Dora Bryan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Dora May Broadbent (1923-02-07)7 February 1923 Southport, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 23 July 2014(2014-07-23) (aged 91) Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England |
| Resting place | Woodvale Cemetery and Crematorium,Brighton, East Sussex, England |
| Occupation(s) | Actress Hotelier |
| Years active | 1947–2006 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 (2 adopted) |
Dora May Broadbent (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known asDora Bryan, was an English actress of stage, film and television.[1] She won theBAFTA Award for Best British Actress forA Taste of Honey (1961) and theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in1995 forThe Birthday Party.[2][3]
Bryan was born inSouthport, Lancashire.[4] Her father was a salesman and she attendedHathershaw County Primary School inOldham, Lancashire.[citation needed] Her career began inpantomime before the Second World War, during which she joinedENSA in Italy to entertain British troops.[4]
Bryan made her stage debut as a child in a pantomime inManchester, and encouraged by her mother, joined theOldham Coliseum while still a teenager. After spending six years honing her craft there, she moved to London to develop her stage career, becoming a regular performer in theWest End. Cast in a production ofNoël Coward'sPrivate Lives, the actress was encouraged to adopt a stage name by Coward himself. She opted for Dora Bryant, which she often said was inspired by a box ofBryant and May matches that were lying on the table, but a typographical error left off the last letter on the theatre credits and she became Dora Bryan.[5]
In 1955, Bryan made her debut inWest End musical comedy with her performance as Lily Bell in a production ofA.P. Herbert'sThe Water Gipsies. Singing the show's hit songs, "Why Did You Call Me Lily?", "You Never Know with Men", and "It Would Cramp My Style", such was her personal success that the billing outside the theatre was changed after the first night to "Dora Bryan in A.P. Herbert'sThe Water Gipsies.[6][7]
Throughout her career, she continued to perform on the stage, often appearing in musicals such asGentleman Prefer Blondes (1962) andHello, Dolly! (1966–1968). She also headlined a number of stage revues such asThe Dora Bryan Show (1966), "My Name Is Dora" (1967) andAn Evening with Dora Bryan and Friends (1968). She made her Broadway debut as Mrs. Pearce inPygmalion (1987), starringPeter O'Toole andAmanda Plummer. Other credits include her first Shakespearean role,Mistress Quickly inThe Merry Wives of Windsor (1984), Mrs. Hardcastle inShe Stoops to Conquer (1985) and in Kander and Ebb's70, Girls, 70 (1991) to great acclaim. She appeared withTrevor Peacock in theNational Theatre's 1994 revival ofHarold Pinter'sThe Birthday Party.[8]
Instantly recognisable from her voice, which became a trademark of her performances, Bryan followed many of her theatre contemporaries into film acting, generally playing supporting roles. She often played women of easy virtue—for example inThe Fallen Idol (1948), one of her early films, andEaling'sThe Blue Lamp (1950). She appeared in similarly stereotypical female roles in other films, for exampleGift Horse (1952),The Cockleshell Heroes (1955),The Green Man (1956) andCarry On Sergeant (1958).
Bryan appeared in radio comedy series includingMuch-Binding-in-the-Marsh.British Pathe filmed Bryan in 1957 in 'Home on Wheels', featuring her and friends in her personal caravan. She appeared in the filmA Taste of Honey (1961), which won fourBAFTA awards, including Best Actress for Bryan and Best British Film. In 1963, she recorded the Christmas song "All I Want for Christmas Is a Beatle", which reached no. 20 on the UK charts. She played the Headmistress inThe Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966), and she starred inAccording to Dora (1968–1969), her own television series for the BBC.
Bryan appeared in the UK-Argentine thrillerApartment Zero (1988). The film was directed byMartin Donovan and starredHart Bochner andColin Firth. Bryan plays the role of one of two eccentric characters (the other was played byLiz Smith) described byThe Washington Post as two "tea-and-crumpet gargoyle-featured spinsters who snoop the corridors".[9] It featured in the 1988Sundance Film Festival. She appeared in two episodes of series one of the BBC sitcomOn The Up in 1990 as Mrs Carpenter (the mother of main character Tony, played byDennis Waterman). She was replaced by actress Pauline Letts for series two and three.
In 1998, Bryan made an appearance in theVictoria Wood sitcomdinnerladies. In 2000, she joined the cast of the long-running BBC comedy seriesLast of the Summer Wine as Auntie Ros, and in 2001 she was a guest star inAbsolutely Fabulous asJune Whitfield's on-screen friend Dolly (originally called Milly when she appeared in 1996).
A few years later in 2005 her role inLast of the Summer Wine came to an end. At about the same time, she stopped making films. Her last screen appearance was in the short filmGone to the Dogs (2006) withAntony Booth. In 2006, she intended to appear both in the comedyRock-a-Hula Rest Home at a pub theatre in Brighton and in the comedyThere's No Place Like a Home, but she had to withdraw because of her inability to memorise her lines.[citation needed]
Her autobiographyAccording to Dora was published in 1987. In 1996, she was awarded theOBE in recognition of her services to acting. The previous year she was awarded aLaurence Olivier Award for her role in the National Theatre production of theHarold Pinter playThe Birthday Party. She was the subject ofThis Is Your Life on two occasions, in April 1962 when she was surprised byEamonn Andrews at her home in Brighton,[citation needed] and in January 1989 whenMichael Aspel surprised her on the stage of theOpera House at the curtain call ofHello, Dolly!.[citation needed] An exhibition about Bryan opened on 13 September 2013 at Rottingdean Museum.[1]
Bryan was married for 54 years to formerLancashire andCumberland cricketerBill Lawton until his death in August 2008. The couple met in Oldham during World War II and were married at Werneth St Thomas, Oldham in 1954. During her husband's final years, she reduced her public commitments to enable her to look after him, and she suffered with her health, including a serious operation for a hernia.[citation needed]
Bryan once owned Clarges Hotel at 115–119 Marine Parade on Brighton's seafront, which was used as an exterior location in the filmsCarry On Girls andCarry On at Your Convenience.[10] She and her husband lived there for more than 40 years but were forced to sell the bulk of the building because of bankruptcy, but they retained a flat with a sea view on the first floor for many years. Still maintaining its original structure, the rooms of the hotel have been reconverted into flats.[11] By 2013, she was a wheelchair user and resided in a nursing home in Hove in frail health.[citation needed]
On 31 May 2009,Dora – A Gala Charity Show was held at Her Majesty's Theatre in London to raise funds for two charities nominated by Bryan: theVariety Club Children's Charity and theAlzheimer's Society.Sir Cliff Richard was the star performer, and among the performers and celebrity guests were old friends and colleagues, includingJune Whitfield,Rita Tushingham, andJoanna Lumley. Bryan managed to attend.[12][13]
Bryan died on 23 July 2014 at the age of 91.[14] Her funeral service was held on 6 August 2014 atSt George's Church, Brighton, where she had regularly attended services.[15]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | My Wife's Sister | Dora | (4 episodes) |
| 1961–1964 | Happily Ever After | Dora Morgan | (12 episodes) |
| 1972 | Both Ends Meet / Dora | Dora Page | (13 episodes) |
| 1985 | Victoria Wood As Seen On TV | Pam's Mother | (1 episode) |
| 1993 | Heartbeat | Jane Thompson | (1 episode) |
| 1994 | Mother's Ruin | Kitty Flitcroft | (6 episodes) |
| 1995 | Moving Story | Maureen Stevens | (1 episode) |
| 1996, 2001 | Absolutely Fabulous | Millie / Dolly | (2 episodes) |
| 1999 | dinnerladies | Connie | (1 episode) |
| 2000–2005 | Last of the Summer Wine | Ros Utterthwaite | (50 episodes) |
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