Diana King (actress)

Diana King
in Fawlty Towers (1975)
Born
Diana Jane King

(1918-08-02)2 August 1918
Buckinghamshire, England
Died31 July 1986(1986-07-31) (aged 67)
Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, England
OccupationActress
Years active1939–1986
SpouseJohn Harvey (m. 1940–1982, his death)

Diana King (2 August 1918 – 31 July 1986),[1] also known as Diane King, was an English actress who had a career on British television from 1939 to 1986. Born in Buckinghamshire, in August 1918, she attended the Fay Compton School of Drama, and was a prolific theatre performer during and after World War Two.[2]

Television roles

King's first television appearance was as a pupil of Tadworth House School in Little Ladyship in 1939.[3][4] She continued to appear on television and in films throughout the 1940s and 1950s.[5] In 1961, she appeared in The Avengers.[6]

From the 1960s to the early 1980s, she appeared in The Benny Hill Show, Crossroads, Dixon of Dock Green, Pride and Prejudice, You're Only Young Twice and Z-Cars.[5][7]

King was perhaps best known for her many appearances in situation comedies from the 1960s onwards. She had roles in Dad's Army, Father, Dear Father, The Liver Birds, Fawlty Towers (in the episode "The Wedding Party"), George and Mildred, Bless This House, Rising Damp, Come Back Mrs. Noah and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.[7] She also had semi-regular roles in Are You Being Served? as Mrs Peacock, in Terry and June replacing the late Joan Benham in the role of Melinda Spry, as Norah in Bachelor Father and as George's mother in Marriage Lines.[8][9][10] She appeared in Follow Me from 1978 to 1981, with Francis Matthews as moderator.

Her final television appearance was in Inside Story, which was shown in 1986, the year she died of cancer in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, two days before her 68th birthday.[11]

Partial filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1941 Spellbound Amy Nugent (AKA ' Passing Clouds '. Released as ' The Spell of Amy Nugent ', in USA)
Once a Crook Bessie
1958 “A Night To Remember” Unnamed First Class Passenger
1961 Offbeat Maggie Dawson
1962 Live Now, Pay Later Potential Buyer
1965 Be My Guest Margaret Martin
Fanatic Woman Shopper
1967 They Came from Beyond Space Mrs. Trethowan
1970 Some Will, Some Won't Mrs. Craik
1976 Schizo Mrs. Falconer
1976–

1985

Are You Being Served? Mrs Peacock 4 Episodes
1977 You're Only Young Twice Mildred Fanshawe ITV Show
1980 The Shillingbury Blowers Mrs. Simpkins TV movie
The Wildcats of St Trinian's Miss Mactavish
Pink Floyd – The Wall Wedding Witness

References

  1. ^ "Diana King". British Comedy Guide.
  2. ^ https://www.leonardrossiter.com/risingdamp/BiogsSupp.html [bare URL]
  3. ^ "Diana King | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  4. ^ "Little Ladyship". Radio Times (805): 16. 5 March 1939 – via BBC Genome.
  5. ^ a b "Diana King". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Diana King | TV, Documentary and Other Appearances". AllMovie.
  7. ^ a b "Diana King". aveleyman.com.
  8. ^ "Oh, What a Tangled Web (1976)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Terry and June[08/03/83] (1983)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019.
  10. ^ "What's in a Name? (1965)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019.
  11. ^ Perry, Chris (3 February 2016). The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937–2013. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781900203609 – via Google Books.


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