Jill Summers
Encyclopedia
Honour Margaret Rosell Santoi Fuller, better known as Jill Summers (8 December 1910 - 12 January 1997), was a British
music hall
performer and comedienne born in Eccles
, Lancashire
. In later life she achieved stardom
as Phyllis Pearce, in Granada Television
's long running soap opera
, Coronation Street
.
She first appeared in the soap (very briefly) in 1972, playing Bessie Proctor, a cleaner with Hilda Ogden
. In 1982, she reappeared as Phyllis Pearce, a blue rinsed pensioner, forever lusting after pompous ex-serviceman Percy Sugden
. She starred in the series until her death in 1997.
Her career in entertainment lasted eighty years. She first performed on stage aged six, in a comedy double act with her brother Tom. When her mother died when she was only 13, she went to work in a Cotton Mill
. Later she ran a combined hairdressers and newsagents with her first husband (who was more than 20 years older than she was). He died only a few years into their marriage.
During World War II, she entertained troops as part of ENSA
, and was known as Lancashire Comedienne Jill Summers, the Pin-Up Girl of British Railways. Most of her variety material was written by her second husband, Dr Clifford Simpson-Smith, with whom she stayed married until his death in 1986. She became a comedian when she tripped up on stage and swore, which the audience lapped up.
Other appearances by Summers include Agatha
(alongside Dustin Hoffman
and Vanessa Redgrave
), Play For Today
, Sez Lez (with Les Dawson
), Ready When You Are, Mr McGill
, and performing a Victoria Wood scripted monologue in 1982's Wood and Walters
, as well as appearing in her TV play Nearly A Happy Ending
. Jill died of kidney failure in 1997. In their autobiographies, released in different years, former Coronation Street stars Jean Alexander
, Bill Waddington
, Lynne Perrie
, Julie Goodyear
, and Amanda Barrie
described Jill as a true professional actress who was witty, hilarious and outspokenly funny.
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...
music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
performer and comedienne born in Eccles
Eccles, Greater Manchester
Eccles is a town in the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, west of Salford and west of Manchester city centre...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. In later life she achieved stardom
Stardom
Stardom is a 2000 Canadian film written by J.Jacob Potashnik & Denys Arcand and directed by Denys Arcand and starring Jessica Paré and Dan Aykroyd. It tells the story of a young girl who tries to cope with her rise to stardom after being discovered by a fashion agency...
as Phyllis Pearce, in Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
's long running 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,...
, Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
.
She first appeared in the soap (very briefly) in 1972, playing Bessie Proctor, a cleaner with Hilda Ogden
Hilda Ogden
Hilda Alice Ogden is a fictional character from the television series Coronation Street, one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the soap opera, whose name became synonymous with a certain type of working-class woman...
. In 1982, she reappeared as Phyllis Pearce, a blue rinsed pensioner, forever lusting after pompous ex-serviceman Percy Sugden
Percy Sugden
Percy Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera, Coronation Street, played by Bill Waddington. He appeared between 1983 and 1997.-Creation:...
. She starred in the series until her death in 1997.
Her career in entertainment lasted eighty years. She first performed on stage aged six, in a comedy double act with her brother Tom. When her mother died when she was only 13, she went to work in a Cotton Mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
. Later she ran a combined hairdressers and newsagents with her first husband (who was more than 20 years older than she was). He died only a few years into their marriage.
During World War II, she entertained troops as part of ENSA
ENSA
ENSA may refer to:* ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association* ENSA * École Nationale des Sciences Appliquées d'Oujda, an engineering school in Morocco* EC-Council Network Security Administrator...
, and was known as Lancashire Comedienne Jill Summers, the Pin-Up Girl of British Railways. Most of her variety material was written by her second husband, Dr Clifford Simpson-Smith, with whom she stayed married until his death in 1986. She became a comedian when she tripped up on stage and swore, which the audience lapped up.
Other appearances by Summers include Agatha
Agatha (film)
Agatha is a 1979 drama thriller film directed by Michael Apted, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman and Timothy Dalton, and written by Kathleen Tynan...
(alongside Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
and Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
), Play For Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
, Sez Lez (with Les Dawson
Les Dawson
Leslie "Les" Dawson was a popular English comedian remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.-Life and career:...
), Ready When You Are, Mr McGill
Ready When You Are, Mr McGill
Ready When You Are, Mr McGill is a feature length TV drama, written by Jack Rosenthal. ITV produced two versions, in 1976 and 2003. The 1976 version was the first in a series of six single television plays called "Red Letter Days" each of which showed the events in a single, special day in...
, and performing a Victoria Wood scripted monologue in 1982's Wood and Walters
Wood and Walters
Wood and Walters is a British television comedy sketch show starring Julie Walters and Victoria Wood for Granada Television and written entirely by Wood...
, as well as appearing in her TV play Nearly A Happy Ending
Nearly A Happy Ending
Nearly A Happy Ending is a television play written by Victoria Wood, which ITV broadcast on 1 June 1980.It is a sequel to Wood's earlier play Talent, with the same lead character's, Julie and Maureen ....
. Jill died of kidney failure in 1997. In their autobiographies, released in different years, former Coronation Street stars Jean Alexander
Jean Alexander
Jean Alexander is a BAFTA Nominated English television actress. She is best known to British television viewers as Hilda Ogden on the soap opera Coronation Street, a role she played from 1964–1987 and also as Auntie Wainwright on the longest running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine from 1988 to 2010...
, Bill Waddington
Bill Waddington
Bill Waddington , was an English music hall performer and comedian who was born in Oldham, Lancashire. In later life he achieved stardom as the pompous ex serviceman Percy Sugden in Granada Television's long running soap opera, Coronation Street.Waddington was born at Oldham on June 10, 1916, the...
, Lynne Perrie
Lynne Perrie
Lynne Perrie was an English actress. She was born Jean Dudley in Rotherham, Yorkshire, and was the sister of comedian Duggie Brown. She was best known for her roles as Mrs. Casper in Ken Loach's 1969 film Kes, and as Ivy Tilsley in Coronation Street from 1971-1994.-Career:After Rotherham Grammar...
, Julie Goodyear
Julie Goodyear
Julie Goodyear, MBE is an English television actress and media personality, best known for playing the long-running role of pub landlady Bet Lynch on British soap opera Coronation Street.-Biography:...
, and Amanda Barrie
Amanda Barrie
Amanda Barrie is an English actress.-Career:Born as Shirley Anne Broadbent, Barrie attended St Anne's College, St Anne's on Sea. She then trained at the Arts Educational School in London and later at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School...
described Jill as a true professional actress who was witty, hilarious and outspokenly funny.