Mollie Sugden

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Mary Isobel "Mollie" Sugden (born July 21, 1922 in Keighley , West Yorkshire , † July 1, 2009 in Guildford , Surrey ) was a British actress. After working in the theater, she appeared in over 40 television productions from the early 1960s. She was particularly well known for her role as Mrs. Slocombe in the British television series Are You Being Served? a.

Life

Mollie Sugden was born in northern England in 1922 as the daughter of a building materials dealer and lay preacher. She first encountered the performing arts at the age of four when she watched a woman receive applause for reciting a funny poem. A year later she successfully recited the poem herself. As a child, Sugden appeared in school plays and began taking acting classes in nearby Bradford from the age of eleven . She attended high school in her hometown and worked there in an ammunition factory during World War II . After her release, Sugden moved to the renowned London Guildhall School of Music and Drama . She completed her acting training there two years later, with her northern English accent being trained.

After completing her training, 23-year-old Sugden joined various acting troupes and devoted herself to repertoire theater. For eight years she mainly played roles as a cultured or noble lady. Her breakthrough as an actress paved the way for her colleague Thora Hird and the author Walter Greenwood , whom she cast in a theater comedy in Blackpool as the buxom and frivolous widow of northern England. The part led to Sugden's first recurring television role in the series Hugh and I . From 1962 to 1966 she played there the arrogant neighbor Mrs. Crispin. Other offers for television followed, including parenting roles in the series Just Jimmy (1964–1968) and The Liver Birds (1971–1996), as well as appearances in Coronation Street (1965–1974).

Her most famous role was played by Sugden on the British sitcom Are You Being Served? which aired on BBC One from 1972 and is located in various departments of a fictional London department store. In it she took over the role of Mrs. Slocombe, the single and rebellious head of the women's department, who regularly caused laughter with her changing hair color and ambiguous comments about her cat (original: "my pussy"). Originally designed only as a single pilot episode, the format parodying class differences benefited from the surprisingly vacant broadcasting slot that was created by the Olympic attack in Munich . After 19 million viewers watched the first episode of Are You Being Served? The sitcom aired in ten seasons until 1985. At peak times it reached a regular audience of 15 million and her involvement made Sugden popular outside of the UK as well. In the 1990s, all episodes were broadcast one after the other on US television, which brought the actress higher profile in the United States than the then British Prime Minister John Major .

From 1992 to 1993 Sugden slipped again for two seasons of the follow-up series Grace & Favor in the role of Betty Slocombe. After a guest appearance on the series The Bill (2003), the British withdrew into private life.

Molly Sugden's hobbies were gardening, cooking and driving fast cars. From 1958 until his death, she was married to fellow actor William Moore (1915-2000), whom she had met in 1956 during her time at the Repertoire Theater in Swansea . The connection resulted in twin sons. Sugden did not recover from her husband's death. She died in 2009 after a long illness at the age of 86 at the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1962–1966: Hugh and I (TV series)
  • 1964–1968: Just Jimmy (TV series)
  • 1965–1972: Steptoe and Son (TV series)
  • 1965–1974: Coronation Street (TV series)
  • 1970: The Six Wives of Henry VIII (television multipart)
  • 1970: Up Pompeii (TV series)
  • 1971–1996: The Liver Birds (TV series)
  • 1972: Doctor in Charge (TV series)
  • 1972: Emma (TV multi-part)
  • 1972–1985: Are You Being Served? (TV series)
  • 1973: Son of the Bride (TV series)
  • 1973: Billy Liar (TV series)
  • 1977–1978: Come Back Mrs. Noah (TV series)
  • 1981–1986: That's My Boy (TV series)
  • 1987–1988: My Husband and I (TV series)
  • 1988: Tickle on the Tum (TV series)
  • 1991: Cluedo (TV series)
  • 1991: The Princess and the Goblin (cartoon)
  • 1992–1993: Grace & Favor (TV series)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d cf. Hayward, Anthony: Mollie Sugden . In: The Independent , July 3, 2009, p. 40
  2. ↑ a b c d e cf. Barker, Dennis: Obituary: Mollie Sugden . In: The Guardian , July 3, 2009, p. 39
  3. ↑ a b c cf. Obituary of Mollie Sugden . In: The Daily Telegraph , July 2, 2009, p. 33
  4. ↑ cf. AAP Newsfeed: UK: Mollie Sugden, aka Mrs Slocombe dies aged 86 . July 2, 2009, 7:48 AM AEST
personal data
SURNAME Sugden, Mollie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sugden, Mary Isobel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actress
DATE OF BIRTH July 21, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Keighley , West Yorkshire
DATE OF DEATH July 1, 2009
Place of death Guildford , Surrey