Carmen Silvera

2024-06-11T17:10:04Z

213.31.3.181: /* Life and career */

{{Short description|Canadian-British actress (1922–2002)}}
{{distinguish|Carmen Sylva}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}{{Use Canadian English|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Carmen Silvera
| image = Edith Artois.jpg
| caption = Silvera as [[Edith Artois]] in ''[['Allo 'Allo!]]''
| birth_name = Carmen Blanche Silvera
| birth_date = {{birth date|1922|06|02|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|2002|8|3|1922|6|2|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Denville Hall]], [[Northwood, London]], England
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1962–2001
| spouse = {{marriage|John Cunliffe|1949|reason=divorced}}
| resting_place = [[Golders Green Crematorium]], London, England
}}

'''Carmen Blanche Silvera''' (2 June 1922 – 3 August 2002) was a British [[comic]] actress. Born in Canada of Spanish descent, she moved to [[Coventry]], England, with her family when she was a child. She appeared on television regularly in the 1960s, and achieved mainstream fame in the 1980s with her starring role in the British television programme, ''[['Allo 'Allo!]]'' as [[Edith Artois]].

== Life and career ==
During [[World War II]], Silvera was evacuated to [[Montreal]] and narrowly escaped death when, at the last minute, her name was taken off the passenger list of the liner {{SS|Athenia|1922|2}} that was sunk by the enemy shortly afterwards. In Canada, she took classes with the [[Ballets Russes]] and appeared in three of its productions. On her return to Britain, she felt called to acting and trained at the [[London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art]], before gaining experience in [[Repertory|repertory theatre]].<ref name="obit">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/carmen-silvera-638905.html|title=Obituary|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=25 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709174659/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/carmen-silvera-638905.html|archive-date=9 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Silvera first made her name as a [[television]] actress in the 1960s British police drama ''[[Z-Cars]]'' in 1962, going on to appear as Camilla Hope<ref name="Compact">{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163440/|title=Compact|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> in the [[BBC]] [[soap opera]] ''[[Compact (TV series)|Compact]]'' from 1964 to 1965. She played Mrs Van Schuyler in ''[[Lillie (TV series)|Lillie]]'' in 1978, [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s drama series about the future [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|Edward VII]]'s [[Mistress (lover)|mistress]], [[Lillie Langtry]].

She appeared twice in ''[[Doctor Who]]'', in the serials ''[[The Celestial Toymaker]]'' as Clara the Clown, Mrs. Wiggs, and the [[Queen (playing card)|Queen of Hearts]], and as Ruth in ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]''.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/invasiondinosaurs/detail.shtml |title = BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - Invasion of the Dinosaurs - Details}}</ref> In 1970 she appeared in the ''[[Dad's Army]]'' episode ''[[Mum's Army]]'' as Fiona Gray, the love-interest for [[Captain Mainwaring]], a role especially written for her by [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]. She also had roles in British sex comedies, such as ''[[Clinic Exclusive]]'' (1971), ''[[On the Game]]'' (1974) and ''[[Keep It Up Downstairs]]'' (1976). Her longest-running role came as [[Edith Artois|Edith]], the antagonistic wife of opportunistic cafe owner Rene Artois, throughout the history of the ''[['Allo 'Allo!]]'' series from 1982 to 1992.

She appeared with [[Ted Rogers (comedian)|Ted Rogers]] at the [[New Wimbledon Theatre]] in 1997 in [[Jimmy Perry]]'s stage musical ''That's Showbiz''. Her [[West End theatre|West End]] stage appearances included roles in ''Waters of the Moon'', starring [[Ingrid Bergman]], ''[[Hobson's Choice (play)|Hobson's Choice]]'' with [[Penelope Keith]], ''A Coat of Varnish'' and ''[[School for Wives]]'', which was directed by [[Peter Hall (theatre director)|Peter Hall]]. She also played a grandmother in the 1997 film ''[[La Passione (1996 film)|La Passione]]''.<ref name="obit"/>

In 1991, she was the subject of a ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' television programme. She did charity work for the Grand Order of Lady Ratlings, the ladies' branch of the [[Grand Order of Water Rats]].

== Personal life and death ==
Silvera was enthusiastic about [[horse racing]] after her grandfather took her to a race at [[Warwick]]. She won a bet on ''Light of Love'' at the race, which came in at 7/1.<ref name=grauniad/>

In Coventry in 1949, Silvera married John Cunliffe, an actor she had met at [[repertory theatre]] in [[Tonbridge, Kent]] in 1941. She [[divorce]]d following a [[miscarriage]] and never remarried. A heavy smoker, she died of [[lung cancer]] on 3 August 2002, aged 80, at the [[Denville Hall]] retirement home for actors.<ref name=grauniad>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/aug/06/guardianobituaries.arts|title=Obituary : Carmen Silvera|first=Dennis|last=Barker|date=6 August 2002|accessdate=11 February 2016}}</ref>

== Family ==
Her Jamaican-born father, Roland Silvera (1895–1986), was a well-known flat-green [[bowls]] player and a member of Stoke Bowling Club, [[Coventry]]. After emigrating to Canada in 1910 and becoming a ship hand, Roland fought for the Canadian Expeditionary Force in [[World War I]].

Roland married Dorothy White in [[Warwick]] in 1918 and returned to Canada, where Carmen and her brother Roger were born. They emigrated back to [[Warwickshire]] in 1924. Roland served as President of Warwickshire County Bowls Association in 1970, in which year the County side achieved their one and only success in the [[English Bowling Association]] Middleton Cup competition, beating Middlesex in the final. Coventry & District Bowls Association runs an annual competition for the Silvera Shield.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|0798819|Carmen Silvera}}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/showbiz/2171839.stm BBC News item on Silvera's death]
* [http://home.btconnect.com/howejam/dadsarmy/news_archive/2002_08_news.htm Carmen Silvera on the ''Dad's Army'' News Archive]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090227060154/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/carmen-silvera-638905.html Silvera's obituary] in ''[[The Independent]]''
*[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/aug/06/guardianobituaries.arts Silvera's obituary] in ''[[The Guardian]]''

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silvera, Carmen}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriates in England]]
[[Category:English stage actresses]]
[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in England]]
[[Category:Actresses from Coventry]]
[[Category:Actresses from Toronto]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Spanish descent]]
[[Category:English people of Spanish descent]]
[[Category:20th-century British businesspeople]]

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Carmen Silvera