I was completely addicted to and immersed in the world of the Bellamys in the original Upstairs Downstairs. Every Sunday afternoon without fail. The unforgettable moments-- Lady Marjorie went down on the Titanic, James took his own life… I kept hoping Richard and Hazel would get together. And that last episode, when Rose went from room to room turning off all of the lights… that was the first extended series that I remember having such an impact on my life. And it may have kicked off the American TV obsession with the pre- and post-WWI period in British history.
Jean Marsh had a much wider career than that one show, of which she was the co-creator. But that was where I knew her best.
Jean Marsh, the sleek British actress who co-created Upstairs, Downstairs and won an Emmy for her performance as the prim and proper parlormaid Rose Buck on the acclaimed ITV drama, has died. She was 90.
Marsh died Sunday at home in London from complications of dementia, filmmaker and Marsh’s close friend Michael Lindsay-Hogg, told the New York Times.
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Marsh and her best friend, actress Eileen Atkins — both came from working class backgrounds — created Upstairs, Downstairs, set in a large London country house at 165 Eaton Place that was home to an aristocratic British family. She played the “downstairs” maid Rose on all five seasons from 1971-75 as the London Weekend Television series spanned the years 1903-30.
Marsh was nominated for the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a drama/limited series for three straight years, winning in 1975.
Her last IMDb credit is 2022 in the series Willow. Lots of Dr. Who voice work in recentish years. (Had a stroke in 2010 that limited things.) Pretty good run. She and another actress created Upstairs, Downstairs.
My husband and I watched Upstairs, Downstairs back in the day from start to finish. We both sat there weeping during the final episode. Downton Abbey is similar, but Upstairs, Downstairs went into SO much more realistic intricate detail of the lives of both the family and the servants. Mrs. Bridges, Mr. Hudson, Ruby, Sarah…and of course, beautiful Jean Marsh. At the end of the show, she was destitute because of mismanagement of her savings by James, so the Bellamys kindly took her with them after the big house was sold. One of the greatest series ever made.
More Doctor Who roles: Princess Joanna, whom Richard the Lionheart was going to marry off to Saladin’s brother in the First Doctor’s adventure, The Crusade. She also played Morgaine in the Seventh Doctor’s story, Battlefield, incidentally, the last episode to feature Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
The sets may have been cheap and the acting wooden at times, but Upstairs, Downstairs was a far superior show. Marsh wasn’t at all sentimental about that era and wasn’t overly concerned with making her characters likeable.
Yes, there was so much more involved regarding issues of the times. Downton Abbey was more of a fashion show and the end of an era for the aristos, IMO.
