Sheila Frances Steafel (26 May 1935 – 23 August 2019) was a British actress, who was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, but lived all her adult life in the United Kingdom.

Life and career

Steafel, who was born in

, trained at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehen ...

. She appeared in many television series, including '' The Frost Report'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Dave Allen at Large'', ''

The Kenny Everett Television Show ''The Kenny Everett Television Show'' is a comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC1 from 24 December 1981 to 18 January 1988. It was presented by its main performer Kenny Everett, who wrote the material with Barry Cryer and Ray Cameron. Later in 198 ...

'', ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'', '' The Ghosts of Motley Hall'', '' Oh, Brother!'', '' You Must Be the Husband'' and ''The Laughter of a Fool''. She was a regular in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

programme '' The Good Old Days'', portraying her comic creation "Miss Popsy Wopsy", who invariably "played up" to chairman

Leonard Sachs Leonard Meyer Sachs (26 September 1909 – 15 June 1990) was a South African-born British actor. Life and career Sachs was born in the town of Roodepoort, in the then Transvaal Colony, present day South Africa. He was Jewish. He emigrated ...

. She was also a regular on the "

Tommy Cooper Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a Welsh prop comedian and magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at , and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He served in the British Army ...

Hour". In February 2018, she appeared in the daytime comedy-drama '' Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators'' Episode 2 as care home resident Dora Bentley. Her film appearances included '' Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.'' (1966), '' Just like a Woman'' (1967), '' Quatermass and the Pit'' (1967), ''

Baby Love "Baby Love" is a song by the American music group the Supremes from their second studio album, '' Where Did Our Love Go''. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland and was released on September 17, ...

'' (1968), ''

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

'' (1968), '' ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'''' (1969), '' The Smashing Bird I Used to Know'' (1969), ''

Some Will, Some Won't ''Some Will, Some Won't'' is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Duncan Wood, starring an ensemble British cast including Michael Hordern, Ronnie Corbett, Dennis Price, Leslie Phillips and Arthur Lowe. It is a remake of ''Laughter in Paradise ...

'' (1970; co-starring her ex-husband's acting partner, Wilfrid Brambell), ''

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, also known as the Northern Tropic, is the Earth's northernmost circle of latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun ...

'' (1970; as Tania), '' Percy'' (1971), ''

Melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

'' (1971), ''

Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World ''Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World'' is a 1973 British children's fantasy- adventure comedy film starring Jim Dale, and directed by Joseph McGrath. A large supporting cast of British movie stalwarts includes Spike Milligan, Angela Dougl ...

'' (1973), '' All I Want Is You... and You... and You...'' (1974), ''Never Too Young to Rock'' (1975), ''

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 ...

'' (1977), '' What's Up Superdoc!'' (1978), '' Bloodbath at the House of Death'' (1984), '' Parting Shots'' (1999) and '' Back to the Secret Garden'' (2001). Steafel also worked in

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

. In the 1970s and 1980s, she was a cast member on the weekly Radio 4 satirical show ''

Week Ending ''Week Ending'' was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1970 and 1998. It was devised by writer-producers Simon Brett and David Hatch and was originally hosted by '' Nationwide'' presenter Michael B ...

'', providing the voices of many characters and impersonating real-life figures, such as

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

. Steafel appeared as herself alongside Simon Jones in "The Lost Hitch-Hiker's Sketch", a sketch written by

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...

for her 1982 Radio 4 show '' Steafel Plus''. In 1979 she starred in the West End stage production of '' A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine'' in a number of roles, including that of

Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Groucho and Chico, Harp ...

. In 2008, she was portrayed by Zoe Tapper in the BBC television play '' The Curse of Steptoe''. In 2015 she lent her voice to the character Master Matoya in the video game '' Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward''.

Published works

In 1998, Steafel released a CD album of

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

songs entitled ''Victoria Plums'' (Redial/Polygram No. CD 557 209-2). In 2010, she released her autobiography ''When Harry Met Sheila''. In 2012, Steafel published a collection of real life short stories under the title ''Bastards''.

Personal life

Steafel was married to actor and comedian Harry H. Corbett from October 1958 until August 1964. She died of cancer in 2019.

Partial filmography

* '' Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.'' (1966) - Young Woman * '' Just like a Woman'' (1967) - Isolde * '' Quatermass and the Pit'' (1967) - Journalist * ''Monsieur Lecoq'' (1967) * '' The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom'' (1968) - Pet shop saleslady * ''

'' (1968) - Ground stewardess * ''

'' (1969) - Tessa Pearson * '' The Smashing Bird I Used to Know'' (1969) - Young Woman * ''

Goodbye, Mr. Chips ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton (novelist), James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two featu ...

'' (1969) - Tilly (uncredited) * ''

'' (1970) - Tania * ''

'' (1970) - Sheila Wilcott * '' Percy'' (1971) - Mrs. Gold * ''

Up Pompeii ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series set in ancient Pompeii and broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the seco ...

'' (1971) - Voluptua (voice, uncredited) * ''

'' (1971) - Mrs Latimer * ''

To Catch a Spy ''To Catch a Spy'' is a 1971 comedy film, comedy spy film directed by Dick Clement and starring Kirk Douglas, Marlène Jobert, Trevor Howard, Richard Pearson (actor), Richard Pearson, Garfield Morgan, Angharad Rees and Robert Raglan. It was writ ...

'' (1971) - Woman in lift * ''

'' (1973) - Control Operator * '' All I Want Is You... and You... and You...'' (1975) - Wilma Brack * '' Never Too Young to Rock'' (1976) - Cafe Proprietress * '' The Ghosts of Motley Hall'' (TV, 1976-1978) - The White Lady * ''

'' (1977) - Hat Customer * '' What's Up Superdoc!'' (1978) - Dr. Pitt * ''The Quiz Kid'' (1979) - Brenda * '' Bloodbath at the House of Death'' (1984) - Sheila Finch * '' Parting Shots'' (1999) - President's Wife * '' Back to the Secret Garden'' (2001) - Mrs. Chillblaine

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steafel, Sheila 1935 births 2019 deaths 20th-century British actresses 21st-century British actresses Actresses from Johannesburg British autobiographers British film actresses British impressionists (entertainers) British radio actresses British stage actresses British television actresses British women autobiographers South African autobiographers South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African film actresses South African radio actresses South African stage actresses South African television actresses White South African people