Yootha Joyce
Born: 1927-08-20 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK
Died: 1980-08-24
Known For: Acting
Biography
British actress best known for her role as Mildred Roper in the '70s sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred. Born to musical parents Hurst Needham and Jessica Rivett in 1927, Joyce was trained at RADA, toured with ENSA and came to prominence via the Joan Littlewood Theatre Workshop, securing roles in TV shows such as The Avengers, Man in a Suitcase, Te Saint, Jason King and Steptoe and Son, and the films The Pumpkin Eater, A Man For All Seasons, Charlie Bubbles, All the Right Noises and Burke and Hare. She was married to fellow actor Glynn Edwards from 1956 to 1968, and they remained friends all her life. An alcoholic, Joyce died from liver failure in 1980, just four days after her 53rd birthday. Her sitcom co-star Brian Murphy was by her side. 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" securing her place as a British cultural icon.
Filmography
2023
- Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs as Archive Footage
1994
- The World of Hammer as Self (archive footage)
1980
- George & Mildred as Mildred Roper
1976
- George and Mildred as Mildred Roper
1974
- Frankenstein: The True Story as Hospital Matron
- Man About the House as Mildred Roper
1973
- Man About the House as Mildred Roper
- Seven of One as Mrs Scully
- Frankenstein: The True Story as Hospital Matron
- Steptoe & Son Ride Again as Freda
- Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width as Mrs. Finch
1972
- Burke & Hare as Mrs. Hare
- Nearest and Dearest as Mrs. Rhoda Rowbottom
1971
- Jason King
- The Road Builder as Mrs. Palafox
1970
- Manhunt as Denise
- The Misfit as Pamela
- Fragment of Fear as Miss Ward-Cadbury
- All the Right Noises as Mrs. Bird
1969
- On the Buses
- ITV Saturday Night Theatre as Erica Seydoux
- Maigret at Bay as Mlle. Motte
- Twenty-Nine as The Prostitute
1968
- Charlie Bubbles as Woman in Cafe
- Luther as Katharine Luther
- Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar
1967
- ITV Playhouse as Phoebe
- Our Mother's House as Mrs. Quayle
- Stranger in the House as Shooting Range Girl
1966
- A Man for All Seasons as Averil Machin
- Kaleidoscope as Museum Receptionist
1965
- BBC Play of the Month as Mademoiselle Motte
- Fanatic as Anna
- The Wednesday Thriller as Mrs Seam
- Catch Us If You Can as Nan
1964
- Theatre 625 as Jane Matthews
- The Wednesday Play as Rosalind Arnold
- Story Parade as Ruth Cowley
- Redcap as Magda
- The Pumpkin Eater as Woman at Hairdresser's
1963
- Sparrows Can't Sing as Barmaid
- A Place to Go as Bit Role (uncredited)
1962
- The Saint as Milanov
- Corrigan Blake
- The Fishing Match as Cissy
1961
- The Avengers as Miss Lister
1959
1956
- Armchair Theatre as Cissy