ANN BEACH

Written by Michael Darvell
 

(7 June 1938 - 9 March 2017)

Although she was never a star, Ann Beach always brought a great sense of her own personality to any role she played, be it on stage, in films or on television. As a chorister in Wales she was encouraged to take up a singing career, but instead became an actress. After attending RADA she toured in a Feydeau farce and then worked extensively with Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop in Stratford East and also at the Royal Court. She also appeared in the musical Mame at Drury Lane with Gingers Rogers. Her first film was The City of the Dead in 1960 and then On the Fiddle with Sean Connery. Other films include The Fast Lady with Leslie Phillips, Hotel Paradiso with Alec Guinness, Sebastian with Dirk Bogarde, Under Milk Wood with Taylor and Burton, King Ralph, Notting Hill (as Hugh Grant’s mother), and One Chance (2013), with James Corden as Paul Potts, her last film. 

MICHAEL DARVELL

 
Michael Darvell

Michael Darvell trained as a librarian at Watford and in Surrey before joining Ealing Libraries where he became Music Librarian for the borough. He edited Masthead, the magazine of the University of North London School of Librarianship, The Surrealist, the staff magazine of Surrey County Library, and contributed to the Assistant Librarian and London Librarian professional journals. A freelance film reviewer since 1970, he has written for Film, Films Illustrated, Film Review, Movie Maker and Radio Times, as well as editing Montage, the London film societies magazine, for ten years. A change of career saw him joining What’s On in London as Features Editor and he eventually stepped into the shoes of the late F. Maurice Speed (founding father of Film Review annual) as the magazine’s Editor. From 2007 to 2015, he was co-editor of the Film Review annual with Mansel Stimpson. As well as writing about films, Michael has reviewed theatre for The Stage newspaper, and has written about music theatre and cabaret for the Classical Source and Musical Theatre Review websites. He is also a former restaurant critic for the ViewLondon website. Michael has been a member of the London Film Critics’ Circle since 2005.

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