Charlotte Mitchell

Charlotte Mitchell (born Edna Winifred Mitchell; 23 July 1926 – 2 May 2012) was an English actress and poet.^[1]

She was once (allegedly) the girlfriend of Peter Sellers, hence her appearance in The Goon Show episodes Ye Bandit of Sherwood Forest as Maid Marion and Tales of Montmartre as Seagoon's love interest, Fifi. Charlotte Mitchell was married to the actor Philip Guard^[2] and was the mother of 3 children, actors Christopher Guard^[3] and Dominic Guard^[4] and animator and novelist Candy Guard.^[5][6] Charlotte lived in West London during the later part of her life and continued to be active as a poet.^[7]

In the 1950s she provided lyrics, sketches, and occasionally acted in revues on London's West End. She was especially successful in her ventures providing lyrics for Madeleine Dring in Airs on a Shoestring (1953), Pay the Piper (1954), and Fresh Airs (1956), all productions of Laurier Lister.

She appeared on BBC Radio with Ian Carmichael in The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C. Potter. Carmichael played Gerald C. Potter, mystery writer, while she played Diana, his wife, who, under the pseudonym of Miss Magnolia Badminton, wrote romantic novels.

She also played, on radio, the Dowager Duchess (Lord Peter Wimsey's mother) in the radio adaption of Strong Poison that starred Ian Carmichael as Peter Wimsey. On television, she played Amy the housekeeper in The Adventures of Black Beauty (1972–74).

Her poetry was published in collections such as "Twelve Burnt Saucepans", "Looking Round Dangerously", "I Want to Go Home" and "Just in Case". These provided the basis of a series of popular programmes on BBC Radio 4 in which she read her own work. Her poetry is often requested and read on the BBC Radio 4's Poetry Please, and one of her poems was chosen by Judi Dench and Michael Williams in their joint BBC Radio 4 programme With Great Pleasure.

She died in Chiswick, London, on 2 May 2012 of pneumonia. She had previously battled breast cancer and myeloma.^[8]

Filmography

Films

• The Romantic Age (1949) (Naughty Arlette 1950 in the US)
• The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)
• Laughter in Paradise (1951)
• The Man in the White Suit (1951)
• Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951)
• Curtain Up (1953)
• The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953) (or The Great Gilbert and Sullivan in the US)
• Street Corner (1953) (Both Sides of the Law 1954 in the US)
• Lost (1955) (Tears for Simon 1957 in the US)
• Village of the Damned (1960)
• Dentist in the Chair (1960)
• Nearly a Nasty Accident (1961)
• Dentist on the Job (1961) (Get On with It! 1963 in the US)
• The Blood on Satan's Claw (1970)
• The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
• The First Kangaroos (1988)

Television

• Not in Front of the Children (1968)
• Persuasion (1971)
• The Adventures of Black Beauty (1972)
• The Kids from 47A (1973) (writer)
• ...And Mother Makes Five (1974–76)
• In This House of Brede (1975)
• Miss Jones and Son (1977)
• Return to Treasure Island (1985)
• The Lady's Maid's Bell (1985)
• The Woman He Loved (1988)
• Selling Hitler (1991)
• Pond Life (1996-2000)
• "Heartbeat" (1997-1999)

References

Further reading

• Brister, Wanda. Madeleine Dring: The Lady Composer

External links

• Obituary – The Guardian
• Charlotte Mitchell at the Internet Movie Database