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Betty Driver

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Cause of death
  
Pneumonia

Role
  
Actress

Name
  
Betty Driver


Years active
  
1928–2011

Occupation
  
Actress

Home town
  
Betty Driver Coronation Street39s Betty Driver Telegraph

Full Name
  
Elizabeth Mary Driver

Born
  
20 May 1920 (
1920-05-20
)
Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK

Television
  
Pardon the ExpressionCoronation Street

Spouse(s)
  
Wally Peterson (m. 1953–1960)

Died
  
October 15, 2011, Cheadle, United Kingdom

Parents
  
Nellie Driver, Frederick Driver

Awards
  
The British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement

Similar People
  
Julie Goodyear, Eileen Derbyshire, Bill Tarmey, Thelma Barlow, Sue Nicholls

Betty driver stars attend actor s funeral


Elizabeth Mary "Betty" Driver, MBE (20 May 1920 – 15 October 2011) was a British actress and singer, best known for her role as Betty Williams (previously Betty Turpin) on the British soap opera, Coronation Street from 1969 to 2011, appearing in more than 2,800 episodes. She had previously appeared as Mrs Edgley in Coronation Street spin-off Pardon the Expression (1965–1966) opposite Arthur Lowe. Her early career focussed on her as a singer, appearing in musical films such as Boots! Boots! in 1934, opposite George Formby and Penny Paradise in 1938, directed by Carol Reed. She was made an MBE in the 2000 New Year Honours.

Contents

Betty Driver httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaendd4Bet

Coronation street actress betty driver dies aged 91


Early life

Betty Driver A fond farewell to Coronation Street39s longstanding

Betty Driver was born in 1920 at the Prebend Nursing Home, Leicester, the elder of two daughters of Frederick and Nellie Driver. She weighed 5.5 kg (12 lb). Her father had fought in the trenches during the First World War and later became a policeman. However, it is her mother whom Driver described as "the driving force" in her life. Driver commented, "the only way I can explain her behaviour is that she wanted to live out her ambitions through me."

Betty Driver Coronation Street39s Betty Driver passes away OK Magazine

The Driver family moved to West Didsbury, Manchester, in 1922, where they resided in a semi-detached house alongside other police families. Driver went to school at Wilbraham Road and was later joined there by her younger sister Freda, who shared a class with a young Pat Phoenix, who would play the role of Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street.

Betty Driver Betty Driver Home At Last Life of Wylie

Driver described her parents as absent of affection, stating that they never celebrated birthdays and rarely gave her toys and gifts. Though she maintained her father never beat them, their mother "more often lashed out". Driver's mother never wanted children and developed an interest in her daughter only when she discovered she had a talent for singing. When she was 7, the Drivers went to see a production called the Quaintesques, a group of men dressed as women, when the star, Billy Manders, asked the audience to join in with a chorus. Driver's singing stood out so much that Manders asked her to come forward and sing with him. From then on, Driver's mother began taking her to various talent contests in Manchester, and she won them all. She has commented, "I imitated hits by Gracie Fields such as 'Sing As We Go', and 'The Biggest Aspidistra In the World', corny little numbers that I detested but mother adored ... I think she was a frustrated performer herself and she was determined that my sister Freda and I were going to fulfil all her dreams."

Career

At the age of 8, Driver began performing professionally, forced by her mother to appear with Terence Byron Repertory Theatre Company. She was singing for the BBC by the age of 10 and began touring across the UK in her first revue at the age of 12. While performing in London at the age of 14, Driver was spotted by the agent Bert Aza, who was in partnership with his brother Archie Pitt, Gracie Fields' husband. Despite her young age, he booked her for the lead in a revival of Mr Tower Of London, which had brought Gracie Fields to prominence 19 years earlier. She was also approached by George Formby after he and his wife Beryl Formby saw her perform in Manchester. The Formbys wanted Driver to appear in their new film Boots! Boots!, but according to Driver, when Beryl Formby saw her rehearsing, she decided that she did not want to be outperformed by Driver and sent her away; however, the producers felt so bad about the way Betty Driver was treated that they refused to take her name off the film credits, even though she did not appear in the theatrical release. In fact, it is now known that Driver did indeed perform in the film and her scene was included in the original release. In 1938, an edited version of the film was released which did not include Driver's scene. A restored version of the film (including Driver's scene) has recently been released on DVD which finally confirms the involvement of Driver in the film.

At 16 she was in a West End show called Home and Beauty. Film director Basil Dean, after seeing her in Jimmy Hunter's Brighton Follies, cast her in the 1938 film Penny Paradise, filmed at ATP studios in Ealing. After a few months of variety and radio work, she returned to the studio to make her second film, Let's Be Famous. They had just completed the film when the Second World War was announced and the studios were closed down. Nineteen at the time, Driver resumed touring the country in variety shows. It was at this time that her act and image altered. Against her mother's wishes, Driver and her sister modernised her performance and Driver became a ballad singer. Shortly after, during a six-month run in a revue called Twice In A Blue Moon, Driver and her sister parted company with their mother following a cardiac asthma attack which restricted her mobility.

Driver continued in variety, opening in the Coventry Hippodrome and sharing the bill with the Andrews family - father Ted, mother Barbara and Julie. She made regular trips to Bristol to sing on a radio show called Ack Ack Beer Beer and made her final film in 1941 Facing the Music.

In the 1940s, she became a noted big band singer. During the Second World War, Driver travelled through Europe with ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association), entertaining the troops. She also appeared for seven years on the radio show Henry Hall's Guest Night and on her own show, A Date with Betty, which was broadcast live from the People's Palace in London's East End on 14 July 1949. The show's format was based around Driver singing, doing sketches and introducing guests. All her words were scripted by a young Bob Monkhouse. She recorded many popular tunes in the 1940s and became an established singer during this time. When she was 14, she made her first record "Jubilee Baby", and had another major success with "The Sailor with the Navy Blue Eyes" and made several more hit records. Betty travelled to Australia where she performed her own show and her career took her to Cyprus, Malta and the Middle East. On her return to England she appeared in various Ealing Comedies, on stage in The Lovebirds, Pillar to Post and What A Racket, and on television with James Bolam in Love on the Dole.

In 1964, she auditioned for the role of Hilda Ogden on the television series Coronation Street (the role went to actress Jean Alexander as the casting directors wanted someone who did not weigh as much). She was cast later in the series Pardon the Expression, a spin-off of Coronation Street alongside Arthur Lowe. She has described Lowe as "such a difficult man to work with", so after a much-publicised injury (she damaged her back after the script called for throwing Arthur Lowe), she retired and started running a pub, the Cock Hotel in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, with her sister Freda.

In 1969, she was persuaded to come out of retirement to play police officer's wife Betty Turpin on Coronation Street, a role she would play for over 40 years. She was the longest serving barmaid in the history of the Rover's Return and Betty's Hot Pot (served at lunchtime in the Rovers) is an iconic dish, which has also been offered as a ready meal in UK supermarkets.

She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1976 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.

Driver wrote a memoir on her years in radio and television, called Betty, which was published in 2000. In an interview on the Parkinson show on 11 November 2006, Sir Ian McKellen revealed that Driver still drove herself into work at 07:30am each morning, despite her age. She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the Millennium New Year's Honours List on 31 December 1999.

In August 2008, it was announced that Driver was one of several Coronation Street stars facing large salary cuts. In April 2010 Driver was reportedly admitted to hospital with a chest infection. In May 2010 Driver was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards. There were also rumours that Driver was to retire, however these were confirmed as false. Driver vowed in September 2010 never to retire stating that: "If I retire, I'll be dead in six months with boredom" and stated she still "loved" being part of Coronation Street.

On 23 January 2011, Driver was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.

Personal life

Driver said she fell in love several times in her teenage years, but each relationship was ruined by her mother, who wanted to keep her daughter single so as not to lose her free "meal ticket". All the earnings Driver made before she turned 21 and was in charge of her own finances were squandered by her parents.

Driver stated that she was bitter about the path chosen for herself and her sister: "I never wanted to be in the theatre and we really resented missing out on our childhood. Birthdays and Christmases were ignored and we never saw a pay-cheque. My pushy mother stuck to us like a wart and we were rarely out of her sight." Her mother died of lung cancer in 1956 after a long illness.

In December 1953 in London, she married South African singer Wally Peterson, something Driver claimed she did out of "defiance" to her domineering mother who she has said "always felt Wally was only interested in my bank account". Peterson had appeared as part of a double-act on The Betty Driver Show in 1949, where they met and fell in love. Driver reluctantly agreed to marry him. She commented, "Before the wedding, he had started to change the way I looked and sang. Up to this point, I'd always worn glamorous gowns. Wally said that look was too dated. He wanted me in short knee-length wide skirts, which I loathed. I went along with it because I loved him. Wally said my act was corny and old fashioned. I became very cowed and did as he said, as I had with Mother. We toured with this new look and singing style, but audiences were lukewarm". Driver became pregnant to Wally but miscarried. Doctors then discovered she had fibroids in the womb and insisted on a hysterectomy. The couple looked into adoption, but were turned down.

Lew Levisohn, the husband of Driver's good friend Winifred Atwell, once told Driver that he had punched Peterson after discovering an affair Peterson was having. Driver said to Lew, "Good". Driver and her husband moved to South Africa but she returned a few months later, penniless, ending the marriage after seven years because of her husband's various infidelities. Her sister had to send her money to return to the United Kingdom.

Driver lived with and cared for her sister Freda until Freda's death in December 2008. She was godmother to James Roache, the son of Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow in Coronation Street.

Despite Driver's character being well known for her Lancashire hotpot, in real life she was a vegetarian who seldom cooked, describing herself as a poor cook.

Death

On 11 May 2011, Driver was rushed to hospital, suffering from pneumonia. She died on 15 October, aged 91, from kidney failure, after around six weeks in hospital.

Filmography

Actress
1969
Coronation Street (TV Series) as
Betty Turpin / Betty Williams
2010
Coronation Street: Tram Crash (TV Movie) as
Betty Williams
1998
Women of Coronation Street (Video) as
Betty Williams
1990
ITV Telethon (TV Series) as
Betty Turpin
- Telethon '90 (1990) - Betty Turpin
1984
Joy to the World: A Celebration of Christmas (TV Short)
1975
Annie & Betty's Coronation Street Memories (TV Movie) as
Betty Turpin
1969
All Star Comedy Carnival (TV Movie) as
Betty Turpin
1967
Daft as a brush (TV Movie)
1967
ITV Play of the Week (TV Series) as
Mrs. Bull
- Love on the Dole (1967) - Mrs. Bull
1965
Pardon the Expression (TV Series) as
Mrs. Edgeley / The Hon Mrs Wentworth Brewster
- Christmas Special (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Down on the Health Farm Something Stirred (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Cup That Cheers (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Switched-On Scene (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Thunderfinger: Part 1 (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Dinner Party (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Sailor Home from the Sea (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Ghost of Batsworth Castle (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Rustle of Spring (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- A Sheik in the Night (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Heads Down (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Between the Cover (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Take-Over Bid (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Whose Baby Are You? (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Jailbirds (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Big Hotel (1966) - The Hon Mrs Wentworth Brewster
- The Home Help (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Stocktaking (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Self Defence (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Resignation (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Economy Drive (1966) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Old One Two (1965) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Little Boy Lost (1965) - Mrs. Edgeley
- Birthday Present (1965) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Visitor (1965) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Pensioner (1965) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Wedding (1965) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Dance (1965) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Trouble with Ada (1965) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The Headmistress (1965) - Mrs. Edgeley
- The First Day (1965) - Mrs. Edgeley
1961
Theatre Night (TV Series)
- What a Racket (1961)
1960
Blackpool Show Parade (TV Series)
- Pillar to Post (1960)
1957
Emney Enterprises (TV Series)
- Episode #3.2 (1957)
- Episode #3.1 (1957)
1956
The Max Wall Show (TV Series)
- Episode #1.8 (1956)
1941
Facing the Music as
Mary Matthews
1939
Let's Be Famous as
Betty
1938
Penny Paradise as
Betty Higgins
1934
Boots! Boots! as
Betty
Soundtrack
1966
Pardon the Expression (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode)
- A Sheik in the Night (1966) - (performer: "In Sunny Samarkand", "The Sound of Music" (uncredited))
1939
Let's Be Famous (performer: "I Ran Into Love", "The Moon Remembered But You Forgot", "I've Got A Hunch", "Whistle When You Want Me", "The Gospel Of Love" - uncredited)
1938
Penny Paradise (performer: "Stick Out Your Chin", "You Can't Have Your Cake", "Learn How To Sing a Love Song" - uncredited)
1934
Boots! Boots! (performer: "The Alpine Milkman")
Self
2011
The Betty Driver Story (TV Movie documentary) as
Self / Betty Higgins / Betty Pinbright / ... (as Betty Driver MBE)
2010
Coronation Street: 50 Years, 50 Moments (TV Movie documentary) as
Self (as Betty Driver MBE)
2009
Outbreak 1939 (TV Movie documentary) as
Self - Actress
2007
Legends (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Vera Lynn: Sincerely Yours (2007) - Self
2006
The Funny Side of the Street (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
2000
This Morning (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode dated 25 January 2006 (2006) - Self
- Episode dated 13 November 2000 (2000) - Self
2003
Coronation Street: Secrets (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Weddings (2003) - Self
- Double Acts (2003) - Self
- Barmaids (2003) - Self
2003
Heroes of Comedy (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Max Wall (2003) - Self
2002
Reputations (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Arthur Lowe (2002) - Self
2001
Ken and Me (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
2000
The Way They Were: Coronation Street (TV Special) as
Self
2000
40 Years on Coronation Street (TV Special) as
Self / Betty Turpin
1974
This Is Your Life (TV Series documentary) as
Self / Self - Guest
- Sue Nicholls (1996) - Self
- Tony Warren (1995) - Self
- Jill Summers (1994) - Self
- William Tarmey (1992) - Self
- Thelma Barlow (1991) - Self
- Liz Dawn (1990) - Self
- Elisabeth Welch (1985) - Self
- John Thaw (1981) - Self
- Julie Goodyear (1980) - Self
- Tony Britton (1977) - Self
- Betty Driver (1976) - Self
- Jack Howarth (1974) - Self - Guest
1996
Coronation Street: They're Back! (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
1992
The South Bank Show (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Coronation Street (1995) - Self
- George Formby (1992) - Self
1994
Doris Speed Remembered (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
1991
Classic Coronation Street (TV Movie) as
Self / Betty Williams
1990
Happy Birthday, Coronation Street! (TV Special) as
Self - Audience Member
1988
Wogan (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #8.73 (1988) - Self
1978
Looks Familiar (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode dated 19 April 1978 (1978) - Self
1957
The Good Old Days (TV Series) as
Self - Performer
- Episode #5.3 (1957) - Self - Performer
1957
Variety Incorporated (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.4 (1957) - Self
1955
It's a Great Life (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.2 (1955) - Self
1954
The Season's Greetings (TV Special) as
Self
1954
Variety Parade (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.12 (1954) - Self
1951
Music-Hall (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #4.3 (1954) - Self
- Episode #3.11 (1951) - Self
- Episode #3.5 (1951) - Self
1953
Toppers About Town (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.6 (1953) - Self
1952
Television Christmas Party (TV Movie) as
Self - Singer
1952
The Betty Driver Show (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.6 (1952) - Self
- Episode #1.5 (1952) - Self
- Episode #1.4 (1952) - Self
- Episode #1.3 (1952) - Self
- Episode #1.2 (1952) - Self
- Episode #1.1 (1952) - Self
1952
Kaleidoscope (TV Series) as
Self - Singer
- Episode #6.7 (1952) - Self - Singer
1949
Rooftop Rendezvous (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.23 (1950) - Self
- Episode #1.14 (1949) - Self
Archive Footage
2020
Coronation Street: Compilations (TV Series documentary) as
Betty Williams
2012
Coronation Street (TV Series) as
Betty Turpin / Betty Williams
- Episode #1.10000 (2020) - Betty Turpin
- Episode #1.7849 (2012) - Betty Williams
2019
Coronation Street at Christmas (TV Special documentary) as
Betty Turpin / Williams (uncredited)
2016
Hilda Ogden's Last Ta Ra - A Tribute to Jean Alexander (TV Movie) as
Betty Turpin (uncredited)
2013
Victoria Wood's Nice Cup of Tea (TV Mini Series documentary) as
Betty Williams
- Episode #1.2 (2013) - Betty Williams (uncredited)
2011
Pete Postlethwaite: A Tribute (TV Movie documentary) as
Betty (uncredited)
2011
The Corrie Years (TV Series documentary) as
Betty Williams
- The Firsts (2011) - Betty Williams (uncredited)
2010
The Stars of the Street: 50 Years, 50 Classic Characters (Video) as
Betty Turpin / Betty Williams
2009
Stars on the Street (TV Movie documentary) as
Betty Williams (uncredited)
2009
Mollie Sugden: A Tribute (TV Movie documentary) as
Betty Turpin
2008
Farewell Vera (TV Special documentary) as
Betty Williams (uncredited)
1995
The Coronation Street Character Collection (TV Series) as
Betty Turpin
- Stan and Hilda (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Rita (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Reg (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Raquel (1995) - Betty Turpin
- The McDonalds (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Mavis and Emily (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Len and Elsie (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Ken and Mike (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Ken (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Gail (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Ena & Elsie (1995) - Betty Turpin
- The Duckworths (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Des (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Deirdre (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Curly (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Bet (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Alf & Audrey (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Annie Walker (1995) - Betty Turpin
- Alec Gilroy (1995) - Betty Turpin
1995
The Coronation Street Collection: The Duckworths (Video) as
Betty Turpin

References

Betty Driver Wikipedia