Whatever Happened To ... Dandy Nichols?

 

I realised the other day that I had never written a blog about that celebrated character comedy actress, the late Dandy Nichols. Famed for her many years playing Else, the "silly moo" in Johnny Speight's legendary BBC comedy, Till Death Us To Part, Dandy enjoyed a long and varied career. Her Carry On contribution may have been brief but it still means she's worthy of a blog all of her own.

Dandy joined the Carry On gang in 1967, the year after rising to fame in Speight's sitcom. Playing the grumbling wife of Sid James' hospital patient, Nichols is glorious in a couple of short scenes which see her moan on about her dreadful life. Sid plugs in his headphones, barely uttering a word which makes Dandy's scenes joyous monologues. Beautiful but sadly all too brief, sadly Dandy didn't make another Carry On. The height of the films' success saw her also at her peak, working on Till Death Us Do Part from 1966 until 1975 alongside Warren Mitchell, Una Stubbs and Tony Booth. Dandy is so recognisable and defined by the character of Else however in the original BBC pilot Else was played by Gretchen Franklin (famous as Ethel in EastEnders). When the series was commissioned, Franklin was in a play and her contract could not be broken so Nichols was cast. 

The idea was revived for one series in 1981, over on ITV with the title Till Death... this series added Patricia Hayes to the cast while Una Stubbs reprised her role as Rita for a few episodes. However the BBC later revived the series again in 1985 with the new title In Sickness and in Health. Again starring Mitchell and Nichols, the cast also included the likes of Pat Coombs, Arthur English and Harry Fowler. Sadly, Dandy only appeared in the first series and was now mainly seen in a wheelchair due to ill health. The series continued until 1992, six years after Dandy had sadly passed away.

Dandy was born Daisy Sander in Fulham in May 1907. She bagan her working life in a factory before taking acting and diction lessons. She was spotted in a charity show and started working in rep. The war years saw Dandy (adopted as her stage name - it was a childhood nickname) doing office work before joining ENSA (Entertainments National Service Assocation). After the war she began acting professionally on stage and in films. Her big screen debut was in Hue and Cry in 1947. Some of her most notable early films included roles in The Winslow Boy, Nicholas Nickleby, The Fallen Idol and Mother Riley Meets the Vampire. Later films included Ladies Who Do, Georgy Girl, Doctor in Clover, The Birthday Party, Help!, O! Lucky Man, Confessions of a Window Cleaner (as Robin Askwith's mother Mrs Lea) and another Askwith film, Lindsay Anderson's Britannia Hospital in 1982. Dandy only appeared in the first Confessions film with her role recast with On The Buses actress Doris Hare for the remaining three films.

 

On television, Dandy starred opposite the wonderful Alastair Sim in The Generals Day. She also made appearances in The Tea Ladies, Bergerac, The Trouble with Lillian and The Bagthorpe Saga. One of Dandy's most successful stage roles was that of Marjorie in David Storey's 1970 play, Home. Set in a mental asylum, Home starred John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Mona Washbourne. Directed by Lindsay Anderson, Home premiered at The Royal Court theatre in London before transferring to Broadway with the same cast. Later in the run, Dandy's part was played by Jessica Tandy. The original British cast also filmed the play for broadcast in the Play For Today slot on television in 1972. 

Dandy Nichols was married to a newspaper editor, Stephen Bagueley Waters from 1942 until their divorce in 1955. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, Nichols was dogged by ill health but continued working right up until her death at the age of 78 in February 1986. A gifted actress, many of Dandy's performances are still remembered and cherished over thirty years after her death.

 

 

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Whatever Happened To ... Peter Gilmore?

I have been running an occasional series of blogs looking at some of the semi-regular actors who appeared in the Carry On films. The Carry Ons always boasted superb casts of experienced comedy actors however some of these faces, while immediately recognisable to us, never quite received the attention they deserved.

So far I have blogged about Esma Cannon, Marianne Stone, Carol Hawkins and June Jago. Today I'm going to focus on another familiar face in the series, Peter Gilmore. Peter starred in eleven Carry On films and yet was rarely seen in anything more than a cameo role. Despite never gaining star status in the series, he still managed to appear in more of the films than Barbara Windsor and clocked up the same number of appearances as regular actor Jim Dale.

Peter Gilmore first appeared in the series in Carry On Cabby in 1963. He played one of the gangsters who hijacked Hattie Jacques and Liz Fraser on their journey to cash in the Glam Cabs takings. Fortunately Sid, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey were on hand to rescue the girls and take on the crooks! Peter returned to Pinewood later that year to play a pirate opposite Bernard Cribbins and Juliet Mills in Carry On Jack.

We next saw Peter in Carry On Cleo, in a brief role as the galley master in charge of Jim Dale and the other slaves. In Carry On Cowboy the following year he played one of the Rumpo Kid's gang. in Don't Lose Your Head in 1966 Peter had one of his most substantial roles in the series as Citizen Robespierre, sharing several terrific scenes with Kenneth Williams. In Follow That Camel he played Captain Bagshaw in the opening few scenes, while later in 1967 Peter returned to play Henry, one of the ambulance drivers in Doctor. It is this film that provides Peter with one of his most memorable scenes, when Barbara Windsor walks up to him while he is eating a pear...

In Carry On Up The Khyber, Peter Gilmore plays Private Ginger Hale (!) opposite Charles Hawtrey. The following year Gilmore filmed a cameo role opposite Jim Dale and Peter Butterworth in Carry On Again Doctor. Peter made his final appearance in the original run of Carry Ons in Carry On Henry in 1970. He played Francis, King of France and enjoyed several funny scenes with the likes of Sid James, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor. That was it for Peter and the Carry Ons until Carry On Columbus sailed into view in 1992. Sadly Peter's involvement in the film is a blink and you'll miss it cameo but it was a film that needed all the old faces it could muster.

So apart from Peter's significant contribution to the glorious Carry Ons, what else did he get up to in his career? Having trained at RADA and worked with the George Mitchell Singers, Peter Gilmore is now probably best remembered for his starring role in the BBC costume drama, The Onedin Line. He starred in the series from 1971 until 1980 and focused on the rise of a shipping line company. Although Gilmore often felt typecast in the role of James Onedin, it did bring him notable fame and success.

Away from this television role, Peter appeared in many other British films of the era. These include I've Gotta Horse opposite Billy Fury and Amanda Barrie, Doctor in Clover, The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery, The Jokers and Oh! What A Lovely War. On television he popped up in everything from Doctor Who and Casualty to The Persuaders and Ivanhoe. Sadly ill health reduced his ability to take up acting commitments later in life.

Peter Gilmore was born in Germany in 1931 and grew up in Yorkshire. Leaving school at the age of 14, he knew from an early age that he wanted to act. He was married three times, first to the actress Una Stubbs between 1958-1969, then to actress Jan Waters from 1970 until 1976. He then began a relationship with Onedin Line co-star Anne Stallybrass who he eventually married in 1987. They were married until Peter's sad death at the age of 81 in February 2013.

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