What Was Joan Hickson's Net Worth?
Joan Hickson was an English actress who had a net worth of $5 million at the time of her death in 1998. Joan Hickson was best known for playing the title role in the "Miss Marple" television films, which were based on a book series by Agatha Christie. Hickson had more than 200 acting credits to her name, including the films "The Rake's Progress" (1945), "High Treason" (1951), "The House Across the Lake" (1954), "A Time to Kill" (1955), "The 39 Steps" (1959), "The Secret of My Success" (1965), and "Gandhi" (1982) and the television series "Barnaby Rudge" (1960), "Our Man at St Mark's" (1963–1966), "Bachelor Father" (1970), "Good Girl" (1974), and "Poor Little Rich Girls" (1984). Joan also performed on Broadway, appearing in productions of "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" (1968) and "Bedroom Farce" (1979). "Bedroom Farce" earned her a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. In 1987, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Hickson an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE). Joan Hickson passed away on October 17, 1998 at the age of 92.
Early Life
Joan Hickson was born Joan Bogle Hickson on August 5, 1906, in Kingsthorpe, Northamptonshire, England. She was the daughter of shoe manufacturer Alfred Harold Hickson and Edith Mary Bogle. Joan attended the Dorset boarding school Oldfield School, then she studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1927, Hickson made her stage debut, then she appeared in many West End productions, often playing comedic or eccentric characters.
Career
Joan's first feature film was 1935's "Widow's Might," and she followed it with "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" (1936), "A Night of Terror" (1937), "Second Thoughts" (1938), "Freedom Radio" (1941), "Don't Take It to Heart" (1944), "The Rake's Progress" (1945), "The Trojan Brothers" (1946), "I See a Dark Stranger" (1946), "This Was a Woman" (1948), "Just William's Luck" (1948), "The Guinea Pig" (1948), "Marry Me!" (1949), and "Celia" (1949). In the '40s, she also starred in a stage production of Agatha Christie's "Appointment with Death," and Christie wrote Hickson a note that read, "I hope one day you will play my dear Miss Marple." Joan first appeared on television in the TV movies "The Corn is Green" (1946), "Busman's Honeymoon" (1947), and "Over the Odds" (1950), then she played Miss Lavinia Spenlow in the BBC TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" (1956). In the '50s, she appeared in the films "Seven Days to Noon" (1950), "High Treason" (1951), "Blind Man's Bluff" (1952), "Curtain Up" (1952), "No Haunt for a Gentleman" (1952), "Deadly Nightshade" (1953), "Doctor in the House" (1954), "The House Across the Lake" (1954), "What Every Woman Wants" (1954), "Doctor at Sea" (1955), "A Time to Kill" (1955), "The Man Who Never Was" (1956), "The Extra Day" (1956), "Carry On Admiral" (1957), "Happy Is the Bride" (1958), and "The 39 Steps" (1959).
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In 1960, Hickson played Mrs. Varden on the BBC drama "Barnaby Rudge," and from 1963 to 1966, she starred as Mrs. Peace on the ITV series "Our Man at St Mark's." Around this time, she also appeared in the films "Carry On Constable" (1960), "No Kidding" (1960), "Carry On Regardless" (1960), "His and Hers" (1961), "Raising the Wind" (1961), "Murder, She Said" (1961), "Crooks Anonymous" (1962), "In the Doghouse" (1962), "I Thank a Fool" (1962), "Nurse on Wheels" (1963), "Heavens Above!" (1963), "The Secret of My Success" (1965), and "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" (1968). In 1970, Joan played Mrs. Pugsley on the BBC1 sitcom "Bachelor Father," then she guest-starred on "From a Bird's Eye View" (1970), "Within These Walls" (1975), "Happy Ever After" (1976), "The Outsider" (1983), "Time for Murder" (1985), and "Boon" (1989) and starred as Miss Havisham in the 1981 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" and Lady Harriet on the 1984 ITV sitcom "Poor Little Rich Girls." In the '70s and '80s, she also appeared in the films "Carry On Loving" (1970), "Friends" (1971), "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" (1972), "Theatre of Blood" (1973), "Carry On Girls" (1973), "Confessions of a Window Cleaner" (1974), "One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing" (1975), "Yanks" (1979), "Gandhi" (1982), "The Wicked Lady" (1983), and "Clockwise" (1986). From 1984 to 1992, Hickson starred as the title character in 12 BBC1 adaptations of Agatha Christie's "Miss Marple" novels. She also narrated the audio books of several "Miss Marple" stories. In 1990, Joan co-starred with Richard Harris in "King of the Wind," and her final film was 1993's "Century."
Personal Life and Death
Joan married Dr. Eric Norman Butler on October 29, 1932, at Hampstead Parish Church in Northwest London. The couple stayed together until Butler's death in 1967, and they had two children, Nicholas (born 1936) and Caroline (born 1939). On October 17, 1998, Hickson passed away at the age of 92 after suffering a stroke. She was laid to rest at Devon's Sidbury Cemetery under the name Joan Bogle Butler. From 1958 until her death, Joan lived in a home along the River Colne in Rose Lane, Wivenhoe. A plaque was later put up to mark the home.
Awards and Nominations
In 1987, Hickson won a Royal Television Society Award for Best Performance – Female for the "Miss Marple" films. She earned BAFTA Award nominations for Best Actress for "Miss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage" (1987) and "Miss Marple: Nemesis" (1988), and she received a CableACE Award nomination for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for "Miss Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" (1995).
