Birthday: 11 March 1934, Muswell Hill, London, England, UK
Birth Name: Dilys Lay
Raven haired, sometimes blonde (particulary in the earlier years), pretty actress who was born in 1934. Dilys Laye is an actress who is capable of a wide range of roles, from straight drama to comedy.Starting in the 1950s; she started like most other British film actresses of her era in studio system style films. One of her first films was Torment ...
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Raven haired, sometimes blonde (particulary in the earlier years), pretty actress who was born in 1934. Dilys Laye is an actress who is capable of a wide range of roles, from straight drama to comedy.Starting in the 1950s; she started like most other British film actresses of her era in studio system style films. One of her first films was Torment (1950) and she continued in popular movies like Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957) and Doctor at Large (1957).Today, Dilys is often remembered for her appearances in the "Carry On.." films. Her first "Carry On..." appearance was in Carry on Cruising (1962) where along with Esma Cannon, she stole many of the best comedy scenes away from the regular cast; the famous bar scene is an example of this. She took over the role at four days' notice when Joan Sims was unable to appear because of ill health.Her next 'Carry On...' appearance saw her take on a sinister and darker role in Carry on Spying (1964) as Lila. She even sings in a café bar scene - which was quite extraordinary and delivered well.In Carry on Doctor (1967) she plays patient Mavis Winkle who is searching for love and finds it in the unusual place of the hospital ward, and in Carry on Camping (1969), she appeared alongside "Carry On..." legend Joan Sims. They are perfectly cast together and complement each others performances throughout the movie.Since "Carry On..." her work has mainly been on the stage with some television and film appearances. Character roles seem to be the order of the day recently with appearances in soaps such as Coronation Street (1960) and EastEnders (1985). Other character parts have included Holby City (1999) and Doctors (2000).A recent performance saw Miss Laye appear, quite brilliantly, as HM The Queen in The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006). Show less «
My mother always loved the theatre and wanted to be an actress herself. She would have loved me to g...Show more »
My mother always loved the theatre and wanted to be an actress herself. She would have loved me to go to the RADA and become a proper actress but I'd already seen Dolores Gray in "Annie Get Your Gun", so I had other ideas. Show less «
Theatre companies are like families and these days of course I'm the mother, dispensing tea and symp...Show more »
Theatre companies are like families and these days of course I'm the mother, dispensing tea and sympathy to anyone who needs it. Show less «
[Speaking about Pinewood Studios and the Carry On films] "We were an elite. It was like being at sch...Show more »
[Speaking about Pinewood Studios and the Carry On films] "We were an elite. It was like being at school, we belonged there." Show less «
I've been lucky to play so many different types of women, from a sexy nightclub singer to Mrs Sparsi...Show more »
I've been lucky to play so many different types of women, from a sexy nightclub singer to Mrs Sparsit in Hard Times and I'm still having as much fun as I did when I started, which isn't bad going after 60 years, is it? Show less «