Pat Coombs
Pat Coombs | |
---|---|
Born | Patricia Doreen Coombs 27 August 1926 Camberwell, London, England |
Died | 25 May 2002 Northwood, London, England | (aged 75)
Alma mater | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1950s–2002 |
Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, film and television
Early life
Born in Camberwell, South London, Coombs was one of three children; her father worked in insurance for the Employers' Liability, the forerunner of Commercial Union.
Coombs attended the County School for Girls in
Career
Radio
She first made her name in the post-war era of radio variety as 'Nola', the dim and put-upon daughter of Irene Handl in Arthur Askey's Hello Playmates; their double-act had started as a guest spot on Bob Monkhouse's show. Coombs also gained experience as a comedy stooge in radio shows alongside Ted Ray and Charlie Chester. Later, in the 1977–83 series Albert and Me, she played both the principal character's mother and baby Albert.[3]
Television
An early television break came when she appeared with Tony Hancock in an episode of his series Hancock's Half Hour (1957). She followed this with regular appearances in The Cyril Fletcher Show (1959) and later she became a regular performer in The Dick Emery Show. She also starred in the sitcoms Barney Is My Darling (1965–66) alongside Irene Handl and Wild, Wild Women (1969) alongside Barbara Windsor. She also appeared in the BBC's 13-part adaptation of Dombey and Son as Lucretia Tox.
After a relatively unsuccessful partnership with
Her other television work included Beggar My Neighbour (1966–68), Don't Drink the Water (1974–75), Up Pompeii! (1970), Till Death Us Do Part (1966–75) and its sequel In Sickness and in Health (1990, 1992) and The Lady is a Tramp (1983), in the last of which she co-starred with Patricia Hayes in a series set among 'down-and-outs'. Coombs was also the subject of This Is Your Life in 1978,[citation needed] and appeared regularly as a guest on Noel Edmonds's Saturday night entertainment show Noel's House Party (1992–95) and on the game shows Blankety Blank and Celebrity Squares (1975–79), returning for its revival in 1993–94.
In 1989, she appeared in the
Following her stint in EastEnders, Coombs went on to guest in the BBC comedy Birds of a Feather, Boon and the BBC medical drama Doctors in 2001, which was her last appearance on screen.
According to The Guinness Book of Records she holds the record for the largest number of takes for a TV commercial. According to Coombs: "I just couldn't remember the name of the product."
Film
Coombs had also appeared in many films, including
Children's TV
Coombs was also a regular on children's television. Hers was one of the voices heard in the children's series
Personal life
Coombs never married or had children. She said that twice she came close to marrying, but was not sure enough to proceed.[1] She once remarked: "I've never been wildly ambitious; I think if I'd been married, my career would have gone out of the window."[5]
Illness and death
Coombs was diagnosed with
She had just completed a role for Radio 4 alongside Roy Hudd and June Whitfield in Like They've Never Been Gone when she died on 25 May 2002, aged 75, from emphysema in Denville Hall actors' home, a west London nursing home to which she had moved to be close to her friend Peggy Mount, who had died six months earlier.[1]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1959 | Follow a Star | Simpering Girl in Theatre | Uncredited |
1962 | She'll Have to Go | Lady on Station Platform | Uncredited |
1963 | A Stitch in Time | Nurse | Uncredited |
1968 | Carry On Doctor | Anxious Patient | Uncredited |
Till Death Us Do Part | Neighbour | ||
1969 | Cry Wolf | Mrs. Blades | |
Carry On Again Doctor | New Matron | ||
1970 | Cucumber Castle | Nurse Sarah Charles Bottom | |
1971 | Dad's Army | Mrs. Hall | |
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | Henrietta Salt | Uncredited | |
On the Buses | Vera | ||
1972 | Ooh... You Are Awful
|
Libby Niven | |
1973 | Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall
|
Spike's Mother | |
1977–1981 | You're Only Young Twice | Cissie Lupin | |
1980 | High Rise Donkey | Lady attending Donkey Derby | |
1989–90 | EastEnders | Marge Green | |
1992 | Birds of a Feather | Gloria |
References
- ^ a b c "Pat Coombs", The Guardian, last accessed 15 February 2007
- ^ "Obituary: Pat Coombs", The Independent, last accessed 15 February 2007
- ^ Lavalie, John (26 July 2007). "Albert and Me". epguides.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-563-37057-4.
- ^ "Pat Coombs", The Telegraph, last accessed 15 February 2007
Pat Coombs – The Authorised biography by Andrew Ross (Fantom Publishing, 2021)
External links
- Obituary, theguardian.com; accessed 16 January 2016.
- Pat Coombs at IMDb
- Pat Coombs profile, ftvdb.bfi.org.uk; accessed 19 August 2015.