Natasha Pyne (born 9 July 1946) is an English actress who starred in ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'' (1967 film), '' The Breaking of Bumbo'' (1970) and '' Father, Dear Father'' (1973).

Early life

Pyne was born in

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

on 9 July 1946. She is descended from a sister of Empress Eugénie, the wife of French emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

. Her father was a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

to the British embassy in Rome and she attended a private school in London. She went to a comprehensive school in Fulham, Hurlingham School, for the latter part of her education.

Career

Theatre

Pyne began her stage acting career at the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

in a production of

John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur, who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-war theatre. Born in London, he briefly worked as a jo ...

's '' Inadmissible Evidence'' in 1964 Pyne played

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet. Due to Hamlet's actions, Ophelia ultima ...

in a

Charles Marowitz Charles Marowitz (26 January 1934 – 2 May 2014) was an American critic, theatre director, and playwright, regular columnist on Swans Commentary. He collaborated with Peter Brook at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later founded and direct ...

's adaptation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's '

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

' at the Open Space Theatre at Tottenham Court Road in July 1969. Pyne starred in the Denise Coffey directed production of Brandon Thomas's Charley's Aunt and

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's The Importance of being Earnest at the Young Vic in 1977. She returned to the

in 1990 in Robert Holman's '' Rafts and Dreams''.

Film and TV

In early 1963, Pyne had a leading role in the BBC Saturday early evening children's drama serial ''The Chem. Lab. Mystery''. She appeared as Bianca in the

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

and

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

film ''

'' in 1967, alongside Michael York. and her other film roles include '' The Breaking of Bumbo'' (1970), '' Madhouse'' (1973) with Vincent Price, and the Disney British film '' One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing'' (1975) as Susan, a young nanny. She appeared in an episode of '' Jason King'' and also '' The Adventurer'' with Gene Barry. She is best known for her role as Anna Glover in the British television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Father, Dear Father'', which ran from 1968 to 1973. Made by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

, the series featured

Patrick Cargill Patrick Cargill (3 June 191823 May 1996) was an English actor remembered for his lead role in the British television sitcom ''Father, Dear Father''. Early life Cargill was born to middle-class parents living in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex. After edu ...

as her father, and Pyne reprised her role in the 1973 film version. Her later appearances were mostly in television dramas such as ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

''. Pyne has also been in many Radio 4 plays. In 2007, she made a guest appearance in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' audio play '' I.D.''.

Personal life

She married the actor

Paul Copley Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voice over artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of ''Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV s ...

in 1972, having performed with him in a 1971 production in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the developme ...

's ''

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

'', directed by Peter Barnes.

Filmography

Film

*'' The Devil-Ship Pirates'' (1964) *'' The Idol'' (1966) *'' Who Killed the Cat?'' (1966) *''

'' (1967) *'' The Breaking of Bumbo'' (1970) *'' Father, Dear Father'' (1973) *'' Madhouse'' (1973) *'' One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing'' (1975)

Radio work

She was in BBC's Radio Drama Company (RDC) in the mid-1980s and appeared in numerous Radio 4 plays and readings. She also appeared i
Drama on 3
and Children's BBC Radio 5 (former). *''Whale Music (play)'' (

Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He directed ''Truly, Madly, Deeply (film), ...

) (1986) *Father Brown - The Curse of the Gold Cross (1986) *''The Clockmaker of Cordoba'' (1986) *'' All's Well That Ends Well'' (1986) *''Searching The Ashes'' (1986) *''The Making Of Frankenstein'' (1986) * Afternoon Play - ''The Cotswold Order'' (1986), as Dorkas *''Count Omega'' (1987) *'' The Demon Headmaster'' (1990) *''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...

'' (1991) *''Mrs Donaldson at sixty'' (1991) *'' The Wizard of Oz'' (1994) *''The Secret Life of my Aunt Fanny'' (1994) *Thirty Minute Theatre – ''An Afterlife'' (1995) *Afternoon Play – ''Love To Hate'' (written by Wally K. Daly) (2000) *Afternoon Play – ''Ruth Ellis the son's story'' (2000) *Afternoon Play – ''Best Of Luck, Phyllis Diller'' (2005)

Television

She was in '' Van der Valk'' when it was revived once again towards the end of Thames' life as a part of the ITV network, with four two-hour episodes of the fourth series in January and February 1991, and the fifth series three two-hour episodes in February 1992. *''

Silas Marner ''Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe'' is the third novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It was published on 2 April 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, the novel is notable for its strong realism a ...

'' (1964) *

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...

– ''

A Hero of Our Time ''A Hero of Our Time'' ( rus, Герой нашего времени, links=1, r=Gerój nášego vrémeni, p=ɡʲɪˈroj ˈnaʂɨvə ˈvrʲemʲɪnʲɪ) is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839, published in 1840, and revised in 1841. It ...

'' (1966) * Mystery and Imagination – ''Carmilla'' (1966) *'' Haunted'' – "Through a Glass Darkly" (1968) *''Father Dear Father'' (1968–73) *'' Jason King'' (1972) *'' The Adventurer'' (1972) *

Play For Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

– ''A Brush with Mr Porter on the Road to Eldorado'' (1981) *'' Van der Valk'' (1991–92) *'' Cadfael'' (1998) *''

'' (2000s (decade))

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyne, Natasha 1946 births Living people English film actresses English stage actresses English voice actresses Actors from Crawley Actresses from West Sussex 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses