Pat Coombs

This wonderful lady was one of the busiest and best loved British comedy actresses for over forty years before her death in 2002. Born a cockney, she was famous for her portrayal of weak, suppressed women and her grasp of funny voices. She started in radio before moving on into TV and film. Though best remembered for her comic roles she also played some more serious parts and was also a regular in game shows.

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Pat Coombs was born Patricia Doreen Coombs in Camberwell, South London in 1926. At the age of six she decided she wanted to be an entertainer, after falling in love with a gypsy violinist on a family holiday in Worthing. She began work as a kindergarten teacher before turning her hand to acting. Her first roles were in radio, where she appeared with comic legends such as Arthur Askey, Bob Monkhouse, Ted Ray, and Charlie Chester. With the advent of television Pat (or Pattie as she is often affectionately referred to) was to feature in so many of our finest comedy productions. Perhaps the best way to pay tribute to her is simply to list them and some of the great stars she appeared with :

Hancock's Half Hour, Beggar My Neighbour, Til Death Us Do Part and its sequel In Sickness And In Health,Up Pompeii, Don't Drink The Water, Dad's Army, Lollipop Loves Mr Mole, You're Only Young Twice,Carry On Doctor, Carry On Again Doctor, On The Buses (film), Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, Ken Dodd, Roy Hudd, Roy Castle, Eric Sykes, June Whitfield, Reg Varney, Spike Milligan and Dick Emery. Towards the end of her career she was a regular in Noel's House Party, Celebrity Squares, and Blankety Blank.

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Pat Coombs was a constant face on our TV screens. She often played the dim, soppy, downtrodden female with a nervy giggle and twitch. Ironically, one of her more confident characters was to provide a lasting comic memory. She played a bus driver in the On The Buses film. Stan and Jack trap her in her cab and Pat is seen climbing out via the window, revealing a pair of large pink knickers.

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Pat's last major TV role was in 1989 in EastEnders where she was introduced as the character Marge Green in an attempt to add some humour to the soap. Her final sitcom role was in 1992 in an episode of Birds Of A Feather. Pat was tall and thin, which contributed greatly to her ability to play the puny, vulnerable woman. In 1995, she was diagnosed with the brittle bone disease, osteoporosis, which shrunk her by some six inches in size. She bore her illness with fantastic good humour and turned her time to fund raising for The National Osteoporosis Society. It is said she once raised £35,000 in just five days. She never married though apparently came close on a couple of occasions. She was 75 when she passed away in a West London nursing home, to which she had moved to in order to be close to her great friend (and another great comedy actress) Peggy Mount.

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I don't know, but I think Pat 'Pattie' Coombs was probably one of the most respected and well loved actresses of her time, not only by her audiences but by her fellow professionals as well.