Joan Sanderson (24 November 1912 – 24 May 1992) was an English actress. During a long career on stage and screen, her tall and commanding disposition led to her playing mostly dowagers, spinsters and matrons, as well as intense Shakespearean roles. Her television work included appearances in the comedy series '' Please Sir!'' (1968–72), '' Rising Damp'' (1978), ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...

'', '' Ripping Yarns'' (both 1979), and '' Me and My Girl'' (1984–88).

Early life

Born and educated in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, Sanderson trained at RADA, having harboured an interest in the performing arts from a young age. She had teaching diplomas in elocution, where she lost her Bristolian accent.

Career

Theatre

Sanderson appeared in repertory theatres, on the West End stage, and at the Stratford Memorial Theatre, where she made her début in 1939 playing Emilia in '' The Comedy of Errors'', a phase in her career that culminated in 1953 when she played both

Goneril Goneril is a character in William Shakespeare's tragic play ''King Lear'' (1605). She is the eldest of Leir of Britain, King Lear's three daughters. Along with her sister Regan (King Lear), Regan, Goneril is considered a villain, obsessed with p ...

to Michael Redgrave's

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

, and Queen Margaret in ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

''. During 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 ...

, Sanderson gained experience in repertory and toured North Africa and Italy entertaining the troops. In 1948, she married fellow actor Gregory Moseley. Sanderson achieved her

apotheosis Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The origina ...

as Delia, Lady Rumpers, in ''

Habeas Corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

'' by Alan Bennett (Lyric Theatre, 1973). She starred in numerous West End productions, including '' See How They Run'' and '' Anyone for Denis?''.

TV and film

Sanderson played Doris Ewell in the television comedy series '' Please Sir!'' (1968–72) and Mrs Pugh-Critchley, in the series '' All Gas and Gaiters'' (1970–71), as well as a role in the short-lived sitcom '' Wild, Wild Women'' (1969). In 1978 she appeared in an episode of '' Rising Damp'', and the following year she played Mrs Richards in the ''

'' episode " Communication Problems". She also appeared in ''After Henry'', which was broadcast on the radio (1985–88) and television (1988–92), in which she played Eleanor. Sanderson's film roles were rare, but she appeared in the Hylda Baker film '' She Knows Y'Know'' (1962), '' Who Killed the Cat?'' (1966), the film version of '' Please Sir!'' (1971), '' The Great Muppet Caper'' (1981), playing

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

's wife, and '' Prick Up Your Ears'' (1987), the film based on the life of playwright Joe Orton.

Personal life and death

Sanderson listed as her "recreations" as "loving to drive and getting out of London on weekends – particularly to the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

." Sanderson died of natural causes in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

on 24 May 1992, aged 79. A memorial service was held for her at St Paul's, Covent Garden. Her husband, also an actor, died just some five months later. The final series of ''After Henry'' was broadcast July–August 1992, following her death; the last episode paid tribute to Sanderson. Following Sanderson’s death – a month before the premiere of her final series, '' Land of Hope and Gloria'' – the creators, despite originally intending to make a second season, opted not to go ahead with it.

Credits

TV and film

Radio

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, Joan 1912 births 1992 deaths 20th-century English actresses Actresses from Bristol Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English Shakespearean actresses English film actresses English radio actresses English stage actresses English television actresses