Pat Phoenix
Encyclopedia
Patricia "Pat" Frederica Phoenix (born as Patricia Frederica Manfield on 26 November 1923 – 17 September 1986) was an English actress who became one of the first sex symbols of British television through her role of Elsie Tanner
in Coronation Street
.
before she'd reached 6 months old. Her mother later left Manfield when she found out that her marriage was a sham. Tom Manfield was a bigamist. She later married Richard Pilkington. Phoenix attended Fallowfield Central School
, Manchester. As a child she nursed early theatrical ambitions, appearing regularly on the radio in Children's Hour
at the age of 11, after having submitted a monologue. After leaving school, she worked as a filing clerk for the gas department of Manchester Corporation, performing in amateur dramatics in her spare time. She joined the Arts Theatre Manchester, and other Northern Repertory companies.
Her break came in 1948, playing Sandy Powell
's wife in the Mancunian Film Studios' motion picture Cup-tie Honeymoon
, followed by a summer season in Blackpool
with Thora Hird
in the show Happy Days. Exposure led to more serious work with Joan Littlewood
's Theatre Workshop
, at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. She also worked as a writer for ventriloquist Terry Hall
and comedian Harry Worth
. Though some undistinguished film work followed in 1958 (Blood of the Vampire
and Jack the Ripper
), in 1960 she returned to Manchester with her ambition all but spent.
, the devil-may-care divorcée who lived at No 11 Coronation Street
. By this time she had changed her name from Pilkington to Phoenix, after the mythological bird that rose from the ashes. Phoenix featured in the programme from 1960 to 1973 and again from 1976 to 1984. Her character became known for her fiery red hair, and was described by Prime Minister
James Callaghan
as "the sexiest thing on television". During her periods of absence from the series she failed in her attempts to find suitable alternative roles. She left the series for the final time in January 1984. In the story her character moved to Portugal to meet up with an old flame.
, in which she played the part of a prostitute, starring alongside actress Leslie Caron
.
After her final departure from Coronation Street she appeared in a one-act television play, Hidden Talents in 1986. At this time, she was suffering from advanced lung cancer and in the play she played a woman dying of cancer.
She also starred in short-lived sitcom Constant Hot Water the same year, playing a Bridlington
landlady.
, who also featured her on the cover of one of the Smiths
' singles, "Shakespeare's Sister".
; the marriage lasted only a year. In 1972, she married her Coronation Street
co-star Alan Browning
, who had alcohol related problems and died from liver failure in 1979.
Later she married actor Antony Booth. Through this final marriage, Phoenix became mother-in-law to the then unknown back bencher Tony Blair
who eleven years after her death became British Prime Minister. Pat campaigned for Tony in the 1983 General Election helping him win his first seat in a landslide majority. She also campaigned for Cherie Blair
who came second in the safe Conservative seat Tatton
. She was a lifelong supporter of the Labour Party
and a practising Roman Catholic.
She also owned the Navigation Inn, a pub in the village of Buxworth
, in the Peak District
.
in March 1986 after collapsing at home. Following her diagnosis she continued to work, hiding her illness from most people, including long term partner Antony Booth. In the summer of 1986 her condition deteriorated, forcing her to undergo more extensive treatment and confirming mild speculation in the press that she had health problems. It later leaked out that she had just weeks to live and had been given the Last Rites
. On her deathbed she married Booth in Stockport
, Cheshire
on 10 September 1986, attracting wide-scale media attention. Eight days later she died in her sleep, aged 62.
At her request, her funeral service at the Holy Name Church
in Manchester featured a large brass band
; according to Coronation Street histories written by show historian Daran Little
, she wished the event that marked her death to be as lively as her life. Tony Blair
and Phoenix's stepdaughter Cherie Blair
were among the mourners.
Since her death, Phoenix has been portrayed by Denise Black
, Sue Johnston
and Jessie Wallace
in various dramas depicting her life.
Elsie Tanner
Elsie Tanner is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Patricia Phoenix from 1960 to 1973 and from 1976 until 1984. Elsie Tanner was one of the original core characters on Coronation Street and appeared in the very first episode...
in Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
.
Early life and career
Born in Ireland to Anna Maria Josephine Noonan and Tom Manfield, but moved to ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
before she'd reached 6 months old. Her mother later left Manfield when she found out that her marriage was a sham. Tom Manfield was a bigamist. She later married Richard Pilkington. Phoenix attended Fallowfield Central School
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, Manchester. As a child she nursed early theatrical ambitions, appearing regularly on the radio in Children's Hour
Children's Hour
Children's Hour—at first: "The Children's Hour", from a verse by Longfellow—was the name of the BBC's principal recreational service for children during the period when radio dominated broadcasting....
at the age of 11, after having submitted a monologue. After leaving school, she worked as a filing clerk for the gas department of Manchester Corporation, performing in amateur dramatics in her spare time. She joined the Arts Theatre Manchester, and other Northern Repertory companies.
Her break came in 1948, playing Sandy Powell
Sandy Powell (comedian)
Sandy Powell MBE was an English comedian best known for his radio work of the 1930s and for his catchphrase Can You Hear Me, Mother?-Life and career:...
's wife in the Mancunian Film Studios' motion picture Cup-tie Honeymoon
Cup-tie Honeymoon
Cup-Tie Honeymoon was the first motion picture to be filmed at the Dickenson Road Studios by the Mancunian Film Corporation in 1948, themed around football.-Plot summary:...
, followed by a summer season in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
with Thora Hird
Thora Hird
Dame Thora Hird DBE was an English actress.-Early life and career:Hird was born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. She first appeared on stage at the age of two months in a play her father was managing...
in the show Happy Days. Exposure led to more serious work with Joan Littlewood
Joan Littlewood
Joan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
's Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
, at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. She also worked as a writer for ventriloquist Terry Hall
Terry Hall (ventriloquist)
Terry Hall , born Terence Hall, was an English ventriloquist. He appeared regularly on television with his puppet, Lenny the Lion, whose catchphrase was "Aw, don't embawass me!" Hall is credited as being one of the first ventriloquists to use a non-human puppet.Hall was born in Chadderton,...
and comedian Harry Worth
Harry Worth
Harry Worth was an English comedy actor and comedian...
. Though some undistinguished film work followed in 1958 (Blood of the Vampire
Blood of the Vampire
-Plot:A young couple are terrorized by Dr. Callistratus who was executed but has returned to life with a heart transplant...
and Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper (1959 film)
Jack the Ripper was a 1959 film produced and directed by Monty Berman and Robert S. Baker and is loosely based on Leonard Matters' theory that the Ripper was an avenging doctor. The black-and-white film starred Lee Patterson and Eddie Byrne and co-starred Betty McDowall, John Le Mesurier, and...
), in 1960 she returned to Manchester with her ambition all but spent.
Coronation Street
Her fortunes improved when she was given her best known role as Elsie TannerElsie Tanner
Elsie Tanner is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Patricia Phoenix from 1960 to 1973 and from 1976 until 1984. Elsie Tanner was one of the original core characters on Coronation Street and appeared in the very first episode...
, the devil-may-care divorcée who lived at No 11 Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
. By this time she had changed her name from Pilkington to Phoenix, after the mythological bird that rose from the ashes. Phoenix featured in the programme from 1960 to 1973 and again from 1976 to 1984. Her character became known for her fiery red hair, and was described by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
as "the sexiest thing on television". During her periods of absence from the series she failed in her attempts to find suitable alternative roles. She left the series for the final time in January 1984. In the story her character moved to Portugal to meet up with an old flame.
Other television and film roles
Her popularity gained her a part in the 1963 British film The L-Shaped RoomThe L-Shaped Room
The L-Shaped Room is a 1962 British drama film, directed by Bryan Forbes, which tells the story of a young French woman, unmarried and pregnant, who moves into a London boarding house, befriending a young man in the building...
, in which she played the part of a prostitute, starring alongside actress Leslie Caron
Leslie Caron
Leslie Claire Margaret Caron is a French film actress and dancer, who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. In 2006, her performance in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit won her an Emmy for guest actress in a drama series...
.
After her final departure from Coronation Street she appeared in a one-act television play, Hidden Talents in 1986. At this time, she was suffering from advanced lung cancer and in the play she played a woman dying of cancer.
She also starred in short-lived sitcom Constant Hot Water the same year, playing a Bridlington
Bridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
landlady.
The Smiths' record cover
In 1985 she was interviewed for a magazine by long-time fan, the singer MorrisseyMorrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
, who also featured her on the cover of one of the Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
' singles, "Shakespeare's Sister".
Personal life
Her parents' marriage was not legal as her father (Tom Manfield) was a bigamist, her mother later remarried (Richard Pilkington). Pat took her step-father's surname. Her love life was fodder for tabloid stories. Her first marriage was to Peter Marsh, an actor. They married in Bradford CathedralBradford Cathedral
Bradford Cathedral , full name Cathedral Church of St Peter, is situated in the heart of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England, on a site used for Christian worship since the 8th century when missionaries based in Dewsbury evangelised the region...
; the marriage lasted only a year. In 1972, she married her Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
co-star Alan Browning
Alan Browning
Alan Browning was an English film and television actor, born in Sunderland. He is best remembered as the character Alan Howard in the television series Coronation Street, a role he played from 1969 until 1973...
, who had alcohol related problems and died from liver failure in 1979.
Later she married actor Antony Booth. Through this final marriage, Phoenix became mother-in-law to the then unknown back bencher Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
who eleven years after her death became British Prime Minister. Pat campaigned for Tony in the 1983 General Election helping him win his first seat in a landslide majority. She also campaigned for Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
who came second in the safe Conservative seat Tatton
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. She was a lifelong supporter of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and a practising Roman Catholic.
She also owned the Navigation Inn, a pub in the village of Buxworth
Buxworth
Buxworth is a village in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. The area, which was once an important centre for the limestone industry, became the terminus of the Peak Forest Canal. Its pub, the Navigation Inn, was once owned by Coronation Street actress Pat Phoenix...
, in the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
.
Death
A 60-a-day smoker, Phoenix was found to have lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in March 1986 after collapsing at home. Following her diagnosis she continued to work, hiding her illness from most people, including long term partner Antony Booth. In the summer of 1986 her condition deteriorated, forcing her to undergo more extensive treatment and confirming mild speculation in the press that she had health problems. It later leaked out that she had just weeks to live and had been given the Last Rites
Last Rites
The Last Rites are the very last prayers and ministrations given to many Christians before death. The last rites go by various names and include different practices in different Christian traditions...
. On her deathbed she married Booth in Stockport
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
on 10 September 1986, attracting wide-scale media attention. Eight days later she died in her sleep, aged 62.
At her request, her funeral service at the Holy Name Church
Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Manchester
The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus is located on Oxford Road in the heart of Manchester University's campus in Manchester, England and next door to the University hospitals. It was built between 1869 and 1871 and designed by Joseph A. Hansom & Son. The present tower, designed by Gilbert Scott,...
in Manchester featured a large brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
; according to Coronation Street histories written by show historian Daran Little
Daran Little
Daran Little is a BAFTA Award-winning British television writer, most notable for his work on Coronation Street from 2000 until 2010.-Career:...
, she wished the event that marked her death to be as lively as her life. Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and Phoenix's stepdaughter Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
were among the mourners.
Since her death, Phoenix has been portrayed by Denise Black
Denise Black
Denise Black is an English actress, best known for playing Denise Osbourne in the ITV1 soap Coronation Street and Hazel Tyler in Channel 4 TV's Queer As Folk in 1999 and 2000, written by Russell T Davies. After attending Portsmouth's Girls Public Day School, she studied Psychology at London...
, Sue Johnston
Sue Johnston
Susan "Sue" Johnston, OBE is a BAFTA nominated English actress best known for playing Sheila Grant in the long-running soap opera Brookside , Grace Foley in Waking the Dead from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009,...
and Jessie Wallace
Jessie Wallace
Jessie Wallace is an English actress best known for her portrayal as Kat Moon in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Early life:...
in various dramas depicting her life.