Biography:

Anne Maud Corbett (née Hart; 26 April 1933 – 5 November 2023) was an English actress, singer, dancer, and comedienne. She was the widow of the comedian and actor Ronnie Corbett, and the mother of actresses Emma and Sophie Corbett.[1]Hart was often referred to as Britain‘s answer to both Hollywood‘s Jane Russell and Broadway‘s Ethel Merman.[2]

Early life

Anne Maud Hart[3] was born at St Thomas’ Hospital in Lambeth, London, England on 26 April 1933.[4] She was the third of six children to Doris Emily (née Davis), a housewife, and[5] Marvin Hart, a former light heavyweight boxer.[6] She grew up in South London.[2]

Hart made her West End debut as a child in the Christmas show Where The Rainbow Ends. She also performed in child roles in operas at Covent Garden.[7]

Hart was trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree.[2]

Career[change | change source]

Hart made her television debut in 1955, at the age of 22, as a regular on Saturday Night at the London Palladium with Tommy Trinder.[8] She made her final television appearance during an episode of The Many Faces of… on 1 January 2016.[9]

Hart made her theatre debut as the leading lady in Clown Jewels in 1959. She also appeared with the comedy troupe The Crazy Gang in Young at Hart in 1962.[8]

Hart made her debut as an actress with the role of a music hall singer during an episode of the 1965 series Sherlock Holmes. She made her final appearance as an actress portraying Stooge during the 1975 production of Max Wall: Funny Man.[9]

Personal life

Hart married The Four Jones Boys singer John H Padley at the Holy Trinity Church in Wallington, Surrey on 15 October 1957.[10][11][12] They later separated and were divorced in 1965.[13] Hart had said about her first husband: “John was a nice guy and he was never unkind to me. He was just never there. He would come back from touring, I would iron his shirts and he would leave again. In the end, he moved out of my house and we separated.”[2]

Hart married the comedian and actor Ronnie Corbett at Brixton registry office on 30 May 1966.[14][7] They first met in the late 1950s, while she was working as a dancer at Danny La Rue‘s club Winston’s at Hanover Square and he was an up-and-coming comedian.[15] The couple had two daughters, Emma and Sophie. Their first child, Andrew, had a heart defect and died when he was six weeks old at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London.[16] Hart had said in 2013 when speaking on her son’s death: “I don’t think either of us ever quite got over it. We still think of him all the time.” The couple were married for 50 years until her husband’s death on 31 March 2016.[17] Hart had told the Daily Mail after her husband’s death: “There has been an empty feeling since Ron has gone … An emptiness, yes, that’s what it is. But I think and hope that I am slowly emerging from the mist.”[2]

Hart and Corbett lived in a seven bedroom property named Fairways located in Addington, London from 1970 to 2003.[18] She also owned a Scottish home named Muirfield Wood located in Gullane, East Lothian.[7][19][20]

Hart was dyslexic.[2]

Health

Hart suffered with double pneumonia between January and February 2012.

Hart was taken into hospital after suffering a health scare on 18 April 2016, the day of her husband’s funeral.[21]

Hart was treated for a hip fracture in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh following a fall at Muirfield Wood in the months leading up to her death.[7][15]

Death

Hart died at her home Scotland in the early hours of 5 November 2023. She was 90. Her death was announced to the public the following day in a statement by her youngest daughter Sophie:[19]

“We lost my darling Mum at one o’clock in the morning. She was an amazing woman, and my sister Emma and I, and all four of her grandchildren, Tom, Tilly, Dylan and Billy, will love and miss her for ever. We will be bringing her home to Abingdon, near Croydon, which is where the family lived when my Dad was alive.”

 

Credits:

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