Editing Fenella Fielding

{{Short description|English actress (1927–2018)}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
<!-- Before editing anything to do with Fielding's date of birth, please refer to the notes on the article's discussion page -->
{{Infobox person
| pre-nominals  = 
| name          = Fenella Fielding
| post-nominals = [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]
| image         = Fenella Fielding on her 90th Birthday.jpg
| caption       = Fenella Fielding on her 90th birthday in 2017
| birth_name    = Fenella Marion Feldman
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|df=yes|1927|11|17}}
| birth_place   = [[Whitechapel]], London, England
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2018|09|11|1927|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Hammersmith]], London, England
| occupation    = Actress
| years_active  = 1952–2018
| relatives     = [[Basil Feldman, (Baron Feldman)]] (brother)<br>[[Nick Feldman]] (nephew)
| website       = http://www.fenellafielding.com/
}}

'''Fenella Fielding''' (born '''Fenella Marion Feldman'''; 17 November 1927 &ndash; 11 September 2018)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/12/fenella-fielding-obituary|title=Fenella Fielding obituary|first=Michael|last=Coveney|date=12 September 2018|website=the Guardian|access-date=13 September 2018}}</ref> was an English stage, film and television actress who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, and was often referred to as "England's first lady of the [[double entendre]]".<ref name="Independent">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/the-lady-vanishes-what-ever-happened-to-fenella-fielding-785265.html|title=Whatever Happened to Fenella Fielding?|work=The Independent|location=London, UK|first=Robert|last=Chalmers|date=24 February 2008|access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> She was known for her seductive image and distinctively husky voice. Fielding appeared in two ''[[Carry On (franchise)|Carry On]]'' films, ''[[Carry On Regardless]]'' (1961) and ''[[Carry On Screaming!]]'' (1966).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/artist/fenella-fielding-p23350|title=Fenella Fielding - Movies and Filmography - AllMovie|website=AllMovie|access-date=17 November 2017}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Fenella Marion Feldman was born on 17 November 1927 in [[Whitechapel]], London,<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB |doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000380480 |title=Fielding, Fenella (1927–2018) |year=2022 |last1=Mellor |first1=Roger Philip |isbn=9780198614128}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/fenella-fielding-dead-actress-carry-on-screaming-fellini-a8535771.html|author=Manby, Christine|date=13 September 2018|newspaper=The Independent|title=Fenella Fielding: Carry On star who turned down a role in a Fellini film}}</ref> to a [[Romanian Jew|Romanian Jewish]] mother, Tilly (''{{nee}}'' Katz; 1902–1977), and a [[Lithuanian Jews|Lithuanian Jewish]] father, Philip Feldman.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/nov/08/fenella-fielding-carry-on-screaming-kenneth-williams-norman-wisdom-interview|title=Carry on Screaming's Fenella Fielding on fighting with Kenneth Williams and bouncing back after bankruptcy|first=Simon|last=Hattenstone|date=8 November 2017|website=Theguardian.com|access-date=17 November 2017}}</ref><ref name="Behr1">{{cite news|title =Variety Club-Jewish Chronicle colour supplement "350 years"|pages=28–29|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=15 December 2006}}</ref>

She was the younger sister of Basil, later [[Basil Feldman, Baron Feldman|Baron Feldman]]. She grew up in [[Lower Clapton]] and later [[Edgware]]<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/nov/08/fenella-fielding-carry-on-screaming-kenneth-williams-norman-wisdom-interview|title=Carry on Screaming's Fenella Fielding on fighting with Kenneth Williams and bouncing back after bankruptcy|date=8 November 2017|website=the Guardian}}</ref> where she attended [[North London Collegiate School]]. Her father at one time managed a cinema in [[Silvertown]], east London.<ref name="Independent"/> She later resided in [[Chiswick]], west London.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=info&page=conceleb382.htm|title=Chiswick's Local Web site|website=www.chiswickw4.com}}</ref>

==Career==
Fielding began her acting career in 1952, concentrating on stage productions, including the [[Bromley Little Theatre]]. She was given her first break when she accompanied the then-unknown actor [[Ron Moody]] to an audition (they had met in an amateur production at the [[London School of Economics]]). Her performance in [[Sandy Wilson]]'s musical version of ''[[Valmouth (musical)|Valmouth]]'' made her a star in 1958. By 1959 she was appearing with [[Kenneth Williams]] in the comedy revue ''[[Pieces of Eight (1959 revue)|Pieces of Eight]]'', written by [[Harold Pinter]] and [[Peter Cook]].<ref name="Independent"/> Fielding also guested in the ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'' episode "The Poetry Society" broadcast in December 1959.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tonyhancock.org.uk/episode-guide/radio/series-6|title=Tony Hancock Appreciation Society - Series 6|website=Tonyhancock.org.uk|access-date=17 November 2017}}</ref> Between 1960 and 1962 Fielding played Janet Harris, a liberated secretary at an advertising firm, in the BBC radio sitcom ''[[Something to Shout About (radio programme)|Something to Shout About]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/radio/something_to_shout_about/|title=Something to Shout About|website=www.comedy.co.uk|access-date=15 May 2023}}</ref> In 1960 Fielding appeared on tv as the Contessa in the very last episode of the tv series of The Four Just Men (Traviso Dam).

Fielding later starred in her own television programme ''Izeena'' (1966).<ref name=":1" /> She had occasional guest appearances in television programmes such as ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''<ref>Rogers, D. (1989). The complete Avengers: everything you ever wanted to know about The Avengers and the New avengers. New York: St. Martins Press, p. 88</ref> (after being passed over as [[Patrick Macnee]]'s regular partner in favour of [[Honor Blackman]])<ref>Cornell, P., Day, M., & Topping, K. (1998). The Avengers dossier. London: Virgin. "[T]hree actors were shortlisted [for Cathy Gale]: Fenella Fielding... Honor Blackman... and Nyree Dawn Porter..."</ref> and in ''[[Danger Man]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://danger-man.co.uk/episodeDetails.asp?episodeID=10&seriesNo=1|title=The Danger Man Website|website=danger-man.co.uk|access-date=13 September 2018}}</ref> She appeared in four episodes of [[The Morecambe & Wise Show (1968 TV series)|''Morecambe and Wise Show'']] between 1969 and 1972.<ref name=":1" /> She was in two of the ''[[Carry On (franchise)|Carry On]]'' films, the second was her role as the vampish Valeria in ''[[Carry On Screaming !]]'' (1966), and three of the Doctor films (including ''[[Doctor in Clover]]'').<ref name="auto">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HXAsAQAAQBAJ&q=Fenella+Fielding+Jane+McCulloch's+Dearest+Nancy&pg=PA183|title=Actors' Yearbook 2014|first=Simon|last=Dunmore|date=4 December 2013|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=9781408185537|access-date=13 September 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref> She interspersed these with performances in plays by [[Henrik Ibsen|Ibsen]], [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] and [[Henry James]], reputedly keeping an edition of [[Plato]]'s writings by her bed.<ref name="Independent"/> Other theatre credits around this time included [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan|Sheridan]] and [[Chekhov]].<ref name=":1" /> In 1977 she appeared on BBC TV's long running show, ''[[The Good Old Days (British TV series)|The Good Old Days]]'' performing '[[Noel Gay|Only A Glass of Champagne]]' and '[[The Earl and the Girl|How'd You Like to Spoon with Me?]]'.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06rhv2r/episodes/guide|title=BBC Four - The Good Old Days - Episode guide|website=BBC|access-date=13 September 2018}}</ref>

Fielding was the uncredited [[The Village (The Prisoner)|Village]] announcer in ''[[The Prisoner]]'' (1967–68), and co-starred with [[Tom Poston]] and [[Robert Morley]] in the remake of ''[[The Old Dark House (1963 film)|The Old Dark House]]'' (1963).<ref>{{citation |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/25/letters-fenella-fielding-obituary |title= Letters: Fenella Fielding obituary |newspaper= The Guardian |date= September 25, 2018 |access-date=2019-05-17}}</ref> In ''[[Dougal and the Blue Cat]]'', based on ''[[The Magic Roundabout]]'', she voiced the character of the Blue Voice, referred to as "Madam" by both Buxton (the blue cat of the title) and Dougal at various stages throughout the film.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/28/fenella-fielding-dougal-blue-cat-magic-roundabout|title=Dougal and the Blue Cat: The Magic Roundabout movie finally hits DVD|first=Patrick|last=Barkham|date=28 October 2010|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 September 2018}}</ref> In the late 1960s, Fielding was approached by [[Federico Fellini]] to work on one of his films, but turned the work down because she was already booked to perform on stage at the [[Chichester Festival Theatre]].<ref name="Independent"/>

Fielding also starred in the children's television series ''[[Uncle Jack]]'' from 1990-1993 as the notorious villainess, The Vixen. In 1999, Fielding starred in [[Rik Mayall]] and [[Adrian Edmondson]]'s film ''[[Guest House Paradiso]]''. She toured in a production of ''[[Lady Windermere's Fan]]'' the same year.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.fenellafielding.com/career|title=Fenella Fielding 'Do You Mind If I Smoke?' - Buy the book|website=Fenella Fielding 'Do You Mind If I Smoke?' - Buy the book|access-date=17 November 2017}}</ref> In 2011, Fielding appeared at the [[Jermyn Street Theatre]], London in an English Chamber Theatre presentation of Jane McCulloch's ''Dearest Nancy, Darling Evelyn'', the dramatised letters of [[Nancy Mitford]] and [[Evelyn Waugh]].<ref name="auto"/>

From 2012, Fielding performed readings of English translations of Greek classics by [[David Stuttard]]. Her partners for this were [[Simon Russell Beale]] and later [[Stephen Greif]]. Her memoir<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/12/fenella-fielding-obituary|title=Fenella Fielding obituary|first=Michael|last=Coveney|date=12 September 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 September 2018}}</ref> was published in both audio and book form in 2017 and led to a number of appearances on stage reading extracts from it in places all over the UK.<ref name=":0" />

Fielding was appointed [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in the [[2018 Birthday Honours]] for services to drama and charity.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-44397682|title=Dalglish and Thompson head honours list|date=2018-06-08|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-06-08|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Voice work==
Fielding voiced “The Blue Voice” in the 1972 English adaptation of the 1970 French film ‘Dougal And The Blue Cat’, 'MOOD', the quirky supercomputer in the video game [[Martian Gothic: Unification|Martian Gothic]] in a script written by science fiction author [[Stephen Marley (writer)|Stephen Marley]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3517810/martian-gothic-unification-terrible-title-fantastic-game/|title=‘Martian Gothic: Unification’: A Terrible Title For a Fantastic Game|first=Cameron|last=Frew|date=28 August 2018}}</ref> After 2000 she recorded with ''Savoy'', a book publishing and recording company. Her work with them includes readings of [[Colette]], [[J. G. Ballard]]'s ''[[Crash (J. G. Ballard novel)|Crash]]'' and [[T. S. Eliot]]'s ''[[Four Quartets]]''.<ref name="auto1"/> She made an album of cover songs including [[Robbie Williams]]'s "[[Angels (Robbie Williams song)|Angels]]", [[Kylie Minogue]]'s "[[Can't Get You Out of My Head]]", [[New Order (band)|New Order]]'s "[[Blue Monday (New Order song)|Blue Monday]]" and the [[White Stripes]]' "[[Passive Manipulation]]".<ref name="Independent"/> In 2006, she toured Ireland in ''[[The Vagina Monologues]]''.<ref name="Independent"/> She provided the voice to two tracks on the [[Graham Roos]] album ''Quest''.<ref name="Quest">{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/ie/album/quest/356117318|title=iTunes Music – ''Quest'' by Graham Roos|publisher=iTunes Store|date=14 February 2010|access-date=10 June 2012}}</ref> In the following years, Fielding was a regular guest contributor on BBC Radio 4's [[PM (BBC Radio 4)|PM]] and [[Broadcasting House (radio programme)|Broadcasting House]].<ref name=":1" />

==Critical reception==
A 2007 article in ''[[The Independent]]'' remarked that it was "one of the mysteries of British life that Fenella Fielding, whose wit and distinctive stage presence captivated figures such as [[Kenneth Tynan]], [[Noël Coward]] and [[Federico Fellini]], should have drifted into obscurity rather than being celebrated", and the same article quotes ''[[The Times]]'' as saying that Fielding's performance as [[Hedda Gabler]] was "one of the experiences of a lifetime".<ref>Hedda Gabler. Fenella Fielding in this role, [[Sue Townsend Theatre|Phoenix Theatre]], [[Leicester]]. March, 1969. Director, [[Robin Midgley]].[https://ibsenstage.hf.uio.no/pages/event/87869]</ref><ref name="Independent"/> A 2017 article in ''[[The Guardian]]'' highlighted a career "renaissance in recent years" and describes Fielding as a phenomenal storyteller. "She reminds me of the great raconteur [[Quentin Crisp]] – the same love of language, mastery of its rhythms, perfectly formed sentences, and a joie de vivre even when relating her profound despair."<ref name=":0" />

[[File:Screen capture of metaFenella, a digital work of public art by Martin Firrell 2014.jpg|thumb|200px|"People Are Very Free With Their Bad Advice...", a quote from Metafenella]]
Fielding is the subject of MetaFenella, a 2014 online artwork by artist [[Martin Firrell]].<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/mar/17/carry-on-screaming-fenella-fielding-martin-firrell | title= Why artists should Carry On Screaming Fenella Fielding's name |work=The Guardian | location=London | date=17 March 2014 | access-date=6 April 2016}}</ref>

==Death==
Fielding suffered a stroke on 25 August 2018 and died two weeks later at [[Charing Cross Hospital]] in [[Hammersmith]], on 11 September 2018, aged 90.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/12/fenella-fielding-obituary|title=Fenella Fielding obituary|last=Coveney|first=Michael|date=2018-09-12|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-02-18|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> She never married nor had children.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/11/fenella-fielding-carry-on-actor-dies-aged-90|author=Rawlinson, Kevin|date=12 September 2018|newspaper=The Guardian|title=Fenella Fielding, Carry On Screaming actor, dies aged 90}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1959|| ''[[Sapphire (film)|Sapphire]]'' || Lingerie Shop Manageress || Uncredited
|-
| ''[[Follow a Star]]'' || Lady Finchington ||
|-
| rowspan="2" |1960|| ''[[Doctor in Love]]'' || Mrs Tadwich ||
|-
| ''[[Foxhole in Cairo]]'' || Yvette ||
|-
| rowspan="3" |1961|| ''[[No Love for Johnnie]]'' || Sheilah ||
|-
| ''[[Carry On Regardless]]'' || Penny Panting ||
|-
| ''[[In the Doghouse (film)|In the Doghouse]]'' || Miss Fordyce ||
|-
|1962 || ''[[Village of Daughters]]'' || Voice-Over || 
|-
| rowspan="2" |1963|| ''[[Doctor in Distress (film)|Doctor in Distress]]'' || Passenger on Train ||
|-
| ''[[The Old Dark House (1963 film)|The Old Dark House]]'' || Morgana Femm ||
|-
|1965|| ''[[How to Undress in Public Without Undue Embarrassment]]'' || Narrator ||
|-
| rowspan="3" |1966|| ''[[Doctor in Clover]]'' || Tatiana Rubikov ||
|-
| ''[[Carry On Screaming!]]'' || Valeria Watt ||
|-
| ''[[Drop Dead Darling]]'' || Fenella ||
|-
|1969|| ''[[Lock Up Your Daughters (1969 film)|Lock Up Your Daughters]]'' || Lady Eager ||
|-
|1972|| ''[[Dougal and the Blue Cat]]'' || The Blue Voice || Voice, Uncredited
|-
|1974|| ''[[S*P*Y*S]]'' || Voice-over || Uncredited
|-
|1977|| ''[[Cumbernauld#Film|Cumbernauld Hit]]'' || Liana ||
|-
|1984|| ''[[The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' || Molly ||
|-
|1999|| ''[[Guest House Paradiso]]'' || Mrs Foxfur ||
|-
|2001|| ''[[Beginner's Luck (2001 film)|Beginner's Luck]]'' || Mark's mum ||
|-
| rowspan="2" |2007|| ''[[The All Together]]'' || Mrs Cox ||
|-
| ''Wishbaby'' || Eve ||
|-
|2009|| ''Radio Mania'' || Mrs Langdon ||
|-
| rowspan="2" |2011|| ''Tincture of Vervain'' || Her Ladyship ||
|-
| ''Over the Edge'' || Mrs van Eisner ||
|-
|2016|| ''Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel'' || Fenella Fielding ||
|-
|2017|| ''Frankula'' || Voice-over || Voice
|-
|2021|| ''The Curse of Minerva'' || Minerva || Posthumous release
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1957 || ''[[BBC Sunday-Night Theatre]]'' || Prostitute || Episode: "The Magnificent Egotist"
|-
| ''Destination Downing Street'' || Djemila || 3 episodes
|-
|1958 || ''[[Saturday Playhouse]]'' || Delia Mitchell || Episode: "Design for Murder"
|-
|1959 || ''[[The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull]]'' || The Rajah's Wife || Episode: "A Spicy Dish"
|-
| rowspan="6" |1960 || ''[[International Detective]]'' || Marcelle Clinton || Episode: "The Whitley Case"
|-
| ''[[Armchair Theatre]]'' || Susi Flamberg || Episode: "Guardian Angel"
|-
| ''[[The Four Just Men (TV series)|The Four Just Men]]'' || The Contessa || Episode: "Treviso Dam"
|-
| ''[[ITV Television Playhouse]]'' || Ernestine Lawrence || Episode: "Reprise"
|-
| ''[[The Strange World of Gurney Slade]]'' || Caroline the Cow || Voice; Episode: #1.3
|-
| ''[[Danger Man]]'' || Hostess || Episode: "An Affair of State"
|-
|1962 || ''[[Saki (TV series)|Saki]]'' || Mary Drakmanton || All 8 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1963 || ''[[Mr Justice Duncannon]]'' || The Girl || Episode: "Trial and Error"
|-
| ''[[Comedy Playhouse]]'' || Julie || Episode: "Comrades in Arms"
|-
| rowspan="4" |1964 || ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' || Kim Lawrence || Episode: "[[The Charmers (The Avengers)|The Charmers]]"
|-
| ''[[Love Story (British TV series)|Love Story]]'' || Celia || Episode: "Divorce, Divorce"
|-
| ''[[Theatre 625]]'' || [[Cleopatra]] || Episode: "The Ides of March"
|-
| ''[[Armchair Theatre]]'' || Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax || Episode: "The Importance of Being Earnest"
|-
|1965 || ''[[Drama 61-67]]'' || Mrs Garfield || Episode: "Mrs. Quilley's Murder Shoes"
|-
|1966 || ''Izeena'' || Izeena || All episodes
|-
|1967 || ''[[The Prisoner]]'' || Loudspeaker Announcer || Voice; 7 episodes
|-
|1968 || ''[[Ooh La La! (TV series)|Ooh La La!]]'' || Various || 4 episodes
|-
|1969 || ''A Touch of Venus'' || Marcella || Episode: "The Autograph"
|-
|1971 || ''[[That's Your Funeral]]'' || Mrs Darling || Episode: "A Touch of Violet"
|-
|1980 || ''[[Nobody's Perfect (British TV series)|Nobody's Perfect]]'' || Vivien || Episode: "Vivien's Problem"
|-
|1981 || ''[[Cribb]]'' || Zena Prothero || Episode: "Mad Hatter's Holiday"
|-
|1984 || ''[[The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' || Molly || TV film
|-
|1985 || ''[[The Pickwick Papers (TV series)|The Pickwick Papers]]'' || Mrs Leo Hunter || Episode: #1.4
|-
|1990–1993 || ''[[Uncle Jack]]'' || The Vixen || 18 episodes
|-
|1999 || ''Doctor Who Night'' || Narration || Voice; Segment: "Carnival of Monsters"
|-
|2004 || ''Abroad Again in Britain'' || Dearie || Voice; Episode: "Brighton Pavilion"
|-
|2011 || ''[[The Legend of Dick and Dom]]'' || Lotte Lawoo || Episode: "Land of the Luvvies"
|-
|2012 || ''[[Skins (British TV series)|Skins]]'' || Miriam Henley || Episode: "Alex"
|-
|2019 || ''Conditions'' || Mother || Voice; all 13 episodes
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commonscat}}
*[http://www.fenellafielding.com Fenella Fielding's official website]
*[http://www.metafenella.com Metafenella, interactive video portrait]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180912022527/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba07d6a9e Fenella Fielding] at the [[British Film Institute]]
*{{IMDb name|id=0276134|name=Fenella Fielding}}
*[http://www.savoy.abel.co.uk Savoy website]
*[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-lady-vanishes-what-ever-happened-to-fenella-fielding-785265.html Independent article, 2008]
*{{Discogs artist|Fenella Fielding}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fielding, Fenella}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Barnet]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hackney]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hounslow]]
[[Category:Actresses from London]]
[[Category:English film actresses]]
[[Category:English people of Romanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:English people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:English stage actresses]]
[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:Jewish English actresses]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at North London Collegiate School]]
[[Category:People from Chiswick]]
[[Category:People from Edgware]]
[[Category:People from Lower Clapton]]