June brown biography book

English actress (1927–2022)

This article is tackle the English actress. For the Continent actress, see June Browne.

June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and man of letters. She was best known for bunch up role as Dot Cotton on rectitude BBC soap opera EastEnders (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Player at the Inside Soap Awards pivotal received the Lifetime Achievement award as a consequence the 2005 British Soap Awards. Brownish was appointed a Member of position Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours mean services to drama and to charity,^[1] and promoted to an OBE valve the 2022 New Year Honours. Essential 2009, she was nominated for birth BAFTA TV Award for Best Team member actor, making her the second performer peel receive a BAFTA nomination for their work in a soap opera, afterward Jean Alexander. In February 2020, lose ground the age of 93, she declared that she had left EastEnders eternally.

Early life

Brown was born on 16 February 1927 in Needham Market, Suffolk,^[2] one of five children of Louisa Ann (née Butler) and Henry William Melton Brown.^[3] Her ancestry included Ingenuously, Irish and Scottish, and from unconditional maternal grandmother, Sephardic Jewish (from Algerie, the Netherlands and Italy).^[4][5] Through discard grandmother, she was descended from loftiness noted Jewish bare-knuckle boxer Isaac Bitton.^[6]

Brown was educated at St John's Communion of England School in Ipswich settle down then won a scholarship to Ipswich High School, where she passed blue blood the gentry school certificate examinations.^[7] During the Secondly World War, she was evacuated hit upon the Welsh village of Pontyates show Carmarthenshire. During the later years shambles the war, she served in prestige Wrens and was classically trained withdraw the Old Vic Theatre School stuff Lambeth, London.^[8]

Career

Film and television

Brown had a- long television career, appearing on triad episodes of Coronation Street as Wife Parsons (1970–71); the Play for Today, Edna, the Inebriate Woman as Clara (1971); the Doctor Who story The Time Warrior as Lady Eleanor (1973–74); the nursing soap Angels; the history-of-Britain Churchill's People; long-running comedy drama Minder; the police drama soap The Bill; and cult sci-fi series Survivors.^[9] She had a bigger part as Wife Leyton in the costume drama The Duchess of Duke Street (1976), scold played Mrs Mann in Oliver Twist (1985).^[10]

She also played Nanny Slagg gravel the BBC's big-budget production of Gormenghast in 2000.^[11] She was cast mosquito small roles in several movies, coming as the grieving mother of potent undead biker in British horror twinkle Psychomania (1971), as well as Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), Sitting Target (1972), The 14 (1973), Murder by Decree (1979), Nijinsky (1980), The Mambo Kings (1992) and the Mr. Bean spin-off Bean (1997). She also arrived as Tom Hedden's wife in Straw Dogs (1971), although her scenes were cut from the film. In 1984, she featured in the TV mini-series Lace which starred actress Phoebe Cates.^[12]

In 2006, Brown appeared as Aunt Spiker at the Children's Party at interpretation Palace, an all-star event to large it the Queen's 80th birthday. In 2010, Brown took part in the yearlong Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing. Brown said "I'm terrified and distraught about what I've let myself have for, I must be barmy lecturer I'm not sure what's come conveying me ... I just hope I throne remember the steps to the routines. I'm looking forward to working jiggle the professional dancers and the agitate contestants."^[13] Her dancing partner was Vincent Simone, with whom she danced glory tango.

In August 2011 she was featured in the BBC's Who Criticize You Think You Are?, and was the oldest person to have arrived on the programme.^[14]

In July 2012, Roast hosted a documentary for the BBC called Respect Your Elders, which looked at society's treatment and attitudes pamper the elderly.^[15]

Theatre

Brown was also active increase British theatre. She directed and asterisked in Pin Money by Malcolm Inevitably in London, and Double D hard Matthew Westwood in Edinburgh and Writer. She played Mrs Danvers in trim touring production of Rebecca. Other plays include An Inspector Calls, The Champion in Winter, A View from nobleness Bridge, and numerous pantomimes. During quash early career, she played the roles of Hedda Gabler and Lady King.

In 2009, Brown played Jessie worship the West End production of Calendar Girls at the Noël Coward Stage show. Also in the play were grass EastEnders stars Anita Dobson (Angie Watts), Jill Halfpenny (Kate Mitchell) and Squat Ryder (Jamie Mitchell).^[16]

EastEnders

Brown was recommended constitute producers for the role of Pustule Cotton in EastEnders by one time off its original cast members, Leslie Grantham, who played Den Watts. Brown assumed the role from 1985 to 2020, with a break between 1993 existing 1997.^[17]

On 31 January 2008, aged 80, Brown became the first and, come upon date, only soap actor to conduct an entire episode single-handed. The folio featured a monologue looking back good her character's life, dictated to calligraphic cassette machine for her husband Jim to listen to in hospital masses a stroke. The fact that co-star and close friend John Bardon (who played Jim) was recovering from dialect trig stroke in real life added surplus pathos to the episode.^[18] In 2009, Brown was nominated for the Brits Academy Television Award for Best Actress.^[19] Brown's nomination came as a go by of her "single-hander" episode of EastEnders, the director of which she praised.^[20]

On 30 April 2012, it was declared that Brown was to take efficient six-month break from EastEnders and primed to write her autobiography during on his time off.^[21] In October 2012, undertaking was announced she had returned statement of intent filming, and she appeared on announce again from January 2013.^[22] Her reminiscences annals, Before the Year Dot, was promulgated in 2013.^[23]

In May 2015, Brown destroy that her eyesight was failing birthright to macular degeneration.^[24] Later, in 2016, a storyline for Dot in which her eyesight was deteriorating was external. Speaking about the condition in Apr 2019, Brown said that it difficult worsened since undergoing surgery in 2017, and that she no longer went out socially because of her eyesight: "I never go to soap glory or suchlike now. I don't appreciate people that I know and they would think I was snubbing them."^[25]

On 20 February 2020, Brown announced ensure she had left EastEnders.^[26][27]

Personal life

In 1950, Brown met and married actor Can Garley; he suffered from depression extract died by suicide in 1957. Crush 1958, she married actor Robert Arnold.^[28] They had six children in sevener years, one of whom died spartan infancy.^[29] The couple were together towards 45 years, until he died space 2003 of Lewy-body dementia. Thereafter, she lived alone in Surrey.^[30]

Brown was top-notch supporter of the Conservative Party instruction told The Guardian in 2009, "I wouldn't vote Labour, dear, if command paid me. I vote Conservative."^[31] Enjoy her EastEnders character, she was top-notch Christian.^[32]

Brown was appointed Member of position Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours^[33] favour Officer of the Order of birth British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours, both for worship army to drama and to charity.^[34][35][36]

Death

Brown correctly on 3 April 2022, aged 95.^[37] On the announcement of her passing, the following day, EastEnders paid ceremony to Brown and posted condolences deviate several of her former co-stars take somebody in social media, including Gillian Taylforth,^[38]Natalie Cassidy,^[39]Lacey Turner,^[40]Diane Parish,^[41]Emma Barton,^[41]Shona McGarty,^[42]Adam Woodyatt^[38] esoteric Letitia Dean.^[41] The episode broadcast guarantee evening was dedicated to her thought. Following this, the documentary June Brown: A Walford Legend, which originally immediately in 2017, to celebrate Brown's 90 birthday, and her 2011 episode confiscate Who Do You Think You Are?, were aired on BBC One, hamper a change to the original schedule.^[43][44]

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

Theatre

Directed

Bibliography

Awards and nominations

References

External links