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'''Topsy Jane''' (2 December 1938&ndash;4 January 2014) was a British actress of the 1960s. She was cast as Liz (the role eventually played by [[Julie Christie]] in the 1963 film ''[[Billy Liar (film)| Billy Liar]]'' but was forced to pull out owing to mental health issues.<ref name=Music>Garnett, Tony. [https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Day_the_Music_Died/cQ3TCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+day+the+music+died+topsy&pg=PT119&printsec=frontcover ''The Day the Music Died''], Little Brown Book Group (2016), Google Books</ref><ref name=Benn>Benn, Melissa. [https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2016/08/twice-bottled-grief-defiant-life-tony-garnett Twice bottled grief: the defiant life of Tony Garnett], ''[[The New Statesman]]'', 15 August 2016 {{subscription}}</ref><ref name=Obit>Hayward, Anthony. [https://amp.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jan/13/tony-garnett-obituary Tony Garnett obituary], [[The Guardian]], 13 January 2020</ref>
'''Topsy Jane''' (2 December 1938&ndash;4 January 2014) was a British actress of the 1960s. She was cast as Liz (the role eventually played by [[Julie Christie]] in the 1963 film ''[[Billy Liar (film)| Billy Liar]]'' but was forced to pull out owing to mental health issues.<ref name=Music>Garnett, Tony. [https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Day_the_Music_Died/cQ3TCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+day+the+music+died+topsy&pg=PT119&printsec=frontcover ''The Day the Music Died''], Little Brown Book Group (2016), Google Books</ref><ref name=Benn>Benn, Melissa. [https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2016/08/twice-bottled-grief-defiant-life-tony-garnett Twice bottled grief: the defiant life of Tony Garnett], ''[[The New Statesman]]'', 15 August 2016 {{subscription}}</ref><ref name=Obit>Hayward, Anthony. [https://amp.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jan/13/tony-garnett-obituary Tony Garnett obituary], [[The Guardian]], 13 January 2020</ref>


She was born as Topsy Jane Legge in [[Erdington]] in 1938, the daughter of Anna Maud née Gumbrell (1907-2006) and Albert Harry Legge (1894-1961), a dairy-man and by 1939 a telephone engineer for the [[General Post Office|GPO]].<ref name=Music/> Initially she intended to train as a children's nurse, but while appearing in amateur theatre at the Varley Players at Pype Hayes Church, the Birmingham Drama Group and the [[Highbury Theatre|Highbury Little Theatre]]<ref name=Sutton/> she realised she had a talent for acting. Her television and film roles included: Rosie in ''The Fanatics'' (1960); Dame Pliant in the TV movie ''The Alchemist'' 1961); Peggy in ''[[The Wind of Change (film)|The Wind of Change]]'' (1961); Con in the TV movie ''Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring'' (1961); Céline in ''[[Maigret (1960 TV series)|Maigret]]'' (1961); Stella Fairly in ''[[A Chance of Thunder]]'' (1961); in ''Shadow Play'' (1961); Amanda opposite [[Edith Evans]] in the BBC TV movie ''Time Remembered'' (1961); Mavis Wayne in ''[[Emergency Ward 10]]'' (1962); Jane in ''[[Crying Down the Lane]]'' (1962); Audrey in ''[[The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)|The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner]]'' (1962); Mona in ''[[Mix Me a Person]]'' (1962); Shirley in ''Trevor'' (1964);<ref>[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b77bb87af Cast of ''Trevor'' (1964)], [[British Film Institute]] (BFI) database</ref> Jean Watts in ''John Paddington'' (1965), and Daphne Dawson in ''[[United!]]'' (1965).<ref>[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba57e4582 Filmography of Topsy Jane], [[British Film Institute]] (BFI) database</ref>
She was born as '''Topsy Jane Legge''' in [[Erdington]] in 1938, the daughter of Anna Maud ''née'' Gumbrell (1907-2006) and Albert Harry Legge (1894-1961), a dairy-man and by 1939 a telephone engineer for the [[General Post Office|GPO]].<ref name=Music/> Initially she intended to train as a children's nurse, but while appearing in amateur theatre at the Varley Players at Pype Hayes Church, the Birmingham Drama Group and the [[Highbury Theatre|Highbury Little Theatre]]<ref name=Sutton/> she realised she had a talent for acting. Her television and film roles included: Rosie in ''The Fanatics'' (1960); Dame Pliant in the TV movie ''The Alchemist'' 1961); Peggy in ''[[The Wind of Change (film)|The Wind of Change]]'' (1961); Con in the TV movie ''Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring'' (1961); Céline in ''[[Maigret (1960 TV series)|Maigret]]'' (1961); Stella Fairly in ''[[A Chance of Thunder]]'' (1961); in ''Shadow Play'' (1961); Amanda opposite [[Edith Evans]] in the BBC TV movie ''Time Remembered'' (1961); Mavis Wayne in ''[[Emergency Ward 10]]'' (1962); Jane in ''[[Crying Down the Lane]]'' (1962); Audrey in ''[[The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)|The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner]]'' (1962); Mona in ''[[Mix Me a Person]]'' (1962); Shirley in ''Trevor'' (1964);<ref>[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b77bb87af Cast of ''Trevor'' (1964)], [[British Film Institute]] (BFI) database</ref> Jean Watts in ''John Paddington'' (1965), and Daphne Dawson in ''[[United!]]'' (1965).<ref>[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba57e4582 Filmography of Topsy Jane], [[British Film Institute]] (BFI) database</ref>


In 1963 she married [[Tony Garnett]], whom she met aged 15<ref name=Guardian>Moorhead, Joanna. [https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jul/02/tony-garnett-cathy-come-home-kes-backstreet-abortion-destroyed-my-family Tony Garnett: The backstreet abortion that destroyed my family], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 2 July 2016</ref> while performing in amateur theatre at [[Highbury Theatre|Highbury Little Theatre]] in [[Sutton Coldfield]]. They had a son, William, and later divorced.<ref name=Music/> During 2005 she was working behind the counter of a café in [[Liskeard]] in [[Cornwall]].<ref>Electoral Record for Topsy J. Garnett, Liskeard, Cornwall (2005), [[Ancestry.com]] {{subscription}}</ref>
In 1963 she married [[Tony Garnett]], whom she met aged 15<ref name=Guardian>Moorhead, Joanna. [https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jul/02/tony-garnett-cathy-come-home-kes-backstreet-abortion-destroyed-my-family Tony Garnett: The backstreet abortion that destroyed my family], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 2 July 2016</ref> while performing in amateur theatre at [[Highbury Theatre|Highbury Little Theatre]] in [[Sutton Coldfield]]. They had a son, William, and later divorced.<ref name=Music/> During 2005 she was working behind the counter of a café in [[Liskeard]] in [[Cornwall]].<ref>Electoral Record for Topsy J. Garnett, Liskeard, Cornwall (2005), [[Ancestry.com]] {{subscription}}</ref>

Revision as of 12:31, 29 January 2023

Topsy Jane as Audrey in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Topsy Jane (2 December 1938–4 January 2014) was a British actress of the 1960s. She was cast as Liz (the role eventually played by Julie Christie in the 1963 film Billy Liar but was forced to pull out owing to mental health issues.[1][2][3]

She was born as Topsy Jane Legge in Erdington in 1938, the daughter of Anna Maud née Gumbrell (1907-2006) and Albert Harry Legge (1894-1961), a dairy-man and by 1939 a telephone engineer for the GPO.[1] Initially she intended to train as a children's nurse, but while appearing in amateur theatre at the Varley Players at Pype Hayes Church, the Birmingham Drama Group and the Highbury Little Theatre[4] she realised she had a talent for acting. Her television and film roles included: Rosie in The Fanatics (1960); Dame Pliant in the TV movie The Alchemist 1961); Peggy in The Wind of Change (1961); Con in the TV movie Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring (1961); Céline in Maigret (1961); Stella Fairly in A Chance of Thunder (1961); in Shadow Play (1961); Amanda opposite Edith Evans in the BBC TV movie Time Remembered (1961); Mavis Wayne in Emergency Ward 10 (1962); Jane in Crying Down the Lane (1962); Audrey in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962); Mona in Mix Me a Person (1962); Shirley in Trevor (1964);[5] Jean Watts in John Paddington (1965), and Daphne Dawson in United! (1965).[6]

In 1963 she married Tony Garnett, whom she met aged 15[7] while performing in amateur theatre at Highbury Little Theatre in Sutton Coldfield. They had a son, William, and later divorced.[1] During 2005 she was working behind the counter of a café in Liskeard in Cornwall.[8]

Illness

Garnett, in his autobiography The Day the Music Died (2016), relates how Topsy Jane returned several weeks after filming for film Billy Liar commenced: "... unrecognisable. Fat, dishevelled, her hair lank, she walked and talked in slow motion. She only vaguely reminded me of my Topsy. I called Robin Fox, our agent, who said that John Schlesinger had sacked her and recast with Julie Christie because the camera could read nothing in Topsy. Her eyes were dead."[1] Her illness, from which she never fully recovered, seems to have been some form of schizophrenically-induced torpor.[2] She received electroconvulsive therapy and drugs which produced a "functional lobotomy". They later divorced.[7] Her illness later inspired her former husband Tony Garnett to make In Two Minds (1967), The Wednesday Play about schizophrenia.[3]

Topsy Jane Garnett née Legge died on 4 January 2014 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham of lung cancer. She had a private family funeral in Sutton Coldfield and was buried in Sutton Coldfield Cemetery. She was survived by her son, William, and a grandson.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Garnett, Tony. The Day the Music Died, Little Brown Book Group (2016), Google Books
  2. ^ a b Benn, Melissa. Twice bottled grief: the defiant life of Tony Garnett, The New Statesman, 15 August 2016 (subscription required)
  3. ^ a b Hayward, Anthony. Tony Garnett obituary, The Guardian, 13 January 2020
  4. ^ a b Memorial notice for Topsy Jane Garnett née Legge, The Sutton Coldfield Observer, 24 January 2014
  5. ^ Cast of Trevor (1964), British Film Institute (BFI) database
  6. ^ Filmography of Topsy Jane, British Film Institute (BFI) database
  7. ^ a b Moorhead, Joanna. Tony Garnett: The backstreet abortion that destroyed my family, The Guardian, 2 July 2016
  8. ^ Electoral Record for Topsy J. Garnett, Liskeard, Cornwall (2005), Ancestry.com (subscription required)
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