Joyce Barbour (27 March 1901 – 16 March 1977) was an English actress. She was the wife of the actor Richard Bird. Barbour was born in Birmingham on 27 March 1901 the daughter of Horace and Miriam Barbour, her father was an assurance clerk and later a hotel manager. She made her first stage appearance in Birmingham as a pantomime fairy in 1914. She first appeared on the London stage in 1915 at the Gaiety Theatre in the chorus. She appeared at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

in December 1923 in '' London Calling!''.Herbert, pp. 501–502 She went to America in August 1924, and appeared on Broadway as Violet Dering in ''Havoc'' and Florence Horridge in ''Sky-High''. Her later theatre work included the original productions of

Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's ...

's '' Present Arms'' (1928), and ''Spring is Here'' (1929) on Broadway; and the musical '' Ever Green'' (1930) in the West End. She also played in the original production of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's '' Words and Music'' at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

, London, in 1932. In September 1945 she took over as Madame Arcati in '' Blithe Spirit''. 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.

in March 1949 she succeeded

Margaret Rutherford Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, film and television. Rutherford came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's ''Blithe Spirit (1945 f ...

as Miss Whitchurch in '' The Happiest Days of Your Life''. In 1950 she appeared in Esther McCracken's '' Cry Liberty''. Barbour married the actor Richard Bird in 1931 in London. She died on 16 March 1977 in Hospital at Northwood, Middlesex, aged 75.

Selected filmography

* '' Enchantment'' (1920) - Sophie Desmond * '' Diamond Cut Diamond'' (1932) * ''

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

'' (1936) - Renee * '' For Valour'' (1937) - Barmaid * '' Housemaster'' (1938) - Barbara Fane * '' Saloon Bar'' (1940) - Sally * '' Don't Take It to Heart'' (1944) - Harriet * '' Stop Press Girl'' (1949) - Aunt Mab * ''

It Started in Paradise ''It Started in Paradise'' is a 1952 British drama film directed by Compton Bennett and starring Jane Hylton, Martita Hunt and Muriel Pavlow. Set in the world of haute couture, the storyline concerns an established master of her craft being u ...

'' (1952) - Lady Burridge * '' The Captain's Paradise'' (1953) - Mrs. Reid (housekeeper) * '' The Main Chance'' (1964) - Madame. Rozanne

References

Sources

External links

* * 1901 births 1977 deaths Actresses from Birmingham, West Midlands English stage actresses English film actresses English silent film actresses 20th-century English actresses English television actresses {{UK-film-actor-stub