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IMDbPro

Rosemary Leach(1935-2017)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Rosemary Leach
In London, a head injury turns a bicycle cop into a mad vigilante whose popularity rises as he dispenses justice to scumbags.
Play trailer0:59
May I Kill U? (2012)
15 Videos
8 Photos
English character actress with a penchant for genteel aristocrats and kindly mothers. The daughter of teachers, she "spent some time selling shoes in Reading" before entering the acting profession. Aged eighteen, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made her debut in repertory theatre at Amersham in 1955. Rosemary Leach enjoyed a prolific and varied career in both supporting and leading roles on the screen (though, by her own account, preferred radio and the stage). She became a familiar presence, most notably in television period dramas and sitcoms. Her roles have included Queen Victoria in Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978) (she also played Queen Elizabeth II on at least four occasions on both stage and screen),scatterbrained Aunt Fenny in The Jewel in the Crown (1984) (which fostered her fascination with India and resulted in several subsequent visits) , the swindled widow Joan Plumleigh-Bruce -- victim of 1930's social climbing con man Ralph Ernest Gorse -- in The Charmer (1987), one of three nannies working for wealthy families in Edwardian London's exclusive Berkeley Square (1998),the verger's wife, Mrs. Tope, in The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1993) and Zoë Wanamaker's habitually Martini-imbibing mother Grace in My Family (2000). She was twice nominated for BAFTA awards, latterly as Best Supporting Actress for her role as the kindly Mrs. Honeychurch in A Room with a View (1985). Her own personal favourite roles have included Miss Adelaide in a 1973 Birmingham Repertory Theatre production of "Guys and Dolls" and that of eccentric real life author Helene Hanff in "84 Charing Cross Road" (1981, Ambassador Theatre, London) for which she received an Olivier Award as Best Actress.
BornDecember 18, 1935
DiedOctober 21, 2017(81)
BornDecember 18, 1935
DiedOctober 21, 2017(81)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 5 BAFTA Awards
    • 5 nominations total

Photos8

Rosemary Leach in The Afternoon Play (2003)
Rosemary Leach and Angela Lonsdale in The Afternoon Play (2003)
Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day-Lewis, Rupert Graves, and Rosemary Leach in A Room with a View (1985)
Helena Bonham Carter, Rupert Graves, Maggie Smith, Mia Fothergill, Freddy Korner, and Rosemary Leach in A Room with a View (1985)
Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day-Lewis, Rupert Graves, Maggie Smith, Mia Fothergill, Freddy Korner, and Rosemary Leach in A Room with a View (1985)
Amelia Bullmore and Rosemary Leach in Tilly Trotter (1999)
Rosemary Leach

Known for

Helena Bonham Carter and Julian Sands in A Room with a View (1985)
A Room with a View
7.2
  • Mrs Honeychurch
  • 1985
BBC Play of the Month (1965)
BBC Play of the Month
7.0
TV Series
  • Aldonza
  • Dulcinea
  • Gina Ekdal, Hedvig's mother
  • Mrs. Dangle
Turtle Diary (1985)
Turtle Diary
6.8
  • Mrs. Charlie Inchcliff (landlady)
  • 1985
Now Look Here (1971)
Now Look Here
7.4
TV Series
  • Laura

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • May I Kill U? (2012)
    May I Kill U?
    • Mags
    • 2012
  • The Great Ghost Rescue (2011)
    The Great Ghost Rescue
    • The Queen
    • 2011
  • Tinga Tinga Tales (2010)
    Tinga Tinga Tales
    • Guinea Fowl (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2011
  • Alan Ford and Julian Vergov in Mission London (2010)
    Mission London
    • Miss Cunningham
    • 2010
  • Margaret (2009)
    Margaret
    • Queen Elizabeth II
    • TV Movie
    • 2009
  • Kari Corbett and Damian O'Hare in The Royal (2003)
    The Royal
    • Hester Hindmarch
    • TV Series
    • 2008
  • Angela Griffin, Liam Scholes, Ava Flannery, Vincent Jerome, Noah Valentine, Katherine Pearce, Thapelo Ray, and Adam Ali in Waterloo Road (2006)
    Waterloo Road
    • Bessie
    • TV Series
    • 2008
  • Casualty (1986)
    Casualty
    • Miranda Watts
    • TV Series
    • 2007
  • Daniela Denby-Ashe, Robert Lindsay, Kris Marshall, Gabriel Thomson, and Zoë Wanamaker in My Family (2000)
    My Family
    • Grace
    • TV Series
    • 2003–2007
  • Peter Capaldi and Ray Quinn in The Afternoon Play (2003)
    The Afternoon Play
    • HM The Queen
    • TV Series
    • 2006
  • Afterlife (2005)
    Afterlife
    • Jenny
    • TV Series
    • 2005
  • John Salthouse, Meera Syal, and Max Sachdev in The Secretary Who Stole £4 Million (2005)
    The Secretary Who Stole £4 Million
    • Carol Samson
    • TV Movie
    • 2005
  • Nick Berry in Heartbeat (1992)
    Heartbeat
    • Dorothy Plum
    • TV Series
    • 2004–2005
  • Angela Lonsdale, Eva Alexander, and Tom Frederic in Doctors (2000)
    Doctors
    • Josephine Barker
    • Meg Carpenter
    • TV Series
    • 2000–2005
  • Odd Socks
    • Velma
    • TV Series
    • 2004

Soundtrack

  • Bernard Cribbins, Rosemary Leach, Patricia Routledge, Prunella Scales, Peter Vaughan, and Timothy West in When We Are Married (1987)
    When We Are Married
    • performer: "When We Are Married"
    • TV Movie
    • 1987

Videos15

U.S. Version
Trailer 0:59
U.S. Version
The Great Ghost Rescue
Trailer 1:16
The Great Ghost Rescue
Summer's Lease: Where The Water Goes
Trailer 1:41
Summer's Lease: Where The Water Goes
Summer's Lease
Trailer 2:00
Summer's Lease
Summer's Lease: Villa To Let
Trailer 2:00
Summer's Lease: Villa To Let
Summer's Lease: Vol. 2
Trailer 0:47
Summer's Lease: Vol. 2
Summer's Lease: A Battlefield
Trailer 1:46
Summer's Lease: A Battlefield
Summer's Lease: Vol. 1
Trailer 0:42
Summer's Lease: Vol. 1
Summer's Lease: The Urbino Trail
Trailer 2:00
Summer's Lease: The Urbino Trail
An Unsuitable Job For A Woman: Living On Risk
Trailer 1:07
An Unsuitable Job For A Woman: Living On Risk
An Unsuitable Job For A Woman
Trailer 0:56
An Unsuitable Job For A Woman
An Unsuitable Job For A Woman: Playing God
Trailer 1:26
An Unsuitable Job For A Woman: Playing God

Personal details

Edit
  • Born
    • December 18, 1935
    • Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England, UK
  • Died
    • October 21, 2017
    • London, England, UK(undisclosed)
  • Spouses
      Colin StarkeyNovember 3, 1981 - October 21, 2017 (her death)
  • Other works
    (Transmission March-April 1991). Played the Wife of Bath in an adaptation of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1983 (1982 season) for Best Actress in a New Play, 84 Charing Cross Road.

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