Hattie Jacques

Infobox actor
name = Hattie Jacques
bgcolour = silver


imagesize = 150px
caption =
birthname = Josephine Edwina Jaques
birthdate = birth date|1922|02|7|df=yes
location = Sandgate, Kent, England
height =
deathdate = death date and age|1980|10|6|1922|2|7|df=yes
deathplace = Kensington, London, England
othername =
spouse = John Le Mesurier (1949-65)
children = Kim and Robin
homepage =

Josephine Edwina Jaques (7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980) was a well-known English comedy actress, known by the stage name Hattie Jacques.

Having started her career in the 1940s, Jacques first became famous through her appearances with Tony Hancock in "The Tony Hancock Show" and "Hancock's Half Hour". From 1958 to 1974 she appeared in fourteen "Carry On" films, often playing the Matron. Hattie Jacques had a long professional partnership with Eric Sykes, with whom she co-starred in "Sykes and A...", "Sykes and a Big, Big Show" and "Sykes".

Jacques was married to John Le Mesurier, an actor who would later achieve stardom for playing Sergeant Arthur Wilson in "Dad's Army", from 1949 until their divorce in 1965. Hattie Jacques died of a heart attack in 1980, aged 58. Her last appearance was in a school for the mentally challenged, executing a dramatic reading of Othello, by William Shakespeare (of the Royal Shakespeare Company). Her final appearance on TV was an advert for Asda earlier that year.

Early life

Hattie Jacques was born Josephine Edwina Jaques in Sandgate, Kent in 1922. [GRO Register of Births: MAR 1922 2a 2065 ELHAM - Josephine E. Jaques, mmn=Thorn] Educated at the Godolphin and Latymer School, she served as a nurse in the Red Cross during the Second World War, as well as working as a welder in a factory in North London.

At the age of 20, she made her theatrical début at the Players' Theatre in London. Almost immediately, she became a firm favourite of the company, appearing in music hall revues and playing the Fairy Queen in their Victorian-style pantomimes.

Radio

In 1947 she was spotted at the Players by Ted Kavanagh and was invited to join the cast of the radio comedy series "It's That Man Again "("ITMA"), playing the greedy schoolgirl Sophie Tuckshop.

By the early 1950s, she was appearing in radio shows like "Educating Archie" as Agatha Danglebody. It was on this show that she first met Eric Sykes, who was providing scripts for the series.

In 1956, she was asked to join the radio series "Hancock's Half Hour", joining regulars Tony Hancock, Sid James, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams. The same year she starred in "The Tony Hancock Show" on television.

"Carry On" films

She was also appearing in films by this time, including a couple of Norman Wisdom comedies - "The Square Peg" and "Follow a Star". However, it wasn't until 1958, when she joined the Carry On team in "Carry On Sergeant" that her film career really took off.

She appeared in fourteen films in the long-running series and became famous as the no-nonsense Matron in five of the films - "Carry On Nurse", "Carry On Doctor", "Carry On Camping", "Carry On Again Doctor" and "Carry On Matron".

She was known by the team as a warm, kind and endearing lady and was close friends with many of her co-stars, including Kenneth Williams and Joan Sims.

Eric Sykes

In 1960 she joined Eric Sykes on his long-running BBC comedy series "Sykes", in which they played a brother and sister who got into all sorts of comic scrapes. The joke was that they were meant to be twins, but were physically very unalike, Jacques being short and plump, while Sykes was thin and gangly. The show ran from 1960 to 1965 and was revived from 1972 to 1979.

Personal life

Hattie Jacques was married to the actor John Le Mesurier from 1949 to 1965. [GRO Register of Marriages: DEC 1949 5c 2328 KENSINGTON - John E. Le M. Halliley = Josephine E. Jacques] They had two sons. At the time of their divorce, the media were given the impression that the fault was on Le Mesurier's side. It was later revealed that Jacques had been having an affair with a younger man and had left her husband for him. Le Mesurier had gone along with the charade so as not to damage her career.

Hattie Jacques died of a heart attack on 6 October 1980, at the age of 58. [GRO Register of Deaths: DEC 1980 13 1473 KENSINGTON - Josephine Edwina Le Mesurier, DoB = 7 Feb 1922] She was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium, where her ashes were also scattered.

Radio performances

* "ITMA" (1948 - 1949), Sophie Tuckshop
* "Educating Archie" (1951 - 1952)
* "Hancock's Half Hour" (1956 - 1959), Griselda Pugh

Television

* "Hancock's Half Hour" (1956 - 1960), Griselda Pugh
* "Sykes" (TV series, 1960 - 1965, 1971 - 1979), Hattie

Selected films

* "Carry On Sergeant" (1958), Captain Clark
* "The Square Peg" (1958), Gretchen
* "Carry on Nurse" (1959), Matron
* "The Navy Lark" (1959), Fortune Teller
* "The Night We Dropped a Clanger" (1959), Ada
* "Carry On Teacher" (1959), Grace Short
* "Follow a Star" (1959), Dymphna Dobson
* "Make Mine Mink" (1960), Nanette Parry
* "Carry On Constable" (1960), Sergeant Laura Moon
* "School for Scoundrels" (1960), First Instructress
* "In the Doghouse" (1961), Gudgeon
* "Carry On Regardless" (1961), Sister
* "Carry On Cabby" (1963), Peggy
* "Carry On Doctor" (1967), Matron
* "Carry On Again Doctor" (1969), Matron
* "Monte Carlo or Bust" (1969), Lady Journalist
* "The Magic Christian" (1969), Ginger Horton
* "Carry On Camping" (1969), Miss Haggerd
* "Carry On Loving" (1970), Sophie Bliss
* "Carry On At Your Convenience" (1971), Beatrice Plummer
* "Carry On Matron" (1971), Matron
* "Carry On Abroad" (1972), Floella
* "Carry On Dick" (1974), Martha Hoggett
* "Rhubarb Rhubarb" (1980), Nanny

References

External links

*imdb name|0415150
*Find A Grave|id=6241002
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/482409/ BFI Screen Online] : biography

Persondata
NAME = Jacques, Hattie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Jacques, Josephine Edwina
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Comedy actress
DATE OF BIRTH = 1922-02-07
PLACE OF BIRTH = Sandgate, Kent
DATE OF DEATH = 1980-10-06
PLACE OF DEATH = London, England