Mona Hammond

Mona Hammond (born Mavis Chin; 1 January 1931 – 4 July 2022) was a Jamaican-British actress and co-founder of the Talawa Theatre Company. Born in Tweedside, Jamaica,
Tweedside Map, Google. Retrieved 5 July 2022. Hammond emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1959, where she lived for the rest of her life. Hammond had a long and distinguished stage career. She was best known for her work on British television and played Blossom Jackson in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''.

Hammond was made an OBE in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama. In 2018, she was awarded the Women of the World Lifetime Achievement Award for her long and distinguished theatre career and for championing Black British actors with the Talawa Theatre Company.

Early life

Hammond was born Mavis Chin,"Now It's Sir David"
, 1 June 2005, ''The British Theatre Guide''. Retrieved 22 April 2007. on 23 January 1931, in Tweedside, Clarendon Parish. Her father was Chinese and her mother was Afro-Jamaican. She moved to the United Kingdom in 1959 on a Jamaican Scholarship and worked for Norman and Dawbarn Architects. She attended evening classes at the City Literary Institute in London for two years and was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA),Ann Ogidi
"Hammond, Mona"
BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 22 April 2007. graduating in 1964.

Career

Hammond began her career on stage, and made early appearances on television shows such as '' Softly, Softly'' (1968) and '' The Troubleshooters'' (1969). Her first leading role was as Lady Macbeth at the Roundhouse in 1970 in Peter Coe's African version of the play. She starred in many plays by an array of up-and-coming black writers: ''Sweet Talk'' by Michael Abbensetts, ''11 Josephine House'' by Alfred Fagon and several plays written by Mustapha Matura, including ''As Time Goes By'', ''Play Mas'' and '' Playboy of the West Indies''. She also spent two years at the National Theatre in productions including '' Fuente Ovejuna'' and ''Peer Gynt'' directed by Declan Donnellan, and '' The Crucible''.

In 1985, Hammond, along with Yvonne Brewster, Inigo Espejel and Carmen Munroe, founded Talawa Theatre Company, which became one of the UK's most prominent black theatre companies."New Black theatre companies"
Moving Here – Migration Histories, The National Archives. Retrieved 22 April 2007. It has produced award-winning plays about the African diaspora, and championed reinterpretations of classical British pieces. Hammond performed in several of its productions, including '' The Black Jacobins'', ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' and ''King Lear''.

Television work followed, which included roles in ''The Sweeney'' (1976); ''Wolcott'' (1980–81), a three-part ATV mini-series about a black detective based in East London; ''Black Silk'' (1985); '' Juliet Bravo'' (1985); '' Playboy of the West Indies'' (1985), ''Casualty'' (1986) and ''When Love Dies'' (1990). Hammond appeared in ITV's ''Coronation Street'' twice, first playing the role of Jan Sargent, and the second time playing Velma Armitage, mother of Shirley Armitage in 1988.

In 1994, she was cast as Blossom Jackson in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. She remained in the role until 1997. This was Hammond's second character in the soap, having previously played the minor part of Michelle Fowler's midwife in 1986."Vicki Fowler's Birth , EastEnders: 80s"
Vicki Fowler's Birth , EastEnders: 80s, YouTube. Retrieved 5 July 2022. She was also an occasional actress in the BBC radio soap opera ''The Archers'', playing Mabel Thompson, the mother of Alan Franks' (John Telfer) deceased wife.

Hammond played many roles in television sitcoms, including Susu in ''Desmond's'' (1990–94) and its spin-off '' Porkpie'' (1995–96); ''Us Girls'' (1992–93), in which she played Grandma Pinnock; '' Chef!'' (1996), and Grandma Sylvie Headly in ''The Crouches'' (2003–05).

In 1999, Hammond played the role of Nan in the children's TV series ''Pig-Heart Boy'', based on a novel by Malorie Blackman. Hammond's other television credits included '' Making Out'' (1989); '' Trial & Retribution'' (1998) as Bibi Harrow: '' Sunburn'' (1999); ''Storm Damage'' (2000); ''The Bill'' (2001); ''Babyfather'' (2001); ''White Teeth'' (2002); '' A Touch of Frost'' (2003); ''Holby City'' (2001; 2005; 2011); ''Doctors'' (2006) and '' Death in Paradise'' (2011). She also appeared in the ''Doctor Who'' episode " Rise of the Cybermen" as Mickey Smith's blind grandmother Rita-Anne in 2006. Her film credits included ''Fords on Water'' (1983), ''Manderlay'' (2005) and '' Kinky Boots'' (2006). Hammond appeared in the 2008 movie ''10,000 BC'', directed by Roland Emmerich."Mona Hammond in 10,000 BC"
''Merry Media''. Retrieved 22 April 2007.

For a brief stint in October 2010, she reprised her role as Blossom Jackson in ''EastEnders'': appearing in connection with screen great-grandson Billie Jackson's funeral, she returned with her on-screen grandson Alan Jackson.

Awards

Hammond was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours List, for her services to drama in the UK. In 2006, Hammond was presented with the Edric Connor Inspiration Award, the Screen Nation Film and Television Awards' highest UK honour."Crash leads Screen Nation's nods"
BBC, 23 August 2006. Retrieved 22 April 2007. In 2018 she was awarded the Women of the World Lifetime Achievement Award for her long and distinguished theatre career and for championing Black British actors with the Talawa Theatre Company.

Personal life

She was married to Michael Sanders from 1965 to 1971 when the couple were divorced. They had a son, Michael. She married again in 1973 to John Pedler, they divorced 1987. In her later years, Hammond moved to Brinsworth House, a retirement home for entertainers. In 2018, she welcomed Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on a royal visit to the home.

Hammond died on 4 July 2022, at the age of 91. She is survived by her son, Michael and granddaughter Tallulah.

Partial filmography

*''Fords on Water'' (1983) – Winston's Mother
*''Pure'' (2002) – Woman Customer
*''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'' (2004) – Ruth Attaway / Louise the Maid
*''Manderlay'' (2005) – Old Wilma
*''Doctor Who'' (2006) – Rita-Anne Smith
*'' Imagine Me & You'' (2005) – Mrs Edwards
*'' Kinky Boots'' (2005) – Pat
*''10,000 BC'' (2007) – Old Mother
*'' Burlesque Fairytales'' (2009) – Death's Wife
*'' Coriolanus'' (2011) – Jamaican Woman
* ''EastEnders'' (BBC soap opera) (1986, 1994–1997, 2010) – Midwife, Blossom Jackson

References

External links

"Mona Hammond OBE"
The British Blacklist.
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Mona
1931 births
2022 deaths
20th-century British actresses
21st-century British actresses
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Black British actresses
British actresses of Chinese descent
British soap opera actresses
English people of Chinese descent
English people of Jamaican descent
Migrants from British Jamaica to the United Kingdom
Jamaican people of Chinese descent
Jamaican television actresses
People from Clarendon Parish, Jamaica
Place of death missing