Anna Dawson, 1937 – 2026

British actress Anna Dawson, 88, died on June 27. Dawson appeared in many West End musicals, including Marigold., Hooray for Daisy!, Wildest Dreams, Little Mary Sunshine, and Christopher Columbus. But as the website Unsung Heroines pointed out, “she might have become a much more important player in British musicals, but she was claimed by stage farces and a string of television series that were in many cases unworthy of her talents.” Those unworthy vehicles included continuing roles in TV’s Dixon of Dock Green, The Benny Hill Show, Brian Rix Presents, Rings On Their Fingers, The Kenny Everett Video Show, The New Statesman, Bad Boyes, and several turns on Keeping Up Appearances, as Hyacinth Bucket’s sister Violet. She retired to New Zealand in the 1990s. Her husband (since 1985), actor John Boulter, died last year.