Kathy Staff
Encyclopedia
Kathy Staff was an English
actress, well known for her work on British television
. She is most famous for her portrayal of Nora Batty on the longest running sitcom in the world Last of the Summer Wine
.
, Cheshire
, Staff was best known for her role as one of the main characters, Nora Batty, in the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine
. She played Nora from the pilot episode in 1973, until 2008, the year she died.
in Manchester
in the 1960s.
soap opera
, Crossroads from 1978 to 1985 and 2001 to 2002. Her other television roles included Coronation Street
as Vera Hopkins, No Frills as Molly Bickerstaff, Open All Hours
as Mrs Blewitt, Dawson's Weekly and The Benny Hill Show
. She appeared in a television version of Separate Tables in 1983.
at Birmingham Rep, Madame Arcati and Mrs Malaprop in touring productions of Blithe Spirit
and The Rivals
respectively and a touring production of the comedy Sailor Beware
, as well as two West End
plays: the farce Two into One and comedy When We Are Married
, and many pantomimes.
in 1962 as Thora Hird
's neighbour, as well as The Dresser
in 1983, Camille
in 1984, Little Dorrit
in 1988 and Mary Reilly
in 1996.
, at the age of 80, with her husband John at her bedside, after a brain tumour was diagnosed earlier in the year. Her death was announced on 14 December.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress, well known for her work on British television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
. She is most famous for her portrayal of Nora Batty on the longest running sitcom in the world Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
.
Last of the Summer Wine
Born in DukinfieldDukinfield
Dukinfield is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in central Tameside on the south bank of the River Tame, opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, and is east of the city of Manchester...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, Staff was best known for her role as one of the main characters, Nora Batty, in the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
. She played Nora from the pilot episode in 1973, until 2008, the year she died.
Early life and career
She began her acting career with touring repertory companies in 1946, changing her name to Katherine Brant. After she married John Staff in 1951, she adopted the surname as her stage name, hence Kathy Staff. She retired from the stage at this point to raise her family, but starting working as an extra for Granada TelevisionGranada 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....
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in the 1960s.
Television
Staff had a regular role as Doris Luke in the popular ITVITV
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...
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,...
, Crossroads from 1978 to 1985 and 2001 to 2002. Her other television roles included 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...
as Vera Hopkins, No Frills as Molly Bickerstaff, Open All Hours
Open All Hours
Open All Hours is a BBC sitcom written by Roy Clarke which ran for four series a first run in 1976, a second run in 1981, third in 1982 and finally with a fourth run in 1985, with a pilot episode from the Seven of One series in 1973...
as Mrs Blewitt, Dawson's Weekly and The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill.There were various incarnations of the show between 1951 and 1991, and it aired in over 140 countries. The show is generally sketch-based with heavy use of slapstick, mime, parody and double-entendre...
. She appeared in a television version of Separate Tables in 1983.
Theatre
Her theatre roles included Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being EarnestThe Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
at Birmingham Rep, Madame Arcati and Mrs Malaprop in touring productions of Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
and The Rivals
The Rivals
The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.- Production :...
respectively and a touring production of the comedy Sailor Beware
Sailor Beware
Sailor Beware is a 1951 comedy film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis and is an adaption of a 1933 Kenyon Nicholson play of the same name. It was released on February 9, 1952 by Paramount Pictures...
, as well as two 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...
plays: the farce Two into One and comedy When We Are Married
When We Are Married
When We Are Married is a 1938 play by English dramatist, J. B. Priestley. It is the first play ever to be televised unedited from a theatre.-Productions:* 1938 World premiere, London, England* 16 November 1938 BBC live telecast...
, and many pantomimes.
Films
She appeared in A Kind of LovingA Kind of Loving (film)
A Kind of Loving is a 1962 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Stan Barstow. It stars Alan Bates and June Ritchie as two lovers in 1960s West Yorkshire. The photography was by Denys Coop, and the music by Ron Grainer...
in 1962 as Thora Hird
Thora Hird
Dame Thora Hird DBE was an English actress.-Early life and career:Hird was born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. She first appeared on stage at the age of two months in a play her father was managing...
's neighbour, as well as The Dresser
The Dresser
The Dresser is a 1983 film which tells the story of an aging actor's personal assistant, who struggles to keep his charge's life together. It is based on a screenplay by Ronald Harwood, in turn based on his successful 1980 West End and Broadway play of the same name.The film was directed by Peter...
in 1983, Camille
Camille (1984 film)
Camille is a 1984 television film based on the 1852 novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. It was adapted by Blanche Hanalis and directed by Desmond Davis. It stars Greta Scacchi, Colin Firth, John Gielgud, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Ryecart, Denholm Elliott and Ben Kingsley....
in 1984, Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit (film)
Little Dorrit is a 1988 film adaptation of the novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin. The music, by Giuseppe Verdi, was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.The film stars Derek Jacobi as Arthur...
in 1988 and Mary Reilly
Mary Reilly (film)
Mary Reilly is a 1996 film directed by Stephen Frears. The movie was written by Christopher Hampton based on the novel Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin...
in 1996.
Illness and death
She died on 13 December 2008 at the Willow Wood Hospice in Ashton-under-LyneAshton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
, at the age of 80, with her husband John at her bedside, after a brain tumour was diagnosed earlier in the year. Her death was announced on 14 December.
Television roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Castle Haven | Lorna Everitt |
| 1970 to 1972 | Queenie's Castle Queenie's Castle Queenie's Castle is a British sitcom set in early 1970s Leeds, West Yorkshire that aired on ITV from 1970 to 1972. The series featured popular British actress Diana Dors.- Plot :... |
Mrs Blakely |
| 1973 to 2001 2002 to 2008 |
Last of the Summer Wine Last of the Summer Wine Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and... |
Nora Batty |
| 1974 to 1975 | 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... |
Vera Hopkins |
| 1976 to 1981 | Open All Hours Open All Hours Open All Hours is a BBC sitcom written by Roy Clarke which ran for four series a first run in 1976, a second run in 1981, third in 1982 and finally with a fourth run in 1985, with a pilot episode from the Seven of One series in 1973... |
Mrs Blewett |
| 1978 to 1985 2001 to 2002 |
Crossroads | Doris Luke |
| 1988 | No Frills | Molly Bickerstaff |
External links
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article5342119.eceObituary in The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
] Retrieved on 2008-12-15 - Obituary in The Independent