A most versatile lady

Alas, another of the greats of British comedy has gone.

Joan Turner, an opera-trained singer, DJ and "off-the-wall" comedienne, began her long and tumultuous career with the Crazy Gang (a 1950s anarchic comedy troupe, a sort of combination of Music Hall and The Goons) and was soon taken to the hearts of British audiences. She headlined at a Royal Command Performance above The Beatles, and rapidly became the highest-earning female singer in the UK.

Fame was a double-edged sword for Joan, however, and despite her immense popularity here - with sell-out shows at The Talk Of The Town and her own TV and radio shows - she tried her hand at cracking the American market. This turned out to be a disaster, as her penchant for the good life, vodka and champagne and her terrible temper got the better of her.

She ended up at one point living as a bag lady in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, looking for that "one big break". She was rescued from that fate when the media caught up with her in the US, and she returned to Britain in 2001.

Despite her incredible list of famous friendships (she apparently had affairs with Peter Sellers and Tony Hancock), including Lynda La Plante, she never regained her fame and fortune. She even turned up drunk and fell off the stage at a dinner in her honour in 2003!

Her autobiography I Thought It Grew on Trees, is due to to be published in August this year, and I for one look forward to reading this lady's incredible story in her own words...

Here's a very small sample of the talents of Joan Turner:

Joan Turner - Call that a Dahlia?

Read Joan Turner's obituary in The Guardian