Nationality Australian Siblings George Nichols Movies Not So Dusty | Role Comedian Name Joy Nichols | |
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Full Name Joy Eileen Nichols Born 17 February 1925 ( 1925-02-17 ) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Occupation Actor, singer, comedian Died June 23, 1992, New York City, New York, United States Spouse Wally Peterson (m. 1949–1976) Similar People Edmund Hockridge, Max Wall, Gwen Verdon, Richard Kiley, Marc Jordan | ||
Joy Nichols, Dick Bentley & Jimmy Edwards - The Little Red Monkey / Me An' Johnny (1953)
Joy Eileen Nichols (17 February 1925 – 23 June 1992), was a comedian, actress and singer who worked in Australia, Britain and the United States. She is best known as a star of Take It From Here on BBC Radio.
Contents
- Joy Nichols Dick Bentley Jimmy Edwards The Little Red Monkey Me An Johnny 1953
- Biography
- Selected filmography
- References
Biography
Nichols born in Sydney, Australia was originally part of a song-and-dance double act with her brother George, Joy Nichols moved to Britain in 1946 to further her career. The producer Charles Maxwell gave her a major role in the last series of Navy Mixture, broadcast for the BBC General Forces Programme in 1947 starring with Jimmy Edwards. Guest appearances by fellow Australian Dick Bentley led to the pairing of Bentley's writer Denis Norden with Edwards and Nichols' writer Frank Muir on Take It From Here (1948–1960), starring Edwards, Bentley and Nichols, who both sang and played comedy.
In 1949, Nichols married Wally Peterson, an American musical comedy performer who was then touring in the London production of Oklahoma!. In 1952 she temporarily left Take It From Here while she gave birth to a daughter, Roberta. The following year Nichols departed for good and was replaced by June Whitfield (comedy actress) and Alma Cogan (singer), just as the show took off with the appearance of The Glums. Nichols returned with her husband to the United States.
In 1953, Nichols recorded with Jimmy Edwards and Dick Bentley the novelty song "Little Red Monkey" by Stephen Gale and Jack Jordan. This was re-played many times in the 1950s and early 60s on the BBC's radio request programme Children's Favourites.
Nichols had supporting roles in a number of Broadway musicals in the 1950s and 1960s, including Redhead and Darling of the Day, but was unable to secure lead roles and finally left show-business. Latterly she worked as a retail assistant.