Joyce Grenfell - Revision history

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	\|years_active = 1939–1979		\|years_active = 1939–1979
	}}		}}
	'''Joyce Irene Grenfell''' [[Order of the British Empire\|OBE]] (''{{nee}}'' '''Phipps'''; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English [[diseuse\|diseuse]], singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in [[revue\|revue]]s and later in her solo shows. She never appeared as a stage actress, but had roles, mostly comic, in many films, including Miss Gossage in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)\|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950) and Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the [[St Trinian's]] series (from 1954). She was a well-known broadcaster on radio and television. As a writer, she was the first radio critic for ''[[The Observer\|The Observer]]'', contributed to ''[[Punch (magazine)\|Punch\|]]'' and published a volume of memoirs.		'''Joyce Irene Grenfell''' [[Order of the British Empire\|OBE]] (''{{nee}}'' '''Phipps'''; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English [[diseuse\|diseuse]], singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in [[revue\|revue]]s and later in her solo shows. She never appeared as a stage actress, but had roles, mostly comic, in many films, including Miss Gossage in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)\|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950) and Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the [[St Trinian's]] series (from 1954). She was a well-known broadcaster on radio and television. As a writer, she was the first radio critic for ''[[The Observer\|The Observer]]'', contributed to ''[[Punch (magazine)\|Punch]]'' and published a volume of memoirs.

	Born to an affluent Anglo-American family, Grenfell had abandoned early hopes of becoming an actress when she was invited to perform a comic monologue in a [[West End theatre\|West End]] revue in 1939. Its success led to a career as an entertainer, giving her creations in theatres in five continents between 1940 and 1969.		Born to an affluent Anglo-American family, Grenfell had abandoned early hopes of becoming an actress when she was invited to perform a comic monologue in a [[West End theatre\|West End]] revue in 1939. Its success led to a career as an entertainer, giving her creations in theatres in five continents between 1940 and 1969.

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	~~{{Short description\|English comedian, singer and scriptwriter, 1910—1979}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=September 2021}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2021}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\|~~name~~ = ~~Joyce Grenfell<br><small>~~[[w:Order of the British Empire\|OBE]]~~</small>~~		\|honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire\|OBE]]
	\|image = Joyce Grenfell Allan Warren.jpg		\|image = Joyce Grenfell Allan Warren.jpg
	\|caption = Grenfell, by [[w:Allan Warren\|Allan Warren]], 1972		\|caption = Grenfell, by [[Allan Warren\|Allan Warren]], 1972
	\|occupation = {{hlist\|Actress\|[[w:diseuse\|diseuse]]\|singer\|writer}}		\|occupation = {{hlist\|Actress\|[[diseuse\|diseuse]]\|singer\|writer}}
	\|birth_name = Joyce Irene Phipps		\|birth_name = Joyce Irene Phipps
	\|birth_date = {{Birth date\|1910\|02\|10\|df=yes}}		\|birth_date = {{Birth date\|1910\|02\|10\|df=yes}}
	\|birth_place = [[w:Knightsbridge\|Knightsbridge]], London, England		\|birth_place = [[Knightsbridge\|Knightsbridge]], London, England
	\|death_date = {{Death date and age\|1979\|11\|30\|1910\|02\|10\|df=yes}}		\|death_date = {{Death date and age\|1979\|11\|30\|1910\|02\|10\|df=yes}}
	\|death_place = [[w:Chelsea, London\|Chelsea]], London, England		\|death_place = [[Chelsea, London\|Chelsea]], London, England
	\|spouse = {{marriage\|Reggie Grenfell\|1929}}		\|spouse = {{marriage\|Reggie Grenfell\|1929}}
	\|years_active = 1939–1979		\|years_active = 1939–1979
	}}		}}
	'''Joyce Irene Grenfell''' [[w:Order of the British Empire\|OBE]] (''{{nee}}'' '''Phipps'''; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English [[w:diseuse\|diseuse]], singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in [[w:revue\|revue]]s and later in her solo shows. She never appeared as a stage actress, but had roles, mostly comic, in many films, including Miss Gossage in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)\|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950) and Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the [[St Trinian's]] series (from 1954). She was a well-known broadcaster on radio and television. As a writer, she was the first radio critic for ''[[w:The Observer\|The Observer]]'', contributed to ''[[w:Punch (magazine)\|Punch\|]]'' and published a volume of memoirs.		'''Joyce Irene Grenfell''' [[Order of the British Empire\|OBE]] (''{{nee}}'' '''Phipps'''; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English [[diseuse\|diseuse]], singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in [[revue\|revue]]s and later in her solo shows. She never appeared as a stage actress, but had roles, mostly comic, in many films, including Miss Gossage in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)\|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950) and Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the [[St Trinian's]] series (from 1954). She was a well-known broadcaster on radio and television. As a writer, she was the first radio critic for ''[[The Observer\|The Observer]]'', contributed to ''[[Punch (magazine)\|Punch\|]]'' and published a volume of memoirs.

	Born to an affluent Anglo-American family, Grenfell had abandoned early hopes of becoming an actress when she was invited to perform a comic monologue in a [[w:West End theatre\|West End]] revue in 1939. Its success led to a career as an entertainer, giving her creations in theatres in five continents between 1940 and 1969.		Born to an affluent Anglo-American family, Grenfell had abandoned early hopes of becoming an actress when she was invited to perform a comic monologue in a [[West End theatre\|West End]] revue in 1939. Its success led to a career as an entertainer, giving her creations in theatres in five continents between 1940 and 1969.

	==Life and career==		==Life and career==
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	*{{IMDb name\|id=0340205}}		*{{IMDb name\|id=0340205}}
	*{{Screenonline name\|id=521050}}		*{{Screenonline name\|id=521050}}
	*[http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/grenfell.html Joyce Grenfell archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection], [[w:University of Bristol\|University of Bristol]]		*[http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/grenfell.html Joyce Grenfell archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection], [[University of Bristol\|University of Bristol]]

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Grenfell, Joyce}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Grenfell, Joyce}}

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External links

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	==External links==		==External links==
	~~{{Wikiquote}}~~
	*{{IMDb name\|id=0340205}}		*{{IMDb name\|id=0340205}}
	*{{Screenonline name\|id=521050}}		*{{Screenonline name\|id=521050}}
	*[http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/grenfell.html Joyce Grenfell archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection], [[University of Bristol]]		*[http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/grenfell.html Joyce Grenfell archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection], [[w:University of Bristol\|University of Bristol]]
	*BBC Radio 4 ''Great Lives'' on Joyce Grenfell – listen online: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bc41s BBC Radio 4 – Great Lives, Series 15, Joyce Grenfell]

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Grenfell, Joyce}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Grenfell, Joyce}}

Kurt at 21:07, 10 November 2022

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	'''Joyce Irene Grenfell''' [[w:Order of the British Empire\|OBE]] (''{{nee}}'' '''Phipps'''; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English [[w:diseuse\|diseuse]], singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in [[w:revue\|revue]]s and later in her solo shows. She never appeared as a stage actress, but had roles, mostly comic, in many films, including Miss Gossage in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)\|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950) and Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the [[St Trinian's]] series (from 1954). She was a well-known broadcaster on radio and television. As a writer, she was the first radio critic for ''[[w:The Observer\|The Observer]]'', contributed to ''[[w:Punch (magazine)\|Punch\|]]'' and published a volume of memoirs.		'''Joyce Irene Grenfell''' [[w:Order of the British Empire\|OBE]] (''{{nee}}'' '''Phipps'''; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English [[w:diseuse\|diseuse]], singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in [[w:revue\|revue]]s and later in her solo shows. She never appeared as a stage actress, but had roles, mostly comic, in many films, including Miss Gossage in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)\|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950) and Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the [[St Trinian's]] series (from 1954). She was a well-known broadcaster on radio and television. As a writer, she was the first radio critic for ''[[w:The Observer\|The Observer]]'', contributed to ''[[w:Punch (magazine)\|Punch\|]]'' and published a volume of memoirs.

	Born to an affluent Anglo-American family, Grenfell had abandoned early hopes of becoming an actress when she was invited to perform a comic monologue in a [[West End theatre\|West End]] revue in 1939. Its success led to a career as an entertainer, giving her creations in theatres in five continents between 1940 and 1969.		Born to an affluent Anglo-American family, Grenfell had abandoned early hopes of becoming an actress when she was invited to perform a comic monologue in a [[w:West End theatre\|West End]] revue in 1939. Its success led to a career as an entertainer, giving her creations in theatres in five continents between 1940 and 1969.

	==Life and career==		==Life and career==

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	{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2021}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2021}}
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\|name = Joyce Grenfell<br><small>[[Order of the British Empire\|OBE]]</small>		\|name = Joyce Grenfell<br><small>[[w:Order of the British Empire\|OBE]]</small>
	\|image = Joyce Grenfell Allan Warren.jpg		\|image = Joyce Grenfell Allan Warren.jpg
	\|caption = Grenfell, by [[Allan Warren]], 1972		\|caption = Grenfell, by [[w:Allan Warren\|Allan Warren]], 1972
	\|occupation = {{hlist\|Actress\|[[diseuse]]\|singer\|writer}}		\|occupation = {{hlist\|Actress\|[[w:diseuse\|diseuse]]\|singer\|writer}}
	\|birth_name = Joyce Irene Phipps		\|birth_name = Joyce Irene Phipps
	\|birth_date = {{Birth date~~\|df=yes~~\|1910\|02\|10}}		\|birth_date = {{Birth date\|1910\|02\|10\|df=yes}}
	\|birth_place = [[Knightsbridge]], London, England		\|birth_place = [[w:Knightsbridge\|Knightsbridge]], London, England
	\|death_date = {{Death date and age~~\|df=yes~~\|1979\|11\|30\|1910\|02\|10}}		\|death_date = {{Death date and age\|1979\|11\|30\|1910\|02\|10\|df=yes}}
	\|death_place = [[Chelsea, London\|Chelsea]], London, England		\|death_place = [[w:Chelsea, London\|Chelsea]], London, England
	\|spouse = {{marriage\|Reggie Grenfell\|1929}}		\|spouse = {{marriage\|Reggie Grenfell\|1929}}
	\|years_active = 1939–1979		\|years_active = 1939–1979
	}}		}}
	'''Joyce Irene Grenfell''' [[Order of the British Empire\|OBE]] (''~~née~~'' '''Phipps'''; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English [[diseuse]], singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in [[revue]]s and later in her solo shows. She never appeared as a stage actress, but had roles, mostly comic, in many films, including Miss Gossage in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)\|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950) and Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the [[St Trinian's]] series (from 1954). She was a well-known broadcaster on radio and television. As a writer, she was the first radio critic for ''[[The Observer]]'', contributed to ''[[Punch (magazine)\|Punch]]'' and published a volume of memoirs.		'''Joyce Irene Grenfell''' [[w:Order of the British Empire\|OBE]] (''{{nee}}'' '''Phipps'''; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English [[w:diseuse\|diseuse]], singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in [[w:revue\|revue]]s and later in her solo shows. She never appeared as a stage actress, but had roles, mostly comic, in many films, including Miss Gossage in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)\|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950) and Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the [[St Trinian's]] series (from 1954). She was a well-known broadcaster on radio and television. As a writer, she was the first radio critic for ''[[w:The Observer\|The Observer]]'', contributed to ''[[w:Punch (magazine)\|Punch\|]]'' and published a volume of memoirs.

	Born to an affluent Anglo-American family, Grenfell had abandoned early hopes of becoming an actress when she was invited to perform a comic monologue in a [[West End theatre\|West End]] revue in 1939. Its success led to a career as an entertainer, giving her creations in theatres in five continents between 1940 and 1969.		Born to an affluent Anglo-American family, Grenfell had abandoned early hopes of becoming an actress when she was invited to perform a comic monologue in a [[West End theatre\|West End]] revue in 1939. Its success led to a career as an entertainer, giving her creations in theatres in five continents between 1940 and 1969.

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en>Samuel J Walker at 15:38, 12 June 2022

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{{Short description|English comedian, singer and scriptwriter, 1910—1979}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Joyce Grenfell<br><small>[[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]</small>
|image = Joyce Grenfell Allan Warren.jpg
|caption = Grenfell, by [[Allan Warren]], 1972
|occupation = {{hlist|Actress|[[diseuse]]|singer|writer}}
|birth_name = Joyce Irene Phipps
|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1910|02|10}}
|birth_place = [[Knightsbridge]], London, England
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1979|11|30|1910|02|10}}
|death_place = [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], London, England
|spouse = {{marriage|Reggie Grenfell|1929}}
|years_active = 1939–1979
}}
'''Joyce Irene Grenfell''' [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (''née'' '''Phipps'''; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English [[diseuse]], singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in [[revue]]s and later in her solo shows. She never appeared as a stage actress, but had roles, mostly comic, in many films, including Miss Gossage in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950) and Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the [[St Trinian's]] series (from 1954). She was a well-known broadcaster on radio and television. As a writer, she was the first radio critic for ''[[The Observer]]'', contributed to ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' and published a volume of memoirs.

Born to an affluent Anglo-American family, Grenfell had abandoned early hopes of becoming an actress when she was invited to perform a comic monologue in a [[West End theatre|West End]] revue in 1939. Its success led to a career as an entertainer, giving her creations in theatres in five continents between 1940 and 1969.

==Life and career==
===Early years===
Born in [[Montpelier Square]], [[Knightsbridge]], London, Grenfell was the daughter of an American socialite, Nora Langhorne (1889–1955), one of five daughters of [[Chiswell Langhorne]], an American railway millionaire, and of the architect Paul Phipps (1880–1953), the grandson of [[Charles Paul Phipps]] and a second cousin of the [[diseuse]] [[Ruth Draper]], in whose professional footsteps she followed. The Phipps family were wealthy clothiers, whose success allowed them to join the gentry of their native Wiltshire.<ref>''A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland'', vol. IV, 1838, pp. 509–510, "Phipps of Leighton House" pedigree</ref> [[Nancy Astor]] was one of her maternal aunts;<ref name=odnb/> Grenfell often visited her at the Astors’ home of [[Cliveden]]<ref>''National Trust Magazine,'' Spring 2010, p. 11</ref> and lived in a cottage on the estate, a mile from the main house, in the early years of her marriage.<ref>Hampton (2002), p. 59</ref>

Joyce Phipps had an upper middle-class London childhood. Among her friends was [[Virginia Graham (English writer)|Virginia Graham]], with whom she kept up a lifelong correspondence,<ref>''Joyce & Ginnie: the letters of Joyce Grenfell and Virginia Graham'', edited by Janie Hampton, 1997</ref> and who wrote Grenfell's biography in the ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]''.<ref name=odnb>Graham, Virginia [https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/31172 Grenfell (née Phipps), Joyce Irene (1910–1979)], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press 2004. Retrieved 22 September 2021 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> Grenfell attended the [[Francis Holland School]] in central London, and the [[Claremont Fan Court School]], in [[Esher, Surrey]]. She then went to a [[finishing school]] in Paris at the age of 17,<ref>Hampton (2002), p. 37</ref> After this she enrolled at the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] in London, but found the hard work of learning the craft of acting less glamorous than she had imagined and left after a single term.<ref>Hampton (2002), p. 39</ref> She supposed at the time that this "was the finish of my dreams of becoming an actress".<ref name=odnb/> In May 1928 she was presented as a [[Debutante#United Kingdom|débutante]] at [[Buckingham Palace]].<ref>Hampton (2002), p. 40</ref>

In 1927 she had met Reginald Pascoe Grenfell (1903–1993), a mining executive and later a lieutenant colonel in the [[King's Royal Rifle Corps]].{{refn|Reggie Grenfell was a maternal grandson of the [[Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey|4th Earl Grey]], ninth [[Governor General of Canada]], and great-nephew of the soldier and [[Governor of Malta]] Field Marshal [[Francis Wallace Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell]].<ref>Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, pp. 1658–1659</ref><ref name=indyobitRG/><ref>Victoria Crosses on the Western Front August 1914–April 1915: Mons to Hill 60, Paul Oldfield, Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 2014</ref>|group=n}} They were married two years later at [[St Margaret's, Westminster]] and remained together until her death nearly 50 years later.<ref name=odnb/> They were a devoted couple: Reggie Grenfell looked after his wife's financial and business affairs, and his encouragement gave her strong support.<ref name=indyobitRG/> After she became a celebrity she unobtrusively made sure that he was never seen as a mere adjunct to her.<ref>Lyttelton and Hart-Davis, p. 80</ref> They were unable to have children of their own.<ref name=indyobitRG>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-reginald-grenfell-1452966.html Obituary: Reginald Grenfell], ''[[The Independent]]'', 3 April 1993</ref>

===First professional years===
In the late 1930s Grenfell contributed verses to ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' and helped to entertain her aunt's guests at Cliveden. After one lunch, [[James Louis Garvin|J. L. Garvin]], the editor of ''[[The Observer]]'', engaged her as the paper's first radio critic.<ref name=h95>Hampton (2003), p. 95</ref> At an informal supper given by the [[BBC]] producer [[Stephen Potter]] in January 1939, she agreed to his request to entertain her fellow guests with a monologue of her own devising. This was "Useful and Acceptable Gifts", in which she played a gauche lecturer at a meeting of the [[Women's Institute]].<ref>Hampton (2002), p. xi</ref> The impresario [[Herbert Farjeon]] was among the guests and he invited her to perform the piece in his forthcoming [[revue]] at the [[Little Theatre in the Adelphi|Little Theatre]], London.<ref name=h95/> She was an immediate success, winning glowing notices. ''[[The Stage]]'' judged her "outstanding... this clever diseuse successfully catches the naif manner of an amateur speaker lecturing on 'useful and acceptable gifts', and gives us a neat and satirical impersonation of an American mother listening to her small daughter reciting Shelley's 'Ode to a Skylark'".<ref>"The Little", ''The Stage'', 27 April 1939, p. 10</ref> ''[[Tatler|The Tatler]]'' found her two monologues "quite the best items in the programme".<ref>"Bubble and Squeak", "The Tatler", 10 May 1939, p. 270</ref> ''[[The Sketch]]'' devoted a full page to photographs of her in her different characters.<ref>Amateur Imitator in The Little Revue – Miss Joyce Grenfell", ''The Sketch'', 31 May 1939, p. 445</ref> ''[[Bystander (magazine)|The Bystander]]'' thought that Grenfell challenged the celebrated Ruth Draper "on her own pitch... carry[ing] off the acting honours of this gay and intelligent entertainment."<ref>"The Theatre", ''The Bystander'', 10 May 1939, p. 213</ref>

During the [[Second World War]] Grenfell wrote for and appeared in three more [[West End theatre|West End]] revues: ''Diversion'' and ''Diversion No. 2'' at [[Wyndham's Theatre]] in 1940 and 1941, and ''Light and Shade'' at the [[Ambassadors Theatre (London)|Ambassadors]] in 1942.<ref name=who>Herbert, pp. 863–864</ref> In early 1942 she met the composer [[Richard Addinsell]]. Together they wrote many successful songs including "I'm Going to See You Today" and "Turn Back the Clock", which, in the words of the biographer Janie Hampton, "aptly caught the public mood".<ref name=h95/>

In 1941 Grenfell appeared in her first film role, as the American mother in [[Carol Reed]]'s short documentary ''[[A Letter from Home (film)|A Letter from Home]]''. She made three more films during the war.<ref name=bfi>[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f476194 "Joyce Grenfell"], British Film Institute. Retrieved 22 September 2021</ref> For BBC radio, together with Potter, she wrote and starred in an occasional radio series called ''How to …'', which ran intermittently from 1943 until 1962 offering humorous advice on how (and how not) to do things.{{refn|The ''How to'' series covered how to – among other things – talk to children (from which Grenfell's later Nursery School sketches grew), give a party, keep a diary, woo, blow your own trumpet, be good at music, make friends, deal with Christmas, move house, listen, appreciate Shakespeare, be good at games (drawing on Potter's 1947 book ''[[Gamesmanship]]''), broadcast, lead a really full life, cross the Atlantic first class, and know America really well.<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=first&q=%22Joyce+Grenfell%22+AND+%22How+to%22#top "Joyce Grenfell – How to"], BBC Genome. Retrieved 23 September 2021</ref>|group=n}} In 1943 she made her only attempt at acting in a stage play: she resigned from the cast of a West End production of the American comedy ''[[Junior Miss]]'' after the first three days of rehearsal,<ref>Grenfell (1976), p. 235</ref> finding that onstage she could only perform looking straight at an audience, and could not "act sideways",<ref name=h96>Hampton (2003), p. 96</ref> although she found some film acting roles "fun to do".<ref>Grenfell (1976), p. 245</ref>

In the later years of the war Grenfell toured in the UK for [[ENSA]], sometimes with Addinsell accompanying her at the piano.<ref>Hampton (2002), pp. 182–183</ref> In late 1943 the head of ENSA, [[Basil Dean]], invited the two to tour troop camps and hospitals in North Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. Addinsell's health was too fragile to permit him to accept, and Grenfell recruited Viola Tunnard, later better known as a close colleague of [[Benjamin Britten]].<ref>Hampton (2002), pp. 191–192; and "Viola Tunnard", ''The Times'', 24 July 1974, p. 18</ref> In 1944 and 1945 they performed in Algeria, Malta, Sicily, Italy, Iran, Iraq, India, and Egypt.<ref name=who/>

===Post-war===
Back in London Grenfell wrote the song "Du Maurier" (music by Addinsell) and the monologue "Travelling Broadens the Mind", both of which she performed in [[Noël Coward]]'s first post-war revue, ''[[Sigh No More (musical)|Sigh No More]]'' (1945).<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 378 and 380</ref> Coward had been a family friend since Grenfell was a girl.<ref>Grenfell (1976), p. 81</ref> At first he had viewed her transition from amateur to professional with some doubt,<ref>Hampton (2002), p. 124</ref> Within a few years he had come to recognise her professionalism, her skill as a performer ("good in all she does on the stage") and the quality of her monologues, even if "she shouldn't write lyrics."<ref>Coward, p. 35</ref> In addition to her own two numbers, she sang Coward's comic catalogue of domestic disasters "That is the End of the News", "disguised as a schoolgirl with pigtails, all my make-up off, a shiny face and a terrible grin."<ref>Castle, p. 189</ref>

After the 1947 revue ''Tuppence Coloured'', Grenfell developed new sketches including the first of her six Nursery School monologues, with the harassed teacher's recurring cry to one of her unseen charges, "George – don't do that...."<ref>Hampton, pp. 65 and 182</ref> In the 1951 revue ''Penny Plain'' she performed her "Joyful Noise" (music by [[Donald Swann]]), a parody of an amateur choir ("And some of us cannot sing much, And some can't sing at all, But how we love our outings to the Royal Albert Hall").<ref>Grenfell (1984), p. 74</ref> After this, Grenfell and Tunnard made another tour entertaining British troops in North Africa.<ref name=h342>Hampton (2002), p. 342</ref>

''Joyce Grenfell Requests the Pleasure'' (1954) was her first more or less solo West End show (there were three dancers providing interludes between Grenfell's numbers).<ref name=cam>"Cambridge Premiere", ''The Stage'', 29 April 1954, p. 10</ref> ''The Stage'' commented that any doubts that Grenfell could sustain a solo evening were quickly dispelled:
{{blockindent|Miss Grenfell satirises, gently but inevitably, 20 different women, including the earnest but misguided devotee of health through rhythm, the arty curiosity-shop owner, the offhand sales-girl, the mercenary writer of children's stories (a gem, this!), the Victorian hostess whose husband had left her, the humourless American discoverer of folk songs of many lands, the shrinking but eager girl at the local palais, the incompetent but ardent Scottish dancer, the modern miss, and the Swedish visitor at a cocktail party.<ref name=cam/>|}}
After two provincial tours and a year in London she took the show to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], where it had a sell-out eight-week run.<ref name=h97/> For this show there was a [[pit orchestra|pit band]] of eight players directed by [[William Blezard]]. In later shows Grenfell simplified the format further, dispensing with dancers and band, and being accompanied only by Blezard at the piano.<ref name=h97>Hampton (2003), p. 97</ref>
[[File:Joyce Grenfell 2 Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|Grenfell by [[Allan Warren]], 1972|alt=slim white woman of mature years seated by a table that is covered with flowers]]
During the 1950s and 1960s Grenfell appeared in films in roles including Miss Gossage in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950), Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the [[St Trinian's]] series, Mrs Barham in ''[[The Americanization of Emily]]'' and Hortense Astor in ''[[The Yellow Rolls Royce]]''.<ref name=bfi/> Away from the theatre, Grenfell served as a member of the influential [[Pilkington Committee on Broadcasting]] from 1960 to 1962, and was president of the Society of Women Broadcasters and Writers.<ref name=to>"Miss Joyce Grenfell", ''The Times'', 1 December 1979, p. 14</ref>

The rest of Grenfell's stage career was in a series of solo shows in London and on tour. Between 1957 and 1970 she gave her show ''Joyce Grenfell'' in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States, as well as around Britain and in the West End. Her last live performance was at [[Windsor Castle]] for the Queen's Waterloo Dinner in 1973.<ref>Hampton (2003), p. 98</ref>

===Last years and legacy===
Soon after the Windsor Castle show Grenfell was taken ill with an eye condition, which was subsequently diagnosed as cancer. As a convinced [[Christian Scientist]] (like her aunt Nancy), she was averse to doctors and hospitals. Her husband did not share her beliefs and prevailed on her to undergo treatment.<ref name=indyobitRG/> The eye had to be removed and replaced with a glass one. After this Grenfell did not return to the stage, but gave talks for charitable organisations and appeared frequently on the BBC television programme ''[[Face the Music (British game show)|Face the Music]]''.<ref name=to/>

In October 1979 she became seriously ill and died a month later, on 30 November 1979, just before her golden wedding anniversary. She was cremated at [[Golders Green Crematorium]] on 4 December and her ashes scattered there. On 7 February 1980 a memorial service was held at [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref name=odnb/><ref>Hampton (2002), pp. 333–334</ref>

Grenfell was created an [[Order of the British Empire|Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in 1946 for her war work.<ref>Hampton (2002), p. 171</ref> It was confirmed after her death that she would have been made a Dame Commander (DBE) in the 1980 New Year Honours List.<ref>Hampton (2002), p. 335</ref> In 1998, the [[Royal Mail]] memorialised Grenfell with her image on a [[List of people on stamps of the United Kingdom|postage stamp]] as part of a series of stamps celebrating five comedians, drawn by [[Gerald Scarfe]].{{refn|The other four were [[Eric Morecambe]], [[Tommy Cooper]], [[Les Dawson]] and [[Peter Cook]].<ref>"New issue for comics with the stamp of greatness", ''The Times'', 2 March 1998, p. 5</ref>|group=n}}

Grenfell's widower, Reggie Grenfell, died in [[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|Chelsea]], London, in 1993, aged 89.<ref>Hampton (2002), p. 336</ref>

In 2002 her friend [[Janie Hampton]] published a biography, ''Joyce Grenfell''.<ref>Hampton (2002), title page</ref> [[Maureen Lipman]] toured with the one-woman show ''Re: Joyce!'', which she co-wrote with [[James Roose-Evans]].<ref>Larkin, p. 179</ref> In it she recreates some of Grenfell's best-known sketches. Lipman also presented the radio programme ''[[Choice Grenfell]]'', compiled from Grenfell's writings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Choice Grenfell Series 2 |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/npqkt/choice-grenfell–series-2–episode-1 |work=Radio Times |publisher=BBC |access-date=31 May 2014}}</ref> Roose-Evans also edited ''Darling Ma'', a 1997 collection of Grenfell's letters to her mother.<ref>WorldCat {{oclc|50666468}}</ref>

==Stage performances==
{{Div col}}
*''The Little Revue'' – Little Theatre, London (1939–40)
*''Diversion'' – Wyndham's Theatre, London (1940-1)
*''Light and Shade'' – Ambassador's Theatre, London (1942)
*ENSA tours of UK (1942)
*ENSA tour of North Africa with Viola Tunnard (1944)
*ENSA tour of the Middle East and India with Viola Tunnard (1944-5)
*''Sigh No More'' – Piccadilly Theatre, London (1945-6)
*''Tuppence Coloured'' – UK tour, followed by Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith and Globe Theatre, London (1947-8)
*''Penny Plain'' – St Martin's Theatre, London and UK tour (1951–2)
*Six-week tour for British troops in Libya and Egypt with Viola Tunnard (1952)
*''Joyce Grenfell Requests the Pleasure'' – UK tour, then Fortune Theatre and St Martin's Theatre, London, then another UK tour (1954-5)
*''Joyce Grenfell Requests the Pleasure'' – Bijou Theatre, New York City (1955)
*''Joyce Grenfell at Home'' – tour of Canada, Washington DC and Lyceum Theatre, New York City, with George Bauer (1956)
*Tour of Northern Rhodesia with Viola Tunnard (1956)
*''Joyce Grenfell at Home'' – tour of Dublin and the UK, then Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith (1957)
*''Joyce Grenfell Bids You Good Evening'' – tour of Canada and North America, with George Bauer (1958)
*''Meet Joyce Grenfell'' – Philip Street Theatre, Sydney, with William Blezard (1959)
*''Meet Joyce Grenfell'' – tour of UK with William Blezard (1960)
*''Joyce Grenfell'' – Haymarket Theatre, London, followed by UK tour with William Blezard (1962)
*''Joyce Grenfell'' – tour of Australia with William Blezard (1963)
*Tours of Canada, Switzerland and Hong Kong with William Blezard (1964)
*Tours of UK, Australia and New Zealand with William Blezard (1966)
*Tours of UK, Hong Kong, USA and Canada with William Blezard (1967)
*Tour of UK with William Blezard (1968)
*Tour of Australia and New Zealand with William Blezard (1969)
*Tours of UK and USA with William Blezard (1970)
*Tour of UK with William Blezard (1972)
*Waterloo Dinner, Windsor Castle (1973)
{{Div col end}}

==Film performances==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1941 ||''[[A Letter from Home (film)|A Letter from Home]]'' || American Mother || Short
|-
|rowspan=2|1943|| ''[[The Demi-Paradise]]'' || Sybil Paulson ||
|-
|''[[The Lamp Still Burns]]'' || Dr. Barrett ||
|-
|1947 || ''[[While the Sun Shines]]'' || Daphne ||
|-
|rowspan=4|1949 ||''[[Alice in Wonderland (1949 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' ||Ugly Duchess / Dormouse ||
|-
|''[[Poet's Pub]]'' || Miss Horsefell-Hughes ||
|-
|''Tuppence Coloured''|| ||TV movie
|-
|''[[A Run for Your Money]]'' || Mrs. Pargiet ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1950 ||''[[Stage Fright (1950 film)|Stage Fright]]'' ||'Lovely Ducks' ||
|-
|''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' || Miss Gossage ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1951 ||''[[The Galloping Major (film)|The Galloping Major]]'' ||Maggie the Waitress ||
|-
|''[[Laughter in Paradise]]'' || Elizabeth Robson ||
|-
|''[[The Magic Box]]'' || Mrs. Claire ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1952 ||''Penny Plain'' || ||TV movie
|-
|''[[The Pickwick Papers (1952 film)|The Pickwick Papers]]'' || Mrs. Leo Hunter ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1953||''[[Genevieve (film)|Genevieve]]'' || Hotel Proprietress ||
|-
|''[[The Million Pound Note]]'' || Duchess of Cromarty ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1954 ||''[[Forbidden Cargo (1954 film)|Forbidden Cargo]]''|| Lady Flavia Queensway ||
|-
|''[[The Belles of St. Trinian's]]'' || P.W. Sgt. Ruby Gates ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1957 ||''[[The Good Companions (1957 film)|The Good Companions]]'' || Lady Parlitt ||
|-
|''[[Blue Murder at St Trinian's]]'' || Sergeant Ruby Gates ||
|-
|1958 ||''[[Happy Is the Bride]]'' ||Aunt Florence ||
|-
|1960 ||''[[The Pure Hell of St Trinian's]]'' || Sergeant Ruby Gates ||
|-
|1963 ||''[[The Old Dark House (1963 film)|The Old Dark House]]'' || Agatha Femm ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1964 ||''[[The Americanization of Emily]]'' || Mrs. Barham ||
|-
|''[[The Yellow Rolls-Royce]]'' ||Hortense Astor ||
|}

==Publications==
*{{Cite book |author=Grenfell, Joyce |author-link=Joyce Grenfell |title=Joyce Grenfell Requests the Pleasure |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |year=1976 |isbn=0-333-19428-4}}
*{{Cite book |author=Grenfell, Joyce |author-link=Joyce Grenfell |title=George, Don't Do That |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |year=1977 |isbn=0-333-22080-3}}
*{{Cite book |author=Grenfell, Joyce |author-link=Joyce Grenfell |title=In Pleasant Places |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |year=1979 |isbn=0-333-27288-9}}
*{{Cite book |author=Grenfell, Joyce |author-link=Joyce Grenfell |title=Darling Ma |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |location=London |year=1988 |isbn=0-340-42368-4 |editor=James Roose-Evans |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_m4k4}} Letters to her Mother, 1932–1944
*{{Cite book |author=Grenfell, Joyce |author-link=Joyce Grenfell |title=The Time of My Life: Entertaining the Troops: Her Wartime Journals |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |location=London |year=1989 |isbn=0-340-50283-5 |editor=James Roose-Evans |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/timeofmylifeente00gren}}
*{{Cite book |author=Grenfell, Joyce |author-link=Joyce Grenfell |title= Hats Off: Poems and drawings|publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2000 |isbn=0-7195-6152-3 |author2=Compiled and introduced by Janie Hampton}}

==Notes, references and sources==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=n}}

===References===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{Cite book |last=Castle |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Castle |year=1972 |title=Noël |location=London |publisher=W H Allen |isbn=978-0-491-00534-0}}
*{{Cite book |last=Coward |first=Noël |authorlink=Noël Coward |editor1=[[Graham Payn]] |editor2=[[Sheridan Morley]] |year=1982 |title=The Noël Coward Diaries (1941–1969) |location=London |publisher=Methuen |isbn=978-0-297-78142-4}}
*{{Cite book |last=Grenfell |first=Joyce |title=Joyce Grenfell Requests the Pleasure |year=1976 |location=London |publisher=Macdonald Futura |isbn=978-0-86007-571-4}}
*{{Cite book |last=Grenfell |first=Joyce |title=Turn Back the Clock | year=1984 |location=London |publisher=Futura |isbn=978-0-7088-2602-7}}
*{{Cite book |last=Hampton |first=Janie |authorlink=Janie Hampton |title=Joyce Grenfell |year=2002 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |isbn=978-0-7195-6143-6}}
*{{Cite book |last=Hampton |first=Janie |chapter=Joyce Grenfell |title=British Comedy Greats |year=2003 |location=London |publisher=Cassell |editor1=Annabelle Merullo |editor2=Neil Wenborn |isbn=978-1-84403-055-2}}
*{{Cite book |editor-last=Herbert |editor-first=Ian |year=1972 |title=Who's Who in the Theatre |edition=fifteenth |location=London |publisher=Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons |isbn=978-0-273-31528-5}}
*{{Cite book |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music]] |editor=Colin Larkin |editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |date=2002 |edition=Third |isbn=978-1-85227-937-0}}</ref>
*{{Cite book |last=Lyttelton |first=George|authorlink=George William Lyttelton |author2=[[Rupert Hart-Davis]] |editor=Rupert Hart-Davis |title=The Lyttelton–Hart-Davis Letters, Volume 2 |year=1979 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |isbn=978-0-7195-3673-1}}
*{{Cite book |last=Mander |first=Raymond |authorlink=Mander and Mitchenson |author2=[[Mander and Mitchenson|Joe Mitchenson]] |editor1=Barry Day |editor2=Sheridan Morley |year=2000 |edition=second |orig-year=1957 |title=Theatrical Companion to Coward |location=London |publisher=Oberon |isbn=978-1-84002-054-0}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0340205}}
*{{Screenonline name|id=521050}}
*[http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/grenfell.html Joyce Grenfell archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection], [[University of Bristol]]
*BBC Radio 4 ''Great Lives'' on Joyce Grenfell – listen online: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bc41s BBC Radio 4 – Great Lives, Series 15, Joyce Grenfell]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grenfell, Joyce}}
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