Mary Wimbush

Mary Wimbush (19 March 1924 – 31 October 2005) was an English actress whose career spanned sixty years from the 1940s to the 2000s. Active across film, television, theatre and radio, she was perhaps best known for her role as the character of Julia Pargetter in BBC Radio 4's popular soap opera The Archers, a part she played from 1992 until her death.

Early life and education

Wimbush's father was a schoolmaster and her mother had trained at RADA, but did not pursue a stage career. Wimbush was educated at the Berkhamsted School for Girls, and at St Agnes & St Michael's Convent, an Anglican school in East Grinstead. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, before joining the Amersham repertory company.

Career

She first acted on radio for the BBC in 1945, later preferring the medium as it gave her more time to look after her young son, and it continued to be the medium in which she was the most active throughout her career. She played roles in hundreds of series, serials and plays, including various Shakespeare productions; Mrs Dale's Diary, The Governor's Consort (a part written especially for her by Peter Tinniswood), The Mystery of Edwin Drood and The Horse's Mouth. For the latter two productions she won Best Actress at the 1991 Sony Awards, the radio equivalent of the Oscars. In 2004 she played Eurycleia in BBC Radio 4's acclaimed dramatisation of The Odyssey. In The Archers in 1951 her character Jane Maxwell was the original stumbling block to the engagement of Phil Archer and his future (first) wife Grace. In 1965 she played schoolteacher Elsie Catcher, and was a regular on the programme for two years until the character retired. In 1969 she returned for a time as Lady Isabel Lander and she finally came back in 1992 as Julia Pargetter.

Leslie Phillips

Leslie Samuel Phillips, CBE (born 20 April 1924) is a British actor who came to prominence in films in the 1950s, acting as a suave charmer with an exaggerated upper-class accent, in the style of Terry-Thomas. After a notable success in the Carry On films and the Doctor series, he moved away from comedy into character roles in the Harry Potter series and many TV sitcoms, as well as stage work.

Early life

Contrary to the impression given by his public persona, Phillips came from a background of poverty. He was born in Tottenham, north London, England, the son of Cecelia Margaret (née Newlove) and Frederick Samuel Phillips, who worked at Glover and Main, manufacturers of cookers in Edmonton; the "filthy, sulphurous" air of the factory gave Frederick a weak heart and edema, leading to his death at the age of 44. In 1931, the family moved to Chingford, then in Essex, now part of Greater London, where Phillips attended Larkswood Primary School.

It was his mother who decided that Phillips should be sent to the Italia Conti Academy to receive elocution lessons to lose his natural cockney accent. At that time a strong regional accent was a major impediment to an aspiring actor. It proved to be an astute move and by the age of 14 Phillips was the family's main breadwinner, saving his mother from squalor.

Radio drama

Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play,radio theater, or audio theater) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story: “It is auditory in the physical dimension but equally powerful as a visual force in the psychological dimension.”

Radio drama achieved widespread popularity within a decade of its initial development in the 1920s. By the 1940s, it was a leading international popular entertainment. With the advent of television in the 1950s, however, radio drama lost some of its popularity, and in some countries has never regained large audiences. However, recordings of OTR (old-time radio) survive today in the audio archives of collectors and museums, as well as several online sites such as Internet Archive.

As of 2011, radio drama has a minimal presence on terrestrial radio in the United States. Much of American radio drama is restricted to rebroadcasts or podcasts of programs from previous decades. However, other nations still have thriving traditions of radio drama. In the United Kingdom, for example, the BBC produces and broadcasts hundreds of new radio plays each year on Radio 3, Radio 4, and Radio 4 Extra. Like the USA, Australia ABC has abandoned broadcasting drama but New Zealand RNZ continues to promote and broadcast a variety of drama on its airways. Podcasting has also offered the means of creating new radio dramas, in addition to the distribution of vintage programs.

Gladys Mitchell

Gladys Mitchell (21 April 1901 – 27 July 1983) was an English author best known for her creation of Mrs. Bradley, the heroine of 66 detective novels. She also wrote under the pseudonyms Stephen Hockaby and Malcolm Torrie. Feted during her life (called "the Great Gladys" by Philip Larkin), her work was largely neglected for the two decades after her death.

Life

Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell was born in Cowley, Oxford on 19 April 1901 to James, a market gardener of Scottish parentage, and Annie. She was educated at Rothschild School, Brentford and The Green School. From 1919 to 1921 she attended Goldsmiths College and University College London.

Upon her graduation Mitchell became a teacher of history, English and games at St Paul's School, Brentford until 1925. She then taught at St Anne's Senior Girls School, Ealing until 1939. In 1926 she obtained an external diploma in European History from University College in 1926 and she then began to write novels while continuing to teach. In 1941 she joined Brentford School for Girls where she stayed until 1950. After a three-year break from teaching she took a job at Matthew Arnold School, Staines, where she taught English and history, coached hurdling and wrote the annual school play until her retirement to Corfe Mullen, Dorset in 1961. She continued to write until her death aged 82 on 27 July 1983.

Margaret Seddon

Margaret Seddon (November 18, 1872 – April 17, 1968) was an American film actress. She appeared in 104 films between 1915 and 1951, including Frank Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). She was born in Washington, D.C. and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Selected filmography

External links