Josephine Tewson obit

Last Of The Summer Wine actress Josephine Tewson dies aged 91

Her two most memorable roles came in sitcoms written by Roy Clarke.

 

She was not on the list.

Star of British television sitcoms Josephine Tewson has died aged 91, her agent has confirmed.

died aged 91, her agent has said.

Ms Tweson died on Thursday night at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in Northwood, London.

A statement from her agent, Jean Diamond, of Diamond Management, said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Josephine Tewson.

“Josephine passed away peacefully last night at Denville Hall at the Age of 91.”

Born in Hampstead, London, in 1931, Tewson attended grammar school before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) from which she graduated in 1952.

Minor parts came her way during the 1960s in shows such as Z-Cars and the Charlie Drake Show.

The decade also saw her regularly appear in sketches alongside comedians Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker in Hark At Barker and Frost On Sunday.

She also played Edna Hawkins in the first six series of the ITV sitcom Shelley, which aired during the ’80s and early ’90s.

However, she was best known for playing the pragmatic Elizabeth Warden, neighbour and reluctant confidant of social climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket in the much loved BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances.

Roy Clarke was the writer behind the show and he also provided Tewson with her most memorable late career role playing Miss Davenport in Last of the Summer Wine between 2003 and 2010.

In 2012, she launched her one-woman show titled Still Keeping Up Appearances? and toured across the UK.

Former EastEnders actress Debbie Arnold has remembered “comedy great” and Keeping Up Appearances actress Josephine Tewson, after her death aged 91.

Arnold, 67, tweeted: “So sad we lost 2 wonderful people firstly Bruce Montague and now 2 days later – Josephine Tewson.

The wife of late actor John Challis has paid tribute to actress Josephine Tewson after her death was confirmed by her agent.

Carol Challis shared an image of her husband and Tewson starring in British sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, writing: “Farewell to Josephine Tewson. John loved working with her on Last of the Summer Wine. Another one gone.”

Tewson was born in Hampstead, London on 26 February 1931. Her father, William, was a professional musician and played the double bass in the BBC Symphony Orchestra; her mother, Kate (née Morley, born 1908), was a nurse, the daughter of Haydn Morley who captained Sheffield Wednesday in the 1890 FA Cup Final. After grammar school, Tewson studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from which she graduated in 1952.

A regular comedy performer in sketches featuring Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker on David Frost on Sunday and Hark at Barker (1969), she later appeared in Mostly Monkhouse, a BBC Radio Comedy programme with David Jason supporting Bob Monkhouse. She also appeared a few times in Z-Cars (1963–69) and The Charlie Drake Show (1968).  Tewson played Edna Hawkins (usually referred to as "Mrs H" by Shelley) in the first six series of the British sitcom Shelley (1979–82). Later, she played Jane Travers in Ronnie Barker's sitcom Clarence (1988), which he also wrote, and was his last starring television role before his retirement.

Tewson was featured with John Inman in Odd Man Out (1977), an unsuccessful sitcom in which they played adult half-siblings who had recently met. She was rumoured to be Inman's cousin, though she has denied this idea in several interviews. She appeared in the 1984 children's film Gabrielle and the Doodleman as the characters Mrs. Briggs (Gabrielle's father's housekeeper) and the Fairy Godmother.

Tewson was well-known in England for her role as Elizabeth Warden, neighbour and reluctant confidante of social wannabe Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances. Tewson appeared in nearly every episode for the 5 series run, providing a counter to "Mrs Bucket".

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1972      The Troublesome Double             Mrs Wentworth               

1977      The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It               Miss Hoskins     

1978      The Hound of the Baskervilles     Nun       

1984      Gabrielle and the Doodleman     Mrs Briggs/Fairy Godmother      

1989      Wilt        Miss Leuchars   

2000      The Mumbo Jumbo         Miss Hodges      

 

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1959      Preview                Joan Garnett      Episode: "Marriage Bureau"

1959      Charlesworth     Mrs. Furse           Episode: "Long Hot Spell"

1963      ITV Play of the Week       Barmaid               Episode: "Double Stakes"

1963      No Hiding Place                 Mavis Peters      Episode: "Four Faces of Clare"

1963      First Night           Mrs Tullet            Episode: "The Initiation"

1963      Z-Cars    Elizabeth Hepton              Episode: "Wait for It"

1964      No Hiding Place                 June Merrall       Episode: "The Things Money Can Buy"

1965      The Sullavan Brothers    WPC      Episode: "The Outsider"

1965      Z-Cars    Mrs. Rogers        Episode: "The Mice Will Play"

1965      Emergency-Ward 10       Mrs. Close           5 episodes

1966      Sergeant Cork    Martha St. Clair                 Episode: "The Case of the Devil's Daughter"

1967      Emergency-Ward 10       Dr. Saunders      Episode: "Devil Doll"

1967      Mrs Thursday     Dulcie Ainsworth              Episode: "The Old School Tie Up"[27]

1968      Z-Cars    Muriel Finch       Episode: "Aren't Policemen Wonderful: Part 2"

1968      The Charlie Drake Show                 Various                 6 episodes

1968      Frost on Sunday                Various                 14 episodes

1969      The Champions Hotel switchboard operator         Episode: "The Night People"

1969–1979          The Dick Emery Show     Various                 15 episodes

1969–1970          Hark at Barker   Mildred Bates    All 15 episodes

1970      ITV Saturday Night Theatre          Gladys   Episode: "Suffer Little Children"

1971      Six Dates with Barker      Travers Episode: "1937: The Removals Person"

1971      Copper's End      WPS Penny Pringle          13 episodes

1971–1981          The Two Ronnies              Various                 5 episodes

1972      His Lordship Entertains Mildred Bates    All 7 episodes

1973      Comedy Playhouse          Lady Cynthia      Episode: "Elementary My Dear Watson"

1973      Whoops Baghdad!           Fatima Episode: "The Wazir Takes a Wife"

1973      It's Tarbuck         Various                 6 episodes

1973      Son of the Bride                Miss McDowdie                All 6 episodes

1973      Casanova '73      Mrs Kershaw      Episode: #1.3

1973      Tell Tarby            Various                 6 episodes

1974      Thriller Yvonne Episode: "A Coffin for the Bride "

1975      Tarbuck and All That!      Various                 5 episodes

1975      Wodehouse Playhouse Mabel Potts        Episode: "Rodney Fails to Qualify"

1975      Dawson's Weekly             Cleoberry            Episode: "Stage-Struck"

1975      Larry Grayson    Various                 2 episodes

1976      Happy Ever After              Mrs Robins          Episode: "Mistaken Identikit"

1976      Lucky Feller         Shirley Episode: "Where There's Life There's Soap"

1977      Whodunnit?       Miss Frisby          Episode: "No Happy Returns"

1977      No Appointment Necessary         Penelope Marshall           All 7 episodes

1977      Odd Man Out     Dorothy Sutcliffe              All 7 episodes

1979–1984          Shelley Edna Hawkins    23 episodes

1979      Rings on Their Fingers    Mrs Harris           Episode: "Home Market"

1983      Terry and June Brenda Episode: "A Day in Boulogne"

1983      Tears Before Bedtime    Beatrice               Episode: "Show Me the Way to Leave Home"

1985      The Caucasian Chalk Circle           Various                 TV film

1985      Terry and June Mrs Robins          Episode: "Mistaken Identity"

1987      Rude Health       Mrs Thorpe         8 episodes

1988      Clarence               Jane Travers       All 6 episodes

1990–1995          Keeping Up Appearances              Elizabeth "Liz" Warden 43 episodes

1994      Coronation Street            Peggy Phillips     2 episodes

1999      Sunburn               Louise Montague             Episode: #1.1

2000      Midsomer Murders         Samantha Johnstone      Episode: "Judgement Day"

2002      Heartbeat            Mrs Morris          Episode: "Closing the Book"

2003–2010          Last of the Summer Wine             Miss Lucinda Davenport                62 episodes

2006      Holby City            Mabel Phillips    Episode: "Looking After Number One"

2009      Doctors                Audrey Winston                Episode: "Now You See It..."

2012      Lewis     Hazel O'Brien     Episode: "The Indelible Stain"

2012      Doctors                Marjorie Page    Episode: "The Bespectacled Bounder"

2015      Doctors                Eileen Wilkie      Episode: "A Quiet Life"

 

Theatre roles

Year       Production          Role       Venue

1957      Free as Air           Ivy Crush              Savoy Theatre, West End

1961      Androcles and the Lion Megaera              Mermaid Theatre, London

1964      Coriolanus                           Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham

1966      The Ballad of False Barman                          Hampstead Theatre, London

1968      The Real Inspector Hound            Mrs. Drudge       Vaudeville Theatre, West End

1972      A Cuckoo in the Nest                      Thorndike Theatre

1976      Absurd Person Singular                  Wimbledon Theatre, London

1985      Noises Off           Dotty Otley         Savoy Theatre, West End

1986–87               Woman in Mind                Muriel   Vaudeville Theatre, West End

                Moscow Shadows            Natasha                New End Theatre, Hampstead

                See How They Run           Miss Skillon         Watermill Theatre, Newbury

1989      Last of the Red Hot Lovers            Jeanette Fisher Strand Theatre, West End

1994      Arsenic and Old Lace       Abby Brewster Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford and tour

1995      The Killing of Sister George          Mercy Croft        Ambassadors Theatre, West End

                The Importance of Being Earnest               Lady Bracknell   Horseshoe Theatre, Basingstoke

                Talking Heads: A Lady of Letters                                 Swan Theatre, Worcester

1998      Romeo and Juliet              Nurse    Salisbury Playhouse, Wiltshire and tour

2002      A Woman of No Importance        Lady Hunstanton              No. 1 Tour

2004      The Importance of Being Earnest               Miss Prism          No. 1 Tour

2008      Salonika               Charlotte             West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds

2009      Separate Tables                Lady Matheson Chichester Festival Theatre

 

Radio

Year       Title       Role       Company

1971, 1973          The Secret Life of Kenneth Williams         Maisie   BBC Radio

Early 1970s         Mostly Monkhouse         Various                 BBC Radio

July 1981             It Sticks Out Half a Mile Miss Baines         BBC Radio

1994      Uncle Dynamite                Lady Bostock      BBC Radio

2009      Leaves in Autumn            Iris          Wireless Theatre Company