Jane Freeman
Born: 1935-03-15 in Brentford, London, England, UK
Died: 2017-03-09
Known For: Acting
Biography
Freeman was born in Brentford, London, in 1935 but raised in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, as a child, following the death of her father in an accident when she was 9 years old and her mother's subsequent remarriage. She graduated from the City Cardiff College of Music and Drama in 1955, and after a stay in London joined the Osiris Repertory Theatre touring company, based in Gloucestershire. She joined the Arena Theatre, Sutton Coldfield, in 1958, followed by Birmingham Rep from 1968 and 1973. Her stage appearances include Margaret More in the Welsh Theatre Company's first production, A Man for All Seasons, at Cardiff's New Theatre in 1962. She was best known for her role as café owner Ivy, one of the main characters in the long-running British TV comedy Last of the Summer Wine. Freeman died in March 2017 at the age of 81 from lung cancer. Her age was often incorrectly reported as being 96 at the time of her death, but official birth records prove that she was born in 1935
Filmography
1984
- Androcles and the Lion as Megaera
1983
- Blackadder as Mrs. Applebottom
- Getting Sam Home as Ivy
1982
- Scrubbers as Sister
- Ghost in the Water as Mrs. Willetts
1981
- Marriage as Aunt Arina
1980
- Lindsey as Mrs. Allen
- Dark Water as Manager's wife
1979
1978
- Scully's New Year's Eve as Mrs Scully
1977
- Love on a Gunboat as Knitting lady
- The Val Doonican Music Show as Self
1975
- Through the Night as Martha Paisley
1974
- Playhouse as Aunt Arina
1973
- Last of the Summer Wine as Ivy
1972
- The Fishing Party as Audrey