Ann Beach

Ann Beach
Born	(1938-06-07)7 June 1938 Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England
Died	9 March 2017(2017-03-09) (aged 78) London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1957–2013
Spouse(s)	Francis Coleman (m. 1966; died 2008)
Children	Charlotte Coleman (deceased) Lisa Coleman

Ann Beach (7 June 1938 – 9 March 2017[1]) was a British actress.[2][3] She is perhaps best remembered for her supporting role as Sonia Barrett, the quirky next-door neighbour on the comedy Fresh Fields, starring Julia McKenzie and Anton Rodgers.

Career

Beach won a scholarship to RADA at the age of 16. After leaving, she toured with Frankie Howerd in Hotel Paradiso, and then came to London in the title role of Emlyn Williams's Beth. This was not a success, but she was soon busily engaged in television work, until she returned to the stage in the Theatre Workshop company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. Among the parts she played there were Rosie in Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be (1960), and Miss Gilchrist in The Hostage. She then played Barbara in Billy Liar at the Cambridge Theatre in September 1960. She was also a member of the BBC's Radio Drama Company.[4]

Personal life

She was married to Francis Coleman. She was the mother of Charlotte Coleman and Lisa Coleman.[5][6][7]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960	The City of the Dead	Lottie
1961	On the Fiddle	Iris
	Nothing Barred	Girlfriend Who Drops Through Open Manhole	Uncredited
1962	The Fast Lady	Miss Timpkins
1966	Hotel Paradiso	Victoire
1968	Sebastian	Pamela
1970	The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer	Receptionist
1971	Under Milk Wood	Polly Garter
1973	Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width	Bridie
1976	Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd	Clara	TV film
	James and the Giant Peach	Aunt Sponge	TV film
	The Battle of Billy's Pond	Mrs. Bateson
1979	Brecht and Co	Polly Peacham/Widow Begbick	TV film
1982	Oliver Twist	Mrs. Sowerberry	TV film
1983	Salad Days	Timothy's Mother	TV film
1991	King Ralph	Miranda's Mother
1999	Notting Hill	William's Mother
2002	Double Act	Gran	TV film
2007	The History of Mr Polly	Mrs. Rumbold	TV film
2011	Fast Freddie, The Widow and Me	Freddie's Grandma	TV film
2013	One Chance	Elderly Woman

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1957	ITV Play of the Week	Maude Riordan	Episode: "The Grass Harp"
1960	Theatre Night	Barbara	Episode: "Billy Liar"
	Armchair Theatre	Elaine Morris	Episode: "Night Panic"
1961	The Rag Trade	Brenda	Recurring role
	BBC Sunday-Night Play	Miss Chatham	Episode: "Brian Rix Presents #14: Flat Spin"
1962		Thelma	Episode: "Worm's Eye View"
1963	Festival	Saunders	Episode: "Fallen Angels"
1964		Maria	Episode: "A Florentine Tragedy"
1965	Off Beat...		Mini-series
1966	The World of Wooster	Parlourmaid	Episode: "Jeeves and the Clustering Round Young Bingo"
	BBC Play of the Month	Gwen	Episode: "Make Me an Offer"
1967	Half Hour Story	Jennifer	Episode: "The 45th Unmarried Mother"
1969	Jackanory	Storyteller	Recurring role
	The Wednesday Play	Blodwen Wilderness	Episode: "Blodwen, Home from Rachel's Marriage"
1970		Music Hall Artist	Episode: "Mad Jack"
	Steptoe and Son	Daphne	Episode: "Steptoe and Son - and Son!"
1971	BBC Play of the Month	Anna Vyroubova	Episode: "Rasputin"
	For the Love of Ada	Alice Bingley	Episode: "The Journey"
	Elephant's Eggs in a Rhubarb Tree	Various roles	Series regular
	The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes	Mary Grandard	Episode: "The Woman in the Big Hat"
	Shirley's World		Episode: "The Rally"
	Armchair Theatre	Mrs. Drayton	Episode: "The Bargain Hunters"
1972	The Man Outside	Maudlin	Episode: "A Persistent Coffin"
	Play for Today	Valerie	Episode: "The Villa Maroc"
1973		Shirley Ritchie	Episode: "Song at Twilight"
	Seven of One	Doris	Episode: "My Old Man"
	Armchair Theatre	Penelope	Episode: "A Bit of a Lift"
1974	Perils of Pendragon	Maudlin	2 episodes
	Omnibus	Queen Victoria	Episode: "Crystal Palace - The Great Glass Hive"
	Masquerade	Freda	Episode: "Service Not Included"
	Late Night Drama	Diane	Episode: "You Don't Remember"
1975	Ten from the Twenties	Jehane	Episode: "The Orsini Emeralds"
	Dawson's Weekly	Mrs. Ffoulkes	Episode: "The Clerical Error"
	Shades of Greene	Miss Sanderson	Episode: "Special Duties"
1976	Bouquet of Barbed Wire	Monica	Miniseries
	The Government Inspector	Mayor's Wife	Episode: "Bribery and Corruption"
	Fred Basset		Voice role
1977	BBC Play of the Month	Violet	Episode: "The Winslow Boy"
		Mrs. Dainty Fidget	Episode: "The Country Wife"
	Rising Damp	Mrs. Brent	Episode: "That's My Boy"
1978	The Upchat Connection	Una	Episode: "Spring in Park Lane"
	BBC2 Play of the Week	Morag	Episode: "The Vanishing Army"
1979	Diary of a Nobody	Sarah	Series regular
1980	The History of Mr Polly	Mrs. Johnson	Miniseries
	Play for Today	Morag	Episode: "The Vanishing Army"
	Tales of the Unexpected	Miss Unwin	Episode: "Georgy Porgy"
1981	Holding the Fort	Muriel	Episode: "Famous First Words"
	Only When I Laugh	Helen Roper-Jones	Episode: "Postman's Knock"
1983	Nanny	Miss Alice Casson	Episode: "The Prodigy"
1984-1986	Fresh Fields	Sonia Barrett	Series regular
1985	Tandoori Nights	Nurse Peters	Episode: "Far from the Ganges"
1986	That Uncertain Feeling	Mrs. Davies	Miniseries
1987	The Sooty Show	Detective Sergeant Sarah Snoop	Episode: "White Lies"
1989	Brookside	Jane Harper
1990	Home to Roost	Rita Higgs	Episode: "Return to Clagthorpe"
1991	Screen One	Mrs. Chubb	Episode: "A Question of Attribution"
	French Fields	Sonia	Episode: "Hail and Farewell"
1992	Land of Hope and Gloria	Freda	Episode: "Running Before Walking"
1994	The Lifeboat	Phyllis Shore	4 episodes
	Screen One	Mrs. Leveller	Episode: "Two Golden Balls"
1995	The Bill	Mrs. Parker	Episode: "All in the Game"
1998	Wycliffe	Mrs. Wimble	Episode: "Land's End"
1999	People Like Us		Episode: "The Photographer"
2000	Home Farm Twins	Dotty Miller	Episode: "Sam and AJ Save the Day"
2001	Peak Practice	Eunice Gould	Episode: "Flesh and Blood"
2005	Midsomer Murders	Sonia Hardwick	Episode: "Sauce for the Goose"
	Cold Blood	Lynn	Episode: "Cold Blood"
2007	Foyle's War	Hilda Greenwood	Episode: "Bleak Midwinter"
2008	HolbyBlue	Annie	1 episode
2012	Monroe	June Duggart	1 episode

References

1. "Ann Beach obituary". The Guardian. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
2. "Ann Beach". Movie-tv-episode-database.com. 7 June 1938. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
3. "Ann Beach - Trailer - Showtimes - Cast - Movies & TV - NYTimes.com". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2012. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
4. "Radio and audio book companies", in Lloyd Trott, ed., Actors and Performers Yearbook 2016, pp. 353-354
5. "Ann Beach – Biography". Imdb.com. 7 June 1938. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
6. Close (18 November 2001). "UK news in brief | UK news | The Observer". London: Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
7. "Charlotte Coleman, 33, Film Actress – The". New York Times. 22 November 2001. Retrieved 13 March 2009.

External links

• Ann Beach at IMDb
• Ann Beach at Movie TV Episode Database
• NYTimes.com
• Ann Beach: Overview at MSN
• Ann Beach at Yahoo! Movies
• http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/ann-beach/credits/208582^[dead link‍]