Sheila Florance

She won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress for her work, and seven days after receiving the award, died from the disease, in Melbourne. In 2002, her friend and author Janie Hampton published the book Joyce Grenfell. Florance herself was fighting cancer during the filming. In 1998, the British government memorialized Joyce Grenfell with her image on a postage stamp as part of a series of stamps celebrating "Heroes of Comedy". As a genteel, elderly woman, down on her luck, who reminisced with her nurse of better days, while dying of cancer, Florance gave a performance that was widely praised both within Australia, and internationally following the film's release. Her autobiography, The Time of My Life was published in 1990. Her final film role was in A Woman's Tale (1991). Diagnosed with cancer, she retired from performing and passed away in 1979.

Florance left the show in 1984 and worked in such films as Nirvana Street Murder (1990). She gained additional popularity as a result of her frequent appearances on the BBC's classical music quiz show, Face the Music. Her popularity was such that she won two Logie Awards as Australia's most popular television actress in 1981 and 1983. Grenfell is now best remembered for her one-woman shows and monologues, in which she invented roles including a harassed nursery teacher (George, don't do that). As the recalcitrant, alcoholic, convicted murderer Lizzie Birdsworth, Florance became one of the show's favourite performers, and while the writers usually used her for comic relief, she was also given more subtantial dramatic storylines. During the 1950s she made her name as a sidekick to such comedy greats as Alastair Sim and Margaret Rutherford in films such as The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) and the St Trinian's series. In 1979 she joined the cast of the television series Prisoner (known outside of Australia as Prisoner: Cell Block H). As a writer at the BBC during and just after the war, she collaborated with Stephen Potter in writing the "How" series of 30 satirical programs from "How to Talk to Children" to "How to Listen".

Born in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia, Florance was a frequent guest star in various television series during the 1960s and was a regular on the Bellbird series. In the 1970s she began appearing in films, most notably Petersen (1974), End Play (1975), The Devil's Playground (1976), and Mad Max (1979). Although she performed in a number of films, she continued with her recording career, producing a number of humoristic albums as well as books. Sheila Florance (July 24, 1916 – October 12, 1991) was an Australian film and television actress. Her singing and comedic talents on stage led to offers to appear in motion picture comedies. In 1989 her wartime journals were published under the title The Time of My Life: Entertaining the Troops. During World War II, Grenfell toured India, North Africa, and the Middle East with a company performing for British troops.

Wanting to pursue a career in the theatre, she made her stage debut in 1939 in the "Little Revue." In 1942 she wrote what became her signature song, "I'm Going to See You Today.". As such, Joyce Phipps grew up around money and privilege. Born Joyce Irene Phipps in London, England, she was the daughter of architect Paul Phipps and an eccentric American mother, Nora Langhorne, the daughter of an American railroad millionaire and sister of Nancy Astor. Joyce Grenfell, born February 10, 1910 - died November 30, 1979, was a British film and television actress, comedienne, and singer-songwriter.

A Letter from Home (1941). The Lamp Still Burns (1943). The Demi-Paradise (1943). While the Sun Shines (1947).

A Run for Your Money (1949). Poet's Pub (1949). Stage Fright (1950). The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950).

Alice in Wonderland (1950). Laughter in Paradise (1951). The Galloping Major (1951). The Magic Box (1951).

The Pickwick Papers (1952). The Million Pound Note (1953). Genevieve (1953). Trinian's (1954).

The Belles of St. Forbidden Cargo (1954) . The Good Companions (1957). Happy Is the Bride (1957).

Trinian's (1957). Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1960). The Pure Hell of St.