Yootha Joyce was dying, slowly.
Joyce's high-profile roles in the two sitcoms concealed her alcoholism. The Life of Yootha Joyce, to which contributions were made by those who knew and worked with her, including Glynn Edwards, Murray Melvin and Barbara Windsor.
Her co-star and good friend Brian Murphy[9] was at her bedside. [10], At the inquest into her death, it was revealed that she had been drinking upwards of half a bottle of brandy a day for ten years, and that she had, in the words of her lawyer Mario Uziell-Hamilton, become a victim of her own success, and dreaded the thought of being typecast as Mildred Roper.
Yootha Joyce Needham (20 August 1927 â 24 August 1980), known as Yootha Joyce, was an English actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred. Yootha Joyce Needham (20 August 1927 â 24 August 1980), known as Yootha Joyce, was an English actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred. Amidst growing concern over her health, she was admitted to hospital in the summer of 1980. Yootha Joyce may have slipped from modern memory but back in the 1970s she was one of the biggest stars on TV. [1], Needham was born in Wandsworth, London, the only child of musical parents Percival Henry John ("Hurst") Needham, a well-known singer, and Jessica Revitt, a concert pianist. Testament of Yootha finds Burns Cooke embodying the tragic star, who remained a magnetic ball of energy to the end.
In the 1960s and 1970s Joyce became a familiar face in many one-off sitcom roles and supporting parts in films, with her first main recurring role being Miss Argyll, frustrated girlfriend of the title star Milo O'Shea in three series of Me Mammy (1968â71); most of the tapes of that series are now lost. Her talent for comedy was also used to good effect in programmes such as Steptoe and Son and On the Buses. [8], A feature film was made of George and Mildred in 1980, but this was to be her last work. Cause of death: Alcohol-related liver failure: Years active: 1945–1980: Spouse(s) Glynn Edwards (m. 1956; div. "[7] She also had a featured role (as brassy housekeeper Mrs Quayle) in Clayton's next film Our Mother's House (1967), a dark drama starring Dirk Bogarde, which dealt with a group of young children who conceal the death of their single mother to prevent being split up. The pairing, who first appeared together as supporting characters in another long-running sitcom, Man About The House, won the hearts of viewers of all ages. Scotland’s first lighting trail of 2020 showcases ‘Wondrous Woods’ at Edinburgh’s Hopetoun House, 25 funny pub quiz questions 2020: hilarious and quirky trivia to ask in your online quiz - plus answers. She says, “In my teens, Man About the House and George & Mildred were always on TV.
When the series ended, a spin-off was written that featured the Ropers: George and Mildred, which was first broadcast in 1976. Entertainments National Service Association, "Yootha Joyce - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie", "National Portrait Gallery â Person â Yootha Joyce (Yootha Joyce Needham)", "Yootha Joyce - Biography - Movies & TV - NYTimes.com", "Yootha Joyce â Funeral Directors and services â Family Announcements Announcements", "The artwork of the Smiths â in pictures", Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. ... the inquest into her death revealed she had been drinking upwards of half a bottle of brandy a day for 10 years. We have created a browser extension.
[11], She appeared posthumously in her last recorded television performance, duetting with Max Bygraves on his variety show Max. When the series ended, a spin-off was written that featured the Ropers: George and Mildred, which was first broadcast in 1976. [10], At the inquest into her death, it was revealed that she had been drinking upwards of half a bottle of brandy a day for ten years, and that she had, in the words of her lawyer Mario Uziell-Hamilton, become a victim of her own success, and dreaded the thought of being typecast as Mildred Roper. When her death was announced they made it clear that they did not want to announce the cause of her death. [13], In 1986 the Smiths used an image of Joyce on the sleeve of their UK single release "Ask" and the German release of "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others", thereby adding her to what would become a significant set of musical releases, made iconic by their notable design (other Smiths 'cover stars' included Truman Capote, Terence Stamp, Elvis Presley, Pat Phoenix, Viv Nicholson and Billie Whitelaw). Would you like Wikipedia to always look as professional and up-to-date? The actor/comedian Kenneth Williams wrote of the performance that "...she looked as though she was crying..."[12] He also went on to mention her in a later entry in his diary (9 April 1988, just days before his death) that she was "a lady who made so many people happy and a lady who never complained". Amidst growing concern over her health, she was admitted to hospital in the summer of 1980. Her talent for comedy was also used to good effect in programmes such as Steptoe and Son and On the Buses. "[7] She also had a featured role (as brassy housekeeper Mrs Quayle) in Clayton's next film Our Mother's House (1967), a dark drama starring Dirk Bogarde, which dealt with a group of young children who conceal the death of their single mother to prevent being split up. She made appearances in the films Catch Us If You Can (1965), A Man for All Seasons (1966) and Charlie Bubbles (1967), as well as TV spin-off films Nearest and Dearest (1972), Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width (1973) and Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973).
There is sadness there behind the eyes.”. She left school (Lady Edridge Grammar School for Girls in South Norwood) at fifteen, then trained at RADA where Roger Moore was a fellow student, and after that toured with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). It was not until 1973 that Joyce acquired a starring role, when she was cast as man-hungry Mildred Roper, wife of sub-letting landlord George, in the sitcom Man About the House. She was said to have been drinking "upwards" of half a bottle of brandy a day for ten years.
[14], In 2001 a tribute documentary entitled The Unforgettable Yootha Joyce was broadcast by ITV, which featured Glynn Edwards as well as many of her co-stars and friends, including Sally Thomsett, Brian Murphy, Nicholas Bond-Owen and Norman Eshley, talking about memories and their relationships with Joyce.[15].
In the summer of that year she passed away suffering from liver failure at the age of just 53 - the inquest into her death revealed she had been drinking upwards of half a bottle of brandy a day for 10 years. This series, which starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett, and Brian Murphy as George Roper, ran until 1976, deriving its comic narrative from two young women and a young man sharing the flat above the Ropers. It’s got a lot of sadness, but she is a very funny character at the same time.”, Testament of Yootha, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Turret, 12.15pm, £8.50-£9.50, www.edfringe.com, This website and its associated newspaper are members of Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Little could they know as they watched those final episodes in 1979 how ill the actress who brought Mildred to life really was... Yootha Joyce was dying, slowly. [2] She was named "Yootha", an Australian Aboriginal name, after a New Zealand dancer in her father's touring company. It was through Edwards that she first came to prominence in the renowned Joan Littlewood Theatre Workshop, appearing at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, in Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Beâ[5] and going on to make her film debut in Sparrows Can't Sing (1963).
It will enhance any encyclopedic page you visit with the magic of the WIKI 2 technology. The source code for the WIKI 2 extension is being checked by specialists of the Mozilla Foundation, Google, and Apple. To install click the Add extension button. [8], A feature film was made of George and Mildred in 1980, but this was to be her last work. She left school (Lady Edridge Grammar School for Girls in South Norwood) at fifteen, then trained at RADA where Roger Moore was a fellow student, and after that toured with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). The episode was aired on 14 January 1981. Prior to that, she played a cameo role in Jack Clayton's The Pumpkin Eater (1964) as a psychotic young woman opposite Anne Bancroft, delivering a performance that has been called one of the "best screen acting miniatures one could hope to see. Joyce's high-profile roles in the two sitcoms concealed her alcoholism. “There was no one there to make her eat, she was drinking a bottle of brandy a day for the last 10 years of her life, and she was very thin towards the end. I use WIKI 2 every day and almost forgot how the original Wikipedia looks like. You could also do it yourself at any point in time. by Anonymous: reply 3: 10/22/2014 ... Long ago UK actress Yootha Joyce ("George and Mildred") died of liver disease at 53. “It was absolutely full-time for her for many years, recording the TV shows then touring the country and public appearances opening supermarkets and the like.
It was through Edwards that she first came to prominence in the renowned Joan Littlewood Theatre Workshop, appearing at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, in Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be [5] and going on to make her film debut in Sparrows Can't Sing (1963). [2] She was named "Yootha", an Australian Aboriginal name, after a New Zealand dancer in her father's touring company. This is a list of the most notable people in Category:Alcohol-related deaths who died of short- and/or long-term effects of alcohol consumption.Deaths caused indirectly by alcohol, such as combined drug intoxication, or driving under the influence, are not listed here.