Janet McLuckie Brown (14 December 192327 May 2011) was a Scottish actress, comedian and
impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
who gained considerable fame in the 1970s and 1980s for her impersonations of
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
. Brown was the wife of
Peter Butterworth
Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915''Carry On'' films. Butterworth died in 1979 and Brown never remarried.
Career
Brown was born in
Rutherglen
Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...
,
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...
, and educated at
Rutherglen Academy
Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...
.
During World War II, Brown enlisted in the
Auxiliary Territorial Service
The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existe ...
, and was the first female performer to take part in
Stars in Battledress
Stars in Battledress (SiB) was an organisation of entertainers who were members of the British Armed Forces during World War II.
History
In Britain, during the Second World War, entertainment was considered an essential to keep morale high. I ...
.
She entered British film as an actress in 1948, notably in ''
Folly to Be Wise
''Folly to Be Wise'' is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Frank Launder and starring Alastair Sim, Elizabeth Allan, Roland Culver, Colin Gordon, Martita Hunt and Edward Chapman. It was written by James Bridie, John Dighton and Launder ...
'' (1952), and then appeared in several British television series, such as ''The
Eric Barker
Eric Leslie Barker (12 February 1912 – 1 June 1990) was an English comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British '' Carry On'' films, although he appeared only in the early films in the series, apart from returning ...
Half-Hour'' (1952), '' How Do You View?'' (1952–1953) and ''Friends and Neighbours'' (1954).
Margaret Thatcher impersonations
Beginning with
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
's election as the leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, Brown gained increasing prominence because of her realistic impression of the Tory politician. She performed as Thatcher on BBC TV's ''
Mike Yarwood
Michael Edward Yarwood (14 June 1941 – 8 September 2023) was an English impressionist, comedian and actor. He was one of Britain's top-rated entertainers, regularly appearing on television from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Early life
Michael Edwar ...
Show'', on BBC Radio's ''
The News Huddlines
''The News Huddlines'' was a BBC Radio 2 topical comedy sketch show starring Roy Hudd that ran for fifty one series from 1975 until 2001. Each episode lasted for half an hour and consisted of topical sketches, songs and one-liners.
Performers
T ...
'', and on film in the 1981
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
film, '' For Your Eyes Only''.
In 1979, Brown starred as Thatcher on the comedy album ''Iron Lady: The Coming of the Leader'', written by ''
Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...
Secret Policeman's Ball
''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but lat ...
Not the Nine O'Clock News
''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show that was broadcast on BBC2 from 16 October 1979 to 8 March 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, the show features satirical ...
'' series co-creator/producer John Lloyd. The largely ''
sprechstimme
(, "spoken singing") and (, "spoken voice"), more commonly known as speak-singing in English, are expressionist musical vocal techniques between singing and speaking. Though sometimes used interchangeably, is directly related to the operatic re ...
'' track "Iron Lady" was released as a single, and Brown promoted it on ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'' as a new release, but it did not chart.
She was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1980 when she was surprised by
Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...
.
During the 1970s and 1980s, she was occasionally confused by some with fellow actress and comedienne
Faith Brown
Faith Brown (born Eunice Irene Carroll; 28 May 1944) is an English actress, singer, comedian and Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist. She was a star of the ITV (TV network), ITV impressions show ''Who Do You Do?'', and was The Voice in t ...
because they had the same surname and were both best remembered for their Margaret Thatcher impersonations. In 1990, she recorded a spoken-word sequence in her Margaret Thatcher voice for
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English retired musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut studio album ''Tubular Bells'' (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a gu ...
's album '' Amarok''. Still acting in her eighties, her last role was as Old Lady Squeamish on the London West End stage in a production of
Wycherley People with the family name Wycherley include:
* Don Wycherley, Irish actor
* Florence Wycherley, Irish politician
* Ralph Wycherley, Canadian hockey player
* Richard Ernest Wycherley, an English Classicist
* Billy Fury (Ronald Wycherley), Britis ...
's ''
The Country Wife
''The Country Wife'' is a Restoration comedy written by William Wycherley and first performed in 1675. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial fo ...
'' at the
Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...
, which opened in September 2007.
She entitled her 1986
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
''Prime Mimicker''.
Personal life
Brown was married to ''
Carry On
Carry On may refer to:
Film
* ''Carry On'' (film), a 1927 British silent film
* ''Carry On'' (franchise), a British comedy media franchise
*''Carry-On'', a 2024 American action thriller film
Music Albums
* ''Carry On'' (Chris Cornell album)
* '' ...
'' actor
Peter Butterworth
Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915 The two appeared alongside each other in the television comedy series '' How Do You View?'' (1947–53), written by and starring
Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 1911 – 8 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members ...
. They also appeared together in the 1972 film, '' Bless This House''.
The couple had two children, a son, actor
Tyler Butterworth
Tyler Butterworth (born 6 February 1959) is an English actor.
Early life
Butterworth was born on 6 February 1959 in Redhill, Surrey. His father was Peter Butterworth, who starred in many of the '' Carry On'' films. His mother was the actress a ...
(born 1959), and a daughter, Emma, who died in 1996, aged 34.
Brown never remarried, spending the rest of her life in
Hove
Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove.
Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...
until her death following a brief illness in a nursing home in May 2011, aged 87.