Pamela Cundell
| Pamela Cundell | |
|---|---|
 Pamela Cundell in May 2011 | |
| Born |
Pamela I. Cundell 1920 (age 93–94) Croydon, Surrey |
| Occupation | Actress |
Pamela I. Cundell[1] (born 1920[1] in Croydon, Surrey) is an English character actress.[2] Her best known role was as Mrs Fox in the long-running TV comedy Dad's Army.
She is a descendant of Henry Condell, one of the managers of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, the playing company of William Shakespeare.[citation needed] Henry Condell also helped put together the first folio of Shakespeare's works after his death.
Life and career
Pam Cundell was born into a show business family and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama before gaining experience in rep and summer shows as a stand up comic. She has worked with many of the great comics, including Frankie Howerd, Benny Hill and Bill Fraser, the last of whom she married in 1981 (he died in 1987). Making her first television appearance in 1957 with Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine, she has since appeared in many popular shows, including, The Bill, On The Buses, Casualty, Z-Cars, and Big Deal. Pam Cundell has kept busy with theatre work and pantomime, and has appeared in several feature films.
Her most notable credits include Dad's Army (as Mrs Fox), later the on-screen wife of Clive Dunn's character Corporal Jones, The Borrowers, The Benny Hill Show and, in 2005–06, as Nora Swann in EastEnders.
Dad's Army
Character of Mrs Fox
During the course of the war, Mrs Fox sadly becomes a widow. This is good news to butcher Jack Jones (Lance-Corporal Jack Jones) who has admired her for some time. This admiration is returned, with little 'extras' being passed across the counter on her visits to his shop. Beset with bad luck during the war, we hear that her brother did not make it through by the time she has been courted by Jones and accepts his hand in marriage. She is also very fond of George Mainwaring and even asks him to give her away since she no longer has any male relatives.
On 3 August 2008 Pamela Cundell was interviewed, alongside Bill Pertwee and Frank Williams, about her time on Dad's Army for the 40th anniversary tribute show Jonathan Ross Salutes Dad's Army. As of 2013, Cundell, Frank Williams and Ian Lavender are the last surviving major Dad's Army cast members following the death of Clive Dunn in November 2012 and Bill Pertwee in May 2013.
She explained that her character Mrs. Fox was so-called because of the fox fur which she always wore draped over her shoulders.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ↑ http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/120703