Ann Beach (7 June 1938 – 9 March 2017) was a British actress. She is perhaps best remembered for her supporting role as Sonia Barrett, the quirky next-door neighbour on the comedy ''

Fresh Fields ''Fresh Fields'' is a British sitcom starring Julia McKenzie and Anton Rodgers. A ratings success at the time, it was written by John Chapman and produced by Thames Television for ITV, running for four series between 7 March 1984 and 23 Octob ...

'', starring

Julia McKenzie Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie (born 17 February 1941) is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFT ...

and

Anton Rodgers Anthony "Anton" Rodgers (10 January 1933 – 1 December 2007) was an English actor and occasional director. He performed on stage, in film, in television dramas and sitcoms. He starred in several sitcoms, including ''Fresh Fields'' (ITV, ...

Career

She won a scholarship to

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

at the age of 16. After leaving, she went on tour with

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

in ''

Hotel Paradiso ''Hotel Paradiso'' is a 1966 British comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Panavision. It was directed by Peter Glenville and based on the play ''L'Hôtel du libre échange'' by Maurice Desvallières and Georges Feydeau. The film allowe ...

'', and then came to London in the title role of

Emlyn Williams George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor. Early life Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flintsh ...

's ''Beth''. This was not a success, but she was soon busily engaged in television work, until she went back to the stage in the

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West En ...

company at the

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

. Among the parts she created there were Rosie in ''

Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be ''Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'be'' is a 1960 West End musical comedy about Cockney low-life characters in the 1950s, including spivs, prostitutes, teddy-boys and corrupt policemen. The work is more of a play with music than a conventional mus ...

'' (1960), and Miss Gilchrist in '' The Hostage''. She then created the role of Barbara in ''

Billy Liar ''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popular songs. The semi-comical story is about William Fisher, ...

'' at the

Cambridge Theatre The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site". Design and construction It was des ...

in September 1960. She was also a member of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Radio Drama Company The Radio Drama Company is a company of actors formed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War. It is sometimes referred to as RDC, or the Rep, a survival from its original name, the Drama Re ...

."Radio and audio book companies", in Lloyd Trott, ed., ''Actors and Performers Yearbook 2016'', pp. 353-354

Personal life

She was married to

Francis Coleman Francis Coleman (12 January 192410 April 2008) was a conductor and television producer and director. Early life and education Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Coleman began working in an office at the age of fourteen while studying music at ...

. She was the mother of

Charlotte Coleman Charlotte Ninon Coleman (3 April 1968 – 14 November 2001) was an English actress best known for playing Scarlett in the film ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'', Jess in the television drama ''Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', and her childhood r ...

and Lisa Coleman.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *https://web.archive.org/web/20081229142735/http://movie-tv-episode-database.com/cast-or-crew/Ann-Beach-38115/
NYTimes.com
* https://web.archive.org/web/20120404085820/http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity/ann-beach/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20070712125210/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1808925970 * http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/ann-beach/credits/208582 {{DEFAULTSORT:Beach, Ann 1938 births 2017 deaths Actors from Wolverhampton English film actresses English television actresses 20th-century English actresses English stage actresses Alumni of RADA 21st-century English actresses 20th-century British businesspeople