Liz Smith (actress)

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Liz Smith , MBE (born December 11, 1921 in Scunthorpe , Lincolnshire ; † December 24, 2016, born Betty Gleadle ) was a British actress .

Life

Smith grew up with her grandmother. Her mother died when she was two years old and her father left the family shortly after. During the Second World War she was employed by the Wrens , the female division of the Royal Navy . In 1945 she married Jack Thomas, whom she had met during a stay in India . There were two children from this marriage. Since she separated from Thomas again in 1959, she raised the children alone. Liz Smith died on Christmas Eve 2016 at the age of 95.

Career

Liz Smith didn't begin her career until she was 50 with her role in Play for Today (1971). When casting for the drama series produced by Mike Leigh , this convinced her portrayal, although she was not a professional trained actress. The role of a hopeless middle-aged mother in this series brought her breakthrough. Over the next 40 years, the character actress made appearances on many British television series, including Emmerdale , Last of the Summer Wine and The Foxes . Liz Smith has had recurring roles on television series such as I Didn't Know You Cared , 2point4 Children , The Royle Family , The Vicar of Dibley and Lark Rise to Candleford . For her role in the film A Private Function (1984) she received a British Film Academy Award in the category Best Supporting Actress . During the 1990s, Smith appeared in series such as The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones and BBC productions such as Lovejoy . Mostly she was committed to portraying eccentric or quirky older women, often grandmothers, aunts or neighbors.

Liz Smith had minor supporting roles in the Pink Panther films Inspector Clouseau, the "best" man at Interpol , The Curse of the Pink Panther and The Son of the Pink Panther . In the course of her career, Liz Smith also worked in various Charles Dickens film adaptations , including those of Klein Dorrit , David Copperfield , Oliver Twist and A Christmas Story . At the side of George C. Scott in Charles Dickens' Christmas Story (1984) and Patrick Stewart in A Christmas Carol (1999) Smith played the role of Mrs. Dilber , the poorly paid cleaning lady of Scrooge. In 2005 she starred in Oliver Twist directed by Roman Polański . In the same year she also starred as grandmother in the literary film adaptation Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Tim Burton and as an annoying churchgoer in the black comedy Murder in the Vicarage . In 2006 she made a cameo in Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute .

Liz Smith stayed in the acting business well into old age. In 2007 Smith won the annual British Comedy Award for her performance in The Royle Family ; In 2013 she played her last role in two episodes of the crime series The Tunnel . In 2009 she was named the Order of the British Empire for her services to acting .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1970: Leo the Last
  • 1972: Bleak Moments
  • 1973–1980: Play for Today (TV series, 7 episodes)
  • 1974: Bedtime Stories (TV series, 1 episode)
  • 1974: Seven Faces of Women (TV series, 1 episode)
  • 1974: South Riding (TV series, 2 episodes)
  • 1974: David Copperfield (TV miniseries, 3 episodes)
  • 1974–1976: Crown Court (TV series, 3 episodes)
  • 1975: It's a lovely Day Tomorrow
  • 1975–1979: I Didn't Know You Cared (TV series, 27 episodes)
  • 1976: Inspector Clouseau, the "best" man at Interpol
  • 1976: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (TV movie)
  • 1976: It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet
  • 1977: The Stick Up
  • 1977: Nicholas Nickleby (TV miniseries, 2 episodes)
  • 1977: The Duellists (The Duellists)
  • 1977: The Hotel on Duke Street (TV series, 2 episodes)
  • 1978: Within these Walls (TV series, 2 episodes)
  • 1979: The Secret of Agatha Christie (Agatha)
  • 1980: Bernie (TV series, 1 episode)
  • 1980: Madhouse
  • 1980: Sir Henry at Rawlinson End
  • 1980/1982: In Loving Memory (TV series, 2 episodes)
  • 1981: Monster Club
  • 1981: The wife of the French lieutenant (The French Lieutenant's Woman)
  • 1982: Give us this day
  • 1982: Britannia Hospital
  • 1982: Crystal Gazing
  • 1982: Russian Night ... 1941 (TV movie)
  • 1983: Detective Agency Blunt (TV series, 1 episode)
  • 1983: Separate Tables ( Separate Tables ; TV movie)
  • 1983: Fanny Hill
  • 1983: Curse of the Pink Panther (Curse of the Pink Panther)
  • 1983: Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime
  • 1983–1984: Now and Then (TV series, 13 episodes)
  • 1984: One by One (TV series, 9 episodes)
  • 1984: Lean Times - The Movie With the Pig (A Private Function)
  • 1984: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
  • 1984–2002: The Bill (TV series, 5 episodes)
  • 1985: Mann's Best Friends (TV series, 4 episodes)
  • 1986: Harem (TV movie)
  • 1986: The Live and Loves of a She-Devil (TV series, 3 episodes)
  • 1987: Little Dorrit (Little Dorit)
  • 1987: Imaginary Friends (TV series, 3 episodes)
  • 1987–1989: Valentine Park (TV series, 7 episodes)
  • 1989: We Think the World of You
  • 1989: Singing buddies have a hard time (Bert Rigby, You're A Fool)
  • 1989: The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover)
  • 1991–1996: 2point4 Children (TV series, 12 episodes)
  • 1992: Dakota Road
  • 1992: The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (TV series, 1 episode)
  • 1993: Cluedo (TV series, 6 episodes)
  • 1993: Son of the Pink Panther (Son of the Pink Panther)
  • 1993: Piccolo grande amore
  • 1994–1996: The Vicar of Dibley (TV series, 7 episodes)
  • 1995: Haunted (Haunted)
  • 1996: Lies and Secrets (Secrets & Lies)
  • 1996–1999: The Magic Coin ( The Queen's Nose ; TV series, 7 episodes)
  • 1998: Herring on the Pants (The Revenger's Comedies)
  • 1998–2006: The Royle Family (TV series, 2 episodes)
  • 1999: Alice in Wonderland ( Alice in Wonderland ; TV movie)
  • 1999: A Christmas Carol - The Night Before Christmas (A Christmas Carol)
  • 2000: A Christmas Carol (TV movie)
  • 2001: The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (TV movie)
  • 2003: Between the Sheets (TV series, 7 episodes)
  • 2004: Nero - The Dark Side of Power (TV movie)
  • 2005: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  • 2005: Murder in the rectory (Keeping Mum)
  • 2005: Wallace & Gromit - On the hunt for the giant rabbit ( Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ; voice)
  • 2006: The Magic Flute
  • 2008: City of Ember
  • 2008: Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series, 10 episodes)
  • 2009: The Antiques Rogue Show (TV movie)
  • 2013: The Tunnel - Murder Knows No Boundaries (TV series, 2 episodes)

Individual evidence

  1. Martin Evans: Liz Smith dies aged 95: Ralf Little leads tributes to Royle Family and Vicar of Dibley star . In: The Telegraph . December 26, 2016, ISSN  0307-1235 ( telegraph.co.uk [accessed July 4, 2019]).

Web links