Hattie Jacques
Encyclopedia
Josephine Edwina Jaques (7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980) was an English comedy
actress, known as
Hattie Jacques.
Starting her career in the 1940s, Jacques first gained attention through her radio appearances with Tommy Handley
on ITMA
and later with Tony Hancock
on Hancock's Half Hour
. From 1958 to 1974 she appeared in fourteen Carry On films
, playing roles such as a hospital matron
. She had a long professional partnership with Eric Sykes
, with whom she co-starred in his long running television series Sykes
. She also starred in two Norman Wisdom
films, The Square Peg
and Follow a Star
.
Jacques was married to John Le Mesurier
from 1949 until their divorce in 1965.
Her final appearance on television was in an advertisement for Asda
in 1980. She died later that year from a heart attack
.
, in 1922, the daughter of Robin and Mary Jaques. Her father was an RAF pilot and footballer for Clapton Orient and Fulham
who was killed in an aeroplane crash 18 months after her birth. Her mother was an amateur actress. Her brother was the artist and illustrator Robin Jacques
.
Educated at the Godolphin and Latymer School
, she served as a nurse in the VAD
during the Second World War, and worked as a welder
in a factory in North London. Around this time an American soldier, Major Charles Kearney, proposed to her; Jacques later claimed he had been killed in action. While researching for his Jacques 2007 biography, however, author Andy Merriman discovered that Kearney had a wife and children in the United States when he had proposed to Jacques and in 1984 had been living in Massachusetts
.
At the age of 20, she made her theatrical début at the Players' Theatre
in London. Almost immediately, she became a regular performer with the company, appearing in music hall
revues and playing The Fairy Queen in their Victorian-style pantomimes. It has been reported she sometimes ".. sang Marie Lloyd
songs and ended her act by leaping into the air and doing the splits".
After achieving success in radio, television and film, she returned to the Players' regularly as a performer, writer and director. It was during her time at the Players' that she acquired the nickname 'Hattie' – appearing in a minstrel show
called 'Coal Black Mammies for Dixie', she took to the stage blacked up and was likened to the American actress Hattie McDaniel
(of Gone with the Wind
fame). Thereafter the name stuck.
, the scriptwriter of It's That Man Again
(ITMA), and was invited to join the cast of the radio comedy series, between 1948 and 1949, playing the greedy schoolgirl Sophie Tuckshop.
She also performed, from 1950 to 1954, in the radio show Educating Archie
as Agatha Dinglebody. It was on this show that she first worked with Eric Sykes
, who was providing scripts for the series.
In 1956, she was asked to join the radio series Hancock's Half Hour
, with regulars Tony Hancock
, Sid James
, Bill Kerr
and Kenneth Williams
. She also appeared in several episodes of Hancock's television series.
's Oliver Twist
(1948), Scrooge
(1951) and a couple of Norman Wisdom
comedies, The Square Peg
and Follow a Star
. In 1958, she was part of the original Carry On
team in Carry On Sergeant
and achieved more widespread recognition.
She appeared in fourteen films in the long-running series and portrayed the no-nonsense Matron in four of the films – Carry On Nurse
, Carry On Doctor
, Carry On Again Doctor
and Carry On Matron
.
Her own personal favourite was Carry On Cabby
, in which she was allowed to drop her 'battleaxe' persona and play the romantic lead opposite Sid James
.
She was known by the team as a warm, kind-hearted and endearing lady and was close friends with many of her co-stars, including Kenneth Williams
and Joan Sims
, whom Hattie provided with a great deal of advice and practical help. In return, Sims regarded Hattie as her "greatest friend".
at the Players' Theatre in London. Dazzled by her performance, Sykes came backstage to be introduced. It was to be the beginning of a lifelong friendship and partnership.
In 1960 she joined Eric Sykes on his long-running BBC
comedy series Sykes and A...
, in which they played a brother and sister who got into all sorts of comic scrapes. The joke was that they were meant to be twins, but were physically very unalike, Jacques being short and plump, while Sykes was thin and gangly. The show ran from 1960 to 1965 and was revived as Sykes
from 1972 to 1979. In later years, they teamed up for national and international stage tours of the show, although this put something of a strain on their professional relationship.
from 1949 to 1965. They had two sons, Robin (born 1953) and Kim (born 1956). At the time of their divorce, the media were given the impression that the fault was on Le Mesurier's side. It was later revealed that Jacques had been having an affair with John Schofield, a younger man (died 2003, Torbay). The 2007 book Hattie: the Authorised Biography claims that Schofield, a cockney used-car dealer, moved into the master bedroom while Le Mesurier retreated to the attic. When Jacques was filming in Rome, Schofield came out to stay and ran off with an Italian heiress. Jacques, who had had a weight problem since her teens began eating "comfort food" and her weight ballooned to nearly 127 kg (20st). Le Mesurier went along with the charade of the marriage breakdown being his fault so as not to damage Jacques' career. She remained on good terms with Le Mesurier and encouraged him to marry his third wife, Joan
.
In January 2011, BBC Four produced a film called Hattie
, starring Ruth Jones
and dramatising Jacques' personal life.
, high blood pressure and swollen, ulcerated legs. As a result of these she was unable to get insurance for films. She carried on working by taking to the road in a stage version of Sykes, which allowed her to continue supporting her favourite charities, as well as keeping up her busy social life. She died of a heart attack
on 6 October 1980, at the age of 58. She was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium
, where her ashes were also scattered. There is a memorial plaque to Jacques in St Paul's Church, Covent Garden, London, otherwise known as the actors' church. A blue plaque
was unveiled by Eric Sykes and Clive Dunn
on 5 November 1995 at her former residence 67, Eardley Crescent, Earls Court
London SW5.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
actress, known as
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Hattie Jacques.
Starting her career in the 1940s, Jacques first gained attention through her radio appearances with Tommy Handley
Tommy Handley
Thomas Reginald "Tommy" Handley was a British comedian, mainly known for the BBC radio programme ITMA . He was born at Toxteth Park, Liverpool in Lancashire....
on ITMA
It's That Man Again
It's That Man Again was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran from 1939 to 1949. The title was a contemporary phrase referring to ever more frequent news-stories about Hitler in the lead-up to World War II, and specifically a headline in the Daily Express written by Bert Gunn...
and later with Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
on Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
. From 1958 to 1974 she appeared in fourteen Carry On films
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
, playing roles such as a hospital matron
Matron
Matron is the job title of a very senior nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, its former colonies, including the Republic of Ireland, although the title Clinical Nurse Manager has become acceptable as an alternative.-History:...
. She had a long professional partnership with Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
, with whom she co-starred in his long running television series Sykes
Sykes
Sykes is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1972 to 1979. Starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques, it was written by Eric Sykes, who had previously starred with Jacques in Sykes and A... and Sykes and a Big, Big Show ....
. She also starred in two Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
films, The Square Peg
The Square Peg
The Square Peg is a 1958 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom and directed by John Paddy Carstairs. Norman Wisdom plays two different characters: a man who digs and repairs roads and a Nazi General.-Cast:...
and Follow a Star
Follow a Star
Follow a Star is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom.-Plot:The story is rather similar to the ending of Singin' in the Rain, where a singer fraudulently "borrows" the voice of Norman Wisdom's character....
.
Jacques was married to John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
from 1949 until their divorce in 1965.
Her final appearance on television was in an advertisement for Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
in 1980. She died later that year from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Early life
Hattie Jacques was born Josephine Edwina Jaques in Sandgate, KentSandgate, Kent
Sandgate is a village in the Folkestone and Hythe Urban Area in the Shepway district of Kent, England. In 2004, the village re-acquired civil parish status....
, in 1922, the daughter of Robin and Mary Jaques. Her father was an RAF pilot and footballer for Clapton Orient and Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
who was killed in an aeroplane crash 18 months after her birth. Her mother was an amateur actress. Her brother was the artist and illustrator Robin Jacques
Robin Jacques
Robin Jacques was an illustrator whose work was published in more than 100 novels and children's books in the 20th century. He is notable for his long collaboration with Ruth Manning-Sanders, serving as the illustrator for many of her collections of fairy tales from all over the world...
.
Educated at the Godolphin and Latymer School
Godolphin and Latymer School
The Godolphin and Latymer School is an independent school for 700 girls aged eleven to eighteen in London. Ms Margaret Rudland was the head mistress of the school for over 20 years before being succeeded by Ms Ruth Mercer.-History:...
, she served as a nurse in the VAD
Voluntary Aid Detachment
The Voluntary Aid Detachment was a voluntary organisation providing field nursing services, mainly in hospitals, in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The organisation's most important periods of operation were during World War I and World War II.The...
during the Second World War, and worked as a welder
Welder
A welder is a tradesman who specializes in welding materials together. The materials to be joined can be metals or varieties of plastic or polymer...
in a factory in North London. Around this time an American soldier, Major Charles Kearney, proposed to her; Jacques later claimed he had been killed in action. While researching for his Jacques 2007 biography, however, author Andy Merriman discovered that Kearney had a wife and children in the United States when he had proposed to Jacques and in 1984 had been living in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
At the age of 20, she made her theatrical début at the Players' Theatre
Players' Theatre
The Players' Theatre was a theatre in London as well as a theatre club for music hall in the style of the BBC programme "The Good Old Days".-Origins:...
in London. Almost immediately, she became a regular performer with the company, appearing in music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
revues and playing The Fairy Queen in their Victorian-style pantomimes. It has been reported she sometimes ".. sang Marie Lloyd
Marie Lloyd
Matilda Alice Victoria Wood was an English music hall singer, best known as Marie Lloyd. Her ability to add lewdness to the most innocent of lyrics led to frequent clashes with the guardians of morality...
songs and ended her act by leaping into the air and doing the splits".
After achieving success in radio, television and film, she returned to the Players' regularly as a performer, writer and director. It was during her time at the Players' that she acquired the nickname 'Hattie' – appearing in a minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
called 'Coal Black Mammies for Dixie', she took to the stage blacked up and was likened to the American actress Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
(of Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
fame). Thereafter the name stuck.
Radio
In 1947 she was seen at the Players' by Ted KavanaghTed Kavanagh
Ted Kavanagh was a British radio scriptwriter and producer.Initially a medical student in Edinburgh, Kavanagh switched to a career as a writer...
, the scriptwriter of It's That Man Again
It's That Man Again
It's That Man Again was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran from 1939 to 1949. The title was a contemporary phrase referring to ever more frequent news-stories about Hitler in the lead-up to World War II, and specifically a headline in the Daily Express written by Bert Gunn...
(ITMA), and was invited to join the cast of the radio comedy series, between 1948 and 1949, playing the greedy schoolgirl Sophie Tuckshop.
She also performed, from 1950 to 1954, in the radio show Educating Archie
Educating Archie
Educating Archie was a BBC Light Programme comedy show broadcast from June 1950 to February 1958 on Sunday lunchtimes featuring ventriloquist Peter Brough and his doll Archie Andrews. The programme was successful despite a ventriloquist on radio seeming strange, though in the United States, Edgar...
as Agatha Dinglebody. It was on this show that she first worked with Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
, who was providing scripts for the series.
In 1956, she was asked to join the radio series Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
, with regulars Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
, Sid James
Sid James
Sid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
, Bill Kerr
Bill Kerr
William 'Bill' Kerr is an Australian film and television actor. He was born into a performing arts family in Cape Town, South Africa, but grew up in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia....
and Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
. She also appeared in several episodes of Hancock's television series.
Carry On films
She was also appearing in films by this time, and her early films included David LeanDavid Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
's Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist (1948 film)
Oliver Twist is the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following the success of his 1946 version of Great Expectations, Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his adaptation of Dicken's 1838 novel, including producers Ronald Neame and Anthony...
(1948), Scrooge
Scrooge (1951 film)
Scrooge, released as A Christmas Carol in the United States, is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an...
(1951) and a couple of Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
comedies, The Square Peg
The Square Peg
The Square Peg is a 1958 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom and directed by John Paddy Carstairs. Norman Wisdom plays two different characters: a man who digs and repairs roads and a Nazi General.-Cast:...
and Follow a Star
Follow a Star
Follow a Star is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom.-Plot:The story is rather similar to the ending of Singin' in the Rain, where a singer fraudulently "borrows" the voice of Norman Wisdom's character....
. In 1958, she was part of the original Carry On
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
team in Carry On Sergeant
Carry On Sergeant
Carry On Sergeant is the first Carry On film. Its first public screening was on 1 August 1958 at Screen One, London. Actors in this film who went on to be part of the regular team in the series were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott...
and achieved more widespread recognition.
She appeared in fourteen films in the long-running series and portrayed the no-nonsense Matron in four of the films – Carry On Nurse
Carry On Nurse
Carry On Nurse is the second Carry On film, released in 1959. Of the regular team, it featured Joan Sims , Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey, with Hattie Jacques and Leslie Phillips. The film was written by Norman Hudis based on the play Ring For Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack...
, Carry On Doctor
Carry On Doctor
Carry On Doctor is the fifteenth film in the Carry On series. It is the second in the series to have a medical theme. Frankie Howerd makes the first of his two appearances in the film series. He stars alongside regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Bernard Bresslaw...
, Carry On Again Doctor
Carry On Again Doctor
Carry On Again Doctor is the eighteenth Carry On film. It was released in 1969 and was the third to feature a medical theme. The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor and Hattie Jacques...
and Carry On Matron
Carry On Matron
Carry On Matron is the twenty-third Carry On film. It was released in 1972. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor and Kenneth Connor. This was the last Carry on... film for Terry Scott after appearing...
.
Her own personal favourite was Carry On Cabby
Carry On Cabby
Carry On Cabby is the seventh Carry On film. Released in 1963, it was the first one written by series mainstay Talbot Rothwell from a story by Sid Green and Dick Hills...
, in which she was allowed to drop her 'battleaxe' persona and play the romantic lead opposite Sid James
Sid James
Sid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
.
She was known by the team as a warm, kind-hearted and endearing lady and was close friends with many of her co-stars, including Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
and Joan Sims
Joan Sims
Joan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
, whom Hattie provided with a great deal of advice and practical help. In return, Sims regarded Hattie as her "greatest friend".
Eric Sykes
She first met Eric SykesEric Sykes
Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
at the Players' Theatre in London. Dazzled by her performance, Sykes came backstage to be introduced. It was to be the beginning of a lifelong friendship and partnership.
In 1960 she joined Eric Sykes on his long-running BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy series Sykes and A...
Sykes and A...
Sykes and a... is a black-and-white British sitcom starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques that aired on BBC1 from 1960 to 1965. It was written by Eric Sykes, Johnny Speight, John Antrobus and Spike Milligan...
, in which they played a brother and sister who got into all sorts of comic scrapes. The joke was that they were meant to be twins, but were physically very unalike, Jacques being short and plump, while Sykes was thin and gangly. The show ran from 1960 to 1965 and was revived as Sykes
Sykes
Sykes is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1972 to 1979. Starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques, it was written by Eric Sykes, who had previously starred with Jacques in Sykes and A... and Sykes and a Big, Big Show ....
from 1972 to 1979. In later years, they teamed up for national and international stage tours of the show, although this put something of a strain on their professional relationship.
Personal life
Hattie Jacques was married to actor John Le MesurierJohn Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
from 1949 to 1965. They had two sons, Robin (born 1953) and Kim (born 1956). At the time of their divorce, the media were given the impression that the fault was on Le Mesurier's side. It was later revealed that Jacques had been having an affair with John Schofield, a younger man (died 2003, Torbay). The 2007 book Hattie: the Authorised Biography claims that Schofield, a cockney used-car dealer, moved into the master bedroom while Le Mesurier retreated to the attic. When Jacques was filming in Rome, Schofield came out to stay and ran off with an Italian heiress. Jacques, who had had a weight problem since her teens began eating "comfort food" and her weight ballooned to nearly 127 kg (20st). Le Mesurier went along with the charade of the marriage breakdown being his fault so as not to damage Jacques' career. She remained on good terms with Le Mesurier and encouraged him to marry his third wife, Joan
Joan Le Mesurier
Joan Le Mesurier is an English actress, best known as the widow and biographer of the actor John Le Mesurier...
.
In January 2011, BBC Four produced a film called Hattie
Hattie (television film)
Hattie is a television film on the life of the British comic actress Hattie Jacques, played by Ruth Jones, her marriage to John Le Mesurier and her affair with their lodger John Schofield...
, starring Ruth Jones
Ruth Jones
Ruth Jones is a Welsh TV actress and writer. She starred in and co-wrote the multi-award winning TV comedy Gavin & Stacey and has appeared in many other successful comedies over recent years...
and dramatising Jacques' personal life.
Later years
Jacques was a near chain smoker. In her later years she was plagued by health problems which included breathing difficulties, arthritisArthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
, high blood pressure and swollen, ulcerated legs. As a result of these she was unable to get insurance for films. She carried on working by taking to the road in a stage version of Sykes, which allowed her to continue supporting her favourite charities, as well as keeping up her busy social life. She died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on 6 October 1980, at the age of 58. She was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium
Putney Vale Cemetery
Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in London is surrounded by Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park, and is located within forty-seven acres of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891 and the crematorium in 1938...
, where her ashes were also scattered. There is a memorial plaque to Jacques in St Paul's Church, Covent Garden, London, otherwise known as the actors' church. A blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
was unveiled by Eric Sykes and Clive Dunn
Clive Dunn
Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn OBE is a retired English actor, comedian and author, best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army.-Early life:...
on 5 November 1995 at her former residence 67, Eardley Crescent, Earls Court
Earls Court
Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district centred on Earl's Court Road and surrounding streets, located 3.1 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It borders the sub-districts of South Kensington to the East, West...
London SW5.
Radio performances
- ITMA (1948–1949), Sophie Tuckshop
- Educating ArchieEducating ArchieEducating Archie was a BBC Light Programme comedy show broadcast from June 1950 to February 1958 on Sunday lunchtimes featuring ventriloquist Peter Brough and his doll Archie Andrews. The programme was successful despite a ventriloquist on radio seeming strange, though in the United States, Edgar...
(1950–1954), Agatha Dinglebody - Hancock's Half HourHancock's Half HourHancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
(1956–1958), Griselda Pugh - It's A Fair Cop (1961) 8 episodes, with Eric Sykes
Television
- Happy Holidays (1954) BBC, as Mrs Mulberry
- The Granville Melodramas (1955) BBC, as various characters
- The Tony Hancock Show (1956) Associated Redifusion/ITV, various characters
- Pantomania, or Dick Whittington (1956) BBC, as The Good Fairy,(written by Eric Sykes)
- Hancock's Half HourHancock's Half HourHancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
(Series 2, episodes 2-6 1957, various characters, & Series 5, one episode, 'The Cruise' 1959) - Val Parnell's Saturday Spectacular (28th Dec, 1957) ATV variety show with Eric Sykes and Edmond Hockridge
- Gala Opening (1959) BBC special with Eric Sykes
- Sykes and A...Sykes and A...Sykes and a... is a black-and-white British sitcom starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques that aired on BBC1 from 1960 to 1965. It was written by Eric Sykes, Johnny Speight, John Antrobus and Spike Milligan...
(1960–1965) BBC, as Harriet (Hat) Sykes - Our House (1960–1962) BBC, as Georgina Ruddley
- The Billy Cotton Band Show (24th Dec, 1961) BBC, with Eric Sykes.
- Christmas Night with the Stars (1962) BBC, as Harriet (Hat) Sykes (Sykes and his Sister short)
- This is Your Life (1963) BBC, subject
- The Royal Variety Performance (1963) BBC, with Eric Sykes
- ITV Play of the Week:A Choice of Coward (1964) - 'Blithe Spirit' as Madam Arcarti (Granada TV)
- Miss Adventure (1964) a 13-part detective series starring as Stacey Smith (ITV)
- Jackanory (1967) BBC children's series, guest storyteller
- Sykes versus ITV (1967) special for ABC TV
- Theatre 625:The Memorandum (1967) BBC2 drama anthology
- The World of Beachcomber (1968) BBC comedy series
- Howerd's Hour (1968) ABC TV
- Heyday Theatre:Knock Three Times (1968) - a 4 part children's fantasy serial as Aunt Nancy Popinjay
- Never a Cross Word (1968) LWT comedy, series 1 - one episode, 'The Baldocks at Bay'
- Carry On Christmas (1969) special for Thames TV
- Inside George Webley (1970) comedy series, Series 2 - one episode, 'Brief Encounter' as Mavis Butterfield
- Charley's Grants (1970) comedy series as Miss Manger
- Holiday Showtime (1970) guest
- CatweazleCatweazleCatweazle was a British television series, created and written by Richard Carpenter which was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for London Weekend Television under the LWI banner, and screened in the UK on ITV in 1970 and 1971...
(1970) - series 1 - one episode, 'The Eye of Time' as Madam Rosa - Sykes and a Big, Big ShowSykes and a Big, Big ShowSykes and a Big, Big Show is a British sitcom-sketch show that aired on BBC1 in 1971. Starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques, it was written by Eric Sykes and directed by Harold Snoad and Douglas Argent...
(1971) BBC - Sykes with the Lid Off (1971) special for Thames TV
- Frankie Howerd - The Laughing Stock of Television (1971)
- Doctor at Large (1971) - one episode, 'Cynthia Darling' as Mrs Askey
- SykesSykesSykes is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1972 to 1979. Starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques, it was written by Eric Sykes, who had previously starred with Jacques in Sykes and A... and Sykes and a Big, Big Show ....
(1972–1979), Hattie - Carry On Christmas:Carry On Stuffing (1972) special for Thames TV
- Carry On LaughingCarry On LaughingCarry on Laughing is a British television comedy series produced in 1975 for ATV. Based on the Carry On films, it was an attempt to address the films' declining cinema attendance by transferring the franchise to television...
(1975) - one episode, 'Orgy and Bess' as Queen Elizabeth I - Eric Sykes Shows A Few of Our Favourite Things (1977) special for ITV
- The Likes of Sykes (1980) special for Thames TV
- Rhubarb RhubarbRhubarb RhubarbRhubarb Rhubarb is a 30 minute television comedy special made by Thames TV and transmitted in 1980. The special is a re-make of Eric Sykes' 1969 film, Rhubarb.-Plot:...
(1980) ITV remake of 1969 film RhubarbRhubarb (1969 film)Rhubarb was a 1969 British short film written and directed by Eric Sykes, starring Sykes and Harry Secombe. The dialogue consisted entirely of repetitions of the word "rhubarb", all the characters last names were "Rhubarb", and even the license plates on vehicles were "RHU BAR B"...
Selected films
- Oliver TwistOliver Twist (1948 film)Oliver Twist is the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following the success of his 1946 version of Great Expectations, Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his adaptation of Dicken's 1838 novel, including producers Ronald Neame and Anthony...
(1948), singer in the thieves' pub - Trottie TrueTrottie TrueTrottie True is a 1949 British musical comedy film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Jean Kent, James Donald and Hugh Sinclair. It was adapted from a play by Caryl Brahms and S. J...
(1949), music hall performer - WaterfrontWaterfront (1950 film)Waterfront is a 1950 British drama film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Robert Newton, Kathleen Harrison and Avis Scott. A sailor abandons his family, in the Liverpool slums...
(1950), singer - ScroogeScrooge (1951 film)Scrooge, released as A Christmas Carol in the United States, is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an...
(1951) US title A Christmas Carol, Mrs Fezziwig - Chance of a LifetimeChance of a Lifetime (film)Chance of a Lifetime is a 1950 British film starring, produced, part-written and directed by Bernard Miles. It was nominated for the 1951 BAFTA for Best British Film, to which it was beaten by The Blue Lamp.-Plot:...
(1950), Alice - Up to His NeckUp to His NeckUp to His Neck is a 1954 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Ronald Shiner as Jack Carter, Hattie Jacques as Rakiki and Anthony Newley as Tommy.-Cast:* Ronald Shiner as Jack Carter* Brian Rix as Wiggy* Laya Raki as Lao Win Tan...
(1954), Rakiki - As Long as They're HappyAs Long as They're HappyAs Long as They're Happy is a 1955 British musical comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson.-Cast:* Jack Buchanan as John Bentley* Janette Scott as Gwen Bentley* Jeannie Carson as Pat Bentley* Brenda De Banzie as Stella Bentley...
(1955), party girl - Now and ForeverNow and Forever (1956 film)Now and Forever is a 1956 British drama film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Janette Scott, Vernon Gray and Kay Walsh. It is based on the play The Orchard Walls by R.F. Delderfield...
(1956) - Carry On SergeantCarry On SergeantCarry On Sergeant is the first Carry On film. Its first public screening was on 1 August 1958 at Screen One, London. Actors in this film who went on to be part of the regular team in the series were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott...
(1958), Captain Clark - The Square PegThe Square PegThe Square Peg is a 1958 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom and directed by John Paddy Carstairs. Norman Wisdom plays two different characters: a man who digs and repairs roads and a Nazi General.-Cast:...
(1958), Gretchen - Carry On NurseCarry On NurseCarry On Nurse is the second Carry On film, released in 1959. Of the regular team, it featured Joan Sims , Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey, with Hattie Jacques and Leslie Phillips. The film was written by Norman Hudis based on the play Ring For Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack...
(1959), Matron - The Navy LarkThe Navy Lark (film)The Navy Lark is a 1959 British comedy film adaptation of The Navy Lark radio series broadcast on the BBC Light Programme. It featured Cecil Parker, Ronald Shiner and Leslie Phillips, Gordon Jackson and Hattie Jacques...
(1959), fortune-teller - The Night We Dropped a ClangerThe Night We Dropped a ClangerThe Night We Dropped a Clanger is a 1959 British comedy thriller film directed by Darcy Conyers and starring Brian Rix, Cecil Parker, William Hartnell and Leslie Phillips. A British secret agent takes part in a secret operation in occupied France during the Second World War...
(1959), Ada - Carry On TeacherCarry On TeacherCarry On Teacher is the third Carry On film, released in 1959. It features Ted Ray in his only Carry On role, alongside series regulars; Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques. Leslie Phillips and Joan Sims make their second appearances in the series here, having made...
(1959), Grace Short - Follow a StarFollow a StarFollow a Star is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom.-Plot:The story is rather similar to the ending of Singin' in the Rain, where a singer fraudulently "borrows" the voice of Norman Wisdom's character....
(1959), Dymphna Dobson - Make Mine MinkMake Mine MinkMake Mine Mink is a 1960 British comedy directed by Robert Asher and featuring Terry-Thomas, Athene Seyler, Hattie Jacques, Billie Whitelaw, Elspeth Duxbury, Jack Hedley and Raymond Huntley, with cameos by Kenneth Williams and Irene Handl. A group of misfits go on a spree, stealing mink coats...
(1960), Nanette Parry - Carry On ConstableCarry On ConstableCarry On Constable is the fourth Carry On film. It was released in 1960. Of the regular team, it featured Kenneth Connor, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Hattie Jacques. Sid James makes his debut in the series here, while early regulars Leslie Phillips, Eric Barker and Shirley...
(1960), Sergeant Laura Moon - School for ScoundrelsSchool for Scoundrels (1960 film)School for Scoundrels is a 1960 British comedy film inspired by the "Gamesmanship" series of books by Stephen Potter. The main character, Henry Palfrey , is a failure in sport and love, and victim of conmen. He enrols at the "School of Lifemanship" in Yeovil, run by Dr...
(1960), First Instructress - In the Doghouse (1961), Gudgeon
- Carry On RegardlessCarry On RegardlessCarry on Regardless was the fifth in the series of Carry On films to be made. It was released in 1961. By now a fairly regular team was established with Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams all having appeared in previous entries. Hattie Jacques - who was...
(1961), Sister - She'll Have to GoShe'll Have to GoShe'll Have to Go is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Bob Monkhouse.-Cast:* Bob Monkhouse - Francis Oberon* Alfred Marks - Douglas Oberon...
(1962), Miss Richards - The Punch and Judy ManThe Punch and Judy ManThe Punch and Judy Man is a British comedy film from 1963 directed by Jeremy Summers. It was Tony Hancock's second film in a starring role, following The Rebel .-Plot:...
(1963), Dolly Zarathusa, the Fortune Teller - Carry On CabbyCarry On CabbyCarry On Cabby is the seventh Carry On film. Released in 1963, it was the first one written by series mainstay Talbot Rothwell from a story by Sid Green and Dick Hills...
(1963), Peggy - Carry On DoctorCarry On DoctorCarry On Doctor is the fifteenth film in the Carry On series. It is the second in the series to have a medical theme. Frankie Howerd makes the first of his two appearances in the film series. He stars alongside regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Bernard Bresslaw...
(1967), Matron - RhubarbRhubarb (1969 film)Rhubarb was a 1969 British short film written and directed by Eric Sykes, starring Sykes and Harry Secombe. The dialogue consisted entirely of repetitions of the word "rhubarb", all the characters last names were "Rhubarb", and even the license plates on vehicles were "RHU BAR B"...
(1969), Nurse Rhubarb - Crooks and CoronetsCrooks and CoronetsCrooks and Coronets is a 1969 British crime comedy film and/or heist movie written and directed by Jim O'Connolly. It starred Telly Savalas, Edith Evans, Warren Oates, Cesar Romero and Harry H...
(1969), Mabel - Monte Carlo or BustMonte Carlo or BustMonte Carlo or Bust is a 1969 comedy film. The story is based on the Monte Carlo Rally - first raced in 1911 - and the film recalls this general era, set in the 1920s. The film is a British/French/Italian co-production, and was released in the United States under the title Those Daring Young Men in...
(1969), lady journalist - Carry On CampingCarry On CampingCarry On Camping is a 1969 comedy film and the seventeenth Carry On film. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry Scott, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth.-Plot:...
(1969), Miss Haggerd - Carry On Again DoctorCarry On Again DoctorCarry On Again Doctor is the eighteenth Carry On film. It was released in 1969 and was the third to feature a medical theme. The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor and Hattie Jacques...
(1969), Matron - The Magic ChristianThe Magic Christian (film)The Magic Christian is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with noteworthy appearances by John Cleese, Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel of the same...
(1969), Ginger Horton - Carry On LovingCarry On LovingCarry On Loving is the twentieth Carry On film, and was released in 1970. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Terry Scott and Bernard Bresslaw alongside newcomers Richard O'Callaghan and Jacki Piper . Carry On Loving featured...
(1970), Sophie Bliss - Carry On at Your ConvenienceCarry On at Your ConvenienceCarry On at Your Convenience, released in 1971, is the 22nd film of the Carry On series and was the first box office failure of the series. The failure has been attributed to the film's attempt at exploring the political themes of the trade union movement, crucially portraying the union activists...
(1971), Beatrice Plummer - Carry On MatronCarry On MatronCarry On Matron is the twenty-third Carry On film. It was released in 1972. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor and Kenneth Connor. This was the last Carry on... film for Terry Scott after appearing...
(1971), Matron - Carry On AbroadCarry On AbroadCarry On Abroad is the twenty-fourth Carry On film, released in 1972. The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth and Hattie Jacques. It was the 23rd and final appearance for Charles Hawtrey. June...
(1972), Floella - Carry On DickCarry On DickCarry On Dick was the 26th Carry On film. It was released in 1974 and marked the end of an era for the series. It featured the last appearances of Sid James and Hattie Jacques although both would make a further appearance in the Carry On Laughing TV series...
(1974), Martha Hoggett
Records
- Doctor Kildare/Bedtime Story (Y7092, single, Decca Records 1962) with Eric Sykes
- Eric and Hattie and Things (LK 4507, LP, Decca Records 1962) with Eric Sykes