About
British actress best known for her role as Mildred Roper in the '70s sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred. Born to musical parents Hurst Needham and Jessica Rivett in 1927, Joyce was trained at RADA, toured with ENSA and came to prominence via the Joan Littlewood Theatre Workshop, securing roles in TV shows such as The Avengers, Man in a Suitcase, Te Saint, Jason King and Steptoe and Son, and the films The Pumpkin Eater, A Man For All Seasons, Charlie Bubbles, All the Right Noises and Burke and Hare. She was married to fellow actor Glynn Edwards from 1956 to 1968, and they remained friends all her life. An alcoholic, Joyce died from liver failure in 1980, just four days after her 53rd birthday. Her sitcom co-star Brian Murphy was by her side. In 1986 the Smiths used an image of Joyce on the sleeve of their UK single release "Ask" and the German release of...
Known for
The AvengersSeries • 1961
The SaintSeries • 1962
The Wednesday PlaySeries • 1964
BBC Play of the MonthSeries • 1965
ITV PlayhouseSeries • 1967
Thirty-Minute TheatreSeries • 1965
Theatre 625Series • 1964
No Hiding PlaceSeries • 1959
ITV Saturday Night TheatreSeries • 1969
On the BusesSeries • 1969
Jason KingSeries • 1971
Steptoe and SonSeries • 1962
Man About the HouseSeries • 1973
ManhuntSeries • 1970
RedcapSeries • 1964
A Man for All SeasonsMovie • 1966
George and MildredSeries • 1976
FanaticMovie • 1965
Frankenstein: The True StoryMovie • 1974
Our Mother's HouseMovie • 1967
Fragment of FearMovie • 1970
The Pumpkin EaterMovie • 1964
Man About the HouseMovie • 1974
Sparrows Can't SingMovie • 1963