Yootha Joyce
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
A Man for All Seasons
1966
as Averil Machin
Kaleidoscope
1966
as Museum Receptionist
Fanatic
1965
as Anna
Frankenstein: The True Story
1974
as Hospital Matron
Steptoe & Son Ride Again
1973
as Freda
The Pumpkin Eater
1964
as Woman at Hairdresser's
Catch Us If You Can
1965
as Nan
Charlie Bubbles
1968
as Woman in Cafe
Fragment of Fear
1970
as Miss Ward-Cadbury
Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width
1973
as Mrs. Finch
George & Mildred
1980
as Mildred Roper
Sparrows Can't Sing
1963
as Barmaid
Burke & Hare
1972
as Mrs. Hare
Man About the House
1974
as Mildred Roper
The Road Builder
1971
as Mrs. Palafox
Stranger in the House
1967
as Shooting Range Girl
Twenty-Nine
1969
as The Prostitute
Our Mother's House
1967
as Mrs. Quayle
All the Right Noises
1970
as Mrs. Bird
Maigret at Bay
1969
as Mlle. Motte