English actress and singer
Mary Millar
Millar in 1997
Born Irene Mary Wetton
(1936-07-26 ) 26 July 1936Died 10 November 1998(1998-11-10) (aged 62) Occupation(s) Actress, singer Years active 1952–1998 Spouse
Children 1
Irene Mary Wetton (26 July 1936 – 10 November 1998), better known by her stage name Mary Millar ,[ 1] was an English actress and singer best remembered for her role as the second actress to play Rose in the successful BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances from 1991 to 1995 and for originating the role of Madame Giry in Andrew Lloyd Webber 's musical The Phantom of the Opera [ 2]
Early life
Irene Mary Wetton was born in Doncaster , England, on 26 July 1936 to Horace and Irene (née Mellor) Wetton, both music hall singers.[ 1] She intended to become a stable hand , but later decided to pursue a stage career. She toured the country with her parents, who had an act called Sweethearts in Harmony.[citation needed ]
Career
Millar made her first television appearance in 1953, aged 17, in Those Were the Days . She also made appearances on The Dick Emery Show and The Stanley Baxter Show .[ 1] Millar gained acclaim for her part in Keeping Up Appearances as Rose, replacing Shirley Stelfox for Series 2 in 1991 as Stelfox had prior commitments to Making Out . Millar remained with the programme through to its conclusion in 1995.
In 1960, Millar travelled to New York to understudy Julie Andrews in Camelot . She began her West End career in 1962 as Cloris in Lock Up Your Daughters .[ 2] [ 3] In 1969, she played the title role in the musical Ann Veronica , based on H. G. Wells ' novel. In 1986, Millar originated the role of Madame Giry in Andrew Lloyd Webber 's musical The Phantom of the Opera . She played the role for four years and her voice appears on the original cast album.[ 3]
From 1997 to 1998, Millar played Mrs Potts in the London production of Beauty and the Beast , and appeared on the cast album composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice .[ 4] In February 1998, Millar left the show because of deteriorating health.[citation needed ]
Personal life
Millar had one daughter, Lucy (born 1972), by her marriage to Rafael D. Frame, in 1962.[ 3] [ 5] She was a practising Christian .[ 6]
Death
In January 1998, Millar was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and underwent chemotherapy . She died on 10 November, at the age of 62, in Brockley , London, with her husband and daughter at her bedside. She was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium .[citation needed ] Three weeks before her death, when asked what she would do when she arrived at heaven 's door, Millar said, "Rehearse for a part in the Angelic choir, darling."[ 7] An episode of Keeping Up Appearances was broadcast on BBC One the following week and dedicated to her.
Works
Television
Theatre
Year
Play
Role
Theatre
Notes
1952, 1954–55
Babes in the Wood
Principal character
The Empire Theatre, Sheffield (1952) Derby Hippodrome Theatre (1954–55)[ 9]
1957, 1959
The Desert Song
Margot Bonvalet
His Majesty's Theatre , Aberdeen
1967 studio recording[ 10] [ 11]
1958–59
Old Chelsea
Mary Fenton
King's Theatre, Glasgow
1960
Camelot
Queen Guenevere
Majestic Theatre , Manhattan
Julie Andrews ' understudy[ 1] [ 6]
1962
Lock Up Your Daughters
Cloris
Mermaid Theatre [ 3] Her Majesty's Theatre [ 12]
1963
See You Inside
Duchess Theatre [ 13]
1963–64
All in Love [ 14] [ 15]
Lydia Languish
Mayfair Theatre [ 16]
Based on The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
1965
Dearest Dracula [ 17] [ 18]
Lucy
Olympia Theatre , Dublin
1966
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Milly
1966 recording[ 19]
1967–68, 1971
Bless the Bride
Richmond Theatre
1967 studio recording[ 20]
1967
Love From a Stranger
Cecily Harrington
Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch [ 21]
1967
Virtue in Danger
Berinthia
Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[ 22]
1968
The Rivals
Lydia Languish
Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[ 23]
1969
The Real Inspector Hound
Cynthia
Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[ 24]
1969
Black Comedy
Clea
Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[ 24]
1969
Ann Veronica [ 25]
Ann Veronica Stanley
Cambridge Theatre
Cast recording[ 26]
1970
Spider's Web [ 27]
Clarissa Hailsham-Brown
Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[ 28]
1972
Popkiss [ 29]
Poppy Dickie
Globe Theatre Cambridge Arts Theatre
1973
The Importance of Being Earnest
Honourable Gwendolen Fairfax
Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[ 30]
1975
Small and Brassy
King's Head Theatre Wyndham's Theatre [ 31]
1978
Lark Rise [ 32]
Emma Timms
Royal National Theatre
1984
Pack of Lies
Barbara Jackson
Lyric Theatre , London
Replacing Judi Dench [ 6]
1985, 1993–94
Follies [ 2] [ 33] [ 34]
Sally Durant Plummer
Forum Theatre, Wythenshawe Brighton Dome Haymarket Theatre
1986–90
The Phantom of the Opera [ 35]
Madame Giry
Her Majesty's Theatre
Leader of bible studies between shows,[ 7] cast recording
1996
Follies: In Concert
National Concert Hall , Dublin
1997–98
Beauty and the Beast [ 2]
Mrs Potts
Dominion Theatre
Cast recording[ 36]
Pal Joey [ 2]
The King and I [ 2]
Anna
Wolsey Theatre , Ipswich
The Mating Game
An Evening with Mary Millar
One-woman show Talking about her Christianity, life, and work[citation needed ]
References
^ a b c d e f Hayward, Anthony (13 November 1998). "Obituary: Mary Millar" . The Independent . Retrieved 26 June 2013 .
^ a b c d e f Lefkowitz, David (11 November 1998). "Mary Millar, First Giry of UK Phantom, Dies of Cancer Nov. 10" . Playbill . Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013 .
^ a b c d "The Original Cast – Mary Millar" . The Phantom of the Opera . Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013 .
^ "Mary Millar" . Toledo Blade . Associated Press . 13 November 1998. p. 11. Retrieved 8 November 2015 .
^ "British Actress Mary Millar Dies" . AP News Archive . Associated Press. 11 November 1998. Retrieved 26 June 2013 .
^ a b c "Mary Millar" . The Herald . 14 November 1998. Retrieved 27 June 2013 .
^ a b Sanderson, Heather (1 August 2011). "Mary Millar, "Rose" from Keeping Up Appearances" . Maryland Public Television . Retrieved 4 July 2013 .
^ Light and Lighting and Environmental Design . Illumiating Engineering Society. 1967. p. 144. Retrieved 27 July 2013 .
^ "D6 – Derby Hippodrome, 1954" . Vaudeville Postcards . Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013 .
^ Hischak, Thomas S. (2007). The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia . ABC-CLIO. p. 350. ISBN 978-0-313-34140-3 . Retrieved 27 July 2013 .
^ "The Desert Song" . THE DESERT SONG [musical show] . Retrieved 27 June 2013 – via The Library of Congress.
^ "Lock Up Your Daughters" . AusStage . Retrieved 27 June 2013 .
^ "Short measure" . Catholic Herald . 22 March 1963. p. 8. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013 .
^ "1964 musicals" (PDF) . Over the Footlights . Retrieved 27 June 2013 .
^ Wright, Adrian (2012). West End Broadway: The Golden Age of the American Musical in London . Boydell Press . p. 209. ISBN 978-1-84383-791-6 . Retrieved 27 July 2013 .
^ Gilmore, Peter. "Off Broadway to May Fair" . gilmore-stallybrass.eu . Retrieved 4 July 2013 .
^ "Dearest Dracula" . PlayographyIreland . Irish Theatre Institute. Retrieved 27 June 2013 .
^ Browning, John Edgar; Picart, Caroline Joan (2010). Dracula in Visual Media: Film, Television, Comic Book and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921–2010 . McFarland & Company . p. 284. ISBN 978-0-7864-6201-8 . Retrieved 27 July 2013 .
^ Seven brides for seven brothers . OCLC 047147181 – via WorldCat .
^ "Bless the Bride" . musical-theatre.net . Archived from the original on 27 February 2001. Retrieved 27 June 2013 .
^ "Love from a Stranger 1967" . Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013 .
^ "Virtue in Danger 1967" . Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2013 .
^ "The Rivals 1968" . Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013 .
^ a b "The Real Inspector Hound and Black Comedy 1969" . Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2013 .
^ "Ann Veronica" . guidetomusicaltheatre.com . Retrieved 27 June 2013 .
^ Ann Veronica: original London cast recording . OCLC 35049694 – via WorldCat.
^ "Mary Millar" . Theatricalia . Retrieved 29 June 2013 .
^ "Spider's Web 1970" . Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch. Archived from the original on 25 October 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2013 .
^ Johns, Eric (1973). Theatre Review . W. H. Allen Co. p. 168. ISBN 9780491012317 . Retrieved 4 July 2013 .
^ "The Importance of Being Earnest 1973" . Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013 .
^ Phillips, Neville (4 August 2008). The Stage Struck Me! . Troubador Publishing Ltd. p. 258. ISBN 978-1-906510-43-5 . Retrieved 27 July 2013 .
^ Mangan, Richard. "Production of Lark Rise" . Theatricalia . Retrieved 27 June 2013 .
^ "Follies at the Forum Theatre" . University of Bristol. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013 .
^ Morley, Sheridan (26 October 1994). "This 'Romeo and Juliet' Is Not for Purists" . The New York Times . Retrieved 20 July 2013 .
^ Tylor, Marcus (2007). The Phantom of the Opera: The First Year Backstage . Lulu.com. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-9556820-0-1 . Retrieved 27 July 2013 .
^ Disney's Beauty and the beast: the new hit musical: original London cast recording . OCLC 320376465 – via WorldCat.
External links
International National Artists