Valerie Jeanne Wilkinson (9 May 1931 – 11 October 2005) was an English actress known as Jan Holden, using her mother's maiden name as a stage name. In

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

she was known for her performances in light comedy and appeared in several television series during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Early life

Born in

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Jeanne Wilkinson, as she then was, spent her early childhood in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where her father was a senior manager at the

Swadeshi The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in ...

Cotton Mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

s in

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

. At the age of six, she and her twin brother Geoffrey were sent to schools in the hills near

Simla Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...

. Getting there took a two-day train journey. The term lasted nine months, and there were three months at home during the cool season. The schools were not mixed, so she and her brother only met at church on Sundays. Holden was heartbroken when her twin brother drowned during the early 1960s. On the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Holden and her mother returned to Britain, where she became a boarder at Lowther College in

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. When the war ended, her mother returned to India while Jan stayed at her school and lived with school friends during the holidays. At the age of eighteen, she was offered places 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 ...

, the

Old Vic School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS was an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance a ...

, and the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

, but her father declined to pay the fees, as he disapproved of her ambition to go on the stage. Eventually, he was persuaded to allow her to take a directors' course at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

, where she was one of two pupils chosen as assistant stage managers.

Career

After the Old Vic, Holden turned to repertory, where she met her first husband, the actor

Edwin Richfield Edwin Richfield (11 September 1921 – 2 August 1990) was an English actor. Career Richfield starred in the television series '' Interpol Calling'' (1959). He was '' The Odd Man'' in Granada Television's series of the same name in the early 19 ...

. The couple married in 1952, while they were both appearing in a stage version of '' The Blue Lamp''. Holden was an elegant actress, known for her arresting pale blue eyes. She made her West End debut in 1958 in ''Speaking of Murder'' at

St Martin's Theatre St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of '' The Mousetrap'' since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world. The theatre is located in West Street, near Shaftesbury Avenue, i ...

, which was followed by ''The Tunnel of Love'', a

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

Television

Her television credits included ''

Fabian of the Yard ''Fabian of Scotland Yard'' is a British police procedural television series based on the real-life memoirs of Scotland Yard detective Robert Fabian, produced by Trinity Productions, with episodes purchase by the BBC and broadcast between Novemb ...

'', '' Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Presents'', ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

'', '' The Vise'', '' The Avengers'', ''

Bird of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

'', '' The Cheaters'', '' The Saint'', '' The Baron'', ''Harpers West One'', ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft (TV producer), David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and television directo ...

'', '' Casanova '73'', '' Agony'' and ''O Happy Band!''.

Personal life

Holden's marriage to actor

broke down in 1973, leaving her with three teenage children. In 1988, she married Louis Manson, a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

and businessman, but she was already in poor health and remained so during her final two decades. In 1999, one of her twin daughters died from a

brain tumour A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancero ...

, but she remained cheerful and courageous until her own death in 2005. She was survived by her husband, the son and remaining daughter of her first marriage, and two stepdaughters and four stepsons.

Filmography

Holden's film appearances included: *''

The Hornet's Nest ''The Hornet's Nest'' is a 2014 American documentary film about the Afghanistan war, directed and produced by David Salzberg and Christian Tureaud. The film follows two journalists, Mike Boettcher and Carlos Boettcher (a father and son), embedde ...

'' (1955) – Miss Wentworth *'' I Am a Camera'' (1955) – Clive's party guest *'' No Smoking'' (1955) – Receptionist *''

Fire Maidens from Outer Space ''Fire Maidens from Outer Space'' (or ''Fire Maidens of Outer Space'' in US), is a 1956 British independent black-and-white science fiction feature film. It was written, produced and directed by American filmmaker Cy Roth as a collaboration bet ...

'' (1956) – Fire maiden *''

Assignment Redhead ''Assignment Redhead'' (U.S. title: ''Million Dollar Manhunt'') is a 1956 British second feature ('B') crime thriller film written and directed by Maclean Rogers. It was based on the novel ''Requiem for a Redhead'' by Lindsay Hardy. Synopsis ...

'' (1956) – Sally Jennings *'' Quatermass 2'' (1957) – Young girl *'' High Flight'' (1957) – Jackie *'' The Whole Truth'' (1958) – Party guest *''

The Camp on Blood Island ''The Camp on Blood Island'' is a 1958 British World War II film, directed by Val Guest for Hammer Film Productions and starring André Morell, Carl Möhner, Edward Underdown and Walter Fitzgerald. The film is set in a Japanese prisoner o ...

'' (1958) – Nurse *'' A Woman Possessed'' (1958) – Mary *'' Passionate Summer'' (1958) – Air hostess *'' Links of Justice'' (1958) – Elsie *'' The Stranglers of Bombay'' (1959) – Mary Lewis *''

Escort for Hire ''Escort for Hire'' is a low budget 'B' 1960 British thriller film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring June Thorburn, Pete Murray, Noel Trevarthen, Jan Holden and Peter Butterworth. It was written by Mark Grantham and produced by the D ...

'' (1960) – Elizabeth *'' Never Let Go'' (1960) – Mrs. Hurst *''

The Primitives The Primitives are an English indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash (The Primitives song), Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throu ...

'' (1962) – Cheta *'' The Saint'' (episode: "The Persistent Parasites", 1965) – Vera *'' The Saint'' (episode: "The Fast Women", 1967) – Cynthia Quillen *''

Work Is a Four-Letter Word ''Work Is a Four-Letter Word'' (also known as ''Work Is a 4-Letter Word'') is a 1968 British Satire, satirical comedy film directed by Peter Hall (director), Peter Hall and starring David Warner (actor), David Warner and Cilla Black. It was writ ...

'' (1968) – Mrs. Price *''

The Haunted House of Horror ''The Haunted House of Horror'' (also known as ''Horror House'' and ''The Dark'') is a 1969 British horror film directed by Michael Armstrong and starring Frankie Avalon and Jill Haworth. it was written by Armstrong and Gerry Levy (as Peter ...

'' (1969) – Peggy *'' The Best House in London'' (1969) – Lady Dilke *''

One Brief Summer ''One Brief Summer'' is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Mackenzie, the first feature film he directed. It stars Felicity Gibson and Clifford Evans. The British Film Institute called it "one of many '60s films to explore a relations ...

'' (1971) – Elizabeth *'' Dominique'' (1978) – Ballard's secretary

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Jan 1931 births 2005 deaths English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses People educated at Lowther College Actresses from Southport Entertainers from Kanpur