Joyce Blair

Joyce Blair (born Joyce Ogus; 4 November 1932 – 19 August 2006) was an English actress and dancer. She was the younger sister of Lionel Blair, with whom she often performed.

Early life and education Blair was born in London, as the daughter of Myer Ogus, a Lithuanian Jewish barber, and Debora "Della" Greenbaum. Her family was Jewish. Her father changed the family name to Blair in her youth; he died when Joyce was 12 years old. Blair was educated at Cone's School in London,

Career She and her brother took up showbusiness as professionals to support their mother after their father's death in 1944. In 1963, credited as "Miss X", she recorded "Christine", a tune written by John Barry (under an assumed name) and Leslie Bricusse, which was banned by the BBC at the height of the Profumo scandal but reached no.37 on the UK singles chart.

In 1978, she returned to the West End stage in Bar Mitzvah Boy and in 1984 she appeared in The Last Days of Pompeii (1984). She often appeared in dance routines with her brother Lionel until an estrangement in 1977. They did not reconcile their differences until many years later, when their mutual friend Sammy Davis Jr. was dying of cancer.

Death Blair died from cancer in Santa Monica, California, aged 73. She was survived by her brother Lionel and her two children. – UK No. 37