Elizabeth Larner

Elizabeth Larner was a British actress and a singer with a powerful soprano voice. While her main career was the musical theatre, appearing in both London's West End and on Broadway, she was a seemingly unlikely, but inspired, choice to play Ammonia in the BBC situation comedy "Up Pompeii!" - a role she made her own. She later appeared in "The Two Ronnies", Charley Farley and Piggy Malone story "Band Of Slaves".

Elizabeth Larner achieved great popularity in the mid-50s, with her many TV appearances. Her delightful singing first enthralled audiences when she had the courage to step from the chorus of the original London Coliseum production "Kiss Me Kate" to play the leading role; the star of the show, Patricia Morrison was ill, and so was her understudy — the show was to be cancelled but Elizabeth Larner gave a word-perfect performance that set her well and truly on the road to British Commonwealth fame. She has, since played leading roles in "Wish you were here" and “Kismet," mid recruited millions more admirers with her numerous television appearances. She recorded an album of "vocal gems" from the "New Moon" and Rose Marie" with Australian Andy Cole in one of HMV's (EMI) first stereo recordings. {To hear her voice from this recording, it is now partly available - The New Moon tracks at least - as a "filler" in the recent re-release of the June Bronhill/Edmund Hockridge version of "The Desert Song" - EMI CFP 3359872}. She continued to contribute to the various HMV/EMI studio recordings of musicals up until the late 60s.