Joan Sims

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Joan Sims
Joan Sims 1957
Born	Irene Joan Marian Sims 9 May 1930(1930-05-09) Laindon, Essex, England
Died	28 June 2001 (aged 71) Chelsea, London, England

Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 28 June 2001) was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.

Biography

Early life

Joan Sims was born, in 1930, the daughter of the station master of Laindon railway station in Laindon, Essex.^[1] Sims' early interest in being an actress came from living at the railway station. She would often put on performances for waiting passengers. She decided that she was certainly interested in pursuing show-business, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions locally, during her teens.

In 1946, Sims first applied to RADA, her audition was unsuccessful. Her first audition included a rendition of Winnie the Pooh. She did succeed in being admitted to PARADA, the academy's preparatory school, and finally, on her fourth attempt, Joan graduated and trained at RADA.^[1] She graduated from RADA in 1950 at the age of 19.^[2]

Sims appeared in a number of Brian Rix's Aldwych Theatre farces, but revue was Sims's greatest medium, especially in the works of Peter Myers.^[1] In 1958 she got a part in Peter Coke's play Breath of Spring which opened at the Cambridge Theatre in March, transferring to the Duke of York's Theatre in August, and running until April the following year.

Carry On career (1959 - 1978)

Sims made her first film appearance in Will Any Gentleman? with George Cole in 1953, closely followed by Trouble in Store with Norman Wisdom. In 1954 she made a cameo appearance in Doctor in the House, opposite Dirk Bogarde as the sexually repressed Nurse Rigor Mortis. Sims became a regular in the Doctors series, which was produced by Betty E. Box, and was hence spotted by Box's husband Peter Rogers.^[2]

A few years later, in 1958, Sims received a script from Peter Rogers, it was for Carry On Nurse. The film Carry On Sergeant had been a huge success at the box office and in the autumn of that year and Rogers and director Gerald Thomas began planning a follow up.

She first starred in Carry On Nurse, then Carry On Teacher, followed by Carry On Constable and Carry On Regardless and this sealed her future as a regular Carry On performer. Following a bout of ill health, Dilys Laye had to be brought in to take her place in Carry On Cruising at very short notice; however, Sims rejoined the team with Carry On Cleo.

Following the success of Carry On Cleo she stayed with the films all the way though to the final film in the original series, Carry On Emmannuelle, having appeared in twenty-four Carry On films. She did not return for the one-off revival film Carry On Columbus.

Music Career

During 1963 Sims made several recordings Hurry Up Gran was issued as a single with the B-side Oh Not Again Ken and another single Spring Song was also issued with the B-side titled Men. The tracks were recorded with legendary Beatles producer George Martin before he found fame as their producer. None of the singles made an impact on the charts and are quite rare today though can be found for a reasonable price.

Personal life

Sims, like her fellow Carry On star Kenneth Williams, never married. Williams, who was homosexual, did however propose a marriage of convenience to her, which she abruptly declined. From 1958, she lived for three years with fellow actor Tony Baird, but every time her parents visited she asked Baird to remove all of his belongings from their London flat. After she told her mother on a visit that she was living with Baird, her father wrote her a stern letter and as a devoted child, she ended the relationship.^[1] As a result, she threw herself into work, and worked harder but felt lonely.

Later career

After the Carry On series ended in 1978, Sims continued to work on television.

She appeared opposite Katharine Hepburn and Sir Laurence Olivier in the award-winning 1975 television film Love Among the Ruins and had a recurring role as Gran in the BBC comedy series Till Death Us Do Part.

In 1986 Sims appeared in the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who in the episode The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet in the part of Katryca. She also played Miss Murgatroyd in the Miss Marple adaptation, A Murder is Announced, Betsy Prig in a star-studded adaptation of Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit and Lady Fox-Custard in Simon and the Witch.

She played Mrs Wembley in the BBC comedy series On the Up, which starred Dennis Waterman and ran from 1990 to 1992. From 1994, she played Madge Hardcastle, stepmother of Geoffrey Palmer's character Lionel in As Time Goes By. Sims died in 2001, so never managed to make the final two series of As Time Goes By, which made excuses to her not being with Rocky; for instance she was on an archaeological dig in Egypt.'^[1]

Sims also appeared in episodes of the hit television comedy series Only Fools and Horses and The Goodies, and made a guest appearance in a sketch show with Victoria Wood.

Final years

In her later years, Sims fought a long battle against depression. This was worsened by the deaths of her agent Peter Eade, her best friend Hattie Jacques and her mother within a two year period, which resulted in her falling into alcoholism. Sims suffered from Bell's Palsy in 1999 and fractured her hip in 2000 but recovered well. However, her alcoholism was beginning to dominate her life, and she referred to lifestyle in her rented Kensington flat as "the Queen of puddings."^[1][3]

After assessment by a doctor, she was offered a place in a rehabilitation centre, but she decided to take control of her life. Offered the opportunity to write her autobiography, she took a role in the BBC television film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells alongside Dame Judi Dench and Olympia Dukakis, from which with the release of autobiography in early 2000 resulted in a flood of work and a period of immense personal happiness for Sims.

Death

Sims entered hospital again in November 2000, and complications of a routine operation caused her to slip into a coma.^[2] Her lifelong friend and stand-in Norah Holland spoke of the doctors' amazement at her strength and courage throughout her final illness.

On 28 June 2001, ten minutes before she died, Norah Holland spoke to her gently about Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, and their time on the Carry On films. She died with Holland holding her hand. She was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium, and her ashes scattered in the grounds there.

Tributes

Following her death, Barbara Windsor paid tribute, saying: "To me she was the last of the great Carry Ons; she was there at the beginning. Her talent was wonderful; she could do any accent, dialect; she could dance, sing, play dowdy and glam. We laughed all the time, and giggled a lot. I will sorely miss her."^[1]

A plaque dedicated to her memory was unveiled where she lived at Thackeray Street in Kensington in September 2002 by Barbara Windsor, and in June 2005 a plaque in her memory was unveiled at Laindon railway station in Essex by the Joan Sims Appreciation Society. An ITV programme, The Unforgettable Joan Sims, was shown in her memory.

She was also featured on the BBC 2 programme Comedy Map of Britain, which was presented by a Carry On fansite member.

References

• High Spirits by Joan Sims (ISBN 1-85225-280-4)

Notes

External links

• Joan Sims at the Internet Movie Database
• Joan Sims at Find A Grave
• Joan Sims at Aveleyman