Naomi Merlith Sim (''née'' Plaskitt; 30 November 1913 – 3 August 1999) was an English actress and writer.

Life

Naomi Plaskitt was born in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

in 1913. Her parents, Hugh and Norah Plaskitt, were cousins. Her parents' marriage was poor and in time her mother took custody of her daughters. Her father was a solicitor and an alcoholic. He served as a soldier during

World War One World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

where he caught and died of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

in 1917. She was initially educated in Bedford and later Scotland. When she was 12 year of age she met

Alastair Sim Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE (9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish character actor who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his ...

while appearing in a play, ''

The Land of Heart's Desire ''The Land of Heart's Desire'' is a play by Irish poet, dramatist, and 1923 Nobel laureate William Butler Yeats. First performed in the spring of 1894, at the Avenue Theatre in London, where it ran for a little over six weeks,Yeats, William Butl ...

'', organised by

Scottish Community Drama Association The Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) is an association of amateur dramatic clubs throughout Scotland. It was first founded in 1926. Amateur theatre companies in Scotland have generally presented repertoire in English, Lowland Scots ...

.Michael Gilbert, 'Sim, Alastair George Bell (1900–1976)', rev. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 23 June 2017
/ref> Sim was an elocution teacher at an Edinburgh school at the time and was 28 years of age when they met. Plaskitt left school aged 14 and joined Sim's school of drama as his secretary after her mother gave her permission.
''The Independent'', Retrieved 23 June 2017 Meanwhile, Sim was the Fulton lecturer in elocution at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Student ...

. In 1932 she had completed two years at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 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 Sen ...

under a scholarship when she replaced her ambition for drama with her love for Sim. They married and they appeared in one film together, ''

Wedding Group ''Wedding Group'' is a 1936 British drama film directed by Alex Bryce and Campbell Gullan and starring Fay Compton, Patric Knowles and Barbara Greene. It was made at Wembley Studios as a quota quickie. The film was released in the US under the t ...

'', in 1936. In 1947 they built a house, 'Forrigan', near

Henley on Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Bucking ...

. Naomi would help Sim and give him advice, and he called her his "director". Together they unofficially adopted several boys who generally came from unhappy homes. The most noted of these was George Cole, who went on to have a career in acting. Cole appeared with Alastair Sim in 11 films, and in time he bought a house near 'Forrigan'. After her husband's death in 1976, she wrote her autobiography that featured their life together. ''Dance and Skylark'' was published in 1988, She also wrote articles for ''

The Oldie ''The Oldie'' is a British monthly magazine written for older people "as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity", according to its website. The magazine was launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who was its edi ...

'' magazine. Sim died in

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

in 1999.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sim, Naomi 1913 births 1999 deaths People from Bedford British writers 20th-century English actresses English film actresses Actresses from Bedfordshire Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art