Mollie Sugden, best known stateside as Mrs. Slocombe on the long-running BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? passed away Wednesday after a long illness. She was 86.
The Guardian reports that Sugden built a career around playing “fearsome battleaxes,” a trend that started with shows like The Liver Birds and Come Back Mrs. Noah. But it was with Are You Being Served? that she achieved fame around the world.
In each episode, Mrs. Slocombe sported a different hair color and rattled on about her “*****.”
Sugden is survived by her twin sons, Robin and Simon Moore.
A few years ago, Ms. Sugden was visiting the PBS station in Boston (WGBH) during the periodic Pledge Drive and I managed to meet her. She was a very, very nice lady - the kind you don't meet often.
The most interesting thing she said was that she and the other actors who had been on Are You Being Served were so suprised and gratified by the many American fans of the show. She said it was totally unexpected.
