| Vivian Pickles | |
|---|---|
 Vivian Pickles, London 2008 |
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| Born | 21 October 1931 London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse(s) | Gordon Gostelow (Feb 1964-2007, his death; 1 child, Harry Gostelow, born Dec -1964) |
Vivian Pickles (born 21 October 1931), is an English actress.
Vivian Pickles began her career as a child star after being chosen by Mary Field for a series of Saturday Morning children's films, including the lead roles in Jean's Plan (1944) and the serial The Adventures of Peter Joe (1945). At the age of 14, she starred as Alice in George More O'Ferrall's BBC film of Alice in Wonderland which was broadcast live from Alexandra Palace in London. During this period, she acted at the Q Theatre in Vice Versa with Charles Hawtrey and made her West End debut as Wee Willie Winkie in Land of the Xmas Stocking at the Duke of York Theatre, with Richard Goolden. After an education at the College Feminin de Bouffement in Paris, she started her adult acting career in rep in Perth, Wimbledon, Leatherhead and Nairobi, and progressed to featured roles in West End revues with co-stars such as Joan Sims and Ron Moody (who played Fagin in Oliver). In 1952, she appeared with Roger Moore in I Capture the Castle at the Aldwych Theatre. The production won Roger Moore an MGM contract. Bill Travers took over Moore's role when Moore left for Hollywood. In 1959, she worked with her future husband, Gordon Gostelow in Glimpse of the Sea by Willis Hall at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. In February 1961 she appeared with Henry Kendal in the first performance of Pool's Paradise at the Phoenix Theatre . Vivian Pickles' imperious performance in the world premiere of John Osborne's Plays for England at the Royal Court Theatre (19 July 1962) garnered considerable attention from London's intelligensia, and it received praise by Osborne in his autobiography, Looking Back. The following year, she appeared with Peter O'Toole in the seminal London performance of Berthold Brecht's Baal at the Phoenix Theatre (April, 1963).
Hired by Ken Russell for a supporting role for the BBC film, Diary of a Nobody (1964), she graduated to the lead role in Russell's film about Isadora Duncan ("Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World", 1966), an award-laden performance considered by many to be among the very best female performances on film, largely based upon the breadth of emotion it entails and the poetic physicality of the dance sequences. The awards include Best Actress at the Monte Carlo International Festival. In the following year, she appeared in Giles Cooper's BBC adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour Trilogy and as a memorable Mrs Bennet in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
Her appearance in Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World, helped win her the part of Mrs. Chasen in Hal Ashby’s film of Harold and Maude (her only Hollywood role to date). In the booklet accompanying the soundtrack album of the film, Ashby is quoted as saying: “Vivian Pickles is one of the finest actresses in the world. I’d seen the thing that she did for Ken Russell — Isadora.”
Pickles is remembered for her rare American performance as Harold's mother in the 1971 film Harold and Maude. Her performance in the film begins with her deliciously wicked and nonchalant response to her young son's (played by Bud Cort's) mock-suicide, telling him not to be late for dinner, and features a gloriously mysterious medium shot as she and Bud barely manage to suppress their laughter - he looks into the camera lens and she looks at him in an increasingly curious manner. Ms. Pickles is a featured player in the film and, to a great extent, she is responsible for not only its tone, but also its success.
Another memorable performance on British television was as Mary, Queen of Scots, in the landmark 1971 television Emmy Award-winning series Elizabeth R, in which Glenda Jackson played her nemesis and the title role. Pickles was reunited on the screen with Jackson in John Schlesinger’s film of Sunday Bloody Sunday, in which she played the bohemian mother who employed Jackson as a babysitter.
Other notable screen roles include Play Dirty (with Michael Caine); Nicholas and Alexandra; Candleshoe (with Jodie Foster and David Niven), and two films for Lindsay Anderson — O Lucky Man!, in which she plays the good lady feeding the downtrodden in London, and the pivotal role of the Matron in Britannia Hospital (1982).
Her later television films include Alan Bennett's The Insurance Man (1986), with Daniel Day-Lewis and Jim Broadbent. On the stage, she worked again for Alan Bennett in the World-Premiere production of Kafka's Dick at the Royal Court Theatre, with Jim Broadbent, Geoffrey Palmer and Alison Steadman.
She can occasionally be seen and heard on the BBC (in regular repeats of Midsomer Murders) and on the radio. She lives in London. On 8 July 2007, she attended a revival of Ken Russell’s Isadora at London's National Film Theatre.
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