Joyce Grenfell
(1910 - 1979)
Greater London County, England United Kingdom
London, Greater London County, England United Kingdom
Born February 10, 1910 in Knightsbridge, London, England, UK. Both of her parents were born in the United States.
Died November 30, 1979 in Chelsea, London, England, UK
Birth Name Joyce Irene Phipps
Toothy Britisher Joyce Grenfell with her stark, equine features charmed and humored audiences both here and abroad on radio, stage, revues, film and TV for nearly four decades. Lovingly remembered as a delightfully witty monologist and raconteur, she inherited her bold talents from her eccentric socialite mother, who just so happened to be American and the sister of Lady Nancy Astor. Born Joyce Irene Phipps in 1910, her father was an American architect and she was educated both in London and Paris. Her first job in the entertainment business was as a radio critic columnist. In 1939, she performed in her first revue wherein her spot-on impersonations, characterizations and satirical songs became a big hit. One song "I'm Going to See You Today", which she herself wrote in 1942, became her signature song. Performing for the troops during WWII, she finally was sought after for films, finding an opening playing gawky matrons in rollicking comedies. The best of the lot would include The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950), Laughter in Paradise (1951), The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954), and the resulting 'Trinian' sequels. She also put out highly popular comedy albums over the years. Joyce's last performance was in 1973 before Queen Elizabeth and her guests at Windsor Castle. Her health began to fail soon after. An eye infection resulted in a loss of sight in one eye and she was forced to retire. Six years later the eye was diagnosed as cancerous and, though it was removed, she continued to decline, dying on November 30, 1979 at home. She was later commemorated on a postage stamp.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / [contact link]
Spouse (1)
Reggie Grenfell (1929 - 30 November 1979) ( her death)
Trivia (7)
Her mother married Maurice 'Lefty' Flynn in 1930.
One aunt, Nancy Astor, was married to Waldorf Astor, her aunt Irene to Charles Dana Gibson.
Mother was Nora Langhorne of the Virginia Langhornes.
She died a month before she was to be awarded the DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1980 Queen's New Year Honours List for her services to entertainment.
Sister of writer Thomas Phipps.
She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1946 King's Birthday Honours List for her services to the Forces during World War II.
As lyricist, co-wrote with composer Richard Addinsell many songs for revues and for her own one-woman shows.
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During the Second World War, Grenfell toured North Africa, Southern Italy, the Middle East and India with her pianist Viola Tunnard, performing for British troops. In 1989, her wartime journals were published under the title The Time of My Life: Entertaining the Troops.
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Joyce Grenfell, 69, British Actress
By THOMAS LASK DEC. 1, 1979
December 1, 1979, Page 47
The New York Times Archives
Joyce Grenfell, the British actress whose sketches and impersonations on stage and screen of a variety of well‐intentioned but slightly daffy British upper class ladies delighted viewers on both sides of the Atlantic, died yesterday in London She was 69 years old.
Mrs. Grenfell ‐the wife of a mining executive, Reginald Grenfell — was a tall, slim, charming woman with a rather toothy smile that became one of the hallmarks of her performances. She had an eye for the revealing platitude and for the well‐meaning but bumbling mannerisms of her countrywomen. In a series of sketches, monologues and songs, she incorporated them into her own shows and those of others.
Two of her one‐woman shows, “Joyce Grenfell Requests the Pleasure” (1955) and “Joyce Grenfell” (1958), were seen on Broadway. Of the former, Walter Kerr wrote: “Miss Grenfell seems to me to have built for herself a small but quite valid theater of her own. What she does is to take a familiar, sometimes almost routine little snapshot of overheard life, define the comment she wants to make on it, then expand the picture to the precisely controlled, severely stylized dimensions of the musical stage.”
Memorable Parts
In films, she appeared as a lanky gym mistress in “The Happiest Day of Your Life”; as a woman sleuth in “The Bells of St. Trinian's”; as an eager saleswoman in “A Run for Your Money” with Alec Guinness. In these and other pictures, the parts were small but memorable and they were recalled long after the pictures themselves faded from the mind. She did concede once that she was getting tired of making fun of silly women for money.
The London‐born actress described herself as three‐quarters American because her father, Paul Phipps, was American born, and her mother was Nancy Langhorne of Virginia, one of the famous Langhorne sisters. One aunt was Lady Astor; another was the wife of Charles Dana Gibson, the artist.
She loved the theater from childhood and, as a young woman, was sent to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for training. But her plans were interrupted by marriage. Instead of looking for acting jobs, she began to contribute light verse to Punch and other magazines and wrote for The Observer.
Discovered at Party
At a party one evening, she entertained the guests with a lecture, “How to Make a Boutonniere Out of Beech Nut Husks Clusters.” At the party was the producer Herbert Farjeon, who was entranced and invited her to join his “The Little Revue.” It was the beginning of her career.
During World War II, she toured battle areas with a troupe going as far east as India. In addition to her stage and screen work she appeared on BBC radio in quiz and discussion programs. On one, “Trans‐Atlantic Quiz,” she was the quiz mistress.
In 1946, she was named Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Her husband survives.
Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Joyce's lifetime.
In 1910, in the year that Joyce Grenfell was born, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated. U.S. publisher W.D. Boyce was visiting England when he became lost in the London fog. An unknown Boy Scout helped him find his way out, declining a tip (he said that he was a Boy Scout and was doing his good deed for the day). Boyce was so impressed that he incorporated the Boy Scouts of America when he returned home. Its purpose was "to teach boys patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred values."
In 1922, Joyce was merely 12 years old when from October 22nd - 29th, 3,000 men of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party marched on Rome. (Mussolini waited in Milan, he did not participate in the March.) The day after the March Mussolini went to Rome and the King of Italy handed over power to Mussolini, in part because he was supported by the military, the business class, and the right-wing factions of Italy.
In 1938, at the age of 28 years old, Joyce was alive when on October 30th, a Sunday, The Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast Orson Welles' special Halloween show The War of the World's. A clever take on H.G. Wells' novel, the show began with simulated "breaking news" of an invasion by Martians. Because of the realistic nature of the "news," there was a public outcry the next day, calling for regulation by the FCC. Although the current story is that many were fooled and panicked, in reality very few people were fooled. But the show made Orson Welles' career.
In 1967, at the age of 57 years old, Joyce was alive when on October 2nd, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first black US Supreme Court justice. Marshall was the great-grandson of a slave and graduated first in his class at Howard University Law School. His nomination to the Supreme Court was approved by the Senate, 69 to 11.
In 1979, in the year of Joyce Grenfell's passing, on March 28th, a partial nuclear meltdown occurred at the power plant at Three Mile Island Pennsylvania. Radiation leaked into the environment, resulting in a rating of 5 on a scale of 7 ("Accident With Wider Consequences") . It ended up costing $1 billion to clean up the site.
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