Pamela Manson (30 September 1928 – 19 March 1988) was a British actress who in her 30–year career on film, television and stage is best known for playing comedy roles. She was also a political activist who was a member of Equity, and the International Committee for Artists' Freedom, and a committee member of the National Campaign for the Reform of the Obscene Publications Acts.

Early years

Born as Pamela J. Cowan, and originally from

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, before turning to an acting career she worked as a secretary on the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the '' Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 b ...

'' and at one time also worked as a public relations officer in the fashion industry and managed theatrical artists for a period.Richard Webber,

Jimmy Perry James Perry (20 September 1923 – 23 October 2016) was an English scriptwriter and actor. He devised and co-wrote the BBC sitcoms ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977), '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981), '' Hi-de-Hi!'' (1980–1988) and '' You R ...

and David Croft, ''The Complete A-Z of Dad's Army'' – Orion Media (2000) pg 136

Acting career

Manson's first acting role was in 1952 following which she had a long career in the theatre. Breaking into television, she made appearances as the Canteen Server/Bertha in four episodes of ''

Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The radio series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James, Bill Kerr and,at various ...

'' (1957–1959), Rita/Irma Stevens in ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'' (1961–1962), Mrs. Phillips in ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'' (1965), René Tanner in ''

Emergency – Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. It is considered to be one of British television's first major soap operas. Overview The series was made by the ITV contractor ATV and set in ...

'' (1966), Maggie in ''

All Gas and Gaiters ''All Gas and Gaiters'' is a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC One, BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of John Wraith when writing th ...

'' (1967), Mrs. Lloyd in ''

Champion House ''Champion House'' is a BBC television drama series created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, who had previously devised ''Compact'' and ''Crossroads''. The series dealt with the Yorkshire-based Champion family and the dramas surrounding the fami ...

'' (1967–1968), Mrs. Levy in '' Alexander the Greatest'' (1971), the Large Brim with Fruit in ''

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 ...

'' (1973), ''

Sykes "Sykes" is a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origins, which generally has topographical roots as it original linguistic origin. The name derives from the Old Norse word "sík" or "síkja", meaning a small stream, marshy hollow, or gully. It eventua ...

'' (1973), the

NAAFI The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the United Kingdom, British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their fam ...

Girl in the We Know Our Onions episode of ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'' (1973), Sheila in '' Second Time Around'' (1974), Sally in '' The Good Life'' (1975), Sylvia in ''

Bar Mitzvah Boy "Bar Mitzvah Boy" is the first episode of the seventh season of the BBC anthology series ''Play for Today''. The television play was originally broadcast on 14 September 1976. It was written by Jack Rosenthal, directed by Michael Tuchner and pr ...

'' (1976), Barmaid in ''

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' is a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role. Three series were produced from 1976 to 1979, based on a series of novels written by David Nobbs. Nobbs adapted the screenplay for the fi ...

'' (1976), ''

Jackanory ''Jackanory'' was a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in Reading (activity), reading. The programme was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the ...

'' (1977), Molly in '' The Professionals'' (1978), and Sybil Nunn in '' Sorry, I'm A Stranger Here Myself'' (1981–1982), Landlady in ''

The Chinese Detective ''The Chinese Detective'' is a British television police procedural drama series, first transmitted by the BBC between 1981 and 1982. The series was created by Ian Kennedy Martin, who had previously devised '' The Sweeney'' and ''Juliet Bravo' ...

'' (1982), Mavis in ''

Hi-de-Hi! ''Hi-de-Hi!'' is a British sitcom created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and produced for the BBC. The programme initially began with a pilot on 1 January 1980 and aired for nine series between 26 February 1981 and 30 January 1988, and starre ...

'' (1984), Mrs. Ivan in ''

The Life and Loves of a She-Devil ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1986) and the Fairy Godmother in '' The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole'' (1987), among other roles. She also appeared with

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

. Her film roles included '' Room at the Top'' (1959), Greek Brothel Keeper in ''

On the Game ''On the Game'' is a 1974 British comedy drama film directed by Stanley Long and starring Charles Gray. It was written by Suzanne Mercer, who spent two years researching it. The film is a dramatised comedy documentary about prostitution throug ...

'' (1974) and Mrs. Bellrind in ''

The Class of Miss MacMichael ''The Class of Miss MacMichael'' is a 1978 British comedy drama film directed by Silvio Narizzano, and starring Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, and Michael Murphy. It was written by Judd Bernard based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Sandy ...

'' (1978), while her stage appearances included ''A Penny for Bread'' at the

Almost Free Theatre The Almost Free Theatre was an alternative and fringe theatre set up by American actor and social activist E. D. Berman in 1971 in Rupert Street, Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Man ...

as well as seasons at the

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

and the

Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new th ...

Other activities

As an active member of the actors' union Equity, she was a member of the International Committee for Artists' Freedom that campaigned in late 1987 when 77 of Chile's leading actors were threatened with death if they refused to leave their country. As an activist in the Soviet Jewry Campaign she was also involved in the campaign to allow the ballet dancer

Valery Panov Valery Matveevich Panov (; 12 March 1938 – 3 June 2025) was a Soviet dancer and choreographer. Born and raised in the Soviet Union, he trained in Leningrad and performed with the Kirov from 1964 to 1972. He and his second wife Galina, who was ...

and his wife Galina to leave Russia in 1974. Manson was also a committee member of the National Campaign for the Reform of the Obscene Publications Acts (NCROPA) and had been the Chairman of the Redcliffe Ward Chelsea Labour Party.Manson's biography in ''NCROPA Evidence To The Committee On Obscenity And Film Censorship'', (April 1978) pg 32
/ref> With her friend, the actress

Diane Hart Diane Lavinia Hart (20 July 1926 – 7 February 2002) was an English actress in both films and West End theatre, political campaigner, and inventor. Early life Born in 1926, Hart was educated at various convents and then at Abbot's Hill Schoo ...

, she set up a ladies' underwear business in west London. In 1961 the two went to the Soviet Union where they thought their products would be in demand. Manson explained "We thought it was about time someone made the Russian women figure-conscious. If they wear corsets at all, which we doubt, they're probably ones which came out of the Ark. So we're taking our top-selling line, Beatnix, and lots of older models which were in fashion here some years ago. Frankly, we think they will be a better sell with the Russians than modern, snazzy, sexy little garments."

Personal life and death

In 1949, she married Louis Manson,Pamela J. Cowan in the England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916–2005
–

Ancestry.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

– pay to view later the Chairman of Cope Allman International, in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

; they had two sons and two daughters. The marriage was later dissolved.Manson's biography in ''NCROPA Evidence To The Committee On Obscenity And Film Censorship'', (April 1978) pg 32
/ref> Manson lived in Kensington and died in London aged 59, following a sudden illness and heart surgery. She was survived by her four children.

Partial filmography

* '' Room at the Top'' (1959) – Thespians Member (uncredited) * ''On the Game'' (1974) – Greek Brothel Keeper * ''

'' (1978) – Mrs. Bellrind

References

External links

Manson
on the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

website
Fashion models Diane Hart and Pamela Manson modeling on a New York Street (1965)
–

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (stylized as gettyimages) is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three mark ...

Manson on aveleyman.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manson, Pamela 1928 births 1988 deaths English stage actresses English television actresses English film actresses Jewish English actresses Actresses from Leeds Trade unionists from Leeds People from Kensington Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea