Prunella Scales
|
Prunella Scales CBE |
|
|---|---|
Scales in 2010
|
|
| Born |
Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth 22 June 1932 Sutton Abinger, Surrey, England |
| Other names | Pru |
| Education | Moira House Girls School, Eastbourne |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1952–2014 |
| Spouse(s) | Timothy West (m. 1963) |
| Children |
Samuel West Joe West Juliet West (step-daughter) |
Prunella Scales CBE (born Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth; 22 June 1932) is an English actress best known for her role as Basil Fawlty's wife Sybil in the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers and her BAFTA award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution (Screen One, BBC 1991) by Alan Bennett.
Scales was born in Sutton Abinger, Surrey, the daughter of Catherine (née Scales), an actress, and John Richardson Illingworth, a cotton salesman. She attended Moira House Girls School, Eastbourne.
Scales' parents moved their family to Bucks Mill near Bideford in Devon in 1939 during World War II.
Scales started her career in 1951 as an assistant stage manager at the Bristol Old Vic. Throughout her career, Scales has often been cast in comic roles. Her early work included the second UK adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (1952), Hobson's Choice (1954), Room at the Top (1959) and Waltz of the Toreadors (1962).
Her career break came with the early 1960s sitcom Marriage Lines starring opposite Richard Briers. In addition to Fawlty Towers, she has had roles in BBC Radio 4 sitcoms, and comedy series including After Henry, Smelling of Roses and Ladies of Letters; on television she starred in the London Weekend Television/Channel 4 series Mapp & Lucia based on the novels by E. F. Benson. She played Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett's A Question of Attribution.
...
Wikipedia