Sydney Sturgess
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Anna "Sydney" Sturgess (March 5, 1915 - September 30, 1999) was a British
-Canadian
actress. She is best known for her work with the Shaw Festival
and the Stratford Festival of Canada
. Primarily a stage actress in Canada
, England
and the USA, she occasionally worked in television
and film
.
, who was also one of the Fathers of Confederation
. Her father was a civil engineer and was assigned to remote countries around the world to build bridges, so the family traveled frequently.
Her teenage years were spent for the most part at St. Stephen's boarding school in Folkestone, Kent, England. She received her dramatic training in England, as well, at the London College of Music where she received an A.L.C.M. in elocution. After graduation, she joined the Arthur Brough Players in Folkestone
, first as a student and then later as an actress.
Sturgess acted in various English repertory companies before meeting Barry Morse
in Peterborough on January 3, 1939. Morse and Sturgess married on March 26, 1939. As a result of her work in repertory, both prior to and following her marriage, she gained broad experience as an actress through her work in literally hundreds of stage productions throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Their two children, Hayward Morse
and Melanie Morse MacQuarrie
, were born in 1947 and 1945, respectively. The family emigrated to Canada
in 1951, where Sydney enjoyed several successful seasons of theatre at the Montreal Mountain Playhouse, as well as radio work and teaching, until moving to Toronto with the advent of television
in 1953.
Sturgess' stage credits span more than fifty years and include London West End
productions with such personalities as Dame Marie Tempest
and A.E. Matthews in The First Mrs. Fraser, and later in her career on Broadway opposite Morse and Alec McCowen
in Hadrian VII.
Her performances ranged the gamut, from acting in Jupiter Theatre's production of Relative Values, The Potting Shed at the Crest Theatre, and with the Canadian Players in Romeo and Juliet
and Pygmalion
. She also played in George Bernard Shaw
's Man and Superman, as "Mrs. Darling" in Peter Pan and played in more productions of Charley's Aunt than perhaps any other actress!
In 1958 she wrote and produced her own radio series for the CBC
(Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) called Poet's Corner. She also appeared on television as Catherine de Medici in Patrick Watson's series, Witness to Yesterday, and in the title role of George Bernard Shaw
's Catherine the Great. She starred as the Countess of Brocklehurst in the Shaw Festival
's production of The Admirable Crighton, appeared in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
at the Manitoba Theatre Center, and played "Mrs. Higgins" in another run of Shaw's Pygmalion
at the Nottingham Playhouse in England.
Sydney was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease
in 1985 and lived with her illness for over fourteen years, from which she died in her sleep, aged 84.
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...
-Canadian
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...
actress. She is best known for her work with the Shaw Festival
Shaw Festival
The Shaw Festival is a major Canadian theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the second largest repertory theatre company in North America...
and the Stratford Festival of Canada
Stratford Festival of Canada
The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is an internationally recognized annual celebration of theatre running from April to November in the Canadian city of Stratford, Ontario...
. Primarily a stage actress in Canada
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the USA, she occasionally worked in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
.
Background
Born in Ipoh, Malaysia, Sturgess was the eldest of four children; two brothers and a sister. She carried a distinguished Canadian ancestry - her great-grandfather was Edward Palmer, Q.C., of Prince Edward IslandPrince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, who was also one of the Fathers of Confederation
Fathers of Confederation
The Fathers of Confederation are the people who attended the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences in 1864 and the London Conference of 1866 in England, preceding Canadian Confederation. The following lists the participants in the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London Conferences and their attendance at...
. Her father was a civil engineer and was assigned to remote countries around the world to build bridges, so the family traveled frequently.
Her teenage years were spent for the most part at St. Stephen's boarding school in Folkestone, Kent, England. She received her dramatic training in England, as well, at the London College of Music where she received an A.L.C.M. in elocution. After graduation, she joined the Arthur Brough Players in Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
, first as a student and then later as an actress.
Sturgess acted in various English repertory companies before meeting Barry Morse
Barry Morse
Herbert "Barry" Morse was an Anglo-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio best known for his roles in the ABC television series The Fugitive and the British sci-fi drama Space: 1999...
in Peterborough on January 3, 1939. Morse and Sturgess married on March 26, 1939. As a result of her work in repertory, both prior to and following her marriage, she gained broad experience as an actress through her work in literally hundreds of stage productions throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Their two children, Hayward Morse
Hayward Morse
Hayward Morse is a British stage and voice actor. His career began on CBC television and with numerous stage performances in Canada and the United States. He made his USA television debut in 1959 with Ingrid Bergman in the critically acclaimed film The Turn of the Screw...
and Melanie Morse MacQuarrie
Melanie Morse MacQuarrie
Melanie Virginia Sydney Morse MacQuarrie was a Canadian actress.-Background:MacQuarrie was the daughter of actors Barry Morse and Sydney Sturgess and sister of Hayward Morse. She was born in London, England, but lived in Canada from the age of six...
, were born in 1947 and 1945, respectively. The family emigrated to Canada
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...
in 1951, where Sydney enjoyed several successful seasons of theatre at the Montreal Mountain Playhouse, as well as radio work and teaching, until moving to Toronto with the advent of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in 1953.
Sturgess' stage credits span more than fifty years and include London 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...
productions with such personalities as Dame Marie Tempest
Marie Tempest
Dame Marie Tempest DBE was an English singer and actress known as the "queen of her profession".Tempest became the most famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, she became a leading comic actress and toured widely in North America and elsewhere...
and A.E. Matthews in The First Mrs. Fraser, and later in her career on Broadway opposite Morse and Alec McCowen
Alec McCowen
Alexander Duncan "Alec" McCowen CBE is an English actor. He is known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. He was awarded the CBE in the 1985 New Year's Honours List.-Personal:...
in Hadrian VII.
Her performances ranged the gamut, from acting in Jupiter Theatre's production of Relative Values, The Potting Shed at the Crest Theatre, and with the Canadian Players in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
and Pygmalion
Pygmalion (play)
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
. She also played in George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Man and Superman, as "Mrs. Darling" in Peter Pan and played in more productions of Charley's Aunt than perhaps any other actress!
In 1958 she wrote and produced her own radio series for the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) called Poet's Corner. She also appeared on television as Catherine de Medici in Patrick Watson's series, Witness to Yesterday, and in the title role of George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Catherine the Great. She starred as the Countess of Brocklehurst in the Shaw Festival
Shaw Festival
The Shaw Festival is a major Canadian theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the second largest repertory theatre company in North America...
's production of The Admirable Crighton, appeared in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg is a 1967 play by English playwright Peter Nichols, first staged at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland before transferring to London's West End theatres in 1968.-Plot summary:Characters* Bri* Grace* Joe* Freddie...
at the Manitoba Theatre Center, and played "Mrs. Higgins" in another run of Shaw's Pygmalion
Pygmalion (play)
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
at the Nottingham Playhouse in England.
Sydney was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
in 1985 and lived with her illness for over fourteen years, from which she died in her sleep, aged 84.