Lynne Perrie
| Lynne Perrie | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jean Dudley 7 April 1931 Rotherham, England |
| Died | 24 March 2006 (aged 74) Rotherham, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
Lynne Perrie (7 April 1931 - 24 March 2006) was an English actress. She was born Jean Dudley in Rotherham, West Riding of Yorkshire, and was the sister of comedian Duggie Brown. She was best known for her roles as Mrs. Casper in Ken Loach's 1969 film Kes, and as Ivy Tilsley in Coronation Street from 1971-1994.
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[edit] Career
After Rotherham Grammar School for Girls, she trained at local repertory theatres. Her first major screen role was that of Mrs Casper in the 1969 film Kes. This led to her getting the role of Ivy Tilsley (later Brennan) in the soap opera, Coronation Street. She first appeared in 1971 as a minor character, but the producers were sufficiently impressed with her performance to offer her a more substantial role from the mid 1970s when the character was joined by her family and moved in to a house on Coronation Street. In 1994, without consulting her bosses on the programme, Perrie had cosmetic surgery to make her lips look fuller, but the results were unflattering, and Perrie was sacked though she denied this, saying her character had simply run its course. Her character died off-screen the following year.
Lynne started her career as a cabaret singer on the Yorkshire club circuit. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s she performed in France, Germany, South Africa and the United States, on the same bill as the Rolling Stones and for 15 concerts, the Beatles who called her “girly”. She sang and told jokes all over the country and was known as "Little Miss Dynamite." Her singing voice can been heard on the Coronation Street Album released in 1985, Lynne contributed a cover of "You Needed Me".
Following the success of film Kes, Lynne became an in-demand character actress in the 1970s, she had a regular television role as Mrs. Petty in the popular Yorkshire TV comedy series Queenie's Castle which starred Diana Dors. She also had the lead role of a shop steward in Colin Welland's gritty BBC film Leeds United. Other TV credits included "The Cuckoo Waltz" and "Follyfoot".
Following her dismissal from Coronation Street in 1994, Lynne appeared as a guest on numerous chat shows, including an appearance on Channel 4's The Word in 1994 where (amongst other acts) she performed her own embarrassing rendition of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" — this performance was number 62 on Channel 4's list of 100 Greatest TV Moments from Hell.
Her former Coronation Street bosses tried unsuccessfully to ban her autobiography from being published in 1994 in which she chronicled her affairs and detailed the ups and downs of her colourful life. In 1994 she had a cameo in Mike Reid's adult pantomime video "Pussy In Boots" video as Poison Ivy.
In 1995 she released "Lynne Perrie's Alternative Workout", a spoof exercise video pitched at the adult market. In the low budget comedy video, Lynne appeared in a series of sketches and helped toned young men out of their workout clothing. She also caused scandal when she appeared on the adult channel Television X and carried out a sex act with a male stripper on one of the channel's live TV shows. In 1996 she told the Daily Mirror newspaper that "the offers are just rolling in." She had found herself in demand for personal appearances and as an after-dinner speaker. She appeared on a variety of programmes as herself including chat shows on "The Family Channel", BBC's "Late And Loud" and game shows such as "Cryer's Crackers" (presented by Barry Cryer and with Duggie Brown, Lynne's brother as one of the team captains) and "Shooting Stars". The latter being notable for the fact that she appeared drunk live on the air. She also was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary entitled "The Ghost Of Ivy Tilsley", part of a series of programmes exploring the dark side of fame.
Perrie's radio work including giving interviews on radio chat shows after she left Coronation Street and in 1997 (her last acting job) appeared as a guest character in Harry Hill's Fruit Corner. In the episode that Lynne appeared in, she was reunited with Chris Quentin (who played Lynne's soap character Ivy's son) who also took part in the show.
Perrie later concentrated on looking after her family and going back on the cabaret circuit. In 2000 it was reported that her health was poor and the following year, she suffered a stroke.
In 2003 she claimed that she was in good health that she was planning on making a comeback but in keeping what friends describe as her "manic depressive character" it never happened.
She spent her final years living quietly with her husband in Yorkshire. Her few television appearances before she died included being interviewed about her infamous plastic surgery on ITV's documentary series "Facelifts From Hell".
[edit] Life and family
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Perrie married Derrick Barksby in 1950 and gave birth to her only son Stephen in 1951. Her terminally-ill son came to prominence in the 2000s campaigning for assisted suicide. In her biography, she later admitted that she had had several affairs in the course of her marriage. She also suffered intermittent health problems, including a heart attack and a cancer scare.
Perrie died in Rotherham following a stroke, aged 74, on 24 March 2006.[1] Of her former Coronation Street colleagues, only Helen Worth and Christopher Quinten attended her funeral at Rotherham Crematorium. Her life and work were acknowledged at the British Academy Television Awards in 2006.
Following Lynne’s death, Johnny Briggs, who as factory boss Mike Baldwin clashed with Ivy in Coronation Street on screen, said: "She was my daughter's godmother and one of the most generous people I ever met. She would give a tramp £10 rather than walk past in the street." Liz Dawn who played Vera Duckworth said: "I am terribly saddened to hear the news. She was always full of life and great fun to work with." William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, said: "You always knew when Lynne was in the room as the sound of her laughter was never far away."[citation needed]
