Fenella Fielding (born Fenella Marion Feldman; 17 November 1927 – 11 September 2018)[1] was an English stage, film and television actress who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, and was often referred to as "England's first lady of the double entendre".[2] She was known for her seductive image and distinctively husky voice. Fielding appeared in two Carry On films, Carry On Regardless (1961) and Carry On Screaming! (1966).[3]
Fielding began her acting career in 1952, concentrating on stage productions, including the Bromley Little Theatre. She was given her first break when she accompanied the then-unknown actor Ron Moody to an audition (they had met in an amateur production at the London School of Economics). Her performance in Sandy Wilson's musical version of Valmouth made her a star in 1958. By 1959 she was appearing with Kenneth Williams in the comedy revue Pieces of Eight, written by Harold Pinter and Peter Cook.[2] Fielding also guested in the Hancock's Half Hour episode "The Poetry Society" broadcast in December 1959.[10] Between 1960 and 1962 Fielding played Janet Harris, a liberated secretary at an advertising firm, in the BBC radio sitcom Something to Shout About.[11] In 1960 Fielding appeared on tv as the Contessa in the very last episode of the tv series of The Four Just Men (Traviso Dam).
From 2012, Fielding performed readings of English translations of Greek classics by David Stuttard. Her partners for this were Simon Russell Beale and later Stephen Greif. Her memoir[20] was published in both audio and book form in 2017 and led to a number of appearances on stage reading extracts from it in places all over the UK.[6]
A 2007 article in The Independent remarked that it was "one of the mysteries of British life that Fenella Fielding, whose wit and distinctive stage presence captivated figures such as Kenneth Tynan, Noël Coward and Federico Fellini, should have drifted into obscurity rather than being celebrated", and the same article quotes The Times as saying that Fielding's performance as Hedda Gabler was "one of the experiences of a lifetime".[24][2] A 2017 article in The Guardian highlighted a career "renaissance in recent years" and describes Fielding as a phenomenal storyteller. "She reminds me of the great raconteur Quentin Crisp – the same love of language, mastery of its rhythms, perfectly formed sentences, and a joie de vivre even when relating her profound despair."[6]
"People Are Very Free With Their Bad Advice...", a quote from Metafenella
Fielding is the subject of MetaFenella, a 2014 online artwork by artist Martin Firrell.[25]
Death
Fielding suffered a stroke on 25 August 2018 and died two weeks later at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, on 11 September 2018, aged 90.[26] She never married nor had children.[27]
^Rogers, D. (1989). The complete Avengers: everything you ever wanted to know about The Avengers and the New avengers. New York: St. Martins Press, p. 88
^Cornell, P., Day, M., & Topping, K. (1998). The Avengers dossier. London: Virgin. "[T]hree actors were shortlisted [for Cathy Gale]: Fenella Fielding... Honor Blackman... and Nyree Dawn Porter..."
