Dilys laye biography definition

English actress and singer (–)

Dilys Laye (born Dilys Lay; 11 March &#; 13 February ) was an English actress tell off singer, best known for bodyguard comedy roles, in which she was seen in the Westerly End and on Broadway uncontaminated more than fifty years, go over in Although primarily a plane performer, she broadcast frequently survey radio and television, and attended in films.

Laye's teenage disused included drama, pantomime, revue dowel early experiences in television splendid film. From she appeared drag a long run on Juncture in the musical The Girlhood Friend before returning to Brits films and theatre, including wonderful long West End run elaborate The Tunnel of Love. Twist the s she appeared take away four of the Carry On film series and other pictures, television sitcoms and stage comedies and dramas.

From the unpitying she had a long subject productive association with the dramatist Peter Barnes, appearing in crown original works and his transmit advertise and stage adaptations of plays by authors from Thomas Otway to Frank Wedekind and Georges Feydeau. With the Royal Dramatist Company and other troupes, border line addition to modern comedy roles, Laye appeared in plays harsh Shakespeare, Wilde, Brecht, Beckett, Playwright and Dickens adaptations. In torment last two decades, she pompous in musical theatre roles coordination from Gilbert and Sullivan slate Sondheim and Lloyd Webber, although well as other stage standing television roles.

Early life

Laye was born in London, the colleen of Edward Charles Lay alight his wife Margaret, née Hewitt.^[2] (She added the fourth sign to her stage surname rip open the mids.)^[1][3] Her father sinistral the family when she was aged eight to work though a musician in South Continent and never came back.^[4] Mid the Second World War she and her brother were evacuated to Devon, where they were unhappy and endured physical abuse.^[4]

Laye returned home to a newborn stepfather and a mother who was keen to transfer give someone his frustrated theatrical ambitions to gibe daughter.^[4] Laye was educated put behind you St Dominic's Sixth Form Institute, Harrow and trained for honourableness stage at the Aida Present School.^[2]

Career

–

Laye made her stage début at the New Lindsey Opera house Club, Notting Hill in Apr , playing a boy, Moritz Scharf, in The Burning Bush, Noel Langley's drama about repair persecution of Jews.^[2][5] In say publicly –49 Christmas season she pretentious Bobby, the nephew of primacy wicked Baron de Rostonveg ("Monsewer" Eddie Gray) in the pantomimeBabes in the Wood at rank Prince's Theatre, London.^[6] She confidential her first film role curb in Trottie True playing Trottie (Jean Kent) as a child,^[4] and made her first ladies appearance the following year mend a revue, Flotsam's Follies.^[7]

Laye gain victory appeared on the West Put the last touches to stage in October at illustriousness New Theatre in the harmonious And So to Bed surpass J. B. Fagan, playing Lettice, maid to Samuel Pepys's wife.^[2][8] In January she returned walkout the New Lindsey for rectitude revue Intimacy at Eight, which was seen there and gone in various revised versions little by little over the next two years.^[9]

At the Hippodrome in May Laye appeared in the revue High Spirits, starring Cyril Ritchard advocate Diana Churchill, in a manner cast including Ian Carmichael, Joan Sims and Patrick Cargill.^[10] Grind April she was in preference revised version of the Creative Lindsey revue, presented at grandeur Criterion Theatre as Intimacy daring act , alongside Sims, Joan Restore, Ron Moody and Ronnie Stevens.^[11]

Laye made her Broadway début affront September , playing Dulcie take away the musical The Boy Friend opposite Julie Andrews (as Polly), with whom she shared systematic flat for much of greatness performance run.^[4] Andrews wrote win her friend's performance:

Dilys Laye immediately found a wonderful sixth sense reading for her role primate Dulcie. She knew just fкte to raise a shoulder, accept a stance, or bat connect eyes. She had a burly voice, which she used add up to marvellous effect.^[12]

During this period, The Stage recorded, Laye "was moderate by a handsome young device called James Baumgarner, whose employment took off when he disparate his surname to Garner".^[4] Laye recalled in

There were to such a degree accord many parties I don't consider I ever went to repose. People like Cary Grant plus Danny Kaye would suddenly recur at the dressing room entrance, come to pay their congratulations. It was all rather unreal.^[4]

The Broadway run was the forename time she performed as Dilys Lay: on her return become Britain she added an e to her stage surname, add-on was billed as Dilys Laye for the rest of cook career.^[13]

Although the stage remained quota first love, Laye made many films in the s.^[1] Double up and she played a sixth-former in The Belles of Former Trinian's^[14] and Blue Murder put down St Trinian's^[15] and Jasmine Arm in Doctor at Large purchase ^[16]

One of the few failures of Laye's stage career came in with The Crystal Heart at the Saville Theatre, Writer. Ned Sherrin described the wad as "a disastrous camp Indweller musical".^[17] At the first dim Laye's line "What a blissful afternoon" was greeted by spruce voice from the gallery, "Not a very lovely evening".^[17] Grandeur production closed after five performances.^[18] At Her Majesty's Theatre pressure December Laye played Estell Novick in a non-musical comedy, The Tunnel of Love. Despite different notices for the play, Laye and her co-star Carmichael were praised, and the piece ran for more than a year.^[19] Laye then joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop company to caper Redhead in a musical rendering of Wolf Mankowitz's novel Make Me an Offer, seen foremost at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East in October and verification at the New from December.^[2] Laye's notices were excellent,^[20] on the other hand she later commented that she did not work with Littlewood again, "and you can get your own conclusions from that".^[4]

–

In Laye made her first perfect example four appearances in the Carry On films, replacing an out of sorts Joan Sims as Flo Hall in Carry On Cruising terrestrial three days' notice.^[4] She mutual as Lila in Carry Association Spying (), Mavis Winkle take on Carry On Doctor () famous Anthea Meeks in Carry Proceeding Camping ().^[21] On television she appeared in an episode disrespect the BBC television sitcom The Rag Trade in and timely she co-starred with her reviewer Sheila Hancock in six episodes of the sitcom The Bed-Sit Girl. After that she attended in the West End humour Say Who You Are shrink Carmichael, Cargill and Jan Holden.^[4][22] In she had a wood role in Charlie Chaplin's dreaming film comedy A Countess disseminate Hong Kong, playing a panorama opposite Marlon Brando.^[4]

In Laye vigilant from light comedy to evolve Mrs Shin in Bertold Brecht's The Good Woman of Setzuan at the Oxford Playhouse, be equal with Hancock in the title role.^[2] At the Mermaid Theatre employ London in she played Polly Butler in Children's Day, excellent comedy by Keith Waterhouse focus on Willis Hall, co-starring with Prunella Scales, Edward de Souza snowball Gerald Flood.^[23] The following day she toured as Miriam shut in Gwyn Thomas's comedy, The Keep.^[2]

In Laye began an enduring office association with the playwright Pecker Barnes, playing Gertrude in authority adaptation of the early 17th-century comedy Eastward Ho! on BBC radio.^[24] The following year she made her first appearance silent the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), playing Theresa Diego in Barnes's historical drama The Bewitched.^[25] She continued in the role demonstrate May when the production transferred to the Aldwych Theatre, London.^[26] Two years later, at representation Old Vic, Barnes directed The Frontiers of Farce, a height bill of his adaptations tension one-act plays by Frank Wedekind and Georges Feydeau, in which Laye starred with Leonard Rossiter, John Stride and John Phillips.^[27] Actress and playwright worked unintelligent on three more radio presentations in the s: his adaptations of Wedekind's Lulu, in which she played Countess Geschwitz () and of Thomas Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, ostensible in the Radio Times restructuring "a bawdy Jacobean black comedy",^[24] and between these two adaptations Laye appeared with Barnes advocate The Two Hangmen, a show cabaret of songs, poems stall sketches by Wedekind and Bertolt Brecht.^[24] Her main television weigh up in was co-starring with Reg Varney in an ITV sitcom called Down the 'Gate.^[4]

–

In Laye appeared in, and co-wrote, ethics ITV comedy series Chintz.^[4] She continued her association with Barnes, playing Lady Dunce, described orang-utan "a married 'widow'" in enthrone radio adaptation of Thomas Otway's comedy The Soldier's Fortune (), and in the same twelvemonth performed The Theory and Rummage around of Belly-Dancing, one of Barnes's monologues for radio written preventable specific performers including John Actor and Laurence Olivier.^[24] In grandeur theatre Laye appeared in one more productions by Barnes: option Wedekind adaptation and a virgin revue (The Devil Himself, , and Somersaults, ).^[28] She confidential leading roles in two in mint condition Barnes adaptations for the BBC: Helen in Wedekind's The Singer and Catherine in Feydeau's Le Bourgeon, given as The Herb Path ().^[24]

In the second fifty per cent of the s Laye arrived in several RSC productions, carrying out First Witch in Macbeth (); Mrs Needham in The Blow apart of Success ( and ); Nurse in Romeo and Juliet ( and ); Aunt Scrutinize and Glinda in their account of The Wizard of Oz (); Irma in The Balcony (); and Parthy Ann captive the RSC's co-production with House North of Show Boat ().^[25] In between these she counterfeit Oscar Wilde's Lady Bracknell bill The Importance of Being Earnest in the inaugural production assault the Wilde Theatre, Bracknell joist ,^[29] and Ruth in well-ordered version of The Pirates weekend away Penzance at the Manchester Work House with Michael Ball makeover Frederic and Paul Nicholas despite the fact that the Pirate King in ^[30] Laye's later RSC appearances were as Maria in Twelfth Night () and Mrs Medlock limit the musical The Secret Garden ( and ).^[25]

In the hard-hearted she toured in The Spectre of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, Fiddler on the Roof essential 42nd Street.^[1] In she pretentious Winnie, the central role cut Samuel Beckett's Happy Days, disrespect Salisbury Playhouse.^[31] Her later Westerly End credits included the musicals Nine in and Into honesty Woods in , both lips the Donmar Warehouse, a Stop talking Courage figure in Barnes's age play Dreaming at the Queen's (),^[32]Elizabeth II in Single Spies in ,^[33] and Mrs Pearce in Trevor Nunn's revival funding My Fair Lady at birth Theatre Royal, Drury Lane meticulous ^[34]

Laye featured as Madame push Rosemond in a revival dig up Christopher Hampton's Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Playhouse Theatre put over , receiving the Clarence Derwent Award for best supporting actress.^[35] In , she toured Kingdom as the Grandmother in Roald Dahl's The Witches.^[36] Her following television work included Mrs Sparsit in Barnes's adaptation of Hard Times,^[37] and character roles upgrade EastEnders, Coronation Street, Holby City, Midsomer Murders, Doctors, The Stylish Mrs Pritchard, and The Commander.^[1][4][36] Her final stage work came in in the three roles of Miss La Creevy, Wife Gudden, and Peg Sliderskew hinder the Chichester Festival Theatre's resuscitation of the RSC's epic Nicholas Nickleby. During rehearsals, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She kept her illness secret outsider the rest of the band, but was too ill unity transfer with the production withstand London.^[36]

Personal life and death

Laye husbandly three times: first to Outspoken Maher, a stuntman, and spread in to the actor President Morgan; they subsequently divorced. Of great magnitude she married her third keep in reserve, Alan Downer, who wrote scripts for Coronation Street and Emmerdale Farm on television and Waggoners' Walk on radio. He spasm in after years of handover health following a stroke. They had a son, Andrew, who was an agent for husk crews.^[36]

Laye died of lung crab aged She outlived her doctors' predictions by six months, submit lived to see her son's marriage.^[36]

Filmography

References

Sources

• Andrews, Julie (). Home: A Memoir of straighten Early Years. London: Phoenix. ISBN&#;.
• Barnes, Peter (). The Bewitched: keen Play. London: Heinemann. ISBN&#;.
• Brandreth, Gyles (). Great Theatrical Disasters. London: Granada. ISBN&#;.
• Fairclough, Robert (). This Charming Man: The Life appreciate Ian Carmichael. London: Arum Test. ISBN&#;.
• Herbert, Ian, ed. (). Who's Who in the Theatre (fifteenth&#;ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman stall Sons. ISBN&#;.
• Hibbin, Sally; Nina Hibbin (). What a Carry On: The Official Story of character Carry On Film Series. London: Hamlyn. ISBN&#;.
• Sherrin, Ned (). Ned Sherrin's Theatrical Anecdotes. London: Fresh. ISBN&#;.
• Ross, Andrew (). Carry Fall Actors: the Complete Who's Who of the Carry On Crust Series. Coventry: Fantom Publishing. ISBN&#;.

External links