... Billy Wells BILLY WELLS who has died at the age of 80 in a London hospital on December 18th was one of Britain's best loved female impersonators and a highly respected pantomime dame. A short, stocky figure he endeared himself to variety audiences as he strutted around the stage with an enormous cleavage and an even larger derriere and usually singing, in a very loud voice. I Must Have Been A ...

... Bridget Espinosa BRIDGET ESPINOSA, who has died from a sudden illness at the age of 61, had a long and distinguished career in the theatre, as a ballet dancer, choreog rapher, director and teacher. For about three decades she passed on her Know ledge, teaching, advising and launching countless students into professional careers. But undoubtedly the achieve ment by which she will be most widely ...

... ARMAND SALACROU doyen of Frenct playwrights, born in Rouen in 1899, ha: died in Le Havre, the city he immortal ised in 1961, in Boulevard Durand, twc months after his 90th birthday. His father made his fortune sellinc herbal panaceas to his clients in Rouen His son made his by writing the adver tising copy for his father's products anc other accounts which were handled b> his own company. His ...

... EDWARD JONES, (HARRY) a pioneer of The Theatre for the Deaf, died recently, at the age of 66. Edward, who was not deaf himself, was born in Wales and had devoted his life to people with handicaps, and in particular to those who were deaf. He started life as a social worker with the deaf and also spent some time in America with the National Theatre for the Deaf. Later, he returned to England ...

... ?5^^* Obituaries CHRISTINE CHERRILL, one of the few actresses to effect the transition to public relations expert, has died at the age of 71 at her home in Courtfield Gardens, Earl's Court. Born in London on May 19th. 1918, she began her stage career in repertory companies in Aylesbury, Richmond and Watford, where, during the iate forties she was leading lady at the Palace Theatre, Watford ...

... ARNAUD D'USSEAU has died in New York aged 73. after a complication resulting from surgery for stomach cancer. He was the co-author with his fellow American writer, James Gow, of two highly successful political dramas, Tomorrow the World, which ran at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York for 500 performances in 1943/4 and at the Aldwych, London for 398 performances in 1944/5, and Deep Are the ...

... MARJORIE WESTBURY the Birming ham-born singer and radio actress, who has died aged 84, was best-known for the role of Steve Temple, the wife of the detective Paul Temple, in Francis Dur- bridge's popular series, which ran to over 200 parts when she was a member of the BBC Drama Repertory Company. She was notorious for her gift of repartee, delivered mostly with a great sense of fun but quite ...

... JOHN TREWIN, who died in February 1 6 at the age of 81, achieved considerable status as a dramatic critic and a fully accepted man of letters. As a theatrical biographer and an unsurpassed biographer (Shakespeare and Burbage, Macready and Benson, studies of modern players and history of the Birmingham Rep and others beside) He was in the words of one theatre historian, Robin May, 'arguably the ...

... RAY KINGSLEY, who died suddenly, and tragically far too young, at the age of 31 on March 12 was a versatile and highly girted comedian, impressionist and actor. He was discovered almost before he started school, perform ing in clubs from the age of seven in a bizarre package of child entertainers on Merseyside. Later, he would have hysterical tales to tell of the under-elevens being locked in ...

... HOWARD DE COURCY died on March 9, 1990. De Courcy was born in Switzer land in 1914 and came to Egnland the following year Having trained for the hotel profession, attending the re nowned hotel school at Lausanne in Switzerland, he then became interested in magic and learnt the art under the auspices of Will Goldston. His first professional performance was at the Windmill Theatre. He then ...

... Sarah Vaughan SARAH VAUGHAN, (pictured right) whom many jazz fans considered the most technically outstanding singer of them all, died on April 3 in Los Angeles, only a week after her 66th birthday. Born in Newark, New Jersey, like so many of her generation she was influ enced by gospel music and was initially steered by her parents into church and classical music. But her tastes ran to wards ...

... The distinguished television producer DENNIS MONGER died over Easter while holidaying in Tenerife. A former RAF fighter pilot, Dennis was one of the original band of BBC Television Outside Broadcast producers who made his mark during Peter Dimmock's reign as Head of Outside Broadcasts. He joined the BBC as an Effect Boy at the age of 15. His BBC career was interrupted in 1939 by the Second ...