Jean Marsh | |
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.jpg) Marsh in a publicity photo for9 to 5 in 1982 | |
| Born | Jean Lyndsey Torren Marsh (1934-07-01)1 July 1934 Stoke Newington,London, England |
| Died | 13 April 2025(2025-04-13) (aged 90) London, England |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1953–2014 |
| Spouse | |
| Signature | |
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Jean Lyndsey Torren Marsh (1 July 1934 – 13 April 2025) was an English actress and writer. She co-created and starred in theITV seriesUpstairs, Downstairs (1971–1975), for which she won the 1975Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance asRose Buck. She reprised the role in theBBC's revival of the series (2010–2012).
Marsh co-created the television seriesThe House of Eliott in 1991. Her film appearances includeCleopatra (1963),Frenzy (1972),The Eagle Has Landed (1976),The Changeling (1980),Return to Oz (1985),Willow (1988),Fatherland (1994) andMonarch (2000). She is also known for three roles inDoctor Who: asJoan of England inThe Crusade; Sara Kingdom, acompanion of theFirst Doctor; and a villain opposite theSeventh Doctor. From 1955 to 1960 she was married toJon Pertwee, who played theThird Doctor in the series.
Marsh was born on 1 July 1934, and grew up inStoke Newington,London, one of two daughters born to Henry and Emmeline (née Bexley) Marsh.[1][2] She studied ballet, singing, and acting from an early age.[1]
During the 1950s and 1960s, Marsh made many appearances on British and American television, including an episode ofThe Twilight Zone called "The Lonely" (1959),[3] in which she portrayed a lifelikegynoid;The Moon and Sixpence (1959),[3] oppositeLaurence Olivier andDenholm Elliott;The Wonderful World of Disney (1961); an episode of the seriesDanger Man (1961),[3] entitled "Name, Date and Place" as Kim Russell,Gideon's Way (1965);[3]I Spy (1967);[3] in four episodes ofThe Saint (1964–1968);[3] and one episode ofUFO ("Exposed" 1970, as Janna).[3] She was also a regular alongsideIan Hendry in the ITV seriesThe Informer (1966–67).[3]
Marsh appeared several times in the BBC seriesDoctor Who.[3] She first appeared alongsideWilliam Hartnell in the 1965 serialThe Crusade asLady Joanna, the sister ofRichard I (The Lionheart). She returned later that year ascompanion Sara Kingdom in 9 episodes of the 12-part serialThe Daleks' Master Plan. Marsh reprised the role in the audio playsHome Truths (2008),[3]The Drowned World (2009),[3]The Guardian of the Solar System (2010),The Five Companions (2011),The Anachronauts (2012),The Light At The End (2013),An Ordinary Life (2014) andThe Sontarans (2016).[3] She also appeared in the 1989 television serialBattlefield asMorgaine, as well as the 2007 audio playThe Wishing Beast. She made an un-billed cameo appearance in the 2013 docudrama aboutDoctor Who,An Adventure in Space and Time.[3]
Marsh featured asBertha Mason Rochester in theGeorge C. Scott-Susannah York version ofJane Eyre, directed byDelbert Mann. The film was released theatrically in the United Kingdom in 1970 and shown in the United States onNBC television in 1971.
Marsh's 2000 (re-released in cinemas in 2014) film about the death ofHenry VIII,Monarch.[3]
WithEileen Atkins, Marsh created the British period television dramaUpstairs, Downstairs,[3] and played the role of the houseparlourmaidRose Buck for the duration of the series, from 1971 until 1975. The programme was screened internationally and received numerous awards including twoBAFTA Awards, twoRoyal Television Society awards, eightEmmys and aGolden Globe. Marsh received a Royal Television Society award in 1971 and anEmmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her role in 1975, and was nominated for the same award on three more occasions – 1974, 1976, and (for the show's revival) in 2011. She also received awards from the American Drama Centre and American Drama Critics Circle for the role as well as two Golden Globe Award nominations.
She and Atkins createdThe House of Eliott, another television series broadcast between 1991 and 1994. This time, Marsh did not act in the series, but she did write some of the episodes.
Marsh's film credits include theTony Hancock filmThe Rebel (1961),[3]Cleopatra (1963)[3] as Octavia,Unearthly Stranger (1964),[3]Charlie Bubbles (1967),[3]The Limbo Line (1968),[3]Alfred Hitchcock'sFrenzy (1972),[2]Dark Places (1973),[3]The Eagle Has Landed (1976),[2]The Changeling (1980)[3] and the fantasy filmsReturn to Oz (1985)[2] andWillow (1988).[2] In 1994, she starred in a villain role in theNickelodeon/Thames Television remake ofThe Tomorrow People. Her television films includeGoliath Awaits (1981),[3]See China and Die (1981),[3]Master of the Game (1984),The Corsican Brothers (1985),[3]A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1989),[3]Fatherland (1994) for which she won a CableACE award for supporting actress, andThe Pale Horse (1997).[3] From 1982 to 1983, she portrayed the part of Roz Keith in the American sitcom9 to 5.[3]
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Marsh served as the presenter forInternational Animation Festival, an American public television series featuring award-winning animated short films from around the world. The 26-episode series was broadcast in 1975 on PBS.[4]
From 2000 until 2002, Marsh played the title in theCBBC seriesThe Ghost Hunter.[5] Her many stage credits included theWest End stage revival ofBoeing Boeing at theComedy Theatre in 2007 and in Peter Hall's production ofThe Portrait of a Lady in 2008. She made an appearance in the 2008 BBC adaptation ofJane Austen'sSense and Sensibility; played the recurring character Lizzie Galbraith alongsideJoanna Lumley as Davina Jackson (the lead character) in Babycow Productions'Sensitive Skin, which aired on BBC Two in 2005 and 2007. She appeared in December 2008 in a role written for her byMark Gatiss, in BBC Four'sCrooked House.[3]
A three-partrevival ofUpstairs, Downstairs was commissioned by the BBC with the first episode broadcast on BBC One on 26 December 2010. Marsh reprised her role as Rose Buck, who had returned to London to run an agency for domestic servants after a period spent nursing her mother in Suffolk. Eileen Atkins, who co-created the original series with Marsh, also starred in the revived series. It was set in the same fictional London address as the original ITV series, 165 Eaton Place, resuming in 1936.[6] Subsequently, a six-part second series was commissioned, and began transmission in February 2012 with Marsh's character appearing less frequently due to the stroke suffered by the actress.[7]
Marsh wrote several books:Fiennders Abbey,The House of Eliott, andIris.[8]
Marsh was married to the actorJon Pertwee from 1955 until their divorce in 1960.[9][10][11] She had relationships withAlbert Finney,Kenneth Haigh, and directorMichael Lindsay-Hogg.[12]
On 3 October 2011, the BBC announced that Marsh had suffered a minorstroke and would miss the beginning of the second series of the revivedUpstairs, Downstairs.[7] She was ultimately only able to appear in two short scenes.[13][14]
Marsh died from complications fromdementia at her London home, on 13 April 2025, at the age of 90.[1][15]
Marsh was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2012 Birthday Honours for services to drama.[16][17]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby | Sewing Girl | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Will Any Gentleman...? | Dancer | |
| The Limping Man | The Landlady's Daughter | ||
| 1954 | The Love Lottery | Dancer in Sally's Dream | Uncredited |
| 1961 | Call Me Genius | Strange Woman at Party | |
| The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone | Party Guest | ||
| 1963 | Cleopatra | Octavia | |
| Unearthly Stranger | Miss Ballard | ||
| 1964 | Face of a Stranger | Grace[18] | |
| 1967 | Charlie Bubbles | Waitress | Uncredited |
| 1968 | The Limbo Line | Dilys | |
| 1970 | Jane Eyre | Bertha Rochester[19] | |
| 1972 | Frenzy | Monica Barling[20] | |
| 1974 | Dark Places | Victoria | |
| 1976 | The Eagle Has Landed | Joanna Grey | |
| 1980 | The Changeling | Joanna Russell | |
| 1985 | Return to Oz | Nurse Wilson/Mombi | |
| 1988 | Willow | Queen Bavmorda | |
| 2009 | The Heavy | Mrs. Mason |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | The Infinite Shoeblack | Televised play on the BBC[1] | |
| 1956 | ITV Television Playhouse | Christine | Episode: "Woman in a Dressing Gown" |
| 1958 | Omnibus | Mimi inLa bohème | Episode: "What Makes Opera Grand?" |
| 1959 | The Third Man | Helene | Episode: "The Angry Young Man" |
| The Moon and Sixpence | Ata | TV film | |
| The Twilight Zone | Alicia | Episode: "The Lonely" | |
| 1961 | Danger Man | Kim Russell | Episode: "Name, Date, Place" |
| The Magical World of Disney | Andrienne | Episode:The Horsemasters | |
| 1962 | Heart to Heart (The Largest Theatre in the World) | Peggy Mann | TV play |
| 1963–64 | ITV Play of the Week | Dorothy Lemonade/Margo Robertson | 2 episodes |
| 1964 | The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theater | Grace | Episode: "Face of a Stranger" |
| 1964–68 | The Saint | Various | 4 episodes |
| 1965 | Doctor Who | Joanna | Serial:The Crusade |
| 1965 | ITV Sunday Night Drama | Sheila | Episode: "Suspense Hour: Curtains for Sheila" |
| 1965–66 | Gideon C.I.D. | Elspeth McCrae/Sandra Casey | 2 episodes |
| 1965–66 | Doctor Who | Sara Kingdom | Serial:The Daleks' Master Plan |
| 1966–67 | The Informer | Sylvia Parish | 17 episodes |
| 1967 | I Spy | Katherine Faulkner | Episode: "The War Lord" |
| Adam Adamant Lives! | Lady Lydia | Episode: "Face in a Mirror" | |
| 1968 | Detective | Julie Oliver | Episode: "The Deadly Climate" |
| The Wednesday Play | Edna | Episode: "A Bit of Crucixion, Father" | |
| Thirty-Minute Theatre | Alex | Episode: "Cross Examine" | |
| 1969 | The Expert | Sybil Houghton | Episode: "The Yellow Torrish" |
| Department S | Agatha Pollen | Episode: "The Perfect Operation" | |
| The Root of All Evil? | Anabel | Episode: "What's in It For Me?" | |
| 1970 | UFO | Janna | Episode: "Exposed" |
| 1970–72 | ITV Saturday Night Theatre | Mrs. Philpott/Jenny | 2 episodes |
| 1971 | The Persuaders! | Nicola | Episode: "Five Miles to Midnight" |
| Play for Today | Madeline Walsh | Episode: "Skin Deep" | |
| 1971–75 | Upstairs, Downstairs | Rose Buck | 54 episodes, also co-creator |
| 1972 | The Befrienders | Miranda Rawling | Episode: "Nobody Understands Miranda" |
| 1973 | The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | Mrs. Vanrenen | Episode: "The Looting of the Specie Room" |
| 1976 | Camera Three | Episode: "Mad About the Boy: ANoel Coward Celebration" | |
| 1977 | The Waltons | Hilary Von Kleist | Episode: "The Hiding Place" |
| 1978 | Hawaii Five-O | Sister Harmony | Episode: "The Miracle Man" |
| 1981 | See China and Die | Sally Hackman | TV film |
| Trapper John, M.D. | Claire Browning | Episode: "Earthquake" | |
| Goliath Awaits | Dr. Goldman | Miniseries; 2 episodes | |
| 1982–83 | 9 to 5 | Roz Keith | Series regular |
| 1983 | The Love Boat | Ceilia Hoffman | Episode: "Japan Cruise" |
| 1984 | Master of the Game | Mrs. Talley | Miniseries; 1 episode |
| 1985 | The Corsican Brothers | Mazzere | TV film |
| Tales from the Darkside | Joan Matlin | Episode: "Answer Me" | |
| 1989 | Danny, the Champion of the World | Miss Hunter | TV film |
| Act of Will | Eliza Crowther | Miniseries; 1 episode | |
| Doctor Who | Morgaine | Serial:Battlefield | |
| 1991–94 | The House of Eliott | Co-creator | |
| 1992 | Screen One | Lisbeth Bede | Episode: "Adam Bede" |
| 1993 | Murder, She Wrote | Glenda Highsmith | Episode: "Murder in White" |
| 1994 | The Tomorrow People | Dr. Culex | Serial: "The Culex Experiment" |
| The All New Alexei Sayle Show | Matron in Psycho Ward 11 | 6 episodes | |
| Fatherland | Anna Von Hogen | TV film | |
| 1996 | The Ring | ||
| 1997 | Dangerfield | Mrs. Matthews | Episode: "Guilt" |
| 1999 | Kavanagh QC | Lady Tibbit | Episode: "End Game" |
| 2000–02 | The Ghost Hunter | Mrs. Croker | 18 episodes |
| 2002 | Holby City | Vera Engells | Episode: "Pills and Frills" |
| 2003 | The Mayor of Casterbridge | Furmity Woman | TV film |
| Doctors | Liz | Episode: "Today's the Day" | |
| 2005 | Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder | Violet Sidney | Episode: "The Case of the Croydon Poisonings" |
| 2007 | Sensitive Skin | Lizzie Galbraith | Miniseries |
| 2008 | Sense and Sensibility | Mrs. Ferrars | Miniseries; 1 episode |
| Crooked House | Lady Constance de Momery | 2 episodes | |
| 2010–12 | Upstairs Downstairs | Mrs. Rose Buck | 5 episodes |
| 2013 | An Adventure in Space and Time | Party Guest | Uncredited |
| 2014 | Grantchester | Daisy Livingstone | 1 episode |
| 2022 | Willow | Queen Bavmorda | Episode: "The Whispers of Nockmaar", via archive footage |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Much Ado About Nothing | Hero | A Broadway production starringJohn Gielgud[1] |
| 1961 | The Bird of Time | Shirley O'Neill | Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool andSavoy Theatre |
| 1979 | Whose Life Is It Anyway? | Dr. Scott | Trafalgar Theatre |
| 1987 | Let Us Go Then Youand I | Narrator | Lyric Theatre |
| 1992 | The Chalk Garden | Miss Madrigal | King's Head Theatre |
| 2006 | The Old Country | Bron | Trafalgar Studios 1, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and other locations |
| 2007–2008 | Boeing Boeing | Bertha | Comedy Theatre |
| 2008 | The Portrait of a Lady | Mrs. Touchett | Theatre Royal, Bath andRose Theatre |
