Kathy Staff (born Minnie Higginbottom; 12 July 1928 – 13 December 2008) was an English actress known for her work on British television. She is best known for her portrayal of Nora Batty in Last of the Summer Wine, the longest running sitcom in the world.
Career
Early career
She began her acting career with touring repertory companies in 1946, changing her name to Katherine Brant. After she married John Staff in 1951,[1] she adopted the surname as her stage name, hence Kathy Staff. She retired from the stage at this point to raise her family, but started working as an extra for Granada Television in Manchester in the 1960s. In her autobiography, Staff revealed herself to be a Conservative, and noted that she had once stood as an election candidate for the party.[2] This appears to have been in 1971, when a Ms. M. Staff contested the Central ward in the Municipal Borough of Dukinfield. The seat was comfortably held by Labour, with the Liberals beating all three Conservative candidates, the last-placed of whom was Staff.[3][4]
Last of the Summer Wine
Staff was best known for her role as one of the main characters, Nora Batty, in the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine. She played Nora Batty from the pilot episode in 1973 [1] until 2008, the year she died from a brain tumour, totalling 245 episodes.
Following the death of actor Bill Owen on 12 July 1999, Staff left the show briefly. She stated in interviews that things just were not the same since his death, and her heart was no longer in it. She would later return to the show and remain until her death in 2008.
Television
Staff had a regular role as Doris Luke in the popular ATV soap opera, Crossroads from 1978 to 1984 and 2001 to 2002. Her other television roles included Coronation Street as Vera Hopkins,[1]No Frills as Molly Bickerstaff, Open All Hours as Mrs Blewett, Dawson's Weekly and The Benny Hill Show. She appeared in a television version of Separate Tables in 1983.
Staff died on 13 December 2008, at the Willow Wood Hospice in Ashton-under-Lyne, aged 80, with her husband John at her bedside, after a brain tumour was diagnosed earlier in the year.[7][8] Her death was announced on 14 December.[9]
Her funeral took place at St Mark's Church, Dukinfield, where she was a lifelong member and sang in the choir. She is commemorated in a memorial screen at the church.[10][11]
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