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Kirsten Cooke, Sue Hodge, and Carmen Silvera in 'Allo 'Allo! (1982)

Kirsten Cooke, Gorden Kaye, and Carmen Silvera in 'Allo 'Allo! (1982)

Gorden Kaye and Carmen Silvera in 'Allo 'Allo! (1982)

John D. Collins, Kirsten Cooke, David Croft, Nicholas Frankau, Richard Gibson, Francesca Gonshaw, Jack Haig, Kim Hartman, Rose Hill, Gorden Kaye, Sam Kelly, Richard Marner, Vicki Michelle, Carmen Silvera, and Guy Siner in 'Allo 'Allo! (1982)

Kirsten Cooke, Kim Hartman, Sue Hodge, Gorden Kaye, Vicki Michelle, and Carmen Silvera in 'Allo 'Allo! (1982)

Arthur Bostrom, Richard Gibson, Kim Hartman, Sue Hodge, Gorden Kaye, Vicki Michelle, Gavin Richards, Carmen Silvera, and Guy Siner in 'Allo 'Allo! (1982)

Kenneth Connor, Kirsten Cooke, Richard Gibson, Jack Haig, Kim Hartman, Sue Hodge, Gorden Kaye, John Louis Mansi, Richard Marner, Vicki Michelle, Hilary Minster, Gavin Richards, Carmen Silvera, and Guy Siner in 'Allo 'Allo! (1982)

Arthur Bostrom, John D. Collins, Nicholas Frankau, Gorden Kaye, Vicki Michelle, and Carmen Silvera

Arthur Bostrom, Gorden Kaye, and Carmen Silvera in The Best of 'Allo 'Allo! (1994)

Carmen Silvera was a British comic actress of Spanish descent, primarily known for television roles. Her most memorable role was playing Edith Artois in the hit sitcom "'Allo 'Allo!" (1982-1992), which depicted multiple ongoing conspiracies in German-occupied France during World War II.

Edith was the antagonistic wife of the series' main character, the opportunist café owner Rene Artois. Husband and wife were reluctant members of the French Resistance, while also collaborating with corrupt German officers and being involved in several other conspiratorial schemes. Ongoing plot-lines involving Edith included her suspicions that Rene was cheating on her (while she appeared unaware that he was having extramarital affairs with all of their waitresses, and that he had an unrequited love for resistance leader Michelle Dubois), her regular attempts to perform as a cabaret singer (despite having an awful singing voice), her romantic relationships with undertaker Monsieur Alfonse and the Italian Captain Alberto Bertorelli, and Edith being far more patriotic and idealistic than her husband.

In 1922, Silvera was born in Toronto, Ontario to British expatriate parents. Her father was Roland Silvera (1895-1986), a well-known bowls player, and a member of the Stoke Bowling Club, Coventry. In the 1970s, Roland served as a president of the Warwickshire County Bowls Association. During his term, the association won the English Bowling Association Middleton Cup for the first time in its history.

The Silvera family emigrated back to England in 1924. They settled in Warwickshire, a county in the West Midlands region of England. Carmen was evacuated to Montreal, Canada during World War II. She originally aspired to follow a dancing career, taking lessons from a ballet company that served as one of several rival successors to the famed "Ballets Russes" (1909-1929). She appeared with the ballet company on stage, but only for a small number of performances.

Following the end of World War II, Silvera returned to England and decided to follow an acting career. She was trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and then started appearing repertory theatre. She had a brief marriage to theatrical actor John Cunliffe. In 1948, they were divorced after Silvera suffered a miscarriage. She never remarried, instead focusing o her career.

In the late 1950s, Silvera started appearing in television roles. Her first recurring role in a series was playing Camilla Hope in the soap opera "Compact" (1962-1965). The opera depicted the personal and professional lives of the employees of a magazine. It reportedly enjoyed high ratings throughout its run. Its demise was attributed to the dislike of its premise by BBC executives.

In 1966, Silvera played three different roles in the story arc "The Celestial Toymaker" of the hit science fiction series "Doctor Who" (1963-1989). One of her three roles was the Queen of Hearts in a set of living playing cards. The episodes were considered offbeat for featuring strong fantasy elements in a series that typically focused on science fiction and historical fiction. Silvera later returned to the series in the story arc "Invasion of the Dinosaurs", which featured dinosaurs transported to modern-age London. This story arc was noted for featuring villains who were well-intentioned extremists, firmly believing that the ends justify the means (in other words, that their crimes were justified by their righteous goal).

In 1970, Silvera had a guest star role in an episode of the World War II-themed sitcom "Dad's Army" (1968-1977), which featured the misadventures of the Home Guard. She portrayed Fiona Gray, a middle-aged woman who wants to join the war effort. Her character served as a new love interest for the main character, the aging Captain George Mainwaring. The episode was unusual in having a tragic theme, and emphasizing Mainwaring's loneliness. It was directed by David Croft, who would later cast Silvera in "'Allo 'Allo!".

Silvera made her film debut in the erotic film "Clinic Exclusive" (1971), at the age of 49. She played the role of Elsa Farson, an aging, lonely lesbian who is in love with Julie Mason (played by Georgina Ward), not caring that Mason is a ruthless businesswoman with a side career as a blackmailer. The film was scripted and produced by Hazel Adair, who had previously worked with Silvera in "Compact". Most of the film's actors were veterans from Adair's television productions.

Throughout the 1970s, Silvera had a few more film roles in British productions. Her last film role in this decade was playing Lady Bottomley in the sex comedy "Keep It Up Downstairs" (1976). The film's plot focused on the efforts of two aging aristocrats to find a rich wife for their son, despite the young man's disinterest in anything outside his career as an inventor.

Silvera found success late in life, when cast in the role of Edith Artois in the sitcom "'Allo 'Allo!" (1982-1992). Initially conceived as a parody of the wartime drama series "Secret Army" (1977-1979), it became a much more popular and long-running series than the one it parodied. Unusual for a sitcom, "'Allo 'Allo!" had overarching plot-lines, rather than featuring simple stand-alone stories. Nearly every character took part in conspiracies and had agendas of his/her own, but their schemes often clashed and backfired. Besides the ongoing scheming, the film placed emphasis on the characters' romantic and sexual lives, with a large amount of sexual innuendo in each episode. The series lasted for 9 seasons, and 85 episodes. Much of the main cast of series gained enduring popularity with the British public.

During the 1990s, Silvera enjoyed a revival of her theatrical career. She appeared in stage musicals, such as "That's Showbiz" (1997) by Jimmy Perry. Her last film role was a small part in the drama film "La Passione" (1996). The film was partly based on the childhood experiences of screenwriter Chris Rea as a son of immigrants in the United Kingdom.

Silvera was a heavy smoker for much of her life, and she was eventually diagnosed with lung cancer. She spend her last years as a resident of Denville Hall, a retirement home for professional actors and their spouses. In August 2002, Silvera died there due to cancer. She was 80-years-old. Her popularity endures primarily due to her appearances in classic sitcoms.

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Carmen Silvera

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