DEATH OF MISS MARPLE; Tributes as TV sleuth dies at 92.ACTRESS Joan Hickson, who played spinster SPINSTER. An addition given, in legal writings, to a woman who never was married. Lovel. on Wills, 269. sleuth Miss Marple Jane Marple, usually known as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who acts as an amateur detective, and lives in the village of St. Mary Mead. , has died aged 92. Joan was loved throughout the world for her TV portrayal of Agatha Christie's handbag-carrying detective. With her cut-glass accent ringing out as she hunted the country house killer, she was everyone's idea of the tweedy Englishwoman. Paying tribute yesterday her son, writer Nicholas Butler, said: "She enjoyed playing Miss Marple tremendously. Over the years, my mother saw film and TV change out of all recognition. But she moved with the times." Producer George Gallacio said: "Joan had good old-fashioned virtues like courtesy and a sense of right and wrong plus a wicked sense of humour Noun 1. sense of humour - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humor, humor, humour ." Amazingly, at the end of World War II End of World War II can refer to:
Great-granny Joan, who died in hospital in Colchester, Essex, made her acting debut in 1927. She went on to feature in more than 100 films, including the Carry On series, and won a Tony award. But her real fame came late in life when she was chosen to play Miss Marple, the deceptively de·cep·tive·ly adv. In a deceptive or deceiving manner; so as to deceive. Usage Note: When deceptively is used to modify an adjective, the meaning is often unclear. astute old maid from St Mary Mead. Scores of actresses had played the role but Joan made it her own. From 1984 to 1992 she appeared in all 12 Miss Marple stories. The series was screened in more than 30 countries. Despite her fame, Joan shunned the limelight. She refused to appear on chat shows saying: "I can't stand people who are terribly grand." A doctor's widow with two children, Joan was a great-grandmother. She was awarded the OBE in 1987 and said of her career: "When I was three I put on my mother's hat back to front and began capering about in front of the mirror. Why? My dear, I've no idea. "When I was five I saw a pantomime pantomime or mime (păn`təmīm) [Gr.,=all in mimic], silent form of the drama in which the story is developed by movement, gesture, facial expression, and stage properties. and I said we simply must move next door to the theatre so I could go in and act whenever I felt the need." She attended RADA and could never see the point in retiring. "You hear people in the village say that they're 65 so they're going to give up work," she said. "Four months later there's a funeral. That's it, you see, give up work and you go to pot Verb 1. go to pot - become ruined; "His business went to pot when economy soured" go to the dogs deteriorate - become worse or disintegrate; "His mind deteriorated" ." Joan's last line, at the age of 86, in Agatha Christie's The Mirror Cracked, on TV six years ago, was the all-time classic: "``More tea, vicar?" |
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