Miriam Karlin

2022-07-01T20:25:35Z

92.10.13.209: WP:PUFFERY

{{Short description|English actress}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Miriam Karlin
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]
| image = MiriamKarlinAClockworkOrange.png
| caption = Karlin in ''A Clockwork Orange'' (1971)
| birth_name = Miriam Samuels
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1925|6|23}}
| birth_place = [[London]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2011|6|3|1925|6|23}}
| death_place = London, England
| alma_mater = [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1946–2009
| organisation = [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]<br>[[Anti-Nazi League]]<br>[[British Humanist Association]]<br>[[Equity (trade union)|Equity]]
| family = [[Michael Samuels (academic)|Michael Samuels]] (brother)
}}
'''Miriam Karlin''' {{Post-nominals|Country=GBR|OBE}} (23 June 1925{{Spaced ndash}}3 June 2011) was an English actress whose career lasted for more than 60 years. She was known for her role as Paddy in ''[[The Rag Trade]]'', a 1960s [[BBC]] and 1970s [[London Weekend Television|LWT]] sitcom,<ref name="Stevens">{{cite book
|last= Stevens
|first= Christopher
|title= Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams
|publisher= John Murray
|year= 2010
|isbn = 978-1-84854-195-5
|page=408
}}</ref> and in particular for the character's [[catchphrase]] "Everybody out!" Her trademark throughout her career was her deep, husky voice.
==Early life==
Born '''Miriam Samuels'''<ref name=BBCdeath/> in [[Hampstead]], [[North London]], she was brought up in an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jew]]ish family; members of her extended family were among those who were later murdered at [[Auschwitz]]. She was the daughter of Céline (née Aronowitz) and [[Harry Samuels]], a barrister, who specialised in industrial and trade union law.

Her elder brother was [[Michael Samuels (linguist)|Michael Samuels]] (1920–2010), a historical linguist responsible for the ''[[Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary]]''.<ref name="Brother">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/dec/15/michael-samuels-obituary|title=Michael Samuels Obituary|work=[[The Guardian]] |date=15 December 2010|accessdate=5 June 2011|location=London|first=Christian|last=Kay}}</ref>

When performing in one of her first radio shows, [[Terry-Thomas]]'s ''[[Top of the Town]]'', Karlin based some of the zany characters that she invented and played on people who had appeared before the [[rent tribunal]] chaired by her father.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/jun/03/miriam-karlin-obituary|location=London|work=The Guardian|first=Dennis|last=Barker|title=Miriam Karlin Obituary|date=3 June 2011}}</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8555619/Miriam-Karlin.html Miriam Karlin Obituary], ''The Daily Telegraph''; accessed 15 June 2018.</ref>

==Career==
After training at [[RADA]], Karlin made her stage debut for the [[Entertainments National Service Association]] (ENSA) in wartime shows, and subsequently appeared in [[repertory theatre]] and cabaret. She appeared in productions of ''[[The Diary of Anne Frank (play)|The Diary of Anne Frank]]'', ''[[The Bad Seed (play)|The Bad Seed]]'', ''The Egg'', ''[[Fiddler on the Roof]],'' and ''[[Bus Stop (play)|Bus Stop]]'', among others.

She made her film debut in ''[[Down Among the Z Men]]'' (1952), as well as featuring in ''[[A Touch of the Sun (1956 film)|A Touch of the Sun]]'', ''[[Room at the Top (1959 film)|Room at the Top]]'', ''[[The Millionairess]]'', ''[[Heavens Above!]]'', ''[[Ladies Who Do]]'', ''[[The Small World of Sammy Lee]]'', ''[[The Bargee]]'', ''[[Just like a Woman (1967 film)|Just like a Woman]]'', ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' and ''[[Mahler (film)|Mahler]]'' (by [[Ken Russell]]). In 1954, she had the part of a Martian alien in the BBC radio series ''[[Journey into Space]]''.<ref>BBC</ref>

In 1960, she appeared opposite Sir [[Laurence Olivier]] in the [[The Entertainer (film)|film adaptation]] of [[John Osborne]]'s play ''[[The Entertainer (play)|The Entertainer]]''.<ref>{{IMDb title|53796|The Entertainer}}</ref> She performed in the stage version of ''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]'' at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]], starring the Israeli actor [[Chaim Topol|Topol]]. In 1972, she appeared in the title role in ''[[Mother Courage and her Children]]'' at the [[Watford Palace Theatre|Palace Theatre]], [[Watford]], in a production notable for the force of her performance, and its faithfulness to the [[Brecht]]ian ''[[Verfremdungseffekt]]''.<ref name=Guardian/>

In television, she became known for playing the belligerent [[shop steward]] Paddy in ''[[The Rag Trade]]'', a [[BBC]] sitcom set in a textile factory, between 1961 and 1963.<ref>{{cite web|title=''Rag Trade'' Actress Miriam Karlin Dies|url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/32408/rag-trade-actress-miriam-karlin-dies|accessdate=3 June 2011|date=3 June 2011}}</ref> Her character would take advantage of the slightest opportunity to call a strike; her trademark was blowing a whistle and shouting "Everybody out!" The show was revived by rival channel [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] in 1977.<ref name="Stevens"/>

In 1966, she appeared as a regular team member in the Australian satirical series ''[[The Mavis Bramston Show]]''. She also appeared in the TV film ''[[Adaptations of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde|Jekyll & Hyde]]'' (1990) starring [[Michael Caine]].{{cn|date=June 2018}}

Karlin performed on stage for the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] at [[Stratford-upon-Avon]], the [[Aldwych Theatre]], and the [[Barbican Centre]]. She appeared in a national tour of ''[[84 Charing Cross Road]]''. In 1990, she became the first woman to play the title role in [[Harold Pinter]]'s ''[[The Caretaker]]'', in a production at the [[Sherman Cymru|Sherman Theatre, Cardiff]]. From 1992 to 1994, she appeared as a Jewish ghost, Yetta Feldman, in the BBC sitcom ''[[So Haunt Me]]'', alongside [[Tessa Peake-Jones]] and [[George Costigan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?adv=0&q=So+Haunt+Me&media=all&yf=1923&yt=2009&mf=1&mt=12&tf=00%3A00&tt=00%3A00#search|website=BBC Genome|title=Search result for So Haunt Me|accessdate=11 May 2020}}</ref>

In 2008, at the age of 83, she appeared in Stewart Permutt's ''Many Roads to Paradise'' at the [[Finborough Theatre]] in London.<ref name="Paradise">{{cite web|url=http://www.thejc.com/arts/theatre-reviews/review-many-roads-to-paradise|title=Review: ''Many Roads To Paradise''|work=[[The Jewish Chronicle]]|date=20 June 2008|accessdate=5 June 2011}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Karlin, who never married, lived in [[South London]]. A self-proclaimed [[Atheism|atheist]],<ref name="Atheist">{{cite web|url=http://www.humanism.org.uk/about/people/distinguished-supporters/Miriam-Karlin-OBE|title=Miriam Karlin OBE|publisher=[[British Humanist Association]]|accessdate=4 June 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324095559/http://www.humanism.org.uk/about/people/distinguished-supporters/Miriam-Karlin-OBE|archivedate=24 March 2012}}</ref> she was a lifelong campaigner for Jewish and left-wing political causes, as well as an [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] activist.<ref name="ANL">{{cite web|url=http://uaf.org.uk/2011/06/a-tribute-to-miriam-karlin-1925-2011|title=A Tribute to Miriam Karlin (1925–2011)|publisher=[[Unite Against Fascism]]|date=4 June 2011|accessdate=5 June 2011}}</ref>

A member of the [[Anti-Nazi League]], she was prominent in protests against [[Holocaust denier]] [[David Irving]], and campaigned to expose the [[Nazi]] sympathies of the Austrian politician [[Jörg Haider]].<ref name="ANL">{{cite web|url=http://uaf.org.uk/2011/06/a-tribute-to-miriam-karlin-1925-2011|title=A Tribute to Miriam Karlin (1925–2011)|publisher=[[Unite Against Fascism]]|date=4 June 2011|accessdate=5 June 2011}}</ref>

She was an active member of the actors' union, [[Equity (trade union)|Equity]],<ref name="Stevens"/> and was appointed an [[Order of the British Empire|Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE)<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=46593|date=6 June 1975|page=7379|supp=y}}</ref> in 1975 for her union and welfare work. Karlin was a Distinguished Supporter of the [[British Humanist Association]], a patron of both the [[Burma Campaign UK]] (which campaigns for democracy and human rights in [[Burma]]) and [[Dignity in Dying]] (which campaigns for changes to laws on [[Assisted suicide|assisted dying]]) and a trustee of the Eddie Surman Trust (an HIV charity).<ref>[http://coregay.co.uk/the-eddie-surman-trust-patron-miriam-karlin-dies-aged-85 Eddie Surman Trust Patron Miriam Karlin Dies Aged 85] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425230409/http://coregay.co.uk/the-eddie-surman-trust-patron-miriam-karlin-dies-aged-85|date=25 April 2012}}</ref>

She admitted to a lifelong battle with anorexia and bulimia that began in 1956 and lasted over 48 years. She often claimed that her peripheral neuropathy was a side effect of a chronic eating disorder and years of laxative and appetite suppressant abuse.

===Death===
In 2006, while filming an [[Agatha Christie]] TV mystery, ''By the Pricking of My Thumbs'', Karlin was told that she had cancer and that part of her tongue would have to be removed. She died on 3 June 2011.<ref name=BBCdeath>{{cite news|title=''Rag Trade'' Star Miriam Karlin Dies|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13639043|accessdate=3 June 2011|newspaper=[[BBC News Online]]|date=3 June 2011}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
!style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title
!style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
!style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes
|-
|1952 || ''[[Down Among the Z Men]]'' || Woman in Shop ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1955 || ''[[The Deep Blue Sea (1955 film)|The Deep Blue Sea]]'' || Barmaid ||
|-
| ''[[The Woman for Joe]]'' || Gladys ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1956 || ''[[Fun at St. Fanny's]]'' || 'The Private Eye' ||
|-
| ''[[A Touch of the Sun (1956 film)|A Touch of the Sun]]'' || Alice Cann ||
|-
| ''[[The Big Money (film)|The Big Money]]'' || Lady in Nightclub || Uncredited
|-
|1957 || ''[[The Flesh Is Weak]]'' || Betty || Uncredited
|-
|1958 || ''[[Carve Her Name with Pride]]'' || Jennie Wilson, Bus Conductress || Uncredited
|-
|1959 || ''[[Room at the Top (1959 film)|Room at the Top]]'' || Gertrude || Uncredited
|-
|rowspan=3|1960 || ''[[The Entertainer (film)|The Entertainer]]'' || Soubrette ||
|-
| ''[[The Millionairess]]'' || Mrs. Maria Joe ||
|-
| ''[[Crossroads to Crime]]'' || Connie Williams ||
|-
|rowspan=4|1961 || ''[[Hand in Hand (film)|Hand in Hand]]'' || Mrs. Mathias ||
|-
| ''[[Watch it, Sailor!]]'' || Mrs. Lack ||
|-
| ''[[On the Fiddle]]'' || Waaf Sergeant ||
|-
| ''[[The Fourth Square]]'' || Josette || ''[[Edgar Wallace Mysteries]]''
|-
|rowspan=2|1962 || ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1962 film)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' || Charwoman ||
|-
| ''[[I Thank a Fool]]'' || Woman in the Black Maria ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1963 || ''[[The Small World of Sammy Lee]]'' || Milly ||
|-
| ''[[Heavens Above!]]'' || Winnie Smith ||
|-
| ''[[Ladies Who Do]]'' || Mrs. Higgins ||
|-
|1964 || ''[[The Bargee]]'' || Nellie Marsh ||
|-
|1965 || ''[[The Mavis Bramston Show]]'' || Various characters || Australian satirical sketch show
|-
|1967 || ''[[Just like a Woman (1967 film)|Just like a Woman]]'' || Ellen Newman ||
|-
|1971 || ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' || Catlady ||
|-
|1974 || ''[[Mahler (film)|Mahler]]'' || Aunt Rosa ||
|-
|1975 || ''[[Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done]]'' ||Little Buttercup / Utopian Maiden || Voice
|-
|1992 || ''[[Utz (film)|Utz]]'' || Grandmother ||
|-
|1997 || ''[[Incognito (1998 film)|Incognito]]'' || Marina ||
|-
|2000 || ''[[The Man Who Cried]]'' || Madame Goldstein ||
|-
|2004 || ''[[Suzie Gold]]'' || Sadie ||
|-
|2006 || ''[[Children of Men]]'' || Caged German Grandmother ||
|-
|2008 || ''[[Flashbacks of a Fool]]'' || Mrs. Rogers || (final film role)
|}

==Works==
* {{Cite book
| title=Some Sort of a Life
| last=Karlin
| first=Miriam
| editor=Jan Sargent
| year=2007
| publisher=[[Oberon Books]]
| location=London
| isbn=978-1-84002-780-8
}} (Autobiography)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|439507}}
*The Miriam Karlin Archive is held at the [http://www.bristol.ac.uk/theatre-collection/explore/theatre/ University of Bristol Theatre Collection].
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karlin, Miriam}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century English actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from London]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:English anti-fascists]]
[[Category:English atheists]]
[[Category:English democracy activists]]
[[Category:English film actresses]]
[[Category:English human rights activists]]
[[Category:Women human rights activists]]
[[Category:English humanists]]
[[Category:English Ashkenazi Jews]]
[[Category:English radio actresses]]
[[Category:English stage actresses]]
[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:Trade unionists from London]]
[[Category:HIV/AIDS activists]]
[[Category:Jewish English actresses]]
[[Category:Jewish atheists]]
[[Category:Jewish human rights activists]]
[[Category:Jewish humanists]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People from Hampstead]]
[[Category:People from London]]
[[Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members]]
[[Category:Women trade unionists]]

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Miriam Karlin