Sheila Steafel

Sheila Steafel
Steafel in Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966)
Born
Sheila Frances Steafel

(1935-05-26)26 May 1935
Johannesburg, South Africa
Died23 August 2019(2019-08-23) (aged 84)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materWebber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)Film, radio, stage and television actress
Years active1957–2019
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1958; div. 1964)​

Sheila Frances Steafel (26 May 1935 – 23 August 2019)[1] was a British actress, who was born in Johannesburg, but lived all her adult life in the United Kingdom.[2]

Life and career

Steafel, who was born in Johannesburg,[2] trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.[3] She appeared in many television series, including The Frost Report, Z-Cars, Sykes, Dave Allen at Large, The Kenny Everett Television Show, Minder, The Ghosts of Motley Hall, Oh, Brother! and The Laughter of a Fool.[4] She was a regular in the BBC One music hall programme The Good Old Days, portraying her comic creation "Miss Popsy Wopsy", who invariably "played up" to chairman Leonard Sachs.[5] She was also a regular on the "Tommy Cooper Hour".[6]

In February 2018 she appeared in the daytime comedy drama Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Episode 2 as care home resident Dora Bentley.

Her film appearances included Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966), Just like a Woman (1967), Quatermass and the Pit (1967), Baby Love (1968), Otley (1968), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), The Smashing Bird I Used to Know (1969), Some Will, Some Won't (1970; co-starring her ex-husband's acting partner, Wilfrid Brambell), Tropic of Cancer (1970; as Tania), Percy (1971), Melody (1971), Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World (1973), All I Want Is You... and You... and You... (1974), Never Too Young to Rock (1975), Are You Being Served? (1977), What's Up Superdoc! (1978), Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984), Parting Shots (1999) and Back to the Secret Garden (2001).[7]

Steafel also worked in BBC radio. In the 1970s and 1980s, she was a cast member on the weekly Radio 4 satirical show Week Ending, providing the voices of many characters and impersonating real-life figures, such as Margaret Thatcher.[8] Steafel appeared as herself alongside Simon Jones in "The Lost Hitch-Hiker's Sketch", a sketch written by Douglas Adams for her 1982 Radio 4 show Steafel Plus.[9]

In 1979 she starred in the West End stage production of A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine in a number of roles, including that of Harpo Marx.[10] In 2008, she was portrayed by Zoe Tapper in the BBC television play The Curse of Steptoe.[11]

In 2015 she lent her voice to the character Master Matoya in the video game Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward.

Published works

In 1998, Steafel released a CD album of Victorian songs entitled Victoria Plums (Redial/Polygram No. CD 557 209-2).[12] In 2010, she released her autobiography When Harry Met Sheila. In 2012, Steafel published a collection of real life short stories under the title Bastards.[13]

Personal life

Steafel was married to actor and comedian Harry H. Corbett from October 1958 until August 1964. She died of cancer in 2019.[14]

Partial filmography

References

  1. ^ Hadoke, Toby (27 August 2019). "Sheila Steafel obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b Lacey, Hester (24 May 1998). "How We Met: Sheila Steafel and Barry Cryer". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Sheila Steafel Biography". FilmReference.
  4. ^ "Sheila Steafel". www.aveleyman.com.
  5. ^ getreading (3 December 2010). "Sheila Steafel book signing cancelled".
  6. ^ Tommy Cooper: Just Like That! (documentary)
  7. ^ "Sheila Steafel". Archived from the original on 20 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Sheila Steafel, Desert Island Discs - BBC Radio 4". BBC.
  9. ^ O'Dair, Marcus (1 October 2009). The Rough Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Rough Guides Limited. ISBN 9781848367135 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Wood, Philip James. "Sheila F Steafel (CORBETT) (1935-> 2012) » Whittington families » Genealogie Online". Genealogie Online.
  11. ^ "The Curse of Steptoe - BBC Four". BBC.
  12. ^ "Victoria Plums by Sheila Steafel on Apple Music". iTunes.
  13. ^ Sheila Steafel Bastards Fantom Films
  14. ^ Apex. "Details of Publication - Apex Publishing Ltd". www.apexpublishing.co.uk.