Jean Marsh
Encyclopedia
Jean Lyndsey Torren Marsh (born 1 July 1934) is an English actress, occasional screenwriter
, and co-creator of the television series Upstairs, Downstairs
and The House of Eliott
.
Marsh received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
for her performance as Rose Buck in Upstairs, Downstairs in 1975. She has revived her role as Rose Buck for the BBC
's 3-part revival of the series broadcast in December 2010.
, London
, the daughter of Emmeline Susannah Nightingale Poppy (née
Bexley), a bar employee and dresser for the theatre, and Henry Charles John Marsh, an outdoor maintenance man and printer's assistant.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Marsh made many appearances on British and American television including an episode of The Twilight Zone
called "The Lonely
" (1959), in which she played Alicia, a very lifelike and attractive female robot; The Moon and Sixpence
(1959) opposite Sir Laurence Olivier and Denholm Elliot; The Wonderful World of Disney (1961); Gideon's Way
(1965); I Spy (1967); The Saint
(4 episodes between 1964 and 1968); and UFO
.
She appeared several times in the BBC series Doctor Who
. She first appeared alongside William Hartnell in the 1965 serial "The Crusade
" as Lady Joanna. She returned later that year as companion Sara Kingdom
in the 12-part serial "The Daleks' Masterplan
". Although the character was killed off at the end of that serial, Marsh reprised the role of Sara Kingdom in the audio plays "Home Truths
" in 2008, "The Drowned World
" in 2009, and "The Guardian of the Solar System
" in 2010. She also appeared in the 1989 television serial "Battlefield
", as well as the 2007 audio play "The Wishing Beast
". Marsh was featured as Bertha Mason Rochester in the George C. Scott
-Susannah York
version of Jane Eyre
, directed by Delbert Mann. The film was released theatrically in the United Kingdom in 1970 and shown in the United States on NBC Television in 1971.
With Eileen Atkins
she created the British period drama
Upstairs, Downstairs
, and played the role of the house parlourmaid
Rose Buck for the duration of the series, from 1971 until 1975. The programme was popular internationally; Marsh received an Emmy Award
for her role in 1975, and was nominated for the same award in 1974 and 1976. She also received two Golden Globe nominations for this role.
Marsh was the presenter, introducing animation shorts in the KQED production, distributed by PBS, "The International Festival of Animation" (1977). After several other guest roles in television, she played a regular supporting role in the television series 9 to 5 in 1982 and 1983.
In film she had a featured role in Alfred Hitchcock
's Frenzy
(1972) and played Mrs. Grey in The Eagle Has Landed
(1976), the villain in the fantasy films Return to Oz
(1985) and Willow
(1988). Marsh and Eileen Atkins created a second television series The House of Eliott
, which was produced during 1991 and 1992. This time, Marsh did not act in the series, but she did write some of the episodes. In 1994, she starred in a villain role in the Nickelodeon
re-make of The Tomorrow People
, and appeared in the television productions of Fatherland
and The Pale Horse.
From 2000 until 2002, Marsh appeared in The Ghost Hunter
, and in 2007 she played in the West End
stage revival of Boeing Boeing
at the Comedy Theatre. She also made an appearance in the 2007 BBC
adaptation of Jane Austen
's Sense and Sensibility
. She appeared as Lizzie in Babycow Production's Sensitive Skin in 2005 and 2007 alongside Joanna Lumley
. She appeared in an episode of BBC Four
's Crooked House
in December 2008.
A 3-part revival of Upstairs Downstairs has been commissioned by the BBC
with the first episode broadcast on BBC One
on 26 December 2010 as part of BBC TV's Christmas schedule. Marsh has reprised her role as Rose Buck, who has returned to London to run an agency for domestic servants after a period spent nursing her mother in Suffolk. Eileen Atkins, who co-created the original series with Marsh, is also starring in the revived series. It is set in the same London house as the original ITV series, 165 Eaton Place, resuming in 1936.
Marsh has also written several books: Fiennders Abbey, The House of Eliott, and Iris.
from 1955 until their divorce in 1960.
On 3 October 2011, the BBC announced that Marsh had suffered a minor stroke and would miss the beginning of the second series of Upstairs, Downstairs.
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and co-creator of the television series Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
and The House of Eliott
The House of Eliott
The House of Eliott is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 1991 and 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard as two sisters in 1920s London who establish a dressmaking business and eventually their own haute couture fashion house...
.
Marsh received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – a Drama Series.-Superlatives:-1950s:*1952: Helen Hayes*1953: no award*1954: Loretta Young – The Loretta Young Show*1955: no award...
for her performance as Rose Buck in Upstairs, Downstairs in 1975. She has revived her role as Rose Buck for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's 3-part revival of the series broadcast in December 2010.
Early life
Marsh was born in Stoke NewingtonStoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the daughter of Emmeline Susannah Nightingale Poppy (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Bexley), a bar employee and dresser for the theatre, and Henry Charles John Marsh, an outdoor maintenance man and printer's assistant.
Career
In England, when Marsh was young, she studied acting and mime; and worked as a cabaret singer and photo model.During the 1950s and 1960s, Marsh made many appearances on British and American television including an episode of The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
called "The Lonely
The Lonely (The Twilight Zone)
"The Lonely" is an episode of the American television series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:In 2046, an inmate, named Corry is sentenced to solitary confinement on a distant asteroid for 50 years. In the fourth year he is visited by a spacecraft that regularly brings him supplies and news from the...
" (1959), in which she played Alicia, a very lifelike and attractive female robot; The Moon and Sixpence
The Moon and Sixpence
The Moon and Sixpence is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, told in episodic form by the first-person narrator as a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Strickland, a middle-aged English stockbroker who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire...
(1959) opposite Sir Laurence Olivier and Denholm Elliot; The Wonderful World of Disney (1961); Gideon's Way
Gideon's Way
Gideon's Way is a British television crime series made by ITC Entertainment in 1964/65, based on the novels by John Creasey . The series was made at Elstree in twin production with The Saint TV series...
(1965); I Spy (1967); The Saint
The Saint (TV series)
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
(4 episodes between 1964 and 1968); and UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
.
She appeared several times in the BBC series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. She first appeared alongside William Hartnell in the 1965 serial "The Crusade
The Crusade (Doctor Who)
The Crusade is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from March 27 to April 17, 1965. The story is set in Palestine, near Jerusalem, during the Third Crusade.-Plot:...
" as Lady Joanna. She returned later that year as companion Sara Kingdom
Sara Kingdom
Sara Kingdom is a fictional character played by Jean Marsh in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A security officer for Mavic Chen from the 41st century, she would later join the First Doctor and Steven to work against Chen's interests...
in the 12-part serial "The Daleks' Masterplan
The Daleks' Master Plan
The Daleks' Master Plan is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The twelve episodes were aired from 13 November 1965 to 29 January 1966...
". Although the character was killed off at the end of that serial, Marsh reprised the role of Sara Kingdom in the audio plays "Home Truths
Home Truths (Doctor Who audio)
Home Truths is a Big Finish Productions audiobook based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.The Companion Chronicles "talking books" are each narrated by one of the Doctor's companions and feature a second, guest-star voice along with music and sound effects.-...
" in 2008, "The Drowned World
The Drowned World (Doctor Who audio)
The Drowned World is a Big Finish Productions audiobook based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
" in 2009, and "The Guardian of the Solar System
The Guardian of the Solar System
The Guardian of the Solar System is a Big Finish Productions audiobook based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
" in 2010. She also appeared in the 1989 television serial "Battlefield
Battlefield (Doctor Who)
Battlefield is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from September 6 to September 27, 1989. It was the last appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in Doctor Who....
", as well as the 2007 audio play "The Wishing Beast
The Wishing Beast & The Vanity Box
The Wishing Beast and The Vanity Box is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-The Wishing Beast:...
". Marsh was featured as Bertha Mason Rochester in the George C. Scott
George C. Scott
George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr...
-Susannah York
Susannah York
Susannah York was a British film, stage and television actress. She was awarded a BAFTA as Best Supporting Actress for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for the same film. She won best actress for Images at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival...
version of Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
, directed by Delbert Mann. The film was released theatrically in the United Kingdom in 1970 and shown in the United States on NBC Television in 1971.
With Eileen Atkins
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
she created the British period drama
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
, and played the role of the house parlourmaid
Maid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
Rose Buck for the duration of the series, from 1971 until 1975. The programme was popular internationally; Marsh received an Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – a Drama Series.-Superlatives:-1950s:*1952: Helen Hayes*1953: no award*1954: Loretta Young – The Loretta Young Show*1955: no award...
for her role in 1975, and was nominated for the same award in 1974 and 1976. She also received two Golden Globe nominations for this role.
Marsh was the presenter, introducing animation shorts in the KQED production, distributed by PBS, "The International Festival of Animation" (1977). After several other guest roles in television, she played a regular supporting role in the television series 9 to 5 in 1982 and 1983.
In film she had a featured role in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Frenzy
Frenzy
Frenzy is a 1972 British thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The film is based upon the novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Arthur La Bern, and was adapted for the screen by Anthony Shaffer. La Bern...
(1972) and played Mrs. Grey in The Eagle Has Landed
The Eagle Has Landed (film)
The Eagle Has Landed is a 1976 film version of the novel The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins. It was directed by John Sturges and starred Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall...
(1976), the villain in the fantasy films Return to Oz
Return to Oz
Return to Oz is a 1985 film which is an unofficial sequel to Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz. The film is based on the second and third Oz books, The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz...
(1985) and Willow
Willow (film)
Willow is a 1988 American fantasy film directed by Ron Howard and produced/co-written by George Lucas. Warwick Davis stars in the film, as well as Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, and Patricia Hayes...
(1988). Marsh and Eileen Atkins created a second television series The House of Eliott
The House of Eliott
The House of Eliott is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 1991 and 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard as two sisters in 1920s London who establish a dressmaking business and eventually their own haute couture fashion house...
, which was produced during 1991 and 1992. This time, Marsh did not act in the series, but she did write some of the episodes. In 1994, she starred in a villain role in the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
re-make of The Tomorrow People
The Tomorrow People
The Tomorrow People is a British children's science fiction television series, devised by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran between 1973 and 1979. The series was re-imagined in 1992, Roger Price acting as executive producer...
, and appeared in the television productions of Fatherland
Fatherland
Fatherland is the nation of one's "fathers", "forefathers" or "patriarchs". It can be viewed as a nationalist concept, insofar as it relates to nations...
and The Pale Horse.
From 2000 until 2002, Marsh appeared in The Ghost Hunter
The Ghost Hunter (TV series)
The Ghost Hunter is an award winning British children's drama series created for the BBC and based on the books The Ghost Hunter by Ivan Jones . It was first broadcast in January 2000 and the last series was first broadcast,in 2002. Repeats continue to be shown on BBC and CBBC as well as in other...
, and in 2007 she played in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
stage revival of Boeing Boeing
Boeing Boeing (play)
Boeing-Boeing is a classic farce written by French playwright Marc Camoletti. The English language adaptation, translated by Beverley Cross, was first staged in London at the Apollo Theatre in 1962 and transferred to the Duchess Theatre in 1965, running for a total of seven years...
at the Comedy Theatre. She also made an appearance in the 2007 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
adaptation of Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Sense and Sensibility
Sense and Sensibility (2008 TV serial)
Sense and Sensibility is a 2008 British television serial adapted by the BBC from Jane Austen's novel of the same name. It was written by Andrew Davies and directed by John Alexander. The serial was aired on BBC One in three parts on 1, 6 and 13 January 2008. It aired the United States in two...
. She appeared as Lizzie in Babycow Production's Sensitive Skin in 2005 and 2007 alongside Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
. She appeared in an episode of BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
's Crooked House
Crooked House (TV series)
Crooked House is a supernatural drama mini-series which aired on BBC Four in December 2008.The three-part series was broadcast on consecutive nights from 22 to 24 December 2008. It was written and co-produced by actor and writer Mark Gatiss, who found fame in the BBC series The League of Gentlemen...
in December 2008.
A 3-part revival of Upstairs Downstairs has been commissioned by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
with the first episode broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on 26 December 2010 as part of BBC TV's Christmas schedule. Marsh has reprised her role as Rose Buck, who has returned to London to run an agency for domestic servants after a period spent nursing her mother in Suffolk. Eileen Atkins, who co-created the original series with Marsh, is also starring in the revived series. It is set in the same London house as the original ITV series, 165 Eaton Place, resuming in 1936.
Marsh has also written several books: Fiennders Abbey, The House of Eliott, and Iris.
Personal life
Marsh was married to Jon PertweeJon Pertwee
John Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
from 1955 until their divorce in 1960.
On 3 October 2011, the BBC announced that Marsh had suffered a minor stroke and would miss the beginning of the second series of Upstairs, Downstairs.
Books
- Jean Marsh, The House of Eliott, Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd (Nov 1993), 978-0283061554; St Martins Press (February 1994), ISBN 978-0312109967
- Jean Marsh, Fiennders Keepers, Macmillan (1996), ISBN 978-0333632116; St Martins Press (May 1997), ISBN 978-0312155285
- Jean Marsh, Iris, St Martins Press (July 2000), ISBN 978-0312261825; Macmillan (February 2003), ISBN 978-0333711545
- Jean Marsh, Fiennders Abbey, Pan (5 Aug 2011), ISBN 978-1447200079