Shirley Ann Pithers (12 June 1935 – 9 March 2017), better known as Jane Freeman, was an English-born Welsh actress who was best known for her work on British television, mostly notably for her role as Ivy in ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of '' Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes f ...

''.

Early years

Freeman was born in Brentford,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, in 1935, the daughter of railway engineer Arthur Pithers and his wife, Joan Pithers, née Dewhurst. She was raised in Merthyr Tydfil following the death of her father in an accident when she was 9 years old and her mother's subsequent remarriage to Russell Evans. For a time, she used his surname and was known as Jane Evans. She graduated from the Cardiff College of Music and Drama in 1955.

Career

After a stay in London, Freeman joined the Osiris Repertory Theatre touring company, based in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. She joined the Arena Theatre, Sutton Coldfield in 1958, followed by

Birmingham Rep Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

from 1968. Her stage appearances include Margaret More in the Welsh Theatre Company's first production, '' A Man for All Seasons'', at Cardiff's New Theatre in 1962. Freeman’s television roles include ''Diary Of a Young Man'' (1964), '' Crossroads'' (1964), ''Touch And Go'' (1978), and ''Hannah'' (1980). She was best known for her role as the abrasive but ultimately kind-hearted café owner

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

, one of the main characters in the long-running British television comedy ''

''. She was one of only two actors to appear in all series of the show, from 1973 until 2010 (the other being

Peter Sallis Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, who played Norman Clegg): however, unlike Sallis, Freeman did not appear in all of the episodes. Her film credits included ''Ghost In The Water'' (1982), ''

Scrubbers ''Scrubbers'' is a 1982 British drama film directed by Mai Zetterling and produced by Don Boyd starring Amanda York, Kathy Burke, and Chrissie Cotterill. It was shot primarily in Virginia Water, Surrey, England Surrey () is a ceremonia ...

'' (1982) and ''Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe'' (1986).

Personal life

In 1971, Freeman married Michael Simpson, whom she met when he became artistic director of the Birmingham Rep while she was a member of that group.

Death

Freeman died on 9 March 2017 at the age of 81 from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

. Her age was often incorrectly reported as being 96 at the time of her death, but official birth records prove that she was born in 1935.

Roles

Television

Film

References

External links

* Jane Freeman a
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Jane 1935 births 2017 deaths People from Brentford Welsh stage actresses Welsh television actresses Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Wales British comedy actresses