Patsy Rowlands

{{Infobox person | name = Patsy Rowlands | image = Patsy Rowlands.jpg | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = Patricia Amy Rowlands | birth_date = {{birth date|1931|1|19|df=y}} | birth_place = Palmers Green, Middlesex, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2005|1|22|1931|1|19|df=y}} | death_place = Hove, East Sussex, England | years_active = 1959–2001 | spouse = {{marriage|Malcolm Sircom|1962|1971|reason=divorced}} | children = 1 | television = ''Bless This House''<br />''Hallelujah!''  }}

'''Patricia Amy Rowlands''' (19 January 1931 – 22 January 2005)<ref name=bbc>{{Cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4203011.stm | title=BBC News - Carry On Star Patsy Rowlands dies | date=24 January 2005 | access-date=21 November 2013 }}</ref><ref name=IndObit >{{Cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4203011.stm | title=Patsy Rowlands - Obituaries - The Independent | date=24 January 2005 | access-date=21 November 2013 }}</ref> was an English actress who is best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films series, as Betty Lewis in the ITV Thames sitcom ''Bless This House'', and as Alice Meredith in the Yorkshire Television sitcom ''Hallelujah!''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Patsy-Rowlands|title=Patsy Rowlands - British actress|website=Britannica.com}}</ref><ref name=stage/>

==Early years== Rowlands was born on 19 January 1931 in Palmers Green, Middlesex and attended the Sacred Heart convent school at Whetstone.<ref name=GdnObit /> An elocution teacher spotted her potential and encouraged her to pursue a career in acting. She applied to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and won a scholarship aged 15.<ref name=IndObit />

==Early career== Rowlands began her career in the chorus of ''Annie Get Your Gun'', followed by a summer season in Torquay. She then spent several years with the Players' Theatre in London, before making her West End theatre debut in Sandy Wilson's musical ''Valmouth''.<ref name=bbc/><ref name=theatricalia/>

Rowlands's other West End credits included ''Semi-Detached'' with Laurence Olivier and directed by Tony Richardson (with whom she was to work often, appearing in his 1963 film Tom Jones), ''Shut Your Eyes and Think of England'', with Donald Sinden, ''The Seagull'' and Ben Travers's ''The Bed Before Yesterday'', both directed by Lindsay Anderson and ''When We Are Married'' for Ronald Eyre.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/obituaries/patsy-rowlands-actress-in-the-carry-on-comedies-dies-at-71.html?mcubz=0|title=Patsy Rowlands, Actress in the 'Carry On' Comedies, Dies at 71|newspaper=The New York Times| date=30 January 2005 |access-date=24 October 2018}}</ref><ref name=GdnObit /> She also starred in Cameron Mackintosh's revival of ''Oliver!'' in the mid-1990s, as well as playing Jack's mother in the original London cast of Sondheim's ''Into the Woods''.<ref name=theatricalia>{{cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/person/13d0/patsy-rowlands|title=Patsy Rowlands - Theatricalia|website=Theatricalia.com}}</ref> Her final appearance was as Mrs Pearce in the National Theatre's production of ''My Fair Lady'' which also starred Jonathan Pryce.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2001/legit/reviews/my-fair-lady-6-1200467240/|title=Review: 'My Fair Lady'|first=Matt|last=Wolf|date=21 March 2001|website=Variety.com}}</ref>

Rowlands also appeared quite frequently on television early in her career. Amongst the various series in which she appeared, were several appearances in ''Gert and Daisy'' (1959) as Bonnie, as well as appearing in 2 episodes of ''Danger Man'' (as different, unrelated characters) and in ''The Avengers'' episode "Love All".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f4e8b23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228132721/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f4e8b23|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 February 2016|title=Patsy Rowlands|website=Bfi.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://danger-man.co.uk/episodeDetails.asp?episodeID=57&seriesNo=4|title=The Danger Man Website|website=Danger-man.co.uk|access-date=24 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/avengers-love-all-v182515/cast-crew|title=Avengers: Love All (1969) - Peter Sykes - Cast and Crew - AllMovie|website=AllMovie}}</ref> Rowlands played the role of a love interest for George called "Beryl" in the 1979 Christmas special and final episode of ''George and Mildred''

==From 1969 to 1991== Rowlands made her debut in the ''Carry On'' films in ''Carry On Again Doctor'' in 1969 and soon became a regular member of the repertory company of performers, usually playing the dowdy, put-upon wife or the long-suffering secretary.<ref name=stage>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/obituaries--archive/obituaries/patsy-rowlands/|title=Patsy Rowlands - Obituaries - The Stage|date=1 February 2005|website=Thestage.co.uk}}</ref> Between 1969 and 1975 she appeared in nine of the films in increasingly large roles, appearing in ''Carry On Again Doctor'', ''Carry On Loving'', ''Carry On Henry'', ''Carry On Matron'', ''Carry On Abroad'' and ''Carry On Dick'' - more substantial roles include ''Carry On at Your Convenience'', ''Carry On Girls'' and ''Carry On Behind''.<ref name=avelyman/>

On 7 March 1971, Rowlands starred in a single episode ''(You've Really Landed Me In It This Time)'' of the ITV sitcom ''Doctor at Large'', with Barry Evans and George Layton, as a nymphomaniac secretary, the kind of role she had played in ''Carry On Loving''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b87348aa3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917043204/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b87348aa3|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 September 2017|title=You've Really Landed Me in It This Time (1971)|website=Bfi.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://carryonfan.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/patsy-rowlands-her-carry-on-story.html|title=Patsy Rowlands: Her Carry On Story|website=Carryonfan.blogspot.co.uk| date=19 January 2017 }}</ref>

From 1971 to 1976, Rowlands played Betty, the feckless neighbour in the ITV sitcom ''Bless This House'', which starred fellow ''Carry On'' star Sid James.<ref name=avelyman>{{cite web|url=http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=15048|title=Patsy Rowlands|website=Aveleyman.com}}</ref> Her other television credits at this time included a couple of episodes of ''For the Love of Ada'', playing a pregnant woman in the maternity ward also appearances with comedians such as Les Dawson and Dick Emery. In the early 1980s, she appeared with Thora Hird in the sitcom ''Hallelujah!'', in which they played an aunt and niece in The Salvation Army. In 1991, she appeared in an episode of ''Zorro'' filmed in Madrid, Spain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0755199/|title=Miracle of the Pueblo|date=8 December 1991|website=IMDb.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newworldzorro.com/presskitinfo/prodnotes.html|title=New World Zorro Production Notes|website=Newworldzorro.com}}</ref>

Rowlands also appeared in screen versions of two of Frances Hodgson Burnett's books: the television film ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1980), as Mrs. Dibble, and a TV dramatisation of ''A Little Princess'' (1986) as the baker's wife.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b739b7cf7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425083406/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b739b7cf7|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 April 2017|title=Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980)|website=Bfi.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b739d5f31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921182623/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b739d5f31|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 September 2017|title=A Little Princess Part 5 (1987)|website=Bfi.org.uk}}</ref>

==Later years== Towards the end of her life, Rowlands appeared in several revivals of major musicals such as ''Oliver!'' at the London Palladium and ''My Fair Lady'' at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/patsy-rowlands-1-672697|title=Patsy Rowlands|website=Scotsman.com}}</ref>

Rowlands later television credits include ''The Cazalets'', ''The Canterbury Tales'', ''The Cater Street Hangman'', ''Get Well Soon'', ''Vanity Fair'', ''Murder Most English'', and ''Bottom'' for the BBC. In 2002, she was a guest on the paranormal series ''Most Haunted''. Rowlands took part in several DVD audio commentaries along with other surviving stars of the ''Carry On'' films in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.robertross.co.uk/page5.htm | title=Robert Ross DVD | access-date=21 November 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205202023/http://www.robertross.co.uk/page5.htm | archive-date=5 December 2013 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==Illness and death== Rowlands developed breast cancer, abandoned her plans to become an acting teacher and retired. She died of the disease in an East Sussex hospice, aged 74.<ref name=GdnObit>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jan/26/guardianobituaries.film | title=Patsy Rowlands | first=Dennis | last=Barker | newspaper=The Guardian | date=26 January 2005 | access-date=15 July 2012}}</ref>

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | rowspan="3" |1961 || ''On the Fiddle''|| Evie || |- | ''Over the Odds''|| Marilyn || |- | ''In the Doghouse''|| Barmaid || |- | rowspan="2" |1962 || ''A Kind of Loving''|| Dorothy || |- | ''The Brain''|| Young Woman at Dance Hall || Uncredited |- | rowspan="2" |1963 || ''Tom Jones''|| Honor || |- | ''A Stitch in Time''|| Amy || |- |1964 || ''Love and Maud Carver'' || Maud Carver || |- |1965 || ''Dateline Diamonds'' || Mrs Edgecomb || |- |1969 || ''Carry On Again Doctor'' || Miss Fosdick || |- |1970 || ''Carry On Loving'' || Miss Dempsey || |- | rowspan="3" |1971 || ''Carry On Henry'' || Ex-Queen || |- | ''Please Sir!'' || Angela Cutforth || |- | ''Carry On at Your Convenience'' || Hortence Withering || |- | rowspan="4" |1972 || ''Carry On Matron'' || Miss Banks || |- | ''Bless This House'' || Betty Lewis || |- | ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' || Cook || |- | ''Carry On Abroad'' || Miss Dobbs || |- |1973 || ''Carry On Girls'' || Mildred Bumble || |- |1974 || ''Carry On Dick'' || Mrs Giles || |- |1975 || ''Carry On Behind'' || Linda Upmore || |- |1977 || ''Joseph Andrews'' || Gammer Andrews || |- |1978 || ''Sammy's Super T-Shirt'' || Mum || |- |1979 || ''Tess'' || The Landlady || |- |1990 || ''Crimestrike'' || Madame Tepinski || |- |2002 || ''The Princess and the Pea'' || Sasha || Voice |}

==Television roles== {| class="wikitable" ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- |1959 || ''Gert and Daisy'' || Bonnie || |- |1960 |''Stuff and Nonsense'' |June Primble | rowspan="3" |TV movie |- | rowspan="2" |1961 |''One Way Pendulum'' |Sylvia Groomkirby |- |''The Final Test'' |Cora |- |1961-1964 || ''Danger Man'' || Mrs. Harkness/Mrs. Farebrother ||2 episodes |- | rowspan="2" |1962 |''The Amazing Dr Clitterhouse'' |Daisy | rowspan="2" |TV movie |- |''Not At All'' |Mrs. Chas |- | 1964 || ''The Massingham Affair'' || Georgina Deverel ||5 episodes |- |1965 |''Out of the Unknown'' |Anne Lovejoy |Episode: "Come Buttercup, Come Daisy, Come..." |- |1966 |''Take A Sapphire'' |Leopoldina |TV movie |- | 1968-1970 || ''Inside George Webley'' || Rosemary Webley || |- |1969 |''The Avengers'' |Thelma |Episode: "Love All" |- |1970 |''Jackanory'' |Narrator |Story: "Mrs. Pepperpot" |- |1971 || ''Doctor at Large'' || Liz Hickle ||Episode: "You've Really Landed Me In It This Time" |- |1971-1972 |''Tottering Towers'' |Miss Twitty | |- |1971-1976 || ''Bless This House'' || Betty Lewis || |- |1974-1977 || ''The Squirrels'' || Susan || |- | rowspan="2" |1975 |''Not on Your Nellie'' |Clarissa Cholmondeley-Burnside |Episode: "High Society" |- |''The Basil Brush Show'' |Dazzie |1 episode |- | rowspan="2" |1979 |''3-2-1'' |Herself |1 episode |- | ''George and Mildred''|| Beryl, the barmaid ||Episode: "The Twenty-Six Year Itch" |- | rowspan="2" |1980 || ''The Nesbitts Are Coming''|| WPC Naylor || |- |''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' |Mrs. Dibble | rowspan="2" |TV movie |- | rowspan="3" |1981 |''Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective'' |Madame Tarantella |- | ''Kinvig'' || Netta Kinvig || |- | ''The Incredible Mr Tanner'' || Martha || Episode: "The Better Hair" |- |1982-1986 || ''In Loving Memory'' || Tiger-Lilly Longstaff || |- |1989 || ''Never the Twain'' || Pamela Davenport ||Episode: "Neighbours" |- |1983-1984 || ''Hallelujah!'' || Alice Meredith || |- |1987 |''When We Are Married'' |Lottie Grady |TV movie |- |1987-1992 |''Rainbow'' |Auntie |5 episodes |- | rowspan="2" |1992 || ''Bottom'' || Lil Potato ||Episode: "Parade" |- |''In Dreams'' |Royalist Housewife |TV movie |- |1997 || ''Get Well Soon'' || Mrs Clapton ||4 episodes |- |1998 |''The Cater Street Hangman'' |Mrs. Dumphy |TV movie |- |2001 |''The Cazalets'' |The Governess |Miniseries |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|0746772}} * [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jan/26/guardianobituaries.film Obituary] in ''The Guardian'' * [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/patsy-rowlands-488228.html Obituary] in ''The Independent''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowlands, Patsy}} Category:1931 births Category:2005 deaths Category:20th-century English singers Category:20th-century English women singers Category:Actors from the London Borough of Enfield Category:Deaths from breast cancer in England Category:English film actresses Category:English musical theatre actresses Category:English stage actresses Category:English television actresses Category:People from Palmers Green