And, sadly, a more recent passing. Dora Bryan. Lovely character actress.
According to BBC News Online:
Bryan was made an OBE for services to drama in 1996
She was best known for her roles in Last of the Summer Wine
and Absolutely Fabulous, and won a best actress Bafta for the 1962 film A
Taste Of Honey.
Her manager, David Hill, confirmed her death, calling the actress "a legend, an icon and a true star".
Brighton newspaper The Argus, reported she had died at a nursing home in Hove.
Her sons, Daniel and William Lawton, were at her bedside.
"It was heartbreaking but it was peaceful," Daniel told the newspaper. "She just left us.
"She was a tiny woman but her constitution was incredible. She loved being on stage, that's what she wanted. Not only did she do it, but she was good at it.
"She was a star, and a mum."
Born Dora May Broadbent in Southport, Lancashire, the actress
made her stage debut aged 12 before working with Ensa, the armed forces'
entertainment body, during World War II.
After moving to London, she was encouraged to change her surname by Noel Coward while appearing in a production of his play Private Lives.
The actress chose Bryant as her new stage name, after the match manufacturers Bryant and May, but became Dora Bryan when a theatre programme omitted the last letter.
She went on to play the title role in Hello, Dolly on stage and make appearances in such films as The Blue Lamp, Carry On Sergeant and The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery.
Bryan recording Much Binding in the Marsh in 1953 with (l to r) Kenneth Horne, Richard Murdoch, Sam Costa and Nicholas Parsons
She was also heard on radio in Hancock's Half Hour and
alongside Nicholas Parsons and Kenneth Horne in the comedy series Much
Binding in the Marsh.
Bryan, who became an OBE in 1996, headlined a number of stage revues and made several appearances at the National Theatre.
She had a recurring role in Absolutely Fabulous as June Whitfield's on-screen friend Dolly and was seen as Ros Utterthwaite in Last of the Summer Wine.
In real life she endured several hardships. She suffered two nervous breakdowns, her adopted daughter Georgina died from alcoholism and her husband, cricketer Bill Lawton, died from Alzheimer's in 2008.
She was also afflicted by short-term memory loss that affected her ability to learn lines and led to her retirement in 2006.
Lionel Blair was among those paying tribute to the actress on Twitter.
"So very sad to hear of the passing of my good friend Dora Bryan," he wrote. "She was wonderful."
According to BBC News Online:
Bryan was made an OBE for services to drama in 1996
Dora
Bryan, the veteran British actress whose long career encompassed
theatre, film, radio and television, has died in Hove, near Brighton, at
the age of 91.
Her manager, David Hill, confirmed her death, calling the actress "a legend, an icon and a true star".
Brighton newspaper The Argus, reported she had died at a nursing home in Hove.
Her sons, Daniel and William Lawton, were at her bedside.
"It was heartbreaking but it was peaceful," Daniel told the newspaper. "She just left us.
"She was a tiny woman but her constitution was incredible. She loved being on stage, that's what she wanted. Not only did she do it, but she was good at it.
"She was a star, and a mum."
After moving to London, she was encouraged to change her surname by Noel Coward while appearing in a production of his play Private Lives.
The actress chose Bryant as her new stage name, after the match manufacturers Bryant and May, but became Dora Bryan when a theatre programme omitted the last letter.
She went on to play the title role in Hello, Dolly on stage and make appearances in such films as The Blue Lamp, Carry On Sergeant and The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery.
Bryan recording Much Binding in the Marsh in 1953 with (l to r) Kenneth Horne, Richard Murdoch, Sam Costa and Nicholas ParsonsBryan, who became an OBE in 1996, headlined a number of stage revues and made several appearances at the National Theatre.
She had a recurring role in Absolutely Fabulous as June Whitfield's on-screen friend Dolly and was seen as Ros Utterthwaite in Last of the Summer Wine.
In real life she endured several hardships. She suffered two nervous breakdowns, her adopted daughter Georgina died from alcoholism and her husband, cricketer Bill Lawton, died from Alzheimer's in 2008.
She was also afflicted by short-term memory loss that affected her ability to learn lines and led to her retirement in 2006.
Lionel Blair was among those paying tribute to the actress on Twitter.
"So very sad to hear of the passing of my good friend Dora Bryan," he wrote. "She was wonderful."
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