Yootha Joyce Needham (20th August 1927 - 24th August 1980), credited as Yootha Joyce, was a British actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred.
I would like to add a personal anecdote about Yootha Joyce. My mother used to work as a totaliser at Harringey greyhound stadium for a bit of pin money. Yootha apparently went there on occasions. My mother was trudging home in very heavy rain when a car pulled up. It was Yootha who insisted on driving my mother home and they were soon laughing and joking like old pals. OK, it was only 15 minutes but my mother never forgot her act of kindness that day.
Great story. I grew up in the 70's hearing her voice a lot....i actually didn't know what she looked like for several years, because as kids we were in bed by 7.30 and our folks stayed up with the (tube) telly up loud =^)
How lovely, thanks for sharing - little kindnesses like that tell you so much about a person. I'm not surprised Yootha had a heart of gold, everyone on this documentary talks about her with such obvious love, even her ex husband!
Mim Moon yes sadly the Harringay greyhound stadium went out of business in 1987, and supermarket chain Saintsbury's brought the land , and built there. Sadly the old greyhound stadiums are diminishing fast. Some great characters were found at dog tracks, ....miss them days
Outstanding actress. The chemistry between Yootha and Brian Murphy was sheer perfection producing great British humour! Lasting friendship. Sadly missed....X
"Man about the house" came out years before I was born, yet it's a timeless masterpiece. All the actors were brilliant. Yootha's character "Mildred" always made me roar with laughter whenever she would insult her husband "George" (Brian Murphy).
Yootha had a stage presence. It was great that she had a successful working relationship with Brian Murphy - they were perfect for each other. Yootha was one of the classic British female comedians that cannot be replicated today.
Man About The House and George and Mildred were also broadcast here in the Netherlands to great success. Great acting, brilliant writing and simply funny! They don't make 'm like that anymore.
I remember so well my late mum and dad going to the George and Mildred stage show in the 1970’s. They could not stop talking about the wonderful and enjoyable evening they had had. The 1970’s when there was real quality entertainment that was so good!! So different to today!!
George and Mildred was a hit also in Italy in the ‘70s. As almost any British actor she was marvelous and she was the most exquisite fruit of the British humor. I still remember many lines of the episodes and still they make me laugh.
A beautiful, talented and clearly much-loved lady. How sad she didn't find the love of her life, in this lifetime. A great shame that her only husband, who speaks so warmly about her here and remained her friend after their divorce, was not 'the one'. Who knows, she may not have died young, had she found happiness and security in her private life. God bless gorgeous Yootha, wherever her beautiful spirit has flown to.
We grew up with George and Mildred .. used to love it even at a so young age and I still watch the repeats now.. Tristran n all that malarky. Brilliant
I saw Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy in a stage version of George and Mildred at the Theatre Royal in Brighton in the 1970’s. I laughed so much my sides hurt, it was so funny. Great show, she was great (so was he), they made a great team.
Funny how we are all aboard this express train called 'Life', and people get on and off at different times. Yet even after we have left the train we can still influence the living, as Yootha has done with her wonderful, uplifting TV work. What a legacy!
I love George and Mildred.i still watch it now. A brilliant actress and George who played her husband was a brilliant best freind to her.its a shame she passed on.she will be forever missed.
She was a terrific character actress, and great at comedy roles, I grew up watching George & Mildred in the 70s, it was wonderfully written and the acting was so good and so funny . and she had a great chemistry with her screen husband (George) Brian Murphy........ Fond memories of my childhood.
A fantastic lady with immense talent. She is so much missed. I watch re-runs of Man About The House and George And Mildred all the time on here, they never fail to cheer me up. :)
Oh such a lovely lady. Alcoholism is a terrible disease which when it gets hold is so difficult to break free from. Thank you for the comedies Yootha. I love George and Mildred and listen to the audio of them when trying to get to sleep at night.
Yes. As a recovering alcoholic I can testify to tht. I had reached a point tht I figured I was gonna die of alcoholism. Then I met a friend who was able to help me stop drinking. I guess it does take total surrender. It still amazes me I quit.
In the 1970's there was a lovely range of strong comedic characters...Youtha Joyce, Queenie watts, Mollie Sugden, Frances De la Tour, Hylda Baker, Irene Handl .. the best the very best
Absolutely! Now the women feel that they need to be vulgar to get a laugh! It's so disappointing for all the wonderful women that broke the boundaries!
A beautiful and talented lady. But desperately lonely despite her fame, just illustrates how you can be alone in a crowd. A real tragedy. She will always be remembered fondly.😘
Such a legend I wasn't born till 1991 but I love Mildred George, bless this house , man about the house and my boy. RIP to a beautiful legend that's decades on makes my day!
Such a wonderful woman, I was really attracted to her. Mildred and George were tremendous, the supporting cast too were great, does anyone remember Roy Kinnear as the "builder"? he was "terrified of Mildred as George was, such sublime acting by all.
I was working in the royal station hotel in Newcastle waiting on tables. in walks yootha. even though it was 40 yrs ago I still remember what a wonderful women she was . she talked to me as if we had known each other 4 years. that was around 76/77 I was 17 ive never forgot her.
There were some great shows from England back in the day, you had Terry and June, George and Mildred, Minder, Are You Being Served, The Carry on Series etc Today there is very little.
I got Sally Jameson’s autograph when i was a kid. And i met Yootha as a child when she did ‘Sweet Charity at the end of the sixties. She let me play with her make up in her dressing room and made my face up for me. I adored her. She was lovely and much more talented than she appeared on tv.
In a few months time I will have out lived Yootha. Getting older is one thing but I'm about to cross a line in that soon I will be older than someone who I perceive as actually being old. When I was a kid and she was on TV she certainly looked old to me.
That’s spot on! And, watching these shows all these years later, her poise, class and style remain bright - even as many other elements of these comedies have dated badly
Come in George I know you're there I can smell the fear ! LOL God love Yootha Joyce she brought us so much laughter , incredible funny Lady .....thank you great to see this video 🇨🇦
What a desperately sad story . She found fame but never completely found happiness . I work when I can as an actor , & I try day to day to remember the good moments and the amazing relationships the industry can throw your way , but it’s a tough business to find a lasting relationship to survive all the things life throws at you . I suppose everybody no matter who they are or what they do needs a shoulder to cry on and a confident to confide in . Drink alone will never fill the need . May everybody who reads my comment , find their own paradise .
Fantastic actress massively missed,loved man about the house and George and Mildred was the best.Very sad to come home from school to know she passed away.
“Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?”― Tennessee Williams
This is my childhood, loved Man About The House and of course George and Mildred funniest thing on tv in those days and that being with Are You Being Served and Hi De Hi being on tv. RIP Yootha!
She seemed so charismatic I loved her look too. I was too young to remember the original stuff but the re runs in late 80’s of George and Mildred my mum and dad let me watch and it was such fun xx
So sad, Yootha was LOVELY, and I never had the faintest idea she was an alcoholic. I loved Gorge and Mildred, it was so funny. RIP Yootha and thanks for everything.
Under-rated comedienne. I watched the entire George&Mildred dvd box.Followed her for-real battle with alcohol on-set over the making of it.The way, Brian supported her professionally &as a close friend comes through in his husband role ~it's moving. She had a fantastic resilience to chronic alcoholism~that is what under-pins Mildred&Yootha. Wonderful spirit!!{pun intended}NOTICE? She has some african genes ~it really shows in some episodes.
She Was Absolutely Beautiful When She was Young. Her Eyes Had That Spark And I Loved Her In George And Mildred..Rest In Peace Yootha GodBless you Amen.🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🙏🙏🙏🙏🌷🌷🌷🌹🌹🌹💖💖🦋🕊🌹
Yootha joyce. Beautifull lady. Great actress. In George and Mildred. Watch the programme every week. maid me laugh a lot when George did something wrong. God bless her still thinking of you my love xxx 💖🌹💐
grew up watching all the great comedies in the 70's loved george & mildred great comedy no swearing needed just superb entertainment & lots of laughing
There certainly was something about yootha...a proper star. I was only 4 when she died so came to realise her work through my dad as i grew up watching him laugh the house down and wondering what was so funny. No one will ever say GEOrrrgeeEee quite like yoothax
No one could say George like Yootha Joyce such missed and well loved actress RIP. I bet she is entertaining the crowds up in the sky, I never knew she was once married to Dave from Minder at least he doesn't have to worry about Aruther Daley trying to pull a scam in his club but once again RIP Yootha Joyce and George Cole.
I had no idea that "Three's Company" in America was based on their show, "Man About the House", with even the name of the upstairs neighbors/landlords, the Ropers remaining the same. Learn something new every day.