Biography
Avis Bunnage (22 April 1923 – 4 October 1990) was an English actress of film, stage and television. Born Mildred Avis Bunnage in Ardwick, Manchester, she attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School. She worked as a secretary and nursery teacher before beginning her acting career with a professional appearance at Chorlton Rep Theatre in 1947.
Bunnage was a member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, where she created the role of Helen in A Taste of Honey, later transferring to the West End. Her film roles included several British New Wave productions such as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) and The L-Shaped Room (1962), as well as Tom Jones (1963), Gandhi (1982) and her final screen appearance as Helen in The Krays (1990). On television she appeared in series including Rising Damp.
She was married to Derek Orchard from 1966 until her death in Thorpe Bay, Essex.
