Mollie Sugden | Comic actress, 86
Mollie Sugden, 86, who played the formidable saleswoman Mrs. Slocombe in the BBC's long-running comedy series Are You Being Served?, has died.
Ms. Sugden built a career playing strong-willed, overbearing women. As the bossy saleswoman who dominated the underwear section at the Grace Bros. department store, Ms. Sugden delivered double entendres in a perfectly outraged voice, shaking her tightly curled, dyed hair.
The show ran from 1973 to 1985 and at its height attracted audiences of 20 million.
She was born in Keighley, in northern England, in July 1922, and trained at London's prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she met her husband, William Moore. - AP
