Acting
Aug 19, 1927
Wandsworth, London, England, UK
Yootha Joyce
Acting
Biography
British actress best known for her role as Mildred Roper in the '70s sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred. Born to musical parents Hurst Needham and Jessica Rivett in 1927, Joyce was trained at RADA, toured with ENSA and came to prominence via the Joan Littlewood Theatre Workshop, securing roles in TV shows such as The Avengers, Man in a Suitcase, Te Saint, Jason King and Steptoe and Son, and the films The Pumpkin Eater, A Man For All Seasons, Charlie Bubbles, All the Right Noises and Burke and Hare. She was married to fellow actor Glynn Edwards from 1956 to 1968, and they remained friends all her life. An alcoholic, Joyce died from liver failure in 1980, just four days after her 53rd birthday. Her sitcom co-star Brian Murphy was by her side. In 1986 the Smiths used an image of Joyce on the sleeve of their UK single release "Ask" and the German release of "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" securing her place as a British cultural icon.
Feature Films (26)
A depiction of the conflict between King Henry VIII of England and his Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, who refuses to swear the Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry Supreme Head of the Church in England.
A Man for All Seasons
Seven children bury their mother and hide her death - until their long-lost father returns.
Our Mother's House
Big screen spin-off of the Seventies sitcom. Mildred Roper is determined to make husband George celebrate their wedding anniversary in style, at a posh hotel in London. However, upon arrival George is mistaken by a gangland criminal for a rival hitman, and soon the Ropers find themselves up to their necks in trouble on the wrong side of the law!
George & Mildred
A young woman is terrorized by her former fiance's demented mother who blames her for her son's death. Also known as Die! Die! My Darling!
Fanatic
Two men go into business supplying medical colleges with cadavers by robbing graves.
Burke & Hare
An epic drama of the 16th Century Catholic monk Martin Luther who started the Reformation.
Luther
When Eli and Nellie Pledge's father dies, the duo are left in charge of his pickle empire. The two siblings are complete opposites and Eli wants out, but since he can't leave until Nellie is married, he sets about finding a husband for his old-fashioned sister.
Nearest and Dearest
Set in contemporary Bethnal Green in east London, A Place to Go charts the dramatic changes that were happening in the lives of the British working-class at the time.
A Place to Go
An affectionate look at the 1970s sitcom, with interviews and a look behind the scenes.
Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs
Two London tailors horse around, wind up robbed, go to Rome and disrupt the Vatican.
Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width
The dreary existence of middle-aged spinster Maura Prince takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of young handyman Billy Jarvis, but there may be more to him than meets the eye.
The Road Builder
Peter drives his uncle and his friends to the countryside to take part in a fishing match. Meeting Kath he tells her stories of his father's travels but discovers a picture of him taken in Skegness and knows he's living a lie.
The Fishing Match
Television & Series (30)
On the Buses is a British comedy series created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential in a bus depot as a setting. The comedy partnership turned to a friend, Frank Muir, Head of Entertainment at London Weekend Television, who loved the idea; the show was accepted and despite a poor critical reception became a hit with viewers.
On the Buses
A middle-aged housewife feels frustrated with her mean and miserable husband, the married couple adapting to life in an up-market housing estate.
George and Mildred
A quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners. Jonathan Steed - an urbane, proper gentleman spy - teams with various assistants throughout the series' run, including Dr. David Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King, to repeatedly save the world from diabolical schemes plotted by equally diabolical evil-doers (among them robots and man-eating monsters).
The Avengers
Jason King - a suavely sophisticated former secret agent turned novelist - travels the world searching for material to fill his books, encountering an endless parade of glamorous women, exotic locales, menacing villains and daring intrigue! Before Austin Powers swung into action, Jason King set the standard for the hip crime-fighting international playboy!
