Mary Tamm

Mary Tamm

Mary Tamm as Romana I
Born (1950-03-22)22 March 1950
Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died 26 July 2012(2012-07-26) (aged 62)
London, England
Cause of death Cancer
Occupation Actress
Years active 1970–2012
Spouse(s) Marcus Ringrose (1978–2012; her death)
Children Lauren Ringrose (b. November 1979)

Mary Tamm (22 March 1950 – 26 July 2012) was a British actress, known for her role as Romana in the BBC's science fiction television series Doctor Who,[1] starring opposite Tom Baker in the 1978–79 story arc The Key to Time.

Early life

Tamm was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire[2] to Estonian immigrant parents[2][3] and attended Bradford Girls' Grammar School.[4] She was a graduate and an associate member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where she studied from 1969-71.[5]

Acting career

Tamm began acting on the stage with the Birmingham Repertory Company in 1971.[6] She moved to London in 1972 and appeared in the musical Mother Earth. Her first TV role for the BBC was as Sally in The Donati Conspiracy shown in 1973.[7] This was followed by an episode of Warship in 1974.[8] in 1975, she featured in Muriel Spark's The Girls Of Slender Means on BBC2.[9] Before her association with Doctor Who, Tamm acted in a few films, including Tales That Witness Madness (1973), The Odessa File (1974) and The Likely Lads (1976). In 1981, she took the part of Rhoda Dawes in Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table at London's Vaudeville Theatre.[10]

Tamm was not initially interested in playing a companion to the Doctor,[11] believing that the role was merely that of the "damsel in distress". She changed her mind when assured by the producers that Romana would be a member of the Doctor's own race and therefore as capable as he. Tamm left the programme after only one season because she felt that the character had reverted to the traditional assistant role and could not be developed further.[12] In a 2007 interview, she stated that she was willing to shoot a regeneration sequence to allow a smooth transition between her tenure and that of her eventual successor (Lalla Ward), but Tamm was not invited to do so.[13] One source states that pregnancy was the reason that she was not asked to return,[14] which Tamm denied as a false rumour invented by producer John Nathan-Turner.[15][16][17]

After leaving the series, Tamm took leading roles in two BBC 1 dramas, The Treachery Game (1980) and its sequel The Assassination Run (1981) alongside Malcolm Stoddard. She subsequently appeared in Barry Letts' production of Jane Eyre on BBC1 in 1983, opposite Timothy Dalton.[18] A leading role in the sitcom The Hello, Goodbye Man opposite Ian Lavender was produced in 1984, for BBC 2, around the same time she made a guest appearance in Bergerac.[19] In the early 1990s she was a regular guest panellist on the ITV morning quiz show Crosswits.

Subsequently, Tamm played the characters of Penny Crosbie in the soap opera Brookside from 1993 to 1996,[20] and Yvonne Edwards in the BBC drama Paradise Heights (2002), as well as guest roles in many other television programmes, including Crime Traveller on BBC1, another time travel drama.[21] Tamm returned as Pandora in the second series of the Gallifrey audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions. Her first such appearance was in Gallifrey: Lies (2005). She also appeared (as herself) in a special feature in the 2007 DVD boxed set release of The Key to Time, discussing her experiences on the programme. In August 2009, Tamm made a brief one-week appearance as Orlenda in EastEnders. Reprising the role of Romana, Tamm recorded seven new Doctor Who audio adventures for Big Finish Productions with Tom Baker shortly before her death[22] which were released in 2013 as season 2 of the Fourth Doctor Adventures.[23]

Personal life

Mary Tamm was married to Marcus Ringrose, an insurance executive, from 1978 until her death from cancer.[4][24] Ringrose, himself, died just hours after his wife's funeral.[25][26] They had one daughter, Lauren, born November 1979,[15][16][25] and a grandson, Max.[20][25]

Her autobiography, titled First Generation, was published in September 2009 by Fantom Films. Before her death, she had been working on a second part of her autobiography,[27] Second Generation, which was published in 2014.

Filmography

Year Title
1973
 Tales That Witness Madness
1974
 The Odessa File
1976
 The Likely Lads
2001
 Amazons and Gladiators

References

  1. ↑ "Dr Who star returns to Bradford roots". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  2. 1 2 "Doctor Who star Mary Tamm dies aged 62". The Guardian. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  3. ↑ "Interview with Mary Tamm". BBC Wiltshire. 21 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  4. 1 2 "Obituary: Mary Tamm". Daily Telegraph. 26 July 2012.
  5. ↑ Warwick, David (2012). "Mary Tamm (RADA Obituary)". The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  6. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/9430375/Mary-Tamm.html
  7. ↑ http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8aa42e3d3741458e820e4fd9a728ef6e
  8. ↑ http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/95cc9d2367904670a63ae232510c2628
  9. ↑ http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/ab2f46df717c44aaada36f23b000a2d9
  10. ↑ Programme for Cards on the Table (Vaudeville Theatre): Theatreprint No 80, May 1982
  11. ↑ https://drwhointerviews.wordpress.com/category/mary-tamm/
  12. ↑ "MaryTamm.com". Archived from the original on 25 July 2008.
  13. ↑ "There's Something About Mary", a DVD featurette on The Key to Time - Special Edition (BBC Video/2 Entertain, 2007).
  14. ↑ "A Brief History Of Time (Travel): Destiny Of The Daleks". ShannonSullivan.com. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  15. 1 2 "MaryTamm Official Website - Mary Tamm in Dr Who". MaryTamm.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-06.
  16. 1 2 McGuigan, Eddie (3 September 2009). "An interview with Mary Tamm". Outpost Skaro.
  17. ↑ Rawson-Jones, Ben (19 October 2009). "Doctor Who Interview: Mary Tamm". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  18. ↑ http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/7915b897e4b144b7ba3cf038a0cd4621
  19. ↑ http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/22fde045b97a47dda4934dd576e83678
  20. 1 2 Flerlage, Elizabeth (24 September 2007). "The 5-minute Interview: Mary Tamm, Actress". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  21. ↑ http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/fe67fcecfff24991810e637600e26ed8
  22. ↑ "Doctor Who - Fourth Doctor Adventures - Coming Soon". Big Finish Productions.
  23. ↑ DOCTOR WHO - FOURTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES - RELEASED ITEMS. Big Finish Productions. Retrieved January 17, 2014
  24. ↑ "Mary Tamm's widower 'died of a broken heart'". Daily Telegraph. October 24, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  25. 1 2 3 Martin, Arthur (9 August 2012). "Widower of Doctor Who star who died of cancer suffers fatal heart attack hours after giving the eulogy at her funeral". Daily Mail.
  26. ↑ Wilkes, David (24 October 2012). "Husband who died of a broken heart: He fell victim to sudden death syndrome hours after giving eulogy at funeral of Doctor Who actress wife". Daily Mail.
  27. ↑ https://www.rada.ac.uk/alumni/obituaries/mary-tamm
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