West End star Sheila Mathews, who had one of the longest careers in British entertainment, has died aged 99. The actress died on Tuesday after suffering a series of strokes, her long-term friend Michael Thornton said in a statement written on behalf of her family.
Career spanning more than 90 years
Mathews made her stage debut at the age of three and had a career that spanned more than 90 years. She first appeared on stage at Alexandra Palace, London, where she played Bebe Sheila in a group of child dancers known as The Rosebuds in June 1930.
She went on to perform in a string of productions in London including Out Of This World, which led to her being chosen for the 21st Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium in 1950 in the presence of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, afterwards the Queen Mother, and also of Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, and her sister, Princess Margaret.
Life in the US and return to UK
In 1951 she went to the United States to star in cabaret and while there she met and married the American singer William (Bill) Bender, however the pair divorced. Mathews returned to the UK in 1955 and was one of the leading British stars to take part in the inauguration of Independent Television with her own series, Friday’s Girl.
She married writer and director Charles Reading, who was known as “Mr Palladium” for his work at the London theatre, in 1957.
Notable roles and final wishes
Mathews appeared in shows such as Sweet ‘N’ Sour with Clement Freud from 1961-1962, as Mrs Nash in Shelley with Hywel Bennett in 1982, as Mrs Boswell in Minder with George Cole and Dennis Waterman in 1984, and then the role in which she was most widely seen, as the glamorous Laura Marshall in Crossroads, as motel boss David Hunter’s girlfriend.
She was also a principal performer in the BBC television series The Good Old Days in which she appeared many times between 1955 and 1983.
The statement said: “Sheila Mathews achieved almost all of her career ambitions, but the last one eluded her. “She wanted desperately to live to be 100 and to receive a royal telegram from the King. “She made it to 99, but then, sadly, her time ran out. “Her daughter, Sally Reading, with whom she shared the family home in Southwick, West Sussex, was at her bedside when she died.”
