Jane Freeman

Jane Freeman:

† Jun 12 1935 – Mar 9 2017

Jane Freeman's acting career has been pretty much defined by one role, that of Ivy, the permanently disgruntled proprietress of the cafe in 'Last Of The Summer Wine'. She appears, fully formed, in 'Of Funerals and Fish', the play which became the pilot for Roy Clarke's interminable series of geriatric misadventures, and then went on to repeat much the same lines in another 273 of the programme's 295 episodes. Only Peter Sallis has been in more - all of them, in fact.     

'Last Of The Summer Wine publicity shot,
with screen hubby Sid (the late John Comer) 

Beyond her epic 1973-2010 stint in Holmfirth, there have been a few interesting interludes: several outings of 'Play For Today' (including 'The Fishing Party' in 1972, which also featured her LOTSW co-star John Comer), and roles in 'Within these Walls', 'Silas Marner' (the 1975 BBC adaptation starring Ben Kingsley), 'Prince Regent' and 'The Black Adder'. It seems her sole cinematic outing was in the tough girl drama 'Scrubbers' (1982).

As the guest house tyrant Audrey in 'The Fishing Party'

In some ways it seems a shame that she didn't get to play a few more varied parts over all those years, she would have been good as a jolly farmer's wife, a crooked clairvoyant or a merry widow. But I'm sure many actors would (and did) jump at the chance of decades of such regular work and she's certainly become, if not a household name, a very familiar face.  

Jane Freeman-imdb

Zara Nutley

Zara Nutley:

† Aug 19 1924 – Oct 9 2016

It's unfortunate in a way that this actress is best known for two of British televisions least lamented '70s sitcoms. She played the imperious and disparaging Miss Courtney in 'Mind Your Language', and the curious figure of Aunt Joan in 'Never The Twain'. Other roles include the Widow Attacliffe in an episode of 'Last of the Summer Wine', and one-offs in 'Grange Hill', 'Lovejoy', 'Terry & June' and 'Metal Mickey'.

The highly unflattering depiction of Zara Nutley from the opening
titles of the noticeably unreconstructed sitcom 'Mind Your Language'.

Hints of something better include roles in 'Within These Walls', 'Tales of the Unexpected', Victoria Wood's television shows - VW almost always has a good eye for actors - and an early part in Jack Rosenthal's 'Spaghetti Two Step' when it was televised by Yorkshire TV in 1977.

She certainly deserves a salute.      

Zara Nutley-imdb

Stephen Lewis

Stephen Lewis:

† Dec 17 1926 – Aug 12 2015

'What's this bus doing here? You're due at the cemetery gates in four minutes! Oh my good gawd! I hate you, Butler!'  Etc, etc...
  
Another of the great cohort of working class acting talent brought to prominence by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in the late '50s. This hulking ex-merchant seaman proved to be a talented writer, creating the play, and later screenplay, for 'Sparrows Can't Sing' (1960), a unique slice of London kitchen sink comedy-drama with the young Barbara Windsor, Roy Kinnear, Brian Murphy, Murray Melvin and James Booth. 



An early role as a heavy in 'The Frightened City' (1961). At this point he was
using the stage name Stephen Cato, but soon after reverted to his own name  

     


A fleeting appearance as a scrap dealer in the gloomy and pretentious
'Negatives' (1969), which starred Glenda Jackson and Peter McEnery  

His further acting and writing ambitions appear to have been effectively sidelined when his gawping characterisation of Blakey, the miserable bus company inspector in the grimly dim-witted sitcom 'On The Buses', proved so popular that the programme became a ratings-topping British institution. His performance as Blakey was in such demand that it led to not only a direct spin-off, 'Don't Drink the Water' with Pat Coombs, but a series of near-identical portrayals of sketch-show park keepers, station masters, and traffic wardens. There were also extended spells in the nostalgic Perry & Croft railway sitcom 'Oh Doctor Beeching!' and as 'Smiler' in the long-running 'Last of The Summer Wine', both of which saw him finessing his woebegone Blakey character.            



In a typical 'On The Buses' set up with cheeky middle-aged lothario/sex-pest
Stan Butler (Reg Varney, left) and one of the endless unlikely dolly-bird
conductresses or 'clippies' in thrall to his giggly Brylcremed charms

There were a few small cinema appearances. As well as his own 'Sparrows Can't Sing' (1961), he crops up in a few Brit b-movies including a Soho thug in 'The Frightened City '(1961) and a military policeman in the Army heist movie 'A Prize of Arms' (1962). Naturally, he reprised his role as Blakey in the money-spinning big screen adaptations from the OTB franchise - 'On The Buses' (1971), 'Mutiny On The Buses' (1972) and 'Holiday On The Buses' (1973), as well as similar jobsworth personas in star-studded farces like 'Some Will Some Won't' (1970) and 'The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins' (1971).

Something a bit different was a turn as a blonde gay pick-up for Rex Harrison in the excruciating Stanley Donen camp-fest 'Staircase' (1968) with Richard Burton, to complete a spectacular hat-trick of miscasting.        



'Staircase' (1968) A blonde and booted Lewis finds himself in the middle of
another ridiculous mincing tiff between Rex Harrison and Richard Burton  

These days, he has hung up his raincoat and clipboard, and is apparently comfortably retired from acting - born in 1926, he is approaching 90 after all. At one time he was regularly spotted having a quiet lunch at Peter Jones department store off Sloane Square. Long may he continue to do so.     

Update Aug 2015: So sad to hear that Stephen Lewis has passed on at the age of 88. He was one character actor that I had hopes of meeting one day. That won't now happen, but I thank him here for his quirky contributions to British cultural identity.  

Stephen Lewis-imdb

Angela Crow

Angela Crow: 

† Dec 15 1935 – Mar 3 2022

Petite veteran actress, familiar from an impressively wide range of television roles. She joined the cast of 'Coronation Street' from 1961-64 as factory girl Doreen Lostock, and went on to appear a remarkable assortment of programmes. There can't be many actors who can say they appeared in 'Hancock's Half Hour' and 'Star Cops'. 

'Coronation Street'

Other TV credits include  'Last of the Summer Wine', 'One Foot In The Grave', 'Between The Two of Us', 'North and South', 'Bleak House', 'Bingo', 'Alas Smith and Jones', 'The Ruth Rendell Mysteries', 'Casualty' and 'Star Cops'. She played Ronnie Birtles's mum in 'Grange Hill', and shows up in such varied fare as 'Doomwatch', and kids comedy 'Potter's Picture Palace'

'There's a Hole in your Dustbin Delilah' 

'Last of the Summer Wine'

Trivia: She apparently played truant from school to make her professional debut on stage in 'Jane Eyre', and is still an authority on the Brontës and a trustee of Haworth parsonage.

Angela Crow - imdb