... on April 5 at Hampton Wick. She appeared in many celebrated productions, including The Scarlet Pimpernel with Fred Terry's com pany and Sweet Nell of Old Drury Two of her greatest successes were as Jenny Diver in The Beggar's Opera and as Tessa in The Constant Nymph. After the war she concentrated on films and televi sion, appearing regularly in Dixon of Dock Green as the canteen lady. Her ...

... John Farrow JOHN FARROW, one of Britain's leading musical and pantomine impresarios, died suddenly on May 31 at Holly House Hospital, Buckhurst Hill, Essex, at the age of 52 from cardiomyopathy and a pulmonary oedema. He was born on March 18. 1938, in Bolton, Lancashire, where he was edu cated by a Roman Catholic order, the Salesian Brothers, and began his career on the variety stage in the ...

... The sudden collapse and death of JOE DAVIS within a couple of hours of conducting a lighting rehearsal for42nd Street at Drury Lane last Thursday will shock but not surprise everyone wh knew him. If ever there was a theatre man who was certain to die in harness, it was Joe. For many years now he had suffered a heart condition which used to shoot him off to the emergency ward But each time, ...

... KEN WOOLLARD, founder and organiser ot the Cambridge Folk Festival, died on October 14. He set up the festival in 1963, while still in the fire service, having been also active in local politics. Originally on the committee for the proposed festival, he took over the organisation and made it one of the leading events of its kind in the world, the first event including the Clancy Brothers and ...

... Lawrence Hayes LAWRENCE HAYES died, aged 74, in Adelaide, South Australia on November 13. The beginnings of a career in the Post Office came to an end in 1938 with a scholarship to RADA and the start of a lifetime of work as actor, director, producer and teacher in the UK, Africa and Australia. In his earlier years, apart from acting work, he taught at RADA (1946), was the first producer at ...

... RICHARD LIONEL MORRIS, I HAVE a letter from I written a few weeks before his death on November 12, and just before he was due to go into hospital for the last time. The tone of the letter is bright and optimistic written in meticulously neat and beautifully formed calligraphy showing no sign that he was in great and continual pain, and desperately weak. For everything Richard did was always ...

... WITH the death of MATT MONRO at the age of 54 on February 7, Britain has lost its finest singer of popular songs, com parable to any of the grpat American stylists, not excluding Prank Sinatra. It was with Sinatra that Monro was often compared, especially after he did a startlingly good impression of the Amer ican singer, masquerading under the name Fred Flange, on the famous Peter Sellers ...

... Beatrice De Leon On 'Q' is the title of a book of memoirs by Kenneth Barrow, soon to be pub lished. The index reads like the celebri ties' Who's Who The names in those honoured columns reflect, quite defi nitely the two passions of its subject; the Professional Theatre and the train ing of Theatre Practitioners. It is a won derful tribute to BEATRICE DE LEON who passed away peacefully aged 90 ...

... Billy Eckstine BILLY ECKSTINE, a singer who weathered the changes in public taste for nearly 50 years and made his last appearance in Britain at a season at Ronnie Scott's Club as recently as 1991, has died aged 78. Eckstine was born in Pittsburgh, where he also died, but moved to Washington with his family as a child, coming into the business through talent contests which brought him a ...

... writing music at 7, made his debut as piano soloist with the Berlin Phil at 13, wrote his first song-hit at 14, and won worldwide fame for the record-breaking musical My Fair Lady (originally titled My Fair Liza), that starred Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews at its Broadway opening on March 15, 1956. It ran for 2,717 performances there and for 2,281 at Orury Lane. Its success came just in time ...

... FOR ME. there was a question mark beside the name of ALAN BADEL who has died suddenly aged 58. He was an actor of singul ar distinction who never completely took the place in our theatre his gifts warranted. I do not know why, but I do know that he gave some of the most rewarding performances of our day, including a Hamlet o! remarkable insight, power, originality and panache. Alan Badel was ...

... Obituaries DAISY BROWN, who danced and sang in summer shows and pan tomime as Daisy Day, died on March 30 in hospital at Glasgow. She was 79 and had suffered a stroke three days earlier. She appeared in revue and pan tomime at theatres in Scotland, England and Ireland, and had her own act as comedienne and dancer. She was born Daisy Hinzley Hayden at Hereford, and toured theatres and halls all ...