Glenda Jackson, Oscar-winning actress and former Labour MP, dies aged 87

Published

2 years ago

June 15, 2023

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Glenda Jackson, the Oscar-winning actress and former Labour MP, has died at the age of 87.

In a statement, her agent Lionel Larner said: “Glenda Jackson, two-time Academy Award-winning actress and politician, died peacefully at her home in Blackheath, London, this morning after a brief illness with her family at her side.

“She recently completed filming The Great Escaper in which she co-starred with Michael Caine.”

Jackson won the Oscar for best actress in 1970 for her performance as a headstrong artist in director Ken Russell’s adaptation of DH Lawrence’s novel Women in Love, and again three years later for romantic comedy A Touch Of Class.

However, she chose not to attend the Hollywood ceremony on either occasion. Despite her successful career in entertainment – she also won two Emmy Awards and a Tony – she said she never had any interest in the social and glamorous aspects of the industry, and devoted herself to politics in the 1990s.

She also once said she would “probably” turn down a damehood if she were to be offered one, because “what does it actually mean?”

Jackson was elected as the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate in 1992 and served as a junior transport minister from 1997 to 1999 when Sir Tony Blair was prime minister.

However, a return to acting – and awards – came after she stood down as an MP at the 2015 general election. In 2019 she starred as a woman suffering from dementia in Elizabeth Is Missing, and won a TV BAFTA for best actress the following year.

Tulip Siddiq, Labour MP for what is now the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, is among those paying tribute following Jackson’s death.

“Devastated to hear that my predecessor Glenda Jackson has died,” she wrote on Twitter. “A formidable politician, an amazing actress and a very supportive mentor to me. Hampstead and Kilburn will miss you Glenda.”

Downing Street described Jackson’s death as “extremely sad news” and said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s “thoughts will be with her friends and family at this time”.

Diane Abbott, who became a Labour MP in 1987, described Jackson as a “kind and extremely principled woman” in her tribute on social media.

Labour MP and shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell, who worked for and alongside Glenda Jackson, recalled the “incredibly kind” politician’s humour as she paid tribute.

“This is very sad news. In my early twenties I worked for Glenda, a decade later our MPs offices were next door,” she wrote on Twitter.

“She was always incredibly kind & supportive to me. I will also remember her cutting humour, general disdain at most things, all while smoking!”

Before her death, Jackson had been reunited with fellow double Oscar-winner Sir Michael Caine, who she last acted with in The Romantic Englishwoman in 1975.

Their upcoming film The Great Escaper is inspired by true events, telling the story of a Second World War veteran who escaped his care home in Hove, East Sussex, to attend a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France.

Born in Birkenhead in 1936, Jackson said she only started acting after she failed her school certificate, leaving her with no option but to start working at the age of 16.

While working at her local Boots store, she joined a friend at the YMCA amateur dramatics society and went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She wrote to the prestigious school and was offered a place after auditioning, but could not afford the fees.

A manager at Boots wrote to the county council at the time and they local authority paid for her, paving the way for rise to stardom.

Her big break came in 1964 when director Peter Brook chose Jackson to play Charlotte Corday in his stage production
of Marat/Sade, which was set in a lunatic asylum.

As well as her Oscar-winning performances, Jackson also played Egyptian queen Cleopatra in 1971 for an episode of The Morecambe & Wise Show with comedy duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.

Other notable film roles included John Schlesinger’s Sunday Bloody Sunday with Peter Finch, and she also portrayed Queen Elizabeth for a second time in Mary, Queen of Scots opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the titular role.

Entertainment

Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia talked about modern masculinity before Gen Z was born

Published

9 hours ago

April 5, 2025

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Pete Townshend's Quadrophenia talked about modern masculinity before Gen Z was born

Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.

The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.

As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.

“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.

“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”

If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.

But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.

Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation. 

Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.

He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.

“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”

This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.

For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.

“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.

“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”

Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.

“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.

“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”

In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.

“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.

Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.

It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.

Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.

Entertainment

Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

Published

15 hours ago

April 4, 2025

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Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.

The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.

The charges relate to four women.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.

Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.

He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.

The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.

Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.

The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.

He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.

“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

Entertainment

Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to ‘dear friend’ Val Kilmer

Published

2 days ago

April 3, 2025

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Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to 'dear friend' Val Kilmer

Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.

Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.

Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.

His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.

“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.

“I wish you well on the next journey.”

The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.

Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.

He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.

Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.

He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.

In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.

The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.