Occupation Actress Role Actress | Name Jane Freeman Years active 1964–2010 | |
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Born 12 June 1935 ( 1921-03-15 ) UK Similar People Kathy Staff, Peter Sallis, Brian Wilde, Bill Owen, Robert Fyfe Died 9 March 2017 (aged 81), England, United Kingdom | ||
Interview with jane freeman who played ivy in last of the summer wine
Shirley Ann Pithers (12 June 1935 – 9 March 2017), better known as Jane Freeman, was an English-born Welsh actress who was best known for her work on British television, mostly for her role as Ivy in Last of the Summer Wine.
Contents
Biography
Freeman was born in Brentford, London, in 1935 but raised in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, as a child, following the death of her father in an accident when she was 9 years old and her mother's subsequent remarriage. She graduated from the City Cardiff College of Music and Drama in 1955, and after a stay in London joined the Osiris Repertory Theatre touring company, based in Gloucestershire. She joined the Arena Theatre, Sutton Coldfield, in 1958, followed by Birmingham Rep from 1968 and 1973. Her stage appearances include Margaret More in the Welsh Theatre Company's first production, A Man for All Seasons, at Cardiff's New Theatre in 1962.
She was best known for her role as the abrasive but ultimately kind-hearted café owner Ivy, one of the main characters in the long-running British TV comedy Last of the Summer Wine. She was one of only 2 actors to appear in all series of the show, from 1973 until 2010 (the other being Peter Sallis, who played Norman Clegg): however, unlike Sallis, Freeman did not appear in all of the episodes. Freeman died in March 2017 at the age of 81 from lung cancer. Her age was often incorrectly reported as being 96 at the time of her death, but official birth records prove that she was born in 1935.
Filmography
Actress
1973
Last of the Summer Wine (TV Series) as
Ivy
- Look Whose Wheel's Come Off (2010) - Ivy
- Howard and the Great Outdoors (2010) - Ivy
- The Rights of Man (Except for Howard) (2010) - Ivy
- Happy Camping (2010) - Ivy
- Goodnight Sweet Ferret (2009) - Ivy
- Variations on a Theme of Father's Day (2009) - Ivy
- Will Randolph Make a Good Impression? (2009) - Ivy
- Will Stella Find True Love with Norris Fairburn? (2009) - Ivy
- Nobody Messes with Tony the Throat (2009) - Ivy
- Who's That Looking Sideways at Nelly? (2009) - Ivy
- Will Howard Cross the Atlantic Single Handed? (2009) - Ivy
- The Mother of All Mistakes - Or Is It? (2009) - Ivy
- Some Adventures of the Inventor of the Mother Stitch (2009) - Ivy
- I Was a Hitman for Primrose Dairies (2008) - Ivy
- Get Out of That, Then (2008) - Ivy
- Eva's Back in Town (2008) - Ivy
- Will the Genuine Racer Please Stand Up? (2008) - Ivy
- Enter the Finger (2008) - Ivy
- Sinclair and the Wormley Witches (2007) - Ivy
- In Which Howard Remembers Where He Left His Bicycle Pump (2007) - Ivy
- Must Be Good Dancer (2007) - Ivy
- The Crowcroft Challenge (2007) - Ivy
- Elegy for Small Creature and Clandestine Trackbike (2007) - Ivy
- Will the Nearest Alien Please Come In (2007) - Ivy
- In Which Howard Gets Double Booked (2007) - Ivy
- Variations on a Theme of Road Rage (2007) - Ivy
- What Happened to the Horse? (2007) - Ivy
- The Second Stag Night of Doggy Wilkinson (2007) - Ivy
- A Tale of Two Sweaters (2006) - Ivy
- Plenty of Room in the Back (2006) - Ivy
- Oh Look! Mitzi's Found Her Mummy (2006) - Ivy
- Who's That Talking to Lenny? (2006) - Ivy
- Who's That Merry Man with Billy, Then? (2006) - Ivy
- Barry in Danger from Reading and Aunt Jessie (2006) - Ivy
- The Genuine Outdoors Robin Hood Barbi (2006) - Ivy
- Has Anyone Seen Barry's Midlife Crisis? (2006) - Ivy
- How to Remove a Cousin (2006) - Ivy
- Follow That Bottle (2006) - Ivy
- Merry Entwistle and Jackson Day (2005) - Ivy
- Little Orphan Howard (2005) - Ivy
- Lot No. 8 (2005) - Ivy
- The Afterthoughts of a Co-op Manager (2005) - Ivy
- The McDonaghs of Jamieson Street (2005) - Ivy
- Available for Weddings (2005) - Ivy
- Who's That Mouse in the Poetry Group? (2005) - Ivy
- Hermione (the short course) (2005) - Ivy
- Has Anyone Seen a Peruvian Wart? (2005) - Ivy
- Watching the Clock (2005) - Ivy
- The Swan Man of Ilkley (2005) - Ivy
- Variations on a Theme of the Widow Winstanley (2004) - Ivy
- Yours Truly - If You're Not Careful (2004) - Ivy
- Beware of Laughing at Nora's Hats (2004) - Ivy
- Things to Do When Your Wife Runs Off with a Turkish Waiter (2004) - Ivy
- Barry Becomes a Psychopathic Killer But Only Part Time (2004) - Ivy
- An Apple a Day (2004) - Ivy
- Who's That with Barry and Glenda? - It's Not Barry and Glenda (2004) - Ivy
- Happy Birthday Robin Hood (2004) - Ivy
- Spores (2004) - Ivy
- The General's Greatest Battle (2004) - Ivy
- Jurassic - No Parking (2004) - Ivy
- A Short Blast of Fred Astaire (2003) - Ivy
- All of a Florrie (2003) - Ivy
- The Second Husband and the Showgirls (2003) - Ivy
- The Man Who Invented Yorkshire Funny Stuff (2003) - Ivy
- The Frenchies Are Coming (2003) - Ivy
- The Miraculous Curing of Old Goff Helliwell (2003) - Ivy
- In Which Gavin Hinchcliffe Loses the Gulf Stream (2003) - Ivy
- The Secret Birthday of Norman Clegg (2003) - Ivy
- Ancient Eastern Wisdom - An Introduction (2003) - Ivy
- The Lair of the Cat Creature (2003) - Ivy
- A Musical Passing for a Miserable Muscroft (2002) - Ivy
- It All Began with an Old Volvo Headlamp (2002) - Ivy
- Sadly, Madly, Bradley (2002) - Ivy
- Exercising Father's Bicycle (2002) - Ivy
- A Chaise Longue Too Far (2002) - Ivy
- In Search of Childlike Joy and the Farthest Reaches of the Lotus Position (2002) - Ivy
- Beware of the Hot Dog (2002) - Ivy
- The Incredible Ordeal of Norman Clegg (2002) - Ivy
- Mervyn Would Be Proud (2002) - Ivy
- The Mystical Squeak of Howard's Bicycle (2002) - Ivy
- A Brief Excursion in the Fast Lane (2002) - Ivy
- The Coming of the Beast (2001) - Ivy
- Why Is Barry at an Angle? (2001) - Ivy
- A White Sweater and a Solicitor's Letter (2001) - Ivy
- A Hair of the Blonde That Bit You (2001) - Ivy
- The Art of the Shorts Story (2001) - Ivy
- Gnome and Away (2001) - Ivy
- Enter the Hawk (2001) - Ivy
- Hey, Big Vendor (2001) - Ivy
- The Missing Bus of Mrs Avery (2001) - Ivy
- Getting Barry's Goat (2001) - Ivy
- I Didn't Know Barry Could Play (2000) - Ivy
- Waggoners Roll (2000) - Ivy
- Some Vans Can Make You Deaf (2000) - Ivy
- From Here to Paternity (2000) - Ivy
- Just a Small Funeral (2000) - Ivy
- Surprise at Throstlenest (2000) - Ivy
- Elegy for Fallen Wellies (2000) - Ivy
- Magic and the Morris Minor (2000) - Ivy
- Under the Rug (2000) - Ivy
- Lipstick and Other Problems (2000) - Ivy
- Last Post and Pigeon (2000) - Ivy
- Ironing Day (1999) - Ivy
- The Phantom Number 14 Bus (1999) - Ivy
- Howard Throws a Wobbler (1999) - Ivy
- Beware the Vanilla Slice (1999) - Ivy
- Will Barry Go Septic Despite Listening to Classical Music? (1999) - Ivy
- Optimism in the Housing Market (1999) - Ivy
- What Happened to Barry's Nose? (1999) - Ivy
- Who's Thrown Away Her Tom Cruise Photographs? (1999) - Ivy
- How Errol Flynn Discovered the Secret Scar of Nora Batty (1999) - Ivy
- The Pony Set (1999) - Ivy
- Support Your Local Skydiver (1998) - Ivy
- From Audrey Nash to the Widow Dilhooley (1998) - Ivy
- Nowhere Particular (1998) - Ivy
- Perfection - Thy Name Is Ridley (1998) - Ivy
- The Only Diesel Saxophone in Captivity (1998) - Ivy
- The Suit That Attracts Blondes (1998) - Ivy
- Oh Howard, We Should Get One of Those (1998) - Ivy
- Truly and the Hole Truth (1998) - Ivy
- Tarzan of the Towpath (1998) - Ivy
- Beware of the Oglethorpe (1998) - Ivy
- There Goes the Groom (1997) - Ivy
- A Sidecar Named Desire (1997) - Ivy
- Destiny and Six Bananas (1997) - Ivy
- Next Kiss Please (1997) - Ivy
- According to the Prophet Bickerdyke (1997) - Ivy
- Deviations with Davenport (1997) - Ivy
- How to Create a Monster (1997) - Ivy
- A Double for Howard (1997) - Ivy
- The Mysterious C.W. Northrop (1997) - Ivy
- A Clean Sweep (1997) - Ivy
- The Love Mobile (1997) - Ivy
- Extra! Extra! (1996) - Ivy
- A Leg Up for Christmas (1995) - Ivy
- Brushes at Dawn (1995) - Ivy
- The Thing in Wesley's Shed (1995) - Ivy
- Beware of the Elbow (1995) - Ivy
- The Suit That Turned Left (1995) - Ivy
- Desperate for a Duffield (1995) - Ivy
- Captain Clutterbuck's Treasure (1995) - Ivy
- The First Human Being to Ride a Hill (1995) - Ivy
- The Glamour of the Uniform (1995) - Ivy
- Bicycle Bonanza (1995) - Ivy
- Leaving Home Forever, or Till Teatime (1995) - Ivy
- The Sweet Smell of Excess (1995) - Ivy
- The Dewhirsts of Ogleby Hall (1995) - Ivy
- The Most Powerful Eyeballs in West Yorkshire (1995) - Ivy
- The Space Ace (1995) - Ivy
- Once in a Moonlit Junkyard (1995) - Ivy
- The Defeat of the Stoneworm (1995) - Ivy
- Adopted by a Stray (1995) - Ivy
- The Glory Hole (1995) - Ivy
- The Man Who Nearly Knew Pavarotti (1995) - Ivy
- Welcome to Earth (1993) - Ivy
- Aladdin Gets on Your Wick (1993) - Ivy
- There Are Gypsies at the Bottom of Our Garden (1993) - Ivy
- Springing Smiler (1993) - Ivy
- Stop That Bath (1993) - Ivy
- Concerto for Solo Bicycle (1993) - Ivy
- Have You Got a Light Mate? (1993) - Ivy
- The Black Widow (1993) - Ivy
- Where There's Smoke There's Barbeque (1993) - Ivy
- How to Clear Your Pipes (1993) - Ivy
- Stop That Castle! (1992) - Ivy
- Wheelies (1992) - Ivy
- Camera Shy (1992) - Ivy
- Who's Got Rhythm? (1992) - Ivy
- Happy Birthday, Howard (1992) - Ivy
- Ordeal by Trousers (1992) - Ivy
- The Self-Propelled Salad Strainer (1992) - Ivy
- Phantom of the Graveyard (1992) - Ivy
- Errol Flynn Used to Have a Pair Like That (1992) - Ivy
- By the Magnificent Thighs of Ernie Burniston (1992) - Ivy
- Situations Vacant (1991) - Ivy
- Pole Star (1991) - Ivy
- Passing the Earring (1991) - Ivy
- Cashflow Problems (1991) - Ivy
- Was That Nora Batty Singing? (1991) - Ivy
- Give Us a Lift (1991) - Ivy
- Quick, Quick, Slow (1991) - Ivy
- Barry's Christmas (1990) - Ivy
- A Landlady for Smiler (1990) - Ivy
- Roll On (1990) - Ivy
- The Last Surviving Maurice Chevalier Impression (1990) - Ivy
- The Empire That Foggy Nearly Built (1990) - Ivy
- Das (Welly) Boot (1990) - Ivy
- That's Not Captain Zero (1990) - Ivy
- Walking Stiff Can Make You Famous (1990) - Ivy
- The Charity Balls (1990) - Ivy
- Come in Sunray Major (1990) - Ivy
- Return of the Warrior (1990) - Ivy
- What's Santa Brought for Nora Then? (1989) - Ivy
- Three Men and a Mangle (1989) - Ivy
- Getting Barry Higher in the World (1989) - Ivy
- Happy Anniversary Gough and Jessie (1989) - Ivy
- Who's That Bloke with Nora Batty Then? (1989) - Ivy
- Oh Shut Up and Eat Your Choc-Ice (1989) - Ivy
- The Kiss and Mavis Poskit (1989) - Ivy
- Come Back Jack Harry Teesdale (1989) - Ivy
- Crums (1988) - Ivy
- The Day of the Welsh Ferret (1988) - Ivy
- Downhill Racer (1988) - Ivy
- That Certain Smile (1988) - Ivy
- Dancing Feet (1988) - Ivy
- The Treasure of the Deep (1988) - Ivy
- The Experiment (1988) - Ivy
- Big Day at Dream Acres (1987) - Ivy
- When You take a Good Bite, Yorkshire Tastes Terrible (1987) - Ivy
- Wind Power (1987) - Ivy
- Edie and the Automobile (1987) - Ivy
- Jaws (1987) - Ivy
- Go with the Flow (1987) - Ivy
- Set the People Free (1987) - Ivy
- The Ice-cream Man Cometh (1987) - Ivy
- Who's Feeling Ejected Then? (1987) - Ivy
- The Really Masculine Purse (1987) - Ivy
- Dried Dates and Codfanglers (1987) - Ivy
- The Heavily Reinforced Bottom (1987) - Ivy
- Why Does Norman Clegg Buy Ladies' Elastic Stockings? (1987) - Ivy
- Merry Christmas, Father Christmas (1986) - Ivy
- Uncle of the Bride (1986) - Ivy
- Who's Looking After the Cafe Then? (1985) - Ivy
- The Woollenmills of Your Mind (1985) - Ivy
- Catching Digby's Donkey (1985) - Ivy
- Enter the Phantom (1985) - Ivy
- Keeping Britain Tidy (1985) - Ivy
- The Mysterious Feet of Nora Batty (1985) - Ivy
- The Loxley Lozenge (1984) - Ivy
- Getting Sam Home (1983) - Ivy
- The Arts of Concealment (1983) - Ivy
- The Waist Land (1983) - Ivy
- The White Man's Grave (1983) - Ivy
- The Frozen Turkey Man (1983) - Ivy
- All Mod Conned (1982) - Ivy
- From Wellies to Wet Suit (1982) - Ivy
- Serenade for Tight Jeans and Metal Detector (1982) - Ivy
- One of the Last Few Places Unexplored by Man (1982) - Ivy
- A Bicycle Made for Three (1982) - Ivy
- The Odd Dog Men (1982) - Ivy
- Car and Garter (1982) - Ivy
- In the Service of Humanity (1982) - Ivy
- Whoops (1981) - Ivy
- And a Dewhurst Up a Fir Tree (1979) - Ivy
- Here We Go Again into the Wild Blue Yonder (1979) - Ivy
- Here We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder (1979) - Ivy
- Earnshaw Strikes Again (1979) - Ivy
- Deep in the Heart of Yorkshire (1979) - Ivy
- The Flag and Further Snags (1979) - Ivy
- The Flag and Its Snag (1979) - Ivy
- Small Tune on a Penny Wassail (1978) - Ivy
- A Merry Heatwave (1978) - Ivy
- Who Made a Bit of a Splash in Wales Then? (1977) - Ivy
- Flower Power Cut (1977) - Ivy
- Jubilee (1977) - Ivy
- Getting on Sidney's Wire (1977) - Ivy
- Isometrics and After (1976) - Ivy
- The Kink in Foggy's Niblick (1976) - Ivy
- Cheering Up Gordon (1976) - Ivy
- The Great Boarding-House Bathroom Caper (1976) - Ivy
- Mending Stuart's Leg (1976) - Ivy
- Northern Flying Circus (1975) - Ivy
- Ballad for Wind Instruments and Canoe (1975) - Ivy
- Some Enchanted Evening (1975) - Ivy
- The Changing Face of Rural Blamire (1975) - Ivy
- Who's That Dancing with Nora Batty Then? (1975) - Ivy
- Forked Lightning (1975) - Ivy
- Hail Smiling Morn or Thereabouts (1973) - Ivy
- The 30's Car (1973) - Ivy
- Compo's Suit (1973) - Ivy
- Pâté and Chips (1973) - Ivy
- Inventor of the Forty Foot Ferret (1973) - Ivy
- The Lost Key (1973) - Ivy
1985
Silas Marner (TV Movie) as
Mrs. Kimble
1985
Scene (TV Series) as
Mrs. June Bristow
- Baby I Love You (1985) - Mrs. June Bristow
1984
A Taste of Honey (TV Mini Series) as
Helen
- Episode #1.3 (1984) - Helen
- Episode #1.2 (1984) - Helen
- Episode #1.1 (1984) - Helen
1984
Letty (TV Mini Series) as
Florence Jones
- Episode #1.6 (1984) - Florence Jones
- Episode #1.5 (1984) - Florence Jones
1983
Androcles and the Lion (TV Movie) as
Megaera
1983
Blackadder (TV Series) as
Mrs. Applebottom
- The Queen of Spain's Beard (1983) - Mrs. Applebottom
1983
The Hard Word (TV Series) as
Labour candidate
- Life Isn't Like Pictures (1983) - Labour candidate
1982
Ghost in the Water (TV Movie) as
Mrs. Willetts
1982
Scrubbers as
Sister
1981
BBC2 Playhouse (TV Series) as
Aunt Arina
- Marriage (1981) - Aunt Arina
1980
ITV Playhouse (TV Series) as
Mrs. Allen
- Lindsey (1980) - Mrs. Allen
1980
Hannah (TV Series) as
Lilla Spencer-Smith
- Episode #1.4 (1980) - Lilla Spencer-Smith
- Episode #1.3 (1980) - Lilla Spencer-Smith
- Episode #1.2 (1980) - Lilla Spencer-Smith
- Episode #1.1 (1980) - Lilla Spencer-Smith
1980
Dark Water (Short) as
Manager's Wife
1979
Prince Regent (TV Mini Series) as
Lady de Clifford
- Milk and Honey (1979) - Lady de Clifford
1979
All Day on the Sands (TV Movie) as
Mrs. Cattley
1978
Touch and Go (TV Mini Series) as
Mrs. Meighan
- Episode #1.5 (1978) - Mrs. Meighan
- Episode #1.3 (1978) - Mrs. Meighan
- Episode #1.2 (1978) - Mrs. Meighan
- Episode #1.1 (1978) - Mrs. Meighan
1972
Play for Today (TV Series) as
Mrs. Scully / Knitting Lady / Martha Paisley / ...
- Scully's New Year's Eve (1978) - Mrs. Scully
- Love on a Gunboat (1977) - Knitting Lady
- Through the Night (1975) - Martha Paisley
- Highway Robbery (1973) - Housing official
- The Fishing Party (1972) - Audrey
1976
Crossroads (TV Series) as
Emily Burrell
1975
Within These Walls (TV Series) as
Ethel Cumberpatch / Madge Boyle
- Islands in the Heartline (1976) - Ethel Cumberpatch
- To Reason Why (1975) - Madge Boyle
1975
Trinity Tales (TV Series) as
Cashier
- The Fryer's Tale (1975) - Cashier
1975
Zigger Zagger (TV Series) as
Mother
- Episode #1.3 (1975) - Mother
- Episode #1.2 (1975) - Mother
- Episode #1.1 (1975) - Mother
1973
Comedy Playhouse (TV Series) as
Ivy
- Of Funerals and Fish (1973) - Ivy
1964
Diary of a Young Man (TV Series) as
Nurse
- Marriage (1964) - Nurse
Self
2003
30 Years of 'Last of the Summer Wine' (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
1984
This Is Your Life (TV Series documentary) as
Filmed Tribute / Self
- Charles Stewart (1998) - Filmed Tribute
- Kathy Staff (1984) - Self
1998
Light Lunch (TV Series) as
Self
- Let's Get Nissed as a Pewt (1998) - Self
1997
25 Years of 'Last of the Summer Wine' (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
1979
The Val Doonican Music Show (TV Series) as
Self
- Val's Christmas Music Show (1979) - Self
Archive Footage
2019
What We Were Watching (TV Series documentary) as
Ivy
- Christmas 1979 (2019) - Ivy (uncredited)
References
Jane Freeman (actress) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA