A very Happy Birthday to the actress Ann Firbank who celebrates her birthday today. Ann is probably best remembered to Carry On fans for her appearance as Staff Nurse Helen Lloyd in the second Carry On film, Carry On Nurse, in 1958. However Ann has enjoyed a long, diverse career across all mediums and is still very active in the profession today.
Born in India in 1933, Ann Firbank first started appearing on screen in the UK in 1956, mainly on the small screen in series such as Kenilworth, The Adventures of Robin Hood and the ITV Play of the Week. Ann's first film was Behind the Mask in 1958, playing Mrs Judson. Carry On Nurse quickly followed. Eschewing typecasting as a Carry On actor, Ann went on to appear in an incredible mix of productions over the next few decades.
On television there have been roles in Emergency Ward 10, from 1960 to 1963, playing Mary Nesbitt, The Plane Makers in1964, as Pamela and in 1971 Ann played Anne Elliot in an adaptation of Persuasion. In complete contrast, Ann played Varda in Space 1999 in 1977 and the following year took on the role of Queen Alexandra in the serial, Lillie. More recently Ann has been seen in Kavanagh QC, Elizabeth I and New Tricks.
On film, Ann Firbank has played Sybil Martin Darling (1965), Miss Nolan in A Man Could Get Killed (1966) and Laura in Accident the following year. She had a small role in Sunday Bloody Sunday n 1972 and the following year played Anna in Asylum. In 1984 Ann played Mrs Callendar in the classic A Passage to India and more recently starred as Lady Bradley in Anna and the King.
Acting on stage for many years, Ann's most recent credits have included Billy Liar at the West Yorkshire Playhouse; The Golden Dragon at the Jagrit Theatre in India and The Crucible at the Old Vic in 2014.
Still active in the acting profession in 2018, you can catch Ann in the short film Molly and Me, as Aunt Cissie in The Little Stranger and in the first episode of the BBC's brand new adaptation of the epic Les Miserables, playing 'Old Lady'.
Whatever Ann is up to today, I hope she has a wonderful birthday.
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram
No comments:
Post a Comment