Sheila Bernette, actor and music‑hall performer, dies aged 94

Sheila Bernette has died aged 94. She was an actor and singer whose career began in childhood and spanned the West End, provincial theatre, summer seasons and television, where she often appeared as a foil to comedy stars including Leslie Crowther, Tommy Cooper, Dick Emery and Morecambe and Wise.

Born in London, she was the daughter of Freda (nee Morris) and Charles Poncini. She trained in ballet at the Italia Conti Stage Academy from the age of two, later attended the Aida Foster theatre school, performed at the London Palladium aged 12 and made her West End debut in Over the Moon (Piccadilly, 1953).

She joined the Players in 1955, took over the part of Dulcie in The Boy Friend in 1957 and was part of a Players company that showcased Victorian music‑hall repertoire at the Strollers club in New York in 1961–62; one critic wrote, "Sheila Bernette's timing is faultless." Bernette had straight acting parts on screen from the mid‑50s and a comedy breakthrough about a decade later.

Leslie Crowther was a champion of her talents and she worked with him on Crowther Takes a Look... (1965), The Black and White Minstrel Show (1967–69), The Saturday Crowd (1969), Crowther's Back in Town (1970) and The Leslie Crowther Show (1971).

Key Topics

Culture, Sheila Bernette, Players' Theatre, West End, Leslie Crowther, Italia Conti