Carmen Silvera
Encyclopedia
Carmen Blanche Silvera (2 June 1922 - 3 August 2002) was a Canadian
-born British
comic actress of Spanish
-Jewish descent who moved to Coventry
with her family when she was a child. Silvera was possibly best known for her starring role in the British
television programme,
'Allo 'Allo!
as Edith Artois.
During World War II
, Silvera was evacuated to Montreal
and narrowly escaped death when, at the last minute, her name was taken off the passenger list of a troopship that was sunk by the enemy shortly afterwards, drowning 350 children. In Canada, she took classes with the Ballet Russes and appeared in three of its productions. On her return to Britain, she felt called to acting and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
, before gaining experience in repertory theatre
.
Carmen Silvera first made her name as a television
actress in the 1960s British police drama Z-Cars
in 1962, going on to appear in the BBC
soap opera
Compact
from 1964 to 1965. She played Mrs Van Schuyler in Lillie
in 1978, ITV
's drama series about the future Edward VII
's mistress
, Lillie Langtry
.
She appeared twice in Doctor Who
, in the serials The Celestial Toymaker
as Clara the Clown, Mrs. Wiggs, and the Queen of Hearts
, and as Ruth in Invasion of the Dinosaurs
. She also appeared in the Dad's Army
episode Mum's Army
as Fiona Gray, the love-interest for Captain Mainwaring
.
She appeared with Ted Rogers at the New Wimbledon Theatre
in 1997 in Jimmy Perry
's stage musical That's Showbiz. Her West End
stage appearances included roles in Waters of the Moon, starring Ingrid Bergman
, Hobson's Choice with Penelope Keith
, A Coat of Varnish and School for Wives, which was directed by Peter Hall. She also played a grandmother in the 1997 film La Passione
and had roles in Keep It Up Downstairs (1976), Mrs Berkley in On The Game, and in the American film Clinic Exclusive.
In 1990, she was the subject of a This Is Your Life
television programme. She did charity work for the Grand Order of Lady Ratlings, the ladies branch of the Grand Order of Water Rats
.
, aged 80, at the Denville Hall
retirement village.
.
He served as President of Warwickshire County Bowls Association in 1970, in which year the County side achieved their one and only success in the English Bowling Association Middleton Cup competition, beating Middlesex in the final.
Coventry & District Bowls Association run an annual competition for the Silvera Shield.
After emigrating to Canada and becoming a ship hand, Roland fought for the Canadian Expeditionary Force in WW1.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
comic actress of Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
-Jewish descent who moved to Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
with her family when she was a child. Silvera was possibly best known for her starring role in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television programme,
'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
as Edith Artois.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Silvera was evacuated to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and narrowly escaped death when, at the last minute, her name was taken off the passenger list of a troopship that was sunk by the enemy shortly afterwards, drowning 350 children. In Canada, she took classes with the Ballet Russes and appeared in three of its productions. On her return to Britain, she felt called to acting and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
, before gaining experience in repertory theatre
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
.
Carmen Silvera first made her name as a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actress in the 1960s British police drama Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
in 1962, going on to appear in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Compact
Compact (TV series)
Compact is a British television soap opera shown by the BBC between 1962 and 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, who together went on to devise Crossroads....
from 1964 to 1965. She played Mrs Van Schuyler in Lillie
Lillie
Lillie is a British television serial made by London Weekend Television for ITV and broadcast in 1978.This period serial starred Francesca Annis in the title role of Lillie Langtry...
in 1978, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's drama series about the future Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
's mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
, Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
.
She appeared twice in Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, in the serials The Celestial Toymaker
The Celestial Toymaker
The Celestial Toymaker is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 April to 23 April 1966.-Plot:...
as Clara the Clown, Mrs. Wiggs, and the Queen of Hearts
Queen (playing card)
The Queen is a playing card with a picture of a queen on it. The usual rank of a queen is as if it were 12 ....
, and as Ruth in Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Invasion of the Dinosaurs is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 12 January to 16 February 1974.-Synopsis:...
. She also appeared in the Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
episode Mum's Army
Mum's Army
Mum's Army is the ninth episode of the fourth series of the British comedy series Dad's Army that was originally transmitted on Friday 20 November 1970.-Synopsis:...
as Fiona Gray, the love-interest for Captain Mainwaring
Captain George Mainwaring
Captain George Mainwaring is the bank manager and Home Guard platoon commander portrayed by Arthur Lowe on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army, set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea during the Second World War...
.
She appeared with Ted Rogers at the New Wimbledon Theatre
New Wimbledon Theatre
The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Grade II listed Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J B Mullholland. Built on the site of a large house with spacious grounds the theatre was designed by...
in 1997 in Jimmy Perry
Jimmy Perry
Jimmy Perry OBE is an English writer, scriptwriter, producer, author and actor, most famous for devising and co-writing the BBC sitcoms Dad's Army with David Croft.-Education:...
's stage musical That's Showbiz. Her West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
stage appearances included roles in Waters of the Moon, starring Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
, Hobson's Choice with Penelope Keith
Penelope Keith
Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL is an English actress.Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life...
, A Coat of Varnish and School for Wives, which was directed by Peter Hall. She also played a grandmother in the 1997 film La Passione
La Passione
La Passione is a 1996 album by Chris Rea, and the soundtrack for the movie with the same title, also written by Rea. Shirley Bassey provides vocals on two tracks.-Track listing:All songs by Chris Rea.# "La Passione" - 4:55...
and had roles in Keep It Up Downstairs (1976), Mrs Berkley in On The Game, and in the American film Clinic Exclusive.
In 1990, she was the subject of a This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life (UK TV series)
This Is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64...
television programme. She did charity work for the Grand Order of Lady Ratlings, the ladies branch of the Grand Order of Water Rats
Grand Order of Water Rats
The Grand Order of Water Rats is an entertainment industry charity, and brotherhood, based in London. The Water Rats were founded in 1889 by comedian Joe Elvin. The first King Rat, as the head of the charity is termed, was music hall singer Harry Freeman. Comedian Dan Leno joined in 1890 and was...
.
Death
Silvera died after a battle with lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, aged 80, at the Denville Hall
Denville Hall
Denville Hall is a retirement home for professional actors, situated in Northwood, Hillingdon, London, which was designed by Founded in 1925 as a charity for actors by Alfred Denville, impresario, actor-manager and MP, he dedicated the Hall to the acting profession, in memory of his son Jack, who...
retirement village.
Family
Her Jamaican-born father, Roland Silvera (1895–1986), was a well-known flat-green bowls player and a member of Stoke B.C., CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
.
He served as President of Warwickshire County Bowls Association in 1970, in which year the County side achieved their one and only success in the English Bowling Association Middleton Cup competition, beating Middlesex in the final.
Coventry & District Bowls Association run an annual competition for the Silvera Shield.
After emigrating to Canada and becoming a ship hand, Roland fought for the Canadian Expeditionary Force in WW1.
External links
- BBC News item on Silvera's death
- Carmen Silvera on the Dad's Army News Archive
- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/carmen-silvera-638905.htmlSilvera's obituary in The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
] - http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2002/aug/06/guardianobituaries.artsSilvera's obituary in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
] - Carmen Silvera at Find A Grave