Yootha Joyce
Date of birth: 1927-08-20
Place of birth: Wandsworth, London, England, UK
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Yootha Joyce Needham
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.
Movie Credits
A Man for All Seasons
1966-12-13
A depiction of the conflict between King Henry VIII of England and his Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas M
Our Mother's House
1967-09-14
Seven children bury their mother and hide her death - until their long-lost father returns.
George & Mildred
1980-10-10
Big screen spin-off of the Seventies sitcom. Mildred Roper is determined to make husband George cele
Fanatic
1965-03-21
A young woman is terrorized by her former fiance's demented mother who blames her for her son's deat
Burke & Hare
1972-02-03
Two men go into business supplying medical colleges with cadavers by robbing graves.
Luther
1968-01-29
An epic drama of the 16th Century Catholic monk Martin Luther who started the Reformation.
Nearest and Dearest
1972-01-01
When Eli and Nellie Pledge's father dies, the duo are left in charge of his pickle empire. The two s
A Place to Go
1963-07-01
Set in contemporary Bethnal Green in east London, A Place to Go charts the dramatic changes that wer
Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs
2023-10-14
An affectionate look at the 1970s sitcom, with interviews and a look behind the scenes.
Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width
1973-01-03
Two London tailors horse around, wind up robbed, go to Rome and disrupt the Vatican.
The Road Builder
1971-02-25
The dreary existence of middle-aged spinster Maura Prince takes an unexpected turn with the arrival
The Fishing Match
1962-08-19
Peter drives his uncle and his friends to the countryside to take part in a fishing match. Meeting K
Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar
1968-12-09
Edgar Lunt lives his life by scientific principles, that is, for every action there is a reaction. H
All the Right Noises
1970-10-16
A married man with two small children begins an affair with a beautiful young actress which quickly
The Pumpkin Eater
1964-07-16
Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful b
Man About the House
1974-12-22
An unscrupulous property developer wants to flatten the street to make way for new buildings. Househ
Kaleidoscope
1966-07-01
Barney Lincoln is a rambling gambling man who scores sensational wins at poker and chemin de fer bec
Fragment of Fear
1970-09-03
Reformed drug addict Tim Brett (David Hemmings) is vacationing in Italy with his aunt. When she is m
Frankenstein: The True Story
1974-09-19
Victor Frankenstein witnesses his creation turn uncontrollable after he's duped by his associate, Dr
Charlie Bubbles
1968-02-11
Charlie Bubbles, a writer, up from the working class of Manchester, England, who, in the course of b
Stranger in the House
1967-05-23
John Sawyer, once an eminent barrister, has slid into a life of cynicism and drunkenness since his w
Catch Us If You Can
1965-07-15
Dinah is a famous model and actress who is getting tired of life in the limelight and wants to take
Steptoe & Son Ride Again
1973-05-01
Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are rag-and-bone men, complete with horse and cart to tour the nei
Sparrows Can't Sing
1963-03-26
Charlie returns to the East End after two years at sea to find his house demolished and wife Maggie
Twenty-Nine
1969-01-01
Graham Baird wakes up in strange clothes in a strange apartment, both he and his wife want to know w
Maigret at Bay
1969-02-09
Inspector Maigret responds to a call from a young woman in the middle of the night, but he then find