She doubted whether she would have had an acting career at all, had she committed herself to married life. Her film appearances began with an uncredited appearance in the Norman Wisdom vehicle Follow A Star (1959). For a year she played Marge Green, Brown Owl of the Walford Brownies' pack, where she worked closely with EastEnders regulars June Brown, Edna Doré and Gretchen Franklin. While the Garveys struggle to make ends meet, the Butts are always 'rolling in money'. At least that’s what it seems from the outside. She followed this with regular appearances in The Cyril Fletcher Show (1959) and later she became a regular performer in the 1963 series of The Dick Emery Show. During her long career Coombs made two contributions to Dad's Army. In her later years, she suffered from osteoporosis, which shrank her by six inches over the course of the final years of her life. Physically slight, twitteringly meek, the character actor Pat Coombs, who has died aged 75 of emphysema, was a natural for portraying women comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. Coombs was diagnosed with osteoporosis in 1995, and became an active campaigner for the National Osteoporosis Society. Coombs's character was introduced as part of a deliberate attempt to bring humour into the programme, which had come under attack for being too depressing. Cry Wolf followed a year later. Pat married Richard Theodore Scala in IL. She had just completed a role for Radio 4 alongside June Whitfield in Like They've Never Been Gone when she died on 25 May 2002, aged 75, from emphysema in Denville Hall actors' home, a west London nursing home to which she had moved to be close to her friend Peggy Mount, who had died six months earlier. Just before her death, she recorded an appearance on the Radio 4 comedy series, Like They've Never Been Gone. The couple tied knots in December of 1989. She doubted whether she would have had an acting career at … Pat, who said she never wanted to play Shaw’s St Joan ... “or any of those serious parts,” appeared in many of the leading comedies of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, including Beggar My … [1], This article is about the character actress, Pat Coombs. She volunteered in … She said she had come close to it twice, but was not sure enough to proceed. After a holiday in Worthing, where she saw a concert party in a summer show, she decided - at the age of six - that she wanted to become an actor. Coombs was born in Camberwell, south London. According to The Guinness Book of Records she holds the record for the largest number of takes for a TV commercial. Diet, exercise, supplements, relaxation and medications have all been touted as the way to achieve health. But she bore the condition with good-humoured fortitude, and, as a fundraiser for the National Osteoporosis Society, raised more than £100,000. She achieved considerable prominence as Peggy Mount's bullied sister-in-law, Violet, in Lollypop Loves Mr Mole (1971). She said she had come close to it twice, but was not sure enough to proceed. 50% of these people are married, and 50% are single. Coombs was said to be extremely upset that the character of Marge only lasted for one year, but the producers felt there was no place in the programme's new plan for a character "whose prime function was to be comic relief".[4]. In 1983 he toured with the British and Irish Lions on their tour to New Zealand and at the time played club rugby for Gloucester. She also appeared in the episode "The New Nurse". Comedy actress Pat Coombs, who appeared in a string of classic TV sitcoms, has died aged 75. Her character is seen frequently throughout the seventh and final series. Read Full Summary Jimmy Perry obituary: Creator of Dad's Army who used his own life experiences in much-loved sitcom. Coombs, born in Camberwell, south London in 1926, never married. However, things didn’t go well between them and the couple separated. Coombs never married. In her own way she was a sort of Tommy Cooper. As we have already said, Pat is the husband of Lesly Brown. She was known for many roles on radio, film and television sitcoms and Children's ITV's Playbox and Ragdolly Anna. Roy Hudd told The Stage newspaper "Pattie really was totally unique. Hers was one of the voices heard in the children's series Ragdolly Anna (1982–87), she played Policewoman Pat in Mooncat and Co (1984–85) and voiced one of the puppets in the children's show Playbox (1988) alongside Keith Chegwin. Born in Camberwell, south London, Coombs was one of three children; her father worked in insurance for the Employers' Liability, the forerunner of Commercial Union. Coombs never married. Appearing as a guest on This Is Your Life, she had to sit through the programme, rather than striding on from the wings to be recognised by the subject. It’s surprising, then, that one of the most powerful predictors of health and well-being remains largely ignored by the health and wellness community. There was Carry On Doctor (1968), Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall (1972) - in which she played Spike Milligan's mother - and Ooh, You Are Awful (1972), alongside her frequent screen associate Dick Emery. Also known as Pat L Coombs, P J Coombs, Pansy Coombs, J Patricia, Patricia Coombs Johnson. It was an ironic tragedy that, in 1995, it was osteoporosis, a crumbling of the spine, that shrank Coombs from 5ft 8ins to 5ft 2ins, and emphasised the very vulnerability which had been her trademark. Her career was built as a foil to that era's comedians, people such as Jimmy Edwards, Cyril Fletcher, Bill Maynard and Terry Scott. She once remarked: "I've never been wildly ambitious; I think if I'd been married, my career would have gone out of the window." 'Married at First Sight' star Briana explains why her mom and sister weren't part of her wedding dress shopping -- "I wanted to pitch a fit". She said she was never certain enough of the match and worried that marriage would adversely affect her career. A lovable lady, Pat Coombs, who never married (although came close twice), died at Denville Hall, the actor's retirement home, on 25 May 2002. In 1949 she moved to Winter, WI where she raised her five children and in 1967 moved to Palm Springs, CA where she married Robert Coombs. Patty Coombs, 46. She first made her name in the post-war era of radio variety as 'Nola', the dim and put-upon daughter of Irene Handl in Arthur Askey's Hello Playmates; their double-act had started as a guest spot on Bob Monkhouse's show. She said she had come close to it twice, but was not sure enough to proceed. She said afterwards: "They couldn't do enough for me, but I felt a bit of a problem." Pat Coombs also appeared in many films, including A Stitch in Time (1963), Carry On Doctor (1968), Carry On Again Doctor (1969), Cucumber Castle (1970) starring the Bee Gees, Ooh... You Are Awful (1972) with Dick Emery, and Spike Milligan's Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1972), as well as the movie versions of Till Death Us Do Part (1969), On the Buses (1971) and Dad's Army (1971). In 1983 Speight created a new series especially for her in partnership with Pat Coombs. 187 records for Pat Coombs. She was 75 years old. Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. Gravitating into repertory theatre in the late 1940s, she had begun her comic career by the mid-1950s, working with the comedian Arthur Askey in his BBC radio show Hello Playmates, and with Charlie Chester in A Proper Charlie. Having never married, she spent her final years there in the company of many old friends, including the legendary Peggy Mount. Once, she brought in £35,000 in five days. In 1970 she played Mrs Hall in the first film adaptation, and in 1975 she played the dual part of Marie and the Clippie in the radio adaptation of "A Soldier's Farewell". From school days, he continued to do theatre roles and appeared in the acting program at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He is survived by his parents, Ray Combs Sr. and Anita Jean, his wife, Debbie, and six children. By 1971, she was playing Henrietta Salt in Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory. Coombs never married. A sister survives her. After leaving school she began her working life as a student kindergarten teacher, but soon a keenness to act prompted her to take drama lessons during the Second World War with her friend and neighbour Vivien Merchant. Coombs was also the subject of This is Your Life in 1978,[3] and appeared regularly as a guest on Noel Edmonds's Saturday night entertainment show Noel's House Party (1992–95) and on the game shows Blankety Blank and Celebrity Squares (1975–79), returning for its revival in 1993–94. Pat Coombs never married. (1969), Till Death Us Do Part (1966–75) and its sequel In Sickness and in Health (1990, 1992) and The Lady is a Tramp (1983), in the last of which she co-starred with Patricia Hayes in a series set among 'down-and-outs'. He attended University Hill Secondary School. An early television break came when she appeared with Tony Hancock in an episode of his series Hancock's Half Hour (1957). Coombs never married. Patricia Doreen Coombs passed away on 25 May 2002. She once remarked: "I've never been wildly ambitious; I think if I'd been married, my career would have gone out of the window." She also had a minor uncredited role as Henrietta Salt in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971. She lived the last 3 years of her life at the actor's rest home in Denville Hall, Middlesex - Pattie had never married and lived with her parents until she was in her forties. They spent the rest of their lives in CA until she returned to Eau Claire about five years ago. Coombs was a regular on children's television. Coombs attended the County School for Girls in Beckenham, Kent. [1] At the age of 19 she won a scholarship to train as an actress at LAMDA, where she subsequently taught dialect.[2]. [1], Coombs never married. Pat Coombs Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018 A beloved British comedienne, well known for her work on television and radio, Pat Coombs began her career in the mid 1950s, having formerly worked as a nursery school assistant. 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