Pauline Collins
Pauline Collins (born 3 September 1940)[1] is an English actress of stage, television, and movies.
Pauline Collins | |
|---|---|
 Pauline Collins in November 2012 | |
| Born | 3 September 1940 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Spouse(s) | John Alderton (m. 1969) |
| Children | 4 |
Her first major role was in 1971 as Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs.
In 1988, Collins played the title role in the play Shirley Valentine.
In 1989, She reprised the role in the movie adaptation. She won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
In 1992, she released her autobiography, titled Letter to Louise.[2]
Early life and career
Collins was born in Exmouth, Devon. Her mother was a school teacher. Her father was a school headmaster.[1] She was brought up as a Roman Catholic in Wallasey near Liverpool.[3] Her great-uncle was Irish poet Jeremiah Joseph Callanan.[4]
Collins was educated at Sacred Heart High School.[5] She studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She worked as a teacher until 1962. She then made her stage debut at Windsor in A Gazelle in Park Lane. In 1965, she made her West End debut in Passion Flower Hotel. During the play's run, she made her first movie, Secrets of a Windmill Girl. It was released in 1966.
Collins played Samantha Briggs in the 1967 Doctor Who serial The Faceless Ones. She declined an offer of a role as a new companion for the Doctor.
Other early TV credits include the UK's first medical soap Emergency - Ward 10 (1960). In 1969, she was in the pilot episode and first series of The Liver Birds.
Collins first became well known for her role as the maid Sarah in the 1970s ITV drama series Upstairs, Downstairs. The character was in the first two series. In the second series she appeared with her actor husband, John Alderton. In 1979, they starred in a spin-off, Thomas & Sarah. They also starred in the sitcom No, Honestly. This was written by Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham. From 1975 to 1978, they worked together in a series of short-story adaptations called Wodehouse Playhouse. In 1983, they narrated the animated British children's TV series Little Miss.
In April 1972, she was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life, being surprised by Eamonn Andrews.
In 1973, in her Upstairs, Downstairs role, Collins recorded a single for Decca called What Are We Going to Do with Uncle Arthur?. It was performed by her character several times during the series. The 'B' side was With Every Passing Day (a vocal version of the show's theme).[6]
Shirley Valentine
In 1988, Collins starred in the one-woman play Shirley Valentine in London. In 1989 she reprised the role on Broadway. She was then in the 1989 movie version. The movie won a number of awards and nominations. Both the play and the feature movie used the technique known as "breaking the fourth wall". The character Shirley Valentine directly addresses the audience throughout the story.
After Shirley Valentine
Collins starred alongside her husband in the popular ITV drama series Forever Green. This was created and written by Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham. It was about a couple who start a new life in the country with their children. It ran from 1989 to 1992 in over 18 episodes.
In 1990, Collins was voted sexiest woman in Britain.
In 2006, she became only the third actor to have been in both the original and new series of Doctor Who. She appeared in the episode "Tooth and Claw" as Queen Victoria.
In 2015, she appeared as Mrs Gamp in the BBC TV series Dickensian.
In the 2001 Birthday Honours, Collins was agiven an OBE for services to drama.[7]
Personal life
Collins married actor John Alderton in 1969 and lives in Hampstead, London, with her husband and their three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard. She also has an older daughter with actor Tony Rohr, Louise, whom she gave up for adoption. They were reunited when Louise was 22 years old.
TV and filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Emergency – Ward 10 | Nurse Elliott | Phil Brown | TV Series (1 Episode) |
| 1966 | Secrets of a Windmill Girl | Pat Lord | Arnold L. Miller | |
| The Marriage Lines | Jean | Robin Nash | TV Series (1 Episode : "Big Business") | |
| Pardon the Expression | Miss Wainwright / Val | Michael Cox | TV Series (3 Episodes) | |
| The Corridor People | Syrie's maid | David Boisseau | TV Series (1 Episode : "Victim as Black") | |
| Theatre 625 | Clara | James Ferman | TV Series (1 Episode : "Amerika") | |
| The Saint | Marie-Therese | Gordon Flemyng | TV Series (1 Episode : "The Better Mousetrap") | |
| Blackmail | Freida Straker | TV Series (1 Episode : "Please Do Not Disturb") | ||
| The Three Musketeers | Kitty | Peter Hammond | TV (1 Episode : "Branded") | |
| The Making of Jericho | TV movie | |||
| 1967 | Doctor Who | Samantha Briggs | Gerry Mill | The Faceless Ones (6 Episodes) |
| Softly, Softly | Marilyn | Bill Hays | TV Series (1 Episode : "Somebody Important") | |
| 1968 | B and B | Chantal | TV Series (1 Episode : "Pilot: B and B") | |
| Armchair Theatre | Betty / Mary Murtagh | Guy Verney Marc Miller |
TV Series (2 Episodes) | |
| 1969 | The Old Campaigner | Winnie Haldane | TV Series (1 Episode : "French Farce") | |
| Comedy Playhouse | Dawn / Marjorie | TV Series (2 Episodes) | ||
| The Liver Birds | Dawn | TV Series (5 Episodes) | ||
| The Wednesday Play | Angelina / Joan Percival | Marc Miller (X2) John Mackenzie |
TV Series (2 Episodes) | |
| Parkin's Patch | Doreen Ashworth | Raymond Menmuir | TV Series (1 Episode : "A Pair of Good Shoes") | |
| 1970 | The Mating Machine | Elizabeth | Howard Ross | TV Series (1 Episode : "Who Sleeps on the Right?") |
| 1972 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | The Girl | Gilchrist Calder | TV Series (1 Episode : "King's Cross Lunch Hour") |
| Country Matters | Ruby | TV Mini-Series (1 Episode : "Crippled Bloom") | ||
| 1971–1973 | Upstairs, Downstairs | Sarah Moffat | Various directors | TV Series (13 Episodes) Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Actress |
| 1973 | Armchair 30 | Carol | Piers Haggard | TV Series (1 Episode : "Carol's Story") |
| 1974 | No, Honestly | Clara Burrell-Danby | David Askey | TV Series (13 Episodes) |
| 1975 | BBC Play of the Month | Lady Teazle | Stuart Burge | TV Series (1 Episode : "The School for Scandal") |
| 1975–1976 | Wodehouse Playhouse | Various characters | Various directors | TV Series (13 Episodes) |
| 1979 | Thomas & Sarah | Sarah Moffat | Various directors | TV Series (13 Episodes) |
| Play for Today | Eileen | Stephen Frears | TV Series (1 Episode : "Long Distance Information") | |
| 1980 | Tales of the Unexpected | Pat Lewis | Graham Evans | TV Series (1 Episode : "A Girl Can't Always Have Everything") |
| 1983 | Little Misses and the Mr. Men | Narrator | Trevor Bond Terry Ward |
TV Series |
| 1984 | Knockback | Sylvia | Piers Haggard (X2) | TV Movie Nominated – CableACE Awards for Best Actress in a Theatrical or Dramatic Special |
| 1985 | Tropical Moon Over Dorking | Myra | Robert Chetwyn | TV Movie |
| The Black Tower | Maggie Hewson | Ronald Wilson | TV Mini-Series (5 Episodes) | |
| 1988 | Tales of the Unexpected | Eve Peregrine | Barry Davis | TV Series (1 Episode : "The Colonel's Lady") |
| 1989–1992 | Forever Green | Harriet Boult | David Giles Sarah Hellings Christopher King |
TV Series (18 Episodes) |
| 1989 | Shirley Valentine | Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw | Lewis Gilbert | BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Evening Standard British Film Awards – Best Actress Golden Apple Award – Female Discovery of the Year Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 1992 | City of Joy | Joan Bethel | Roland Joffé | |
| 1995 | My Mother's Courage | Elsa Tabori | Michael Verhoeven | |
| 1996 | Flowers of the Forest | Aileen Matthews | Michael Whyte | TV Movie |
| 1997 | Paradise Road | Daisy 'Margaret' Drummond | Bruce Beresford | |
| 1998–1999 | The Ambassador | Harriet Smith | Various directors | TV Series (13 Episodes) |
| 2000 | Little Grey Rabbit | Jean Flynn | TV Series | |
| One Life Stand | Karaoke Crowd | May Miles Thomas | ||
| 2002 | Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War | Thelma Caldicot | Ian Sharp | |
| Man and Boy | Betty Silver | Simon Curtis | TV Movie | |
| 2003 | Sparkling Cyanide | Dr. Catherine Kendall | Tristram Powell | TV Movie |
| 2005 | Bleak House | Miss Flite | Justin Chadwick Susanna White |
TV Series (10 Episodes) |
| 2006 | Doctor Who | Queen Victoria | Euros Lyn | TV Series (1 Episode : "Tooth and Claw") |
| What We Did on Our Holiday | Lil Taylor | Jeremy Webb | TV Movie | |
| 2009 | From Time to Time | Mrs. Tweedie | Julian Fellowes | |
| 2010 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Thyrza Grey | Andy Hay | TV Series (1 Episode : "The Pale Horse") |
| Merlin | Alice | Alice Troughton | TV Series (1 Episode : "Love in the Time of Dragons") | |
| You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Cristal | Woody Allen | ||
| 2011 | Albert Nobbs | Margaret 'Madge' Baker | Rodrigo García | |
| 2011–2012 | Mount Pleasant | Sue | Dewi Humphreys Ian Barnes Dermot Boyd |
TV Series (14 Episodes) |
| 2012 | Quartet | Cissy Robson | Dustin Hoffman | |
| 2015 | Dough | Joanna | John Goldschmidt | |
| The Time of Their Lives | Priscilla | Roger Goldby | Post-Production | |
| 2015–2016 | Dickensian | Mrs Gamp | Tony Jordan Various Tony Jordan |
TV Series (20 Episodes) |
| 2017 | The Time of Their Lives | Priscilla | Roger Goldby | |
| 2017 | Byrd and the Bees | Beatrice | Finola Hughes | Pre-Production |
Awards and nominations
- Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress (winner)
- Tony Award in 1989 for Best Actress in a Play (winner)[8]
- Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (winner)
- Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (winner)
- Academy Award for Best Actress (nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, Comedy or Musical (nominee)
- BAFTA for Best Film Actress (winner)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Pauline Collins Biography (1940–)". filmreference.com.
- ↑ Collins, Letter to Louise. Retrieved 1 December 2016
- ↑ Pauline, Collins. (28 March 1999). "Pauline Collins – My secret for a good marriage? Give", Interviewed by Sharon Feinstein, Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 13 May 2010. "But I was very worried about taking it on because I'm not Jewish. I'm a Liverpool Irish Catholic and this role was such a responsibility because it involved a huge and emotive part of the history of the Jewish race."
- ↑ Pauline Collins biography Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 July 2015
- ↑ "Actress Pauline Collins, age 75, and husband John Alderman, married since 1969, planning something special for their 50th anniversary??". 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- ↑ "Upstairs, Downstairs - Lyrics". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
- ↑ No. 56237. 16 June 2001. p. 10. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/56237/supplement/10
- ↑ "Tony Award winners in 1989". Retrieved 5 June 2016.