Remembering June Brown

I apologize in advance that this blog has become a bit of a memorial site. With this post, half of the last 10 posts are about the passing of an actor or actress that appeared on our screens.

A quick mention here of June Brown, who recently died at age 95.

I know she had a long and varied career, but over the years, I’ve mentioned my love of Dot Cotton, the character she played on EastEnders for decades.

I’m repeating myself here, but I’ll say it again in honor of Ms. Brown: she played Dot so well and made the audience love her – not so easy with Dot, an unlikeable grouch who gossiped and generally judged everyone in the square.

Our US soaps had some characters that were allowed to be somewhat unlikeable or hold unpleasant opinions from time to time. All My Children‘s Phoebe judged those who lived together “without benefit of clergy” and she and her friend Enid were the “Karens” of their day – a bit racist, a bit snobby, and very hypocritical.

In more recent years, shows seem to have reverted to a variation of the old Irna Phillips “saints or sinners” rule. Today it’s more “saints and psycho villains.”

But here’s to those complicated characters like Dot Cotton – and to her portrayer, June Brown.