Yootha Joyce
Acting
Born: 1927-08-20 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK
Biography
British actress best known for her role as Mildred Roper in the '70s sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred. Born to musical parents Hurst Needham and Jessica Rivett in 1927, Joyce was trained at RADA, toured with ENSA and came to prominence via the Joan Littlewood Theatre Workshop, securing roles in TV shows such as The Avengers, Man in a Suitcase, Te Saint, Jason King and Steptoe and Son, and the films The Pumpkin Eater, A Man For All Seasons, Charlie Bubbles, All the Right Noises and Burke and Hare. She was married to fellow actor Glynn Edwards from 1956 to 1968, and they remained friends all her life. An alcoholic, Joyce died from liver failure in 1980, just four days after her 53rd birthday. Her sitcom co-star Brian Murphy was by her side. In 1986 the Smiths used an image of Joyce on the sleeve of their UK single release "Ask" and the German release of "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" securing her place as a British cultural icon.
Known For
The Avengers
Miss Lister
BBC Play of the Month
Mademoiselle Motte
The Saint
Milanov
The Wednesday Play
Rosalind Arnold
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Erica Seydoux
ITV Playhouse
Phoebe
Thirty-Minute Theatre
Agnes
No Hiding Place
Theatre 625
Jane Matthews
Theatre 625
Miss Binnington
On the Buses
The World of Hammer
Self (archive footage)
Steptoe and Son
Delilah
Steptoe and Son
Avis
Man About the House
Mildred Roper
Redcap
Magda
Jason King
Manhunt
Denise
George and Mildred
Mildred Roper
A Man for All Seasons
Averil Machin
Seven of One
Mrs Scully
The Misfit
Pamela
Twenty-Nine
The Prostitute
Kaleidoscope
Museum Receptionist
Fanatic
Anna
Armchair Theatre
Cissy
Armchair Theatre
Alice
The Pumpkin Eater
Woman at Hairdresser's
Our Mother's House
Mrs. Quayle
Sparrows Can't Sing
Barmaid
Frankenstein: The True Story
Hospital Matron
Burke & Hare
Mrs. Hare
Frankenstein: The True Story
Hospital Matron
Man About the House
Mildred Roper
Fragment of Fear
Miss Ward-Cadbury