Patsy Byrne
{{Short description|British actress (1933–2014)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Patsy Byrne
| image = Portrait_of_Patsy_Byrne.png
| imagesize =
| caption =
| occupation = Actress
| alma_mater = Rose Bruford College
| birth_name = Patricia Anne Thirza Byrne
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|7|13|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Bexhill, Sussex, England
| death_date = {{death date and age |2014|6|17 |1933|7|13 |df=yes}}
| death_place = Denville Hall, Northwood, London, England
| spouse =
}}
Patricia Anne Thirza Byrne (13 July 1933 – 17 June 2014) was an English actress, best known for her role as "Nursie" in Blackadder II as well as Malcolm's domineering Mother, Mrs Stoneway in all seven series of the ITV comedy Watching{{hsp}}Slide, Anthony (1996) Some Joe You Don't Know: American Biographical Guide to 100 British Television Personalities, Greenwood Press; {{ISBN|978-0-313-29550-8}}, p. 11 between 1987 and 1993.
Biography
Byrne was educated at Ashford County Grammar School. She studied drama at Rose Bruford College before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company playing parts such as Maria in Twelfth Night and Gruscha in The Caucasian Chalk Circle at the Aldwych Theatre in the early 1960s. In the 1980s she also worked at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Byrne starred alongside Tony Robinson in a Series 3 episode of Maid Marian and her Merry Men.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27958885|title=Blackadder 'Nursie' actress Patsy Byrne dies aged 80|publisher= BBC|accessdate=22 June 2014|work=BBC News|date=2014-06-22}} She played Betty the Tea Lady on the BBC children's programme Playdays. She also played Marge Stoneway, mother of Malcolm, in TV series Watching which ran from 1987 to 1993.
Other roles included appearances in I, Claudius (1976), Stealing Heaven (1988), Inspector Morse (1989), 2point4 Children (1991), Les Misérables (1998), David Copperfield (1999) and Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), as well as numerous radio plays. Byrne performed in the 1990 BBC production of C. S. Lewis' The Silver Chair as the giant nanny in the city of the giants. In 1998 she played Martha Coutts in episode 19 of series 7 of Heartbeat.
Death
Byrne died at Denville Hall, a retirement home for performers, on 17 June 2014.{{cite web|url=http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/178589/byrne|title=BYRNE – Deaths Announcements|date=21 June 2014|website=The Telegraph|accessdate=21 June 2014}}
Selected filmography
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957
|Susan Barwell |"The Mayor's Nest" | |||
| 1962 | The Cherry Orchard | Dunyasha, the maid | |
| 1963
|Maid |"The Frantic Rebel" | |||
| rowspan="2" |1970
|Markenka |"The Cellar and the Almond Tree" | |||
| Z Cars: "Lost"
|Bessie Laidlaw |2 episodes | |||
| 1971
|Mary Franklin |Episode: "By the Picking of My Thumbs" | |||
| rowspan="2" |1972
|Mrs. Frewin | | |||
| The Ruling Class | Mrs. Pamela Treadwell | ||
| 1973 | Z Cars | Mary Walker | Episode: "Nuisance" |
| 1974
|Cook |TV movie | |||
| 1976 | I, Claudius | Martina | Episode: "Some Justice" |
| rowspan="2" |1977
|Lenchen |3 episodes (TV mini-series) | |||
| Just William
|Mrs. Coombe |Episode: "The Great Detective" | |||
| rowspan="4" |1978
|All Creatures Great and Small |Mrs. Hammond |Episode: "A Dog's Life" | |||
| The Class of Miss MacMichael | Mrs. Green | ||
| The Devil's Crown
|Florence |3 episodes (TV mini-series) | |||
| Hazell
|Mrs. Dobson |Episode: "Hazell Settles the Accounts" | |||
| 1979
|Mrs. O'Riordan |1 episode | |||
| 1979–1980
|Mrs. Nubbles |4 episodes (TV mini-series) | |||
| 1980
|A Little Silver Trumpet |Mrs. Cleaver |5 episodes | |||
| 1980–1984
|The Setbacks |Lily Setback |17 episodes | |||
| rowspan="4" |1982
|Nurse | | |||
| Educating Marmalade
|MP's Nanny |Episode: "Nanny" | |||
| The Return of the Soldier | Mrs. Plummer | ||
| Tales of the Unexpected | Jean | "The Absence of Emily" | |
| 1983–1984
|Betty Hackforth |36 episodes | |||
| 1984
|Miss Peach |Episode: "Social Worker" | |||
| 1985
|Mrs. Blinder |1 episode (TV mini-series) | |||
| rowspan="3" |1986
|Nursie |6 episodes | |||
| Mr. Love | Mrs. Lunt | ||
| Screen Two | Mrs. Dempster | "Hotel du Lac" | |
| 1987
|A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery: "Strong Poison" |Mrs. Pettican |2 episodes (TV mini-series) | |||
| 1987–1993 | Watching | Mrs. Stoneway | 50 episodes |
| rowspan="4" |1988
|Millicent Gentle |2 episodes (TV mini-series) | |||
| Hanna's War | Rosie | ||
| Stealing Heaven | Agnes | ||
| Blackadder's Christmas Carol | Nursie, Bernard | TV special | |
| 1988–1997
|Betty the Tealady |Series regular | |||
| 1989 | Inspector Morse | Mrs. Maltby | Episode: "The Ghost in the Machine" |
| 1990
|Giant Nanny |2 episodes (TV mini-series) | |||
| rowspan="4" |1992
|Peggy |Episode: "Thank You Lucky Stars" | |||
| In Sickness and in Health
|Mrs. Jones |1 episode | |||
| Emily's Ghost | Mrs. Crabtree | ||
| Screen One
|Sarah Stone |"Adam's Bede" | |||
| rowspan="2" |1993 | The Higher Mortals | Matron | |
| Maid Marian and Her Merry Men
|Marian's Mum |Episode: "Keeping Mum" | |||
| rowspan="2" |1994
|Old Woman |1 episode (TV mini-series) | |||
| The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries
|Mrs. Mitchell |Episode: "Hand in Glove" | |||
| 1995
|Grace Kent |Episode: "Halfway House" | |||
| 1996 | The Treasure Seekers | Mrs. Nesbit | TV movie |
| rowspan="2" |1997
|Mrs. Mills |1 episode | |||
| Peak Practice
|Mrs. Burns |Episode: "Lost Feelings" | |||
| rowspan="3" |1998
|Martha Coutts |Episode: "Appearances" | |||
| Les Misérables | Toussaint | ||
| The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
|Daisy Panick |Episode: "Road Rage – Part Two" | |||
| rowspan="2" |1999 | Blackadder: Back & Forth{{cite news |title=Blackadder Back & Forth (1999) |newspaper=Bfi |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b82f148e4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107185525/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b82f148e4 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 January 2018 |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=5 December 2020}} | Nursie | |
| David Copperfield
|Mrs. Gummidge |2 episodes (TV mini-series) | |||
| 2000 | Kevin & Perry Go Large | Old lady | |
| 2006
|Esme Taylor |Episode: "Into Your Own Hands" |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0126268|name=Patsy Byrne}}
- [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/patsy-byrne-nursie-in-blackadder-ii-who-originally-made-her-name--on-the-stage-acclaimed-by-such-critics-as-kenneth-tynan-9557861.html Obituary], independent.co.uk; accessed 25 June 2014.
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Patsy}}
Category:English television actresses
Category:English film actresses
Category:People from Bexhill-on-Sea
Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members
Category:Alumni of Rose Bruford College