Olive Rita Webb (25 February 1904 – 30 August 1981), later known as Olive Rita Thompson, was an English character actress, mainly in
comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium.
Origins
Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
roles. She was the eldest child of Henry Augustus Webb (1880–1926) and Rose Jeannette Keysor. She had a younger brother, Henry Richard Webb, also an actor, and two elder identical twin half-brothers, Leslie and Gordon Durlacher, from her mother's first marriage to Samuel Durlacher. A half-brother was the actor
George Webb.
Career
Born in
Willesden,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, United Kingdom, she is best known for her appearances as a
stooge for
Benny Hill in his long-running
Thames Television series. At under five feet tall, with a booming voice and dyed flame-red hair, she was often cast as a blousey mother-in-law or
Cockney type character.
In 1958, she,
Roger Livesey,
Terry-Thomas,
Judith Furse,
Avril Angers, and
Miles Malleson, recorded "Indian Summer of an Uncle" and "Jeeves Takes Charge" for the
Caedmon Audio record label (Caedmon Audio TC-1137). It was released in stereo in 1964.
In the 1960s, she made a number of television appearances with
Billy Cotton and alongside
Arthur Haynes. Her many other television credits include several appearances in
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...
's ''
Q'' series, ''
Dixon of Dock Green'', ''
Till Death Us Do Part'', ''
Sykes'', ''
Up Pompeii!'' with
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian.
Early life
Howerd was born the son of a soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...
, ''
The Wednesday Play
''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...
'' and ''
Steptoe and Son''. In the ''
Space: 1999'' episode "The Taybor" she appeared as a deliberately-unattractive form assumed by the shapeshifter Maya.
She also appeared in supporting roles in many films, including ''
To Sir, with Love'' (1967), ''
The Magic Christian'' (1969),
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
's ''
Frenzy'' (1972), ''
Confessions of a Pop Performer
''Confessions of a Pop Performer'' (also known as ''Timothy Lea's'' ''Confessions of a Pop Performer'') is a 1975 British Sex comedy, sex-farce film directed by Norman Cohen and starring Robin Askwith and Tony Booth (actor), Anthony Booth. It is ...
'' (1975), and ''
Come Play with Me'' (1977).
Personal life and death
Following her separation from her husband, she lived with Al Jeffery "Jeffie", an accomplished
banjo player, whom she adored. She was called "Podge" by Jeffie and was proud that she still had all her own teeth. She signed her letters "Dame Rita Webb" and refused to appear on the TV show ''
This is Your Life''.
[''Who's On TV'' (ITV Books, 1980)] She and her brother were exceptionally close and they talked every night on the telephone until her death.
Webb died in 1981, aged 77, from cancer. Her funeral was held at
West London Crematorium and a memorial service took place at
St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
Rita's Bleedin' Website - Fan Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Rita
English television actresses
English film actresses
Actors from the London Borough of Brent
1904 births
1981 deaths
Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery
20th-century English actresses