Marlene Juliette Kaplan (2 October 1939 – 10 October 2019) was a British actress who was most famous for playing the role of Pearl Sibshaw in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

comedy ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first seri ...

'', from 1985 to 2010.

Early years

Kaplan was born in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents Pearl (née Cress), a nurse, and Jeremiah Kaplan, a sailor. She spent her early years in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where her father was from, and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

when she was nine, before returning to Bournemouth two years later. She took afternoon classes at the Hampshire School of Drama in the town in her teens.

Career

Kaplan worked in many British drama series, including '' Doctors'', '' Brookside'', ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'', and '' London's Burning'', and in the film '' The Death of Klinghoffer'' (2003). Kaplan was in ''

'' from 1985 until the very final episode on 29 August 2010 as battle-axe Pearl Sibshaw, and did a tour around British theatres in a one actor show, performing as Pearl. She worked in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

in December 2008/January 2009 as the Wicked Queen in ''

Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

'' at the Empire Theatre,

Consett Consett is a town in the County Durham (district), County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of County Durham, Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in ...

, and at Buxton Opera House. In early 2015 she was Agnes Tinker in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', the grandmother of established character Beth.

Personal life and death

Kaplan was married to Harold Hoser from 1958 until his death in 1981. They had three children; Mark, Perrina and Tania. A chain smoker from the age of 14, Kaplan died of cancer at her home in Westgate-on-Sea,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

on 10 October 2019.

Television roles

Film roles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Juliette 1939 births 2019 deaths Deaths from cancer in England English television actresses English people of South African-Jewish descent English soap opera actresses Jewish English actresses Actresses from Bournemouth 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses People from Westgate-on-Sea Actresses from Kent Actors from Thanet District