{"id":40226,"date":"2015-01-15T00:53:54","date_gmt":"2015-01-15T00:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=40226"},"modified":"2015-01-20T00:57:39","modified_gmt":"2015-01-20T00:57:39","slug":"tinseltown-talks-patricia-routledge-still-keeping-up-appearances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/01\/15\/tinseltown-talks-patricia-routledge-still-keeping-up-appearances\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinseltown Talks – Patricia Routledge still Keeping up Appearances"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Recent Patricia Routledge photo provide by publicist.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Patricia Routledge with from Keeping up Appearances co-star Clive Swift. Publicity photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

Produced from 1990-1995, the British sitcom \u201cKeeping Up Appearances\u201d quickly crossed the Atlantic, bringing smiles to viewers of American Public Television where the show was widely broadcast.<\/p>\n

The success of the series, still seen on limited PBS stations today, was mainly due to the formidable acting skills of Patricia Routledge who created the ludicrously snobbish and comical character Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced \u2018bouquet,\u2019 of course).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe basic premise of Hyacinth is pretension and that\u2019s the source of so much comedy,\u201d said Ms. Routledge from London. \u201cWhile attempting to be a social climber, she also had to deal with members from the other side of her family like Onslow, who sat around in his string vest drinking beer. In a way, the show was a microcosm for society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still busy at 85, Routledge has been traveling the U.K., Europe, and Australia starring in \u201cAdmission: One Shilling,\u201d a stage presentation recounting the life of early twentieth century British pianist Myra Hess.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t depict her, but read from her letters and reported conversations to tell the story of the concerts she gave in London during World War II,\u201d she explained. \u201cI first saw her in the \u201840s when I was 14 and was impressed with her great gifts as an artist. I was also fortunate to see Lawrence Olivier, John Gielgud, Edith Evans and a whole host of actors who contributed to my interest in theater.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarded as one of Britain\u2019s most eminent theater actresses, Routledge graduated from the University of Liverpool as an English and Literature major.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have any intention of becoming an actor, although looking back now I can see it was really inevitable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Though best known in the U.S. for her TV roles (including \u201cHetty Wainthropp Investigates\u201d) Routledge is also a professionally trained singer with many years\u2019 experience in musical theater.<\/p>\n

In 1968, she even visited the U.S. to star in the Broadway musical \u201cDarling of the Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The production only ran for some 30 performances, but yielded Routledge a Tony Award working alongside an actor known more for his malevolent rather than melodic performances \u2013 Vincent Price.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe play was about an artist,\u201d explained Routledge. \u201cVincent was very knowledgeable about art and a big collector, so I suppose that\u2019s why the management brought him in. But he had not been on stage for many years and basically wasn\u2019t musical, so he did not have a good time. However, he was wonderful to work with and all the company loved him. We shared his pain in the not very positive reviews he had to endure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The extent of Routledge\u2019s musical background was revealed in Edward Seckerson\u2019s recent British stage production \u201cFacing the Music,\u201d in which the actress appeared for several years.<\/p>\n

\u201cEdward dug up my history and a lot of my old musical recordings that I had forgotten about. We have a conversation on stage about that aspect of my career,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In sharp contrast to Routledge\u2019s actual singing voice, her Hyacinth character in \u201cKeeping Up Appearances\u201d demonstrated frightful and failed attempts to impress others with her vocal prowess, leading to many comedic situations. When combined with classic British innuendo, clever slapstick, and memorable supporting characters, the show has become a treasured comedy import around the world.<\/p>\n

“I remember reading the pilot script and feeling confident I could knit this character together,” says Routledge. “Hyacinth absolutely leapt from the page.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 500 magazines and newspapers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Produced from 1990-1995, the British sitcom \u201cKeeping Up Appearances\u201d quickly crossed the Atlantic, bringing smiles to viewers of American Public Television where the show was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-living"],"yoast_head":"\nTinseltown Talks - Patricia Routledge still Keeping up Appearances - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/01\/15\/tinseltown-talks-patricia-routledge-still-keeping-up-appearances\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tinseltown Talks - 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