Joan Young (born Joan Cecilia Frances Wragge;Ross, Andrew (2015). Carry On Actors : The Complete Who's Who of the Carry On Film Series. Fantom Films. p. 472–473. . "Joan Young (b. Joan Cecilia Frances Wragge) [...] Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 1 February 1900, Joan came from a music hall background. [...] Joan Young’s small-screen appearances included Dr Finlay’s Casebook (1955), Maverick (1957),[sic] Doctor Knock (1961), Danger Man (1964), Doctor Who (1966, as Catherine de Medici), Sinister Street (1969), Ours Is a Nice House (1970), For the Love of Ada (1971), Big Bad Mouse (1972), Sykes (3 episodes, 1972, ’73 & ’74), Billy Liar (1973), Shades of Green - Root of All Evil (1975), The Chiffy Kids (1978) and All Creatures Great and Small (2 episodes, 1980, as Miss Westerman). [...] Joan married journalist/editor John Young (1901-2004) in 1923. They had one daughter, April Young (the subsequent agent of, among others, June Whitfield and Molly Weir, both q.v.). Joan Young died in London from heart and kidney failure on 10 October [sic] 1984, aged eighty-four.""England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2FCD-S47 : 1 October 2014), Joan Cecilia F Wragge, 1900; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England. 1 February 1900 – 9 October 1984) was a British character actress of stage, screen and radio, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Lady Chesapeake in Big Bad Mouse and for the wartime radio series, Navy Mixture. She also appeared in several films and TV productions.
Early life and career Born in Newcastle upon Tyne on 1 February 1900Maxford, Howard (2019). Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 890. . "On stage from the age of fifteen, this British actress (1900-1984, real name Joan Wragge) turned to films in 1937 with Victoria the Great, following which she appeared in the likes of The Fallen Idol (1948), Trottie True (1949), Time, Gentlemen, Please! (1952), The Admirable Crichton (1957), Carry On Constable (1960) and The Last Shot You Hear (1968). She can also be seen as Mrs. Caporal in Hammer's Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971). The daughter of music hall performers, Young also worked in variety, and was popular on radio in the wartime series Navy Mixture (1944-1947). Her many TV credits include episodes of Dixon of Dock Green (1955-1976, TV), Sykes (1972-1979, TV) and All Creatures Great and Small (1978-1990, TV)." (and, purportedly, relocated three weeks later), Young was the daughter of music hall performers Nellie Blanche C. (née Parker) and Charles Alfred Romaine Wragg, known professionally as Charles Pastor.). Speaking with reporter Beverly Howells almost eight decades later, Young acknowledged that, given her parents' continued performing, it was "really my grandmother who provided any motherly care I received as a child." She was educated at convents in Bournemouth and in France.
In April 1915, the then 15-year-old Young—as Joan Wragge—appeared in A Crown of Sorrows, a 5-act play set in Elizabethan era Scotland and staged at Bournemouth's St. Peter's Hall to benefit Belgian refugees. Alongside a generous sampling of that era's British royalty, the play featured Wragge as "Jamie, court jester at Holyrood"."BELGIAN REFUGEE FUND; Entertainment at Bournemouth". Daily Echo. 22 April 1915. p. 4. "Sir Amyas Paulett, Governor of Fotheringay, Miss Mary Lucas: Jamie, Court Jester at Holyrood, Joan Wragge; Zella, a gipsy, Miss Irene Bertoncini;"
On Tuesday 22 September 1936, the BBC aired Young's "satirical revue" entitled Fictional Fame on Parade (with music by Nene Smith), featuring a cast including, among others, Young, Edward Cooper, Marie Dainton, and the BBC Variety Orchestra, conducted by Charles Shadwell."Satirical Revue of Best-Sellers: 'FICTIONAL FAME ON PARADE' ON NATIONAL". Evening Sentinel. 22 September 1936. p. 9. "8.0.—Fictional Fame on Parade: A Satirical Revue of Best-Sellers; Book Lyrics by Joan Young; music by Nene Smith; arrangements by Ronnie Munro, with Molly 0 Callaghan, Geoffrey Wincott, Marie Dainton, Ian Reeves, Joan Young, Edward Cooper; The Revue Chorus and the B.B.C. Variety Orchestra, conducted by Charles Shadwell, compered and produced by Douglas Moodie."
In 1938, Young was cast in radio adaptations of two well-known British novels: P. G. Wodehouse's Sam the Sudden (adapted by Jack Inglis as Semi-Detached),"BBC Tomorrow". Evening Post. 23 July 1938. p. 6. "Semi-Detached, a radio comedy adapted by Jack Inglis, from the novel, Sam the Sudden, by P. G. Wodehouse, produced by Peter Creswell, with Wallace Douglas, Peter Madden, Norman Shelley, Carleton Hobbs, Lyn Neilson, Joan Young, Gordon McLeod, Kenneth Kove, Charles Barrett, Malcolm Waring, Inez Gibbs, Michael Carr, Doreen Heath, Ethel Lodge and J. V. Chapman." and, in serialized form, Charles Reade's The Cloister and the Hearth, broadcast on 12 consecutive Sundays, beginning on 15 October."'The Cloister and the Hearth'; New Serial". The Daily Telegraph. 15 October 1938. p. 8 In December, an original radio drama penned by Leslie Stokes, The Snowman, starred Holland Bennett, Alec Guinness, Betty Jardine, Mary Merrall, Joan Young, Ernest Jay, and G. R. Schjelderup."Special Features". The Daily Telegraph. December 20, 1938. p. 7.
Reviewing the 1961 revival of Shaw's Heartbreak House staged at Wyndham's Theatre, Stage and Television Today'''s R. B. Marriott rated Young's performance the "best Nurse Guiness I have seen". The following year, Young—as aggrieved in-law Garnet Hadfield—went head to head with Laurence Olivier's Fred Midway in the London production of David Turner's Semi-Detached.Turner, David (1971). Self-Detached: A Play by David Turner. London: Evans Plays. pp. 11, 40–45 .
Amidst a generally mixed review of "The Room", a season 1 episode of James MacTaggart's 1964 series, Teletale, Stage and Television Today critic Marjorie Morris makes note of the frustrating dilemma posed by the episode's seemingly saving grace being all but negated by its miserly deployment. Joan Young gave a powerful performance as Madame Darbedat. It was really too good, because I wanted to see more of her and felt cheated when I didn't.
In 1980, the 80-year-old Young amassed two notable credits to round out a six-decade-plus career;Smith, Margaret (6 August 1978). "A Happening Rather than a Play". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 181. "Joan Young is one of those great stayers of the English theatre, an essential part of its unique enduring strength, the accomplished character actress. She's now in Sydney for the English farce Big Bad Mouse at the Theatre Royal, where she plays the latest commanding woman role of her 60 year career. As Lady Chesapeake, a biscuit factory owner, Joan says she has a lively time keeping up with Jimmy Edwards' flair for ad libbing." first, by once again reprising her Big Bad Mouse role alongside fellow first-nighters Jimmy Edwards and Eric Sykes, and, finally, by appearing in two consecutive episodes of the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small, as Miss Westerman, an elderly dog owner, who is concerned about the well-being and whereabouts of her ailing companion, misplaced prior to critical surgery by the putative caregivers.Herriot, James (1978). Vet In a Spin. London : Pan Books. pp. 155–364. .
Personal life and death In the summer of 1923, in Chorlton, Lancashire, the 23-year-old Wragge married journalist John Young.Lawrence, Alberta; Martell, Edward; Pine, L.G. (1978). Who was Who Among English and European authors, 1931-1949 : based on entries which first appeared in The Author's and Writer's Who's Who & Reference Guide originally compiled by Edward Martell and L.G. Pine and in Who's Who among living Authors of Older Nations, originally compiled by Alberta Lawrence. Detroit : Gale Research. p. 1558. . "YOUNG, John. b: Stratford-on-Avon igoi. e: George “Watson’s Col Edin. m: Joan Cecilia Monro-Wragge. d: i. Reporter, n.a: Daily Express 1933-, joined staff of Edin Evening Dispatch ’19, Lon Evening News ’24-29, Lon Evening Standard, ’29, appointed Theatrical Corr of Daily Chronicle & Sunday News ’30, Daily Mail ’31-33. Mem N.U.J. ’29. s.s: Theatre. Rec: Old-time music hall hist, a' 12 Glazbury Rd, Barons Ct, W.14. t: Fulham 7554""England and Wales, Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVZP-QLM5 : 8 October 2014), John Young and null, 1923; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1923, quarter 3, vol. 8C, p. 2030, Chorlton, Lancashire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England. Their marriage produced one child, daughter April Young, a London-based agent whose clients include June Whitfield, Joe Gladwin,"Joe Dies Aged 82". The Northern Echo. 12 March 1987. p. 1. "Joe Gladwin, Nora Batty's husband in Last of the Summer Wine, has died. He was 82. [...] His agent April Young said Joe died at his home in Manchester after a short illness." John BlytheSmith, Paul (20 May 1994). "Actor Leaves £500 in his will for friends to 'have a drink'". The Richmond and Twickenham Informer. p. 4. "COMEDY actor John Blythe, who lived in Teddington, has bequeathed his bumper joke book to his agent. [...] Mr Blythe's daughter, Jaquie Whewell, said: 'His agent, April Young, and I feel the book should be sold and the proceeds given to charity.'" as well as Young herself, and her Bad Mouse'' co-star Jimmy Edwards,"JIMMY EDWARDS IN £25,000 DEAL BBC CONTRACT TALKS". The Daily Telegraph. December 2, 1961. p. 1. "Talks are being held on an exclusive contract which would make Jimmy Edwards the highest-paid BBC comedy actor. This was announced last night by his agent, Miss April Young."
Following a short illness, Young died on 9 October 1984 at the Royal Masonic Hospital in Hammersmith, London, aged 84. She was survived by her husband and daughter."Joan Young Dies at 84". Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph. 10 October 1984. p. 1. "ACTRESS and singer Joan Young has died in a London hospital aged 84 after a short illness. She was known throughout the war years for her radio broadcasting and her regular singing spot on the popular programme Navy Mixture. She leaves a husband, John."
Selected filmography
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Joan Young at Theatricalia