Sheila Frances Steafel (26 May 1935 – 23 August 2019) was a British actress, who was born in Johannesburg, but lived all her adult life in the United Kingdom.

Life and career

Steafel, who was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, trained at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to: *Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname) Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...

. She appeared in many television series, including ''

The Frost Report ''The Frost Report'' is a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It introduced John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett to television, and launched the careers of other writers and performers. It premiered on BBC1 on 10 March 196 ...

'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

Dave Allen at Large David Tynan O'Mahony (6 July 193610 March 2005), known professionally as Dave Allen, was an Irish comedian, satirist, and actor. He was best known for his observational comedy. Allen regularly provoked indignation by highlighting political hypo ...

'', ''

The Kenny Everett Television Show ''The Kenny Everett Television Show'' is a comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC1 from 1981 to 1988. It was presented by its main performer Kenny Everett, who wrote the material with Barry Cryer and Ray Cameron. Later in 1986 they were joined by ...

'', ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'', ''

The Ghosts of Motley Hall ''The Ghosts of Motley Hall'' is a British children's television series written by Richard Carpenter. It was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for Granada Television, and broadcast between 1976 and 1978 on the ITV network. The series ...

'', ''

Oh Brother! ''Oh, Brother!'' is a British television sitcom starring Derek Nimmo, which aired on BBC1 from 13 September 1968 to 27 February 1970. Synopsis The series was set in the fictional Mountacres Monastery, with Nimmo cast as the well-meaning but ine ...

'' and ''The Laughter of a Fool''. She was a regular in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

programme '' The Good Old Days'', portraying her comic creation "Miss Popsy Wopsy", who invariably "played up" to chairman

Leonard Sachs Leonard Meyer Sachs (26 September 1909 – 15 June 1990) was a South African-born British actor. Life and career Sachs was born in the town of Roodepoort, in the then Transvaal Colony, present day South Africa. He was Jewish. He emigrated to ...

. She was also a regular on the "

Tommy Cooper Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a Welsh prop comedian and magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at , and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He served in the British Army f ...

Hour". In February 2018 she appeared in the daytime comedy drama '' Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators'' Episode 2 as care home resident Dora Bentley. Her film appearances included ''

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. ''Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.'' is a 1966 British science fiction film directed by Gordon Flemyng and written by Milton Subotsky, and the second of two films based on the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It stars ...

'' (1966), ''

Just like a Woman "Just Like a Woman" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan first released on his seventh studio album, ''Blonde on Blonde'' on June 20, 1966. It was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. A shorter edit was released as a singl ...

'' (1967), ''

Quatermass and the Pit ''Quatermass and the Pit'' is a British television science-fiction serial transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's ''Quatermass'' serials, although the chief character, Profe ...

'' (1967), ''

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'' (1968), ''

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically a part of the West Ridi ...

'' (1968), '' ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'''' (1969), ''

The Smashing Bird I Used to Know ''The Smashing Bird I Used to Know'' is a 1969 British drama/sexploitation film, directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring Renée Asherson, Patrick Mower, Dennis Waterman, Madeleine Hinde and Maureen Lipman. As with other Hartford-Davis f ...

'' (1969), ''

Some Will, Some Won't ''Some Will, Some Won't'' is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Duncan Wood, a remake of ''Laughter in Paradise'' (1951). It starred an ensemble British cast which included Michael Hordern, Ronnie Corbett, Dennis Price, Leslie Phillips and Ar ...

'' (1970; co-starring her ex-husband's acting partner,

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), ''

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'' (1970; as Tania), ''

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'' (1971), ''

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'' (1971), ''

Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World ''Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World'' is a 1973 British children's fantasy-adventure comedy film starring Jim Dale, and directed by Joseph McGrath. A large supporting cast of British movie stalwarts includes Spike Milligan, Angela Douglas, N ...

'' (1973), '' All I Want Is You... and You... and You...'' (1974), ''Never Too Young to Rock'' (1975), ''

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'' (1977), ''

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'' (1978), ''

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'' (1984), ''

Parting Shots ''Parting Shots'' is a 1999 British dark comedy film starring Chris Rea, Felicity Kendal, Oliver Reed, Bob Hoskins, Diana Rigg, Ben Kingsley, John Cleese and Joanna Lumley. It was the final film directed by Michael Winner. Upon release in the U ...

'' (1999) and '' Back to the Secret Garden'' (2001). Steafel also worked in

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

. In the 1970s and 1980s, she was a cast member on the weekly Radio 4 satirical show ''

Week Ending ''Week Ending'' was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1970 and 1998. It was devised by writer-producers Simon Brett and David Hatch and was originally hosted by '' Nationwide'' presenter Michael Ba ...

'', providing the voices of many characters and impersonating real-life figures, such as

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. Steafel appeared as herself alongside Simon Jones in "The Lost Hitch-Hiker's Sketch", a sketch written by

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...

for her 1982 Radio 4 show '' Steafel Plus''. In 1979 she starred in the West End stage production of ''

A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine ''A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine'' is a musical comedy consisting of two essentially independent one-act plays, with a book and lyrics by Dick Vosburgh and music by Frank Lazarus. Additionally, songs by other composers are incorporat ...

'' in a number of roles, including that of

Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Grou ...

. In 2008, she was portrayed by

Zoe Tapper Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to: *ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life" People * Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Zoe'' (film) * ZOE Broadcast ...

in the BBC television play ''

The Curse of Steptoe ''The Curse of Steptoe'' is a television play which was first broadcast on 19 March 2008 on BBC Four as part of a season of dramas about television personalities. It stars Jason Isaacs as Harry H. Corbett and Phil Davis as Wilfrid Brambell. T ...

''. In 2015 she lent her voice to the character Master Matoya in the video game '' Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward''.

Published works

In 1998, Steafel released a CD album of Victorian songs entitled ''Victoria Plums'' (Redial/Polygram No. CD 557 209-2). In 2010, she released her autobiography ''When Harry Met Sheila''. In 2012, Steafel published a collection of real life short stories under the title ''Bastards''.

Personal life

Steafel was married to actor and comedian

Harry H. Corbett Harry H. Corbett OBE (28 February 1925 – 21 March 1982) was an English actor and comedian, best remembered for playing rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe alongside Wilfrid Brambell in the long-running BBC television sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'' ( ...

from October 1958 until August 1964. She died of cancer.

Partial filmography

* ''

'' (1966) - Young Woman * ''

'' (1967) - Isolde * ''

'' (1967) - Journalist * ''Monsieur Lecoq'' (1967) * '' The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom'' (1968) - Pet shop saleslady * ''

'' (1968) - Ground stewardess * ''

'' (1969) - Tessa Pearson * ''

'' (1969) - Young Woman * ''

Goodbye, Mr. Chips ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...

'' (1969) - Tilly (uncredited) * ''

'' (1970) - Tania * ''

'' (1970) - Sheila Wilcott * ''

'' (1971) - Mrs. Gold * ''

Up Pompeii ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the second series by Rothwell and S ...

'' (1971) - Voluptua (voice, uncredited) * ''

'' (1971) - Mrs Latimer * ''

To Catch a Spy ''To Catch a Spy'' is a 1971 comedy spy film directed by Dick Clement and starring Kirk Douglas, Marlène Jobert, Trevor Howard, Richard Pearson, Garfield Morgan, Angharad Rees and Robert Raglan. It was written by Clement and Ian La Frenais. T ...

'' (1971) - Woman in lift * ''

'' (1973) - Control Operator * '' All I Want Is You... and You... and You...'' (1975) - Wilma Brack * ''

Never Too Young to Rock ''Never Too Young To Rock'' is a 1975 British musical comedy movie directed by Dennis Abey and stars Peter Denyer and Freddie Jones and features various music artists popular at the time of release such as The Glitter Band, The Rubettes, Mud, S ...

'' (1976) - Cafe Proprietress * ''

'' (TV, 1976-1978) - The White Lady * ''

'' (1977) - Hat Customer * ''

'' (1978) - Dr. Pitt * ''The Quiz Kid'' (1979) - Brenda * ''

'' (1984) - Sheila Finch * ''

'' (1999) - President's Wife * '' Back to the Secret Garden'' (2001) - Mrs. Chillblaine

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steafel, Sheila 1935 births 2019 deaths 20th-century British actresses 21st-century British actresses British autobiographers British film actresses British impressionists (entertainers) British radio actresses British stage actresses British television actresses People from Johannesburg South African autobiographers South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African film actresses South African radio actresses South African stage actresses South African television actresses White South African people Women autobiographers