Fenella Fielding

Actress Fenella Fielding was born Fenella Feldman in the Hackney neighborhood of London. She grew up in the Lower Clapton area, and moved to Edgware. After attending North London Collegiate School Fielding began her career as an actress in 1952, focused on the stage. She appeared in "Valmouth" in 1958 which made her a well-known presence in the theater community. In 1959 she appeared in "Pieces of Eight" with Kenneth Williams. Fielding also broke into television during this time. She appeared in "Hancock's Half Hour" and made guest appearances on a variety of TV shows. She performed in stage productions of "Lady Windermere's Fan" and performances of theatrical work written by Ibsen, Chekhov, Shakespeare and others. Fielding also did voice over work and recorded an album where she covered hit pop songs in an alluringly sultry style akin to American singer Julie London. Fielding was known in the U.K. as "the first lady of the double entendre" and was noted for her husky voice and alluring appearance in several films in the "Carry On" series of broad comedies, including "Carry On Screaming" (1966) and "Carry On Regardless" (1961). She became familiar to later generations by co-starring as The Vixen in several series of the "Uncle Jack" franchise of family comedies. Fenella Fielding suffered a stroke in August of 2018 and died two weeks later in London.