Joan Sims
| Joan Sims | |
|---|---|
Sims in 1957
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| Born |
Irene Joan Marian Sims 9 May 1930 Laindon, Essex, England |
| Died | 27 June 2001 (aged 71) Chelsea, London, England |
| Cause of death | Diverticular disease |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1951–2000 |
| Known for |
Carry On (franchise) As Time Goes By On the Up |
| Spouse(s) | Never married |
Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001), best known as Joan Sims, was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By and Mrs Wembley, the cook with a liking for sherry, in On the Up.
Sims was born in 1930, the only child of John Henry Sims (1888-1964), station master of Laindon railway station in Laindon, Essex, and his wife Gladys Marie Sims, née Ladbrook (1896-1981). Sims' early interest in being an actress came from living at the railway station. She would often put on performances for waiting passengers. She decided that she wanted to pursue show business during her teens, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions locally.
In 1946, Sims first applied to RADA, but her audition was unsuccessful. Her first audition included a rendition of Winnie the Pooh. She did succeed in being admitted to PARADA, the academy's preparatory school, and finally, on her fourth attempt, she graduated and was trained at RADA. She graduated from RADA in 1950 at the age of 19. One of her first stage performances was in the 1951 pantomime, The Happy Ha'penny, opposite Stanley Baxter at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre.
Sims appeared in a number of Brian Rix's Aldwych Theatre farces including the well known "I say! Nawks!", but revue was Sims' greatest medium, especially in the works of Peter Myers. In 1958, she got a part in Peter Coke's play Breath of Spring, which opened at the Cambridge Theatre in March, transferring to the Duke of York's Theatre in August 1958, which ran until April 1959. Sims preferred film to stage work. "It was, of course, lovely to be in a successful play, to have the excitement of performing a hit to packed houses (and, not least, the assurance of a regular income for the foreseeable future). But, on the other hand, I found it extremely difficult to keep a performance fresh, and I'd soon get bored."
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