throatybeard
08-06-2012, 05:24 AM
I didn't post about this when it happened a couple weeks ago because I was too busted up about it. My sister posted the BBC story on my wall, that Angharad Rees had died of pancreatic cancer (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18940018). I didn't even know she was sick, first of all. We were at a friend's house and they were grilling in the back yard. I excused myself and sat on their four year old's bedroom floor bawling for about fifteen minutes. Sally Ride (also pancreatic) came along and stole the obituary spotlight about a day later. Some editor of The Economist died within 24 hours, so she didn't even get their back-page obit the next week.
There's some dispute about whether she was 63 or 68.
Rees was best known for her role as Demelza Poldark in the 1975-1977 BBC adaptation of Winston Graham's first seven Poldark novels, in 29 episodes in two seasons. I first saw them in reruns on PBS when I was seven and fell in lifelong love with this actress. She was actually blonde, but wore one of those Big 1970s BBC Costume Drama Wigs, which was red. Which is funny--how her look became so iconic in Britain when the character in the books is dark-haired and [for England] Dark Complected. When I was in HS I gave $5 chess lessons to the younger kids at school and saved up $150 (!!!) to buy season one on VHS. The series finally came out on DVD two years ago on Acorn Media and I snapped it up immediately, expecting to be disappointed at cheesy 1970s BBC production values. I was amazed how well it has held up.
I don't have much else to say. She's not really a household name in the US. This is the worst I've felt about a celebrity death since Payne Stewart's plane fell out of the sky. If we ever have a daughter, which is contingent on me getting tenure and on those stupid Y sperms getting out of the way, we'll name her Demelza, in honor of Rees, and Graham. It isn't euphonious with my surname, so we'd give her my wife's. I'll post a picture below.
There's some dispute about whether she was 63 or 68.
Rees was best known for her role as Demelza Poldark in the 1975-1977 BBC adaptation of Winston Graham's first seven Poldark novels, in 29 episodes in two seasons. I first saw them in reruns on PBS when I was seven and fell in lifelong love with this actress. She was actually blonde, but wore one of those Big 1970s BBC Costume Drama Wigs, which was red. Which is funny--how her look became so iconic in Britain when the character in the books is dark-haired and [for England] Dark Complected. When I was in HS I gave $5 chess lessons to the younger kids at school and saved up $150 (!!!) to buy season one on VHS. The series finally came out on DVD two years ago on Acorn Media and I snapped it up immediately, expecting to be disappointed at cheesy 1970s BBC production values. I was amazed how well it has held up.
I don't have much else to say. She's not really a household name in the US. This is the worst I've felt about a celebrity death since Payne Stewart's plane fell out of the sky. If we ever have a daughter, which is contingent on me getting tenure and on those stupid Y sperms getting out of the way, we'll name her Demelza, in honor of Rees, and Graham. It isn't euphonious with my surname, so we'd give her my wife's. I'll post a picture below.