Prunella Scales

Prunella Scales

Infobox actor
name = Prunella Scales


caption = Prunella Scales in Fawlty Towers
birthname = Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth
birthdate = June 22, 1932 (age 76)
birthplace = Sutton Abinger, Surrey, England
othername = Prunella Scales CBE
occupation = Actress, Comedienne
yearsactive = 1952–present
spouse = Timothy West (1963—)
children = Samuel West
Joe West

Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth CBE (born 22 June 1932) is an English actress.

She is probably best known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife Sybil in the British comedy "Fawlty Towers".

She is also known for her award-nominated role as Elizabeth II the British film "A Question of Attribution".

She has had a long and distinguished career as an actress mostly in comic roles. Her early film roles included "Pride and Prejudice" and "Hobson's Choice".

Her first career break came with the early 1960s sitcom, "Marriage Lines" starring opposite Richard Briers. She has had major roles in BBC Radio 4 sitcoms, most notably "After Henry", "Smelling of Roses" and "Ladies of Letters"; on television she starred in the London Weekend Television/Channel 4 series "Mapp & Lucia" based on the bestselling novels by E. F. Benson. She played Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett's "A Question of Attribution". In 1973, Scales teamed up with BBC Television actor & comedian Ronnie Barker in the (original) award-winning one-off "Meat", which aired as "One Man's Meat" and was part of a series called "Seven of One", also for the BBC. Her film appearances also include "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne" (1987) "Stiff Upper Lips" (1997) and "Howard's End" (1992). More recently she was seen in a series of Tesco supermarket commercials as a domineering mother, Dottie Turnbull, with Jane Horrocks as her long-suffering daughter.

Scales narrowly missed out on the role of "Eth" in "The Glums", part of "Take It From Here", written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden; the role went to June Whitfield.

She is married to the British actor Timothy West, and has two sons; their elder son is the actor and director Samuel West. In 2003, she appeared as Hilda, alias "she who must be obeyed", wife of Horace Rumpole in a series of four BBC Radio 4 plays, with her husband playing her fictional husband. Prunella Scales and Timothy West toured Australia at the same time in different productions. Scales appeared in a one-woman show called "An Evening with Queen Victoria".

Scales is a supporter of the Labour Party, and appeared on a Labour party political broadcast during the 2005 UK general election campaign. She is also a loyal supporter of the SOS Children's Villages charity. [ [http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/sos-childrens-charity/our-friends/ SOS Children's Villages - Our friends] ]

Her authorised biography, "Prunella", written by Teresa Ransom, was published by John Murray in 2005. [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prunella-Authorised-Biography-Scales/dp/071955697X Amazon.co.uk - Prunella] ] She is also a patron of the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham, United Kingdom. In 2005 she named the P&O cruise ship, "Artemis". [ [http://www.pocruises.com/pocruising/learnmore-artemis-ship-statistics.aspx P&O Cruises - Artemis] ] On 16 November 2007, Prunella Scales made an appearance during Children in Need, acting as Sybil Fawlty, the new manager who wants to take over Hotel Babylon.

External links

*imdb name|id=0768795|name=Prunella Scales
* [http://www.fawltysite.net/sybil_fawlty.htm Scales as Sybil Fawlty]
* [http://www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk/our_plays.php?cid=4 Prunella Scales' latest role in The Youth Of Old Age]

References


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  • Prunella Scales — (2010) Prunella Scales CBE (* 22. Juni 1932 in Sutton Abinger, Surrey als Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth) ist eine britische Schauspielerin. Am bekanntesten ist sie für ihre Rolle als Sybil Fawlty in der BBC Sitcom Fawlty Towers …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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