Dandy Nichols | |
---|---|
Born | Daisy Sander 21 May 1907 |
Died | 6 February 1986 78) Whitechapel, London, England | (aged
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1947–1985 |
Spouse |
Stephen Bagueley Waters
(m. 1942; div. 1955) |
Dandy Nichols (born Daisy Sander; 21 May 1907 – 6 February 1986) was an English actress best known for her role as Else Garnett, the long-suffering wife of the character Alf Garnett who was a parody of a working class Tory, in the BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part.[1][2]
Early life and career
Born Daisy Sander in Fulham, London,[3] she started her working life as a secretary in a London factory. Twelve years later, after drama, diction and fencing classes, she was spotted in a charity show by a producer, who offered her a job in his repertory theatre company in Cambridge. During her early career on stage she acted under the name Barbara Nichols but later changed it to Dandy, her childhood nickname.[2]
When the Second World War broke out, she returned to office work but later undertook a six-week tour with ENSA. When the war was over, she returned to the theatre and also began appearing in films: usually comedies and almost invariably as a maid or charlady.[4] The latter role she took on in the music video "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant.[5]
Her successes in theatre include the Royal Court Theatre and Broadway productions of Home.[6][7] Her big screen debut was in Hue and Cry, in 1947,[3] followed with performances in Nicholas Nickleby,[3] The Fallen Idol, The Winslow Boy, The History of Mr Polly, Scott of the Antarctic, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire and Dickens' The Pickwick Papers.[2][8]
Till Death Us Do Part
Dandy Nichols's best-known role was Else Garnett in the landmark series Till Death Us Do Part.[9] The part was originally played in the pilot episode for the series (as part of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse) by future EastEnders actress Gretchen Franklin.[2] However, when it was commissioned as a series, Franklin was unable to break her contract for a West End play and Nichols was cast.[10]
Dandy's role seemed, at first, almost negligible: spending the best part of one early episode reading the telephone book as Alf embarked on another of his tirades. However, Else proved to be a perfect foil for Alf, and could put him down effortlessly with a withering look or cutting remark.[2] Perhaps her finest hour – in an episode shown by the BBC in tribute to Dandy in 1986 – was when, in 1974, Else took a leaf out of Prime Minister Edward Heath's book and went on a "three-day week", forcing Alf to fend for and feed himself on her days off.[11]
In the original scripts, Alf was to refer to his wife as a "silly cow". This was firmly vetoed by BBC Head of Comedy Frank Muir, who thought this was inappropriate. Nichols said that it was "a lot of silly fuss about a silly moo" which was overheard by script writer Johnny Speight and became the series' most enduring catchphrase.[12]
In Sickness and in Health
Till Death Us Do Part came to an end in 1975 but was revived in 1981, entitled Till Death..., and again in 1985.[13] Dandy agreed to appear, but had been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and had to use a wheelchair.[2] Her illnesses were written into the scripts, and the series was appropriately renamed In Sickness and in Health.[14]
The series continued after her death, with Alf left on his own.[3]
Film career
She appeared in numerous films, which included Carry On Doctor,[3] Ladies Who Do, The Holly and the Ivy, The Vikings,[3] the Beatles' film Help!,[3] Georgy Girl, Doctor in Clover, The Birthday Party, The Bed Sitting Room, O Lucky Man!, Confessions of a Window Cleaner and Britannia Hospital amongst others.[1]
Later years
After her role in Till Death Do Us Part, Nichols found work in television, notably playing opposite Alastair Sim in William Trevor's production of The Generals Day.[15] She made appearances in Flint, The Tea Ladies and Bergerac.[1][2] On stage, she appeared in Ben Travers's comedy Plunder, as well as playing alongside Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir John Gielgud in David Storey's Home, in both London and on Broadway.[16][17][18]
Personal life
Dandy Nichols was married to the newspaper editor Stephen Bagueley Waters in 1942,[19] but the marriage ended in divorce in 1955.[3]
Her poor health led to a fall in her flat and she died three days later of pneumonia and heart disease on 6 February 1986 aged 78 at the London Hospital, Whitechapel.[3]
Television roles
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1966 to 1975 1981 1985 | Till Death Us Do Part Till Death... In Sickness and in Health | Else Garnett | |
1971 | The Trouble With You, Lilian | Madge | |
1981 | The Bagthorpe Saga | Mrs Forsdyke | |
1983 | Bergerac | Mrs Honeyman | Episode: A Message for the Rich |
Partial filmography
Source:[1]
- Hue and Cry (1947) - Bit Part (uncredited)
- The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1947) - Mantalini's Employee (uncredited)
- The Winslow Boy (1948) - Miss Hawkins (uncredited)
- The Fallen Idol (1948) - Mrs. Patterson
- Woman Hater (1948) - Mrs. Burrell
- Here Come the Huggetts (1948) - Aunt Edie Hopkins
- Scott of the Antarctic (1948) - Caroline
- The History of Mr. Polly (1949) - Mrs. Johnson
- Now Barabbas (1949) - Bit Part
- Don't Ever Leave Me (1949) - Mrs. Marshall
- Your Witness (1950) - Waitress
- Tony Draws a Horse (1950) - Mrs. Smith
- Dance Hall (1950) - Mrs. Crabtree
- The Clouded Yellow (1950) - Ernie's Mother on Train (uncredited)
- White Corridors (1951) - Char
- High Treason (1951) - Woman Scrubbing Porch Step (uncredited)
- Women of Twilight (1952) - Third Landlady (uncredited)
- The Happy Family (1952) - Ada
- Emergency Call (1952) - Barmaid
- Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (1952) - Mrs. Mott
- The Pickwick Papers (1952) - Lady at Ball (uncredited)
- The Holly and the Ivy (1952) - Neighbour
- Street Corner (1953) - Mrs. Furness - Neighbour (uncredited)
- Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953) - Mrs. Clarke
- The Wedding of Lilli Marlene (1953) - Mrs. Harris (uncredited)
- Adventure in the Hopfields (1954) - Mrs. Harris
- Time Is My Enemy (1954) - Mrs. Budd - Charwoman
- The Crowded Day (1954) - Charwoman
- Mad About Men (1954) - Nurse Carey's Landlady (uncredited)
- The Glass Cage (1955) - Woman with Child (uncredited)
- Where There's a Will (1955) - Maud Hodge
- The Deep Blue Sea (1955) - Mrs. Elton
- A Time to Kill (1955) - Waitress (uncredited)
- Lost (1956) - Mrs. Gamble (uncredited)
- Not So Dusty (1956) - Mrs. Clark (Nobby's wife)
- The Feminine Touch (1956) - The Ward Maid
- Yield to the Night (1956) - Mrs. Price
- Tiger in the Smoke (1956) - Stall Attendant (uncredited)
- Town on Trial (1957) - Mrs. Wilson (uncredited)
- Doctor at Large (1957) - Lady in Outpatients Dept.
- Carry On Sergeant (1958) - (uncredited)
- The Strange World of Planet X (1958) - Mrs. Tucker
- The Vikings (1958) - Bridget
- A Cry from the Streets (1958) - Mrs. Jenks (uncredited)
- Crooks Anonymous (1962) - Mrs. Cundall
- Don't Talk to Strange Men (1962) - Molly
- Ladies Who Do (1963) - Mrs. Merryweather
- Act of Murder (1964) - Maud Peterson
- The Leather Boys (1964) - Mrs. Stanley
- The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965) - Tom's Landlady, and off-screen voice
- The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965) - Orphanage Superintendent
- Rotten to the Core (1965) - Woman in Cemetery (uncredited)
- Help! (1965) - Neighbour,(uncredited)
- The Early Bird (1965) - Woman Flooded by Milk
- Doctor in Clover (1966) - Patient with Kidney Stones
- Georgy Girl (1966) - Hospital Nurse
- How I Won the War (1967) - First Old Lady
- Carry On Doctor (1967) - Mrs. Roper
- The Birthday Party (1968) - Meg Bowles
- Till Death Us Do Part (1969) - Else Garnett
- The Bed Sitting Room (1969) - Mrs Ethel Shroake
- First Love (1970) - Princess Zasekina
- The Alf Garnett Saga (1972) - Else Garnett
- O Lucky Man! (1973) - Tea Lady / Neighbour
- Confessions of a Window Cleaner (1974) - Mrs. Lea
- Three for All (1975) - Henrietta
- Britannia Hospital (1982) - Florrie
- The Plague Dogs (1982) - Phyllis (voice)
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Dandy Nichols". Bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Nichols, Dandy (1907-1986)". Screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Dandy Nichols". Television Heaven. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ↑ McFarlane, Brian (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. p. 557. ISBN 9781526111975.
- ↑ Ant, Adam (4 September 2008). Stand and Deliver: My Autobiography. Pan Macmillan. p. 195. ISBN 9780330464574.
- ↑ "Production of Home - Theatricalia". Theatricalia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ↑ "Home – Broadway Play – Original". IBDb.com. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ↑ "Dandy Nichols - Movies and Filmography - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ↑ "Dandy Nichols - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ↑ "Gretchen Franklin". Telegraph.co.uk. 12 July 2005.
- ↑ "Else's Three Day Week (1974)". Bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ↑ Condon, Paul (15 February 2018). 1001 TV Series: You Must Watch Before You Die. Octopus. ISBN 9781788400466.
- ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Speight, Johnny (1920-1998) Biography". Screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ↑ Pickering, David. "NICHOLS, DANDY: British Actor". Museum.tv. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- ↑ "The General's Day (1972)". Bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ↑ "Production of Plunder - Theatricalia". Theatricalia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ↑ "Royal Court Theatre recordings at the British Library - English and Drama blog". Britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk.
- ↑ "Dandy Nichols – Broadway Cast & Staff". IBDb.com.
- ↑ "Stephen Bagueley Waters". Biographies.net. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
External links
- Dandy Nichols at IMDb
- Dandy Nichols at the BFI's Screenonline