Jean Marsh, British actress and co-creator of 'Upstairs, Downstairs,' dies at 90

Jean Marsh, the British histrion who co-created the enduring serialized deed TV bid “Upstairs, Downstairs,” died Sunday astatine the property of 90.

The Sunday Times of London said Marsh died astatine her London location owed to complications from dementia.

Marsh gave tv 1 of the champion loved programs successful past erstwhile she teamed with histrion Eileen Atkins to make “Upstairs, Downstairs,” acceptable successful a London property during the Edwardian era. The bid depicted the lives of the unit toiling downstairs astatine 165 Eaton Place and the affluent Bellamy household surviving above.

Marsh played Rose Buck, the caput parlormaid successful the Bellamy home.

The play made its debut connected London Weekend Television successful 1971 and became a large premier clip bid deed for PBS successful 1974 erstwhile it was imported for U.S. audiences. The bid depicting people distinctions successful British nine ran for 5 seasons and was revived for the BBC successful 2011 with Marsh recreating her role.

Robert Blake and Jean Marsh clasp up their Emmy statuettes for astatine the Emmy Awards successful 1975.

(Associated Press)

Marsh told NPR successful 2011 that she and Atkins came up with the thought portion watching a play play connected TV.

“We’d been watching thing afloat of affluent people, affluent food, beauteous apparel and we had chips connected our shoulders, I suppose. And we thought, ‘Who did each this work? Who cooked? Who washed up?’ ” she said. “All those things we enactment unneurotic and thought, ‘Let’s constitute thing astir the downstairs people, the servants, the radical who serve.’ ”

During its run, “Upstairs, Downstairs” earned 7 prime-time Emmy Awards, including a 1975 pb histrion successful a play bid triumph for Marsh.

Jean Lyndsey Torren Marsh was calved July 1, 1934 successful Stoke Newington, a northwest conception of London. Her begetter was a printer’s adjunct and her parent worked arsenic a housemaid, giving her the insights she needed to constitute “Upstairs, Downstairs.” (Atkins’ parents besides worked arsenic household servants.)

Marsh began her performing vocation arsenic a teenager, appearing arsenic a dancer successful the Michael Powell-Emeric Pressburger film, “The Tales of Hoffmann.” She made her Broadway signifier debut successful 1959, starring other John Gielgud successful “Much Ado About Nothing.” That aforesaid twelvemonth she played other Laurence Olivier successful David Susskind’s TV accumulation of “The Moon and Sixpence” for NBC.

Marsh divided her clip betwixt the U.S. and London during the 1960s, with roles successful the movie “Cleopatra,” and TV shows specified arsenic “I Spy,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Doctor Who” and “The Informer.”

After “Upstairs, Downstairs” became a hit, Marsh worked steadily successful the U.S. and Great Britain for the adjacent 5 decades.

Her movie roles see Alfred Hitchcock’s 1972 movie “Frenzy,” and the spy play “The Eagle Has Landed.” She played Queen Bavmorda successful Ron Howard’s 1988 deed “Willow.”

Marsh besides had galore impermanent roles connected U.S. TV bid including “Murder, She Wrote” and “The Love Boat” and arsenic a regular connected the ABC sitcom “Nine to Five.”

In 1996, she wrote a palmy romance novel, “Fiennders Keepers,” which dealt with societal alteration successful a agrarian community.

She played Mrs. Ferrars successful a well-received 2008 TV mini-series mentation of “Sense and Sensibility.”

Marsh was joined the precocious histrion Jon Pertwee, who was 15 years her senior, successful 1955 erstwhile she was conscionable 20. They divorced 5 years later.

She aboriginal lived with actors Kenneth Haigh and Albert Finney earlier opening a 10-year narration with the manager Michael Lindsay-Hogg.