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Rag Trade star Miriam Karlin dies aged 85 | |
(40 minutes later) | |
Actress Miriam Karlin, known to many for her role as shop steward Paddy in TV sitcom The Rag Trade, has died in London aged 85. | Actress Miriam Karlin, known to many for her role as shop steward Paddy in TV sitcom The Rag Trade, has died in London aged 85. |
The actress, who became an OBE in 1975, had cancer and died in hospital. | The actress, who became an OBE in 1975, had cancer and died in hospital. |
Born Miriam Samuels in 1925, Karlin was one of Malcolm McDowell's victims in A Clockwork Orange and also had roles in The Entertainer and Room at the Top. | Born Miriam Samuels in 1925, Karlin was one of Malcolm McDowell's victims in A Clockwork Orange and also had roles in The Entertainer and Room at the Top. |
Sir Antony Sher, one of her former co-stars, paid tribute to her as "a great actress [and] a great lady". | |
Working with Karlin on the play Torch Song Trilogy had been "one of the most enjoyable experiences of my career," he said. | |
"She gave a tremendous performance as the Jewish mother, full of power and anger, but there was always a twinkle in her eye." | |
Screen demise | |
Raised as an orthodox Jew in London, Karlin was a staunch political activist and an active member of actors' union Equity. | |
She had been a patron of Dignity in Dying, a body that campaigns for a change to the laws on assisted dying. | She had been a patron of Dignity in Dying, a body that campaigns for a change to the laws on assisted dying. |
The Hampstead-born actress - who lost some family members in Auschwitz - trained at Rada and performed for troops with the Entertainments National Service Association (Ensa). | |
Her stage work included engagements with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She also became the first woman to play the traditionally male lead in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker. | |
The actress frequently played formidable Jewish matriarchs, among them Golde in the original West End production of Fiddler on the Roof. | The actress frequently played formidable Jewish matriarchs, among them Golde in the original West End production of Fiddler on the Roof. |
Karlin appeared as Polly - known for calling "Everybody out!" at regular intervals - in the original 1960s version of The Rag Trade. | |
She would later reprise her role when the show was revived by ITV in the 1970s. | |
It was her startling demise in A Clockwork Orange, though, for which some film fans will remember her best. | |
As the so-called "Cat Lady", she was beaten to death with a phallic-looking sculpture in Stanley Kubrick's controversial take on Anthony Burgess's novel. | |
West End theatre producer David Pugh was a friend of Karlin's and remembered her as "a wonderful woman." | West End theatre producer David Pugh was a friend of Karlin's and remembered her as "a wonderful woman." |
Equity spokesman Martin Brown has also paid tribute, remembering her in The Stage as "an absolutely indefatigable campaigner and a marvellous friend". | Equity spokesman Martin Brown has also paid tribute, remembering her in The Stage as "an absolutely indefatigable campaigner and a marvellous friend". |
In a statement, Lord and Baroness Kinnock said the actress had been "superbly talented in roles of every kind". | |
"Mim was easy to love, an infectious friend, a true comrade and a sparkling spirit." |