Mary Millar

For those of a similar name, see Mary Miller (disambiguation).

Irene Mary Wetton (26 July 1936 – 10 November 1998), better known by her stage name Mary Millar,^[1] was an English actress and singer best remembered for her role as the second actress to play Rose in the successful BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances from 1991 to 1995 and for originating the role of Madame Giry in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera.^[2]

Mary Millar
Millar in 1997
Born	Irene Mary Wetton (1936-07-26)26 July 1936 Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died	10 November 1998(1998-11-10) (aged 62) Brockley, London, England
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	1952–1998
Spouse	Rafael Frame ​ (m. 1962)​
Children	1

Early life

Irene Mary Wetton was born in Doncaster, England, on 26 July 1936 to Horace and Irene (née Mellor) Wetton, both music hall singers.^[1] She intended to become a stable hand, but later decided to pursue a stage career.^[1] She toured the country with her parents, who had an act called Sweethearts in Harmony.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Millar made her first television appearance in 1953, aged 17, in Those Were the Days.^[3] She also made appearances on The Dick Emery Show and The Stanley Baxter Show.^[1]

In 1960, Millar travelled to New York to understudy Julie Andrews in Camelot.^[4] She began her West End career in 1962 as Cloris in Lock Up Your Daughters.^[2][5] In 1969, she played the title role in the musical Ann Veronica, based on H. G. Wells' novel.^[6] In 1986, Millar originated the role of Madame Giry in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera.^[3] She played the role for four years and her voice appears on the original cast album.^[5]

Millar gained acclaim for her part in Keeping Up Appearances as Rose, replacing Shirley Stelfox for series 2 in 1991 as Stelfox had prior commitments to Making Out.^[7] Millar remained with the programme through to its conclusion in 1995.

From 1997 to 1998, Millar played Mrs Potts in the London production of Beauty and the Beast, and appeared on the cast album composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice.^[8] In February 1998, Millar left the show because of deteriorating health.^[1]

Personal life

Millar married photographer Rafael D. Frame in November 1962;^[9] their daughter Lucy was born in 1972.^[5][10] Millar was a practising Christian.^[11]

Death

In January 1998, Millar was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and underwent chemotherapy. She died on 10 November, at the age of 62, in Brockley, London, with her husband and daughter at her bedside. She was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium.^{[citation needed]} Three weeks before her death, when asked what she would do when she arrived at heaven's door, Millar said, "Rehearse for a part in the Angelic choir, darling."^[12] An episode of Keeping Up Appearances was broadcast on BBC One the following week and dedicated to her.

Works

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1953	Those Were the Days
1963, 1964	The Dick Emery Show[13]
1963–71	The Stanley Baxter Show
1967	Titipu	Yum-Yum	BBC2 production[1]
1968	Iolanthe	Phyllis	BBC2 production[1]
1970	Rookery Nook	Poppy Dickie
1991–95	Keeping Up Appearances	Rose	series 2 to series 5

Theatre

Year	Play	Role	Theatre	Notes
1952, 1954–55	Babes in the Wood	Principal character	The Empire Theatre, Sheffield (1952) Derby Hippodrome Theatre (1954–55)[14]
1957, 1959	The Desert Song	Margot Bonvalet	His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen	1967 studio recording[15][16]
1958–59	Old Chelsea	Mary Fenton	King's Theatre, Glasgow
1960	Camelot	Queen Guenevere	Majestic Theatre, Manhattan	Julie Andrews' understudy[1][11]
1962	Lock Up Your Daughters	Cloris	Mermaid Theatre[5] Her Majesty's Theatre[17]
1963	See You Inside		Duchess Theatre[18]
1963–64	All in Love[19][20]	Lydia Languish	Mayfair Theatre[21]	Based on The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
1965	Dearest Dracula[22][23]	Lucy	Olympia Theatre, Dublin
1966	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	Milly		1966 recording[24]
1967–68, 1971	Bless the Bride		Richmond Theatre	1967 studio recording[25]
1967	Love From a Stranger	Cecily Harrington	Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[26]
1967	Virtue in Danger	Berinthia	Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[27]
1968	The Rivals	Lydia Languish	Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[28]
1969	The Real Inspector Hound	Cynthia	Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[29]
1969	Black Comedy	Clea	Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[29]
1969	Ann Veronica[30]	Ann Veronica Stanley	Cambridge Theatre	Cast recording[31]
1970	Spider's Web[32]	Clarissa Hailsham-Brown	Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[33]
1972	Popkiss[34]	Poppy Dickie	Globe Theatre Cambridge Arts Theatre
1973	The Importance of Being Earnest	Honourable Gwendolen Fairfax	Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[35]
1975	Small and Brassy		King's Head Theatre Wyndham's Theatre[36]
1978	Lark Rise[37]	Emma Timms	Royal National Theatre
1984	Pack of Lies	Barbara Jackson	Lyric Theatre, London	Replacing Judi Dench[11]
1985, 1993–94	Follies[2][38][39]	Sally Durant Plummer	Forum Theatre, Wythenshawe Brighton Dome Haymarket Theatre
1986–90	The Phantom of the Opera[40]	Madame Giry	Her Majesty's Theatre	Leader of bible studies between shows,[12] cast recording
1993	Jack and the Beanstalk			[41]
1995	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	The Wicked Witch[42]
1996	Follies: In Concert		National Concert Hall, Dublin
1997–98	Beauty and the Beast[2]	Mrs Potts	Dominion Theatre	Cast recording[43]
	Pal Joey[2]
	The King and I[2]	Anna	Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich
	The Mating Game
	An Evening with Mary Millar			One-woman show Talking about her Christianity, life, and work[citation needed]