Ann Emery was born on March 12, 1930, and died on September 29, 2016.
She was a British actress.
Ann was the sister of actor and comedian Dick Emery.
She was educated at Mrs Smith’s School for Young Ladies and the Cone Ripman School, she excelled in tap dancing, which led to her first stage role as a Babe in Babes In The Wood at the King’s Theatre, Hammersmith.
Over the period of her career, she performed in various theatre roles, including Sir Trevor Nunn’s production of My Fair Lady (Royal National Theatre and The Theatre Royal Drury Lane) and as Grandma in the musical Billy Elliot from 2005 to 2010.
After her appearance in Betty Blue Eyes, Emery returned to the role of Grandma which she played until 8 November 2014, when she retired.
Emery is possibly best known for playing Ethel Meaker in the BBC children’s television programme Rentaghost.
She also played Ethel Rocket in Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde in 1995 and appeared in the 2007 film Wednesday.
During 1992, she had appeared in the national tour of the Kander and Ebb musical 70 Girls 70 with Dora Bryan.
During 1999, Emery played a cleaner in the first episode of Miami 7, the first series featuring the pop group S Club 7, in which she appeared attempting to dance to one of the group’s songs as they rehearsed in the opening scene.
She performed as Mother Dear in Cameron Mackintosh’s West End musical comedy Betty Blue Eyes. Sarah Lancashire and Reece Shearsmith were her daughter and son-in-law Joyce and Gilbert Chilvers.
That musical was based on the 1984 film A Private Function by Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray, which starred Liz Smith as Joyce’s mother alongside Maggie Smith and Michael Palin.
The Betty Blue Eyes series ran at the Novello Theatre from April to September 2011, and was enthusiastically received by London critics, with many praising Emery’s lively supporting turn.
Ann Emery had been due to address the monthly meeting of the British Music Hall Society at the Club for Acts and Actors in Bedford Street on that day and had only had to withdraw days before.
Ann Emery passed away at 86 years old.