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‘EastEnders’ Beloved June Brown Passes Away at 95

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During last week’s Oscar telecast, I clocked the vocabulary-challenged Laverne Cox and her colleagues use the word “iconic” over 40 times, often describing people under 30. Well, folks, here’s the passing of an icon who earned the title. June Brown was a staple in British acting, always good for a laugh or a cutting remark. She’ll be missed.
Brilliant character and fantastic actress. Dot, Ethel and Lou Beale, powerhouses of EastEnders and Albert Square R.I.P.
What about Walford’s “Powerful P Troika” of Pauline, Peggy and Pat? Eastenders has never been the same since they lost the late Wendy Richard and Barbara Windsor, not to mention, the still much alive and kicking Pam St. Clement! I loved it when those three deeply-determined dames mixed it up, which was pretty much constantly! As for Miss Brown, I’ll never forget her skillfully oddball portrayal of that scary-looking, bible-spouting, chain-smoking Dot Cotton. Such a dichotomy….on one hand an extremely pious, disciplined Christian whose hair rollers always seemed to be wound far too tightly and on the other hand, a… Read more »
Excellent analysis, Shay. Yes, the days of Peggy, Pat and Pauline mixing it up in various combinations were glorious. And June Brown had that skill that’s hard to come by in making Dot beloved without changing the fundamentals of her personality — just giving the character more depth than the script’s words conveyed.
Thank you, hollyoaksboi! Yes, June Brown had that most special ability to make Dot even at her worst and sometimes hateful self to be not disliked but rather pitied…until later when she became a much more lovable and sympathetic figure for the viewer. (How could she not be when she so suffered over such a reprehensible reprobate son like Nick Cotton? He was the worst of the worst!) I’ve always wondered if Dot was originally envisaged by her creators as smoking like a chimney or if Miss Brown’s own self-proclaimed love of the ciggies brought that particular aspect to her… Read more »
It can’t be overestimated how much of a British institution this actress and her character were. If you said to anyone in the UK…”She’s just like Dot Cotton,” they knew exactly what you meant. And getting a BAFTA nomination would nearly be like getting an Oscar nomination … for working in a soap. She was an amazing character actress and will be much missed.
Most people won’t remember, but June Brown gave a deliciously self-centered turn as Viloet Leyton, Louisa Trotter’s (Gemma Jones) aspirational mother in the two season British series The Duchess of Duke Street (on PBS in the States 1977-1978). That series is available to stream on BritBox.
Thanks for the tip, Kit. I have never seen that and will have to look it up. Raise a glass to June Brown while watching!
It’s available on Amazon Prime.
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