Eleanor Audrey Summerfield (7 March 1921 – 13 July 2001) was an English actress who appeared in many plays, films and television series. She is known for her roles in ''

Laughter in Paradise ''Laughter in Paradise'' is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi, starring Alastair Sim, Fay Compton, George Cole, and Guy Middleton. It was written by Jack Davies and Michael Pertwee. The film was remade as '' Some Will, S ...

'' (1951), '' Final Appointment'' (1954), '' Odongo'' (1956), '' Dentist in the Chair'' (1960), '' On the Fiddle'' (1961), '' The Running Man'' (1963) and ''

Some Will, Some Won't ''Some Will, Some Won't'' is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Duncan Wood, starring an ensemble British cast including Michael Hordern, Ronnie Corbett, Dennis Price, Leslie Phillips and Arthur Lowe. It is a remake of ''Laughter in Paradise ...

'' (1970).

Early life and career

She was born as Eleanor Audrey Summerfield in St Pancras,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 7 March 1921. Summerfield trained at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

in 1937. Summerfield made her screen debut in the 1946 television drama ''A Phoenix Too Frequent'', which was based on a play of the same name. Her first stage show was ''

Her Excellency Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...

'' at the London Hippodrome in 1949. In the mid-1960s, she played P. G. Wodehouse's character

Aunt Dahlia Dahlia Travers (née Wooster) is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves stories of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being best known as Bertie Wooster's bonhomous, red-faced Aunt Dahlia. She is much beloved by her nephew, in contra ...

on the

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

television series '' The World of Wooster'' (1965–1967) aired on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. She was also a regular member in the panel game ''

Just a Minute ''Just a Minute'' is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game. For more than 50 years, with a few exceptions, it was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Following Parsons' death in 2020, Sue Perkins became the permanent host, starting with the 87th ser ...

'' and was a team member for the entire 15-year run of '' Many a Slip'' (1964–1979). During her career spanning nearly half a century, she appeared in a number of films and television series. Other TV series she appeared in included ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery fiction, mystery series, based on the Lovejoy (novel series), novels by John Grant (Lovejoy), John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six ser ...

'': Season 2: Episode 5, 1991 " Who Dares, Sings" as May Walker; and ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'': Series 1: Episode 4, 1998 " Faithful Until Death" as Elfrida Molfrey.

Personal life and Death

Summerfield was married to actor

Leonard Sachs Leonard Meyer Sachs (26 September 1909 – 15 June 1990) was a South African-born British actor. Life and career Sachs was born in the town of Roodepoort, in the then Transvaal Colony, present day South Africa. He was Jewish. He emigrated ...

from 1947 until his death in 1990. They had two sons, including Robin Sachs. She died in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, on 13 July 2001, aged 80.

Filmography

* '' Take My Life'' (1947) - Miss Carteret * '' London Belongs to Me'' (1948) - The Blonde * '' The Weaker Sex'' (1948) - Clippie (uncredited) * '' The Story of Shirley Yorke'' (1948) - Doris * ''

All Over the Town ''All Over the Town'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Derek N. Twist and starring Norman Wooland, Sarah Churchill and Cyril Cusack. It was written by Michael Gordon and Twist based on the 1947 novel by R. F. Delderfield. Plot ...

'' (1949) - Beryl Hopper * '' Man on the Run'' (1949) - May Baker, Anchor Hotel * '' No Way Back'' (1949) - Beryl * '' The Third Visitor'' (1951) - Vera Kurton * ''

'' (1951) - Sheila Wilcott * '' Scrooge'' (1951) - Miss Flora * ''

The Last Page ''The Last Page'', released in the United States as ''Man Bait'', is a 1952 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher, starring George Brent, Marguerite Chapman and Diana Dors. The film is notable for being the first Hammer film direct ...

'' (1952) - Vi * '' Mandy'' (1952) - Lily Tabor * '' Top Secret'' (1952) - Cecilia * '' Street Corner'' (1953) - Edna Hurran * '' Isn't Life Wonderful!'' (1953) - Aunt Kate * '' Face the Music'' (1954) - Barbara Quigley * '' Murder by Proxy'' (aka ''Blackout'') (1954) - Margaret 'Maggie' Doone * '' Final Appointment'' (1954) - Jenny * '' Lost'' (1956) - Sgt. Cook * '' Odongo'' (1956) - Celia Watford * '' It's Great to Be Young'' (1956) - Barmaid * '' No Road Back'' (1957) - Marguerite * '' A Cry from the Streets'' (1958) - Gloria * '' Dentist in the Chair'' (1960) - Ethel * ''

The Millionairess ''The Millionairess'' is a 1960 British romantic comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith, and starring Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers. Set in London, it is a loose adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1936 play of the same name. Plot By the ...

'' (1960) - Mrs. Willoughby * ''

Carry On Regardless ''Carry On Regardless'' is a 1961 British comedy film, the fifth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). The film revolves loosely around the activities of a job agency, 'Helping Hand', run by Sid James's character, Bert Handy ...

'' (1961) - Mrs. Riley (part cut) (uncredited) * '' Spare the Rod'' (1961) - Mrs. Harkness * '' Don't Bother to Knock'' (1961) - Mother * '' On the Fiddle'' (1961) - Flora McNaughton * '' Petticoat Pirates'' (1961) - Chief Wren Mabel Rawlins * '' Guns of Darkness'' (1962) - Mrs. Bastian * '' On the Beat'' (1962) - Sgt. Lucilla Wilkins * '' The Running Man'' (1963) - Hilda Tanner * ''The Yellow Hat'' (1966) - Lady Xenia * '' The Spy Killer'' (1969, TV movie) - Mrs. Roberts * '' Foreign Exchange'' (1970, TV movie) - Mrs. Roberts * ''

'' (1970) - Elizabeth Robson * '' The Watcher in the Woods'' (1981) - Mrs. Thayer * '' The Island of Adventure'' (1982) - Aunt Polly

References

External links

*
Obituary in ''The Guardian''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summerfield, Eleanor 1921 births 2001 deaths Actresses from London English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses 20th-century English actresses Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Actors from the London Borough of Camden People from St Pancras, London