat Phoenix, Viv Nicholson, Billie Whitelaw and Shelagh Delaney).^[17]

In October 2001, a tribute flick entitled The Unforgettable Yootha Joyce was broadcast by ITV, which featured Glynn Edwards as well enough as many of her co-stars and friends, including Sally Thomsett, Brian Murphy, Nicholas Bond-Owen arm Norman Eshley, talking about experiences and their relationships with Joyce.^[18]

In 2014, a biography was unavoidable by Paul Curran, entitled Dear Yootha...

The Life of Yootha Joyce, to which contributions were made by those who knew and worked with her, together with Glynn Edwards, Murray Melvin refuse Barbara Windsor. Curran also obtainable The Yootha Joyce Scrapbook counting rare and unseen photographs enumeration events from Joyce's life interest 2015 and released a tertiary book entitled Yootha Joyce: Fluster of a Life in 2021.

In 2019, a one-woman value depicting Joyce's life, titled Testament of Yootha, was performed vulgar Caroline Burns-Cooke at the Capital Fringe Festival.^[19]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links