Anne Veronica Maria Quayle (6 October 1932 – 16 August 2019), known professionally as Anna Quayle, was an English actress. In 1963, she received a

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950 ...

for her performance in the original production of '' Stop the World – I Want to Get Off''.

Early and personal life

Quayle, whose father was the actor Douglas Quayle, studied at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

(RADA). She debuted in ''East Lynne'' at age 3 and played other children's roles thereafter. She also worked as a model in her youth. During one modeling assignment she fell off a ladder, breaking her nose in three places. At her father's encouragement, she did not have it straightened. In 1976, she married Donald Baker, but the marriage ended in divorce.

Career

Quayle appeared on film, on stage and on television. After her graduation from RADA, she appeared at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

in ''Better Late'' (1956). Her film appearances include '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964, in a short, but memorable scene with

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

), '' Smashing Time'' (1967), the German expressionist sequence of '' Casino Royale'' (1967), and ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

'' (1968). Quayle appeared on Broadway in 1963 in the original production of '' Stop the World - I Want to Get Off'' opposite

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leadin ...

, for which she won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

for Best Supporting Musical Actress. She also appeared in productions of that musical in London and South Africa. Her other television work includes the comedy drama series ''

Mapp and Lucia ''Mapp and Lucia'' is a 1931 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the fourth of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social dominance over their small communities. It bring ...

'', the children's science fiction series ''

The Georgian House The Georgian House is a British children's historical fantasy television series produced by HTV in Bristol and first screened on ITV in 1976. The series consisted of seven episodes. Plot The story concerned two students, Dan and Abbie, wh ...

'', and ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running program ...

'' where she played the role of Mrs Monroe between 1990 and 1994. She also appeared as a regular panellist on the popular

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

panel game show ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'' in 1973.

Death

In 2012, Quayle was diagnosed with

Lewy body dementia Lewy body dementias are two similar and common subtypes of dementia— dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Both are characterized by changes in thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. The two conditions have s ...

; she died on 16 August 2019 at the age of 86.

Selected filmography

Television

*''

The Sooty Show ''The Sooty Show'' is a British children's television series, created by Harry Corbett, and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992. The show, part of the ''Sooty'' franchise, focuses on the mischievous a ...

'' (Sooty's Restaurant) as Guest Diner *'' The Avengers'' (1967) as Olga Vilovski in episode "

The Correct Way to Kill "The Correct Way to Kill" is the ninth episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series '' The Avengers'', starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Anna Quayle, Michael Gough, Philip Madoc, and Tere ...

" *'' Join Jim Dale'' (1969) *''

'' (1976) as Miss Humphreys *''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

'' (1981) as Nancy Tallboys in episode "The Unseen Hook" *''

'' (1986) as Olga Braceley *''

'' (85 episodes, 1990–1994) as Mrs. Monroe

Film

*'' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) as Millie *'' The Sandwich Man'' (1966) as Second Billingsgate Lady *''

Drop Dead Darling ''Drop Dead Darling'' (US title: ''Arrivederci, Baby!'') is a 1966 British-American black comedy film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Tony Curtis, Rosanna Schiaffino, Lionel Jeffries and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Plot A man goes around marrying we ...

'' (1966) as Aunt Miriam *'' Casino Royale'' (1967) as Frau Hoffner *'' Smashing Time'' (1967) as Charlotte Brillig *''

'' (1968) as Baroness Bomburst *''

Up the Chastity Belt ''Up the Chastity Belt'' (also released as ''Naughty Knights'' in the United States) is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Frankie Howerd. It was a spin-off from the TV series '' Up Pompeii!'' Plot Eleanor of Aquit ...

'' (1971) as Lady Ashfodel *''

Mistress Pamela ''Mistress Pamela'' is a 1973 British sex comedy drama film directed by Jim O'Connolly and starring Ann Michelle, Dudley Foster, Anna Quayle and Anthony Sharp. It was loosely based on the 1740 novel '' Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded'' by Samue ...

'' (1974) as Mrs. Jelks *'' Eskimo Nell'' (1975) as Reverend Mother *'' Three for All'' (1975) as La Pulle *''

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.'' is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same na ...

'' (1976) as Freda *''

Adventures of a Private Eye ''Adventures of a Private Eye'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H. Corbett and Liz Fraser. It followed the 1976 film ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' and was followed ...

'' (1977) as Medea *''

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate ''Adventures of a Plumber's Mate'' is a 1978 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil as Sid South. Following on from ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' and '' Adventures of a Private Eye'', it was the final ...

'' (1978) as Loretta Proudfoot *''

S.O.S. Titanic ''S.O.S. Titanic'' is a British- American 1979 drama disaster television movie that depicts the doomed 1912 maiden voyage from the perspective of three distinct groups of passengers in First, Second, and Third Class. The script was written by J ...

'' (1979) as Woman Turkish Bath Attendant: Maude Slocombe

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quayle, Anna 1932 births 2019 deaths English people of Manx descent English people of Irish descent English Roman Catholics English film actresses English musical theatre actresses English television actresses English stage actresses Actresses from Birmingham, West Midlands Tony Award winners 20th-century English actresses Deaths from dementia in England Deaths from Lewy body dementia