June Laverick


June Laverick was an English actress, who was once described as "a popular lightweight leading actress of the day" and was probably best remembered as the fictional wife of Dickie Henderson in The Dickie Henderson Show.

Background

Before June was born her parents ran a public house in Bishop Auckland but then returned to Redcar to run the Royal Hotel on the sea front near Redcar Pier. In 1931, Laverick was born in Laburnum Road, Redcar.
In her youth June attended White House school and ballet school. She was determined at an early age that she wanted a career in light entertainment.
She followed an acting career in theatre, film and television and after retiring from acting in her 30s June moved back to Redcar, marrying an ICI process worker and briefly taking over the licence of the Royal Hotel before returning south alone.

Stage, film and television career

In the 1950s June worked in the theatre in musicals, comedies and revues, and had a variety of film roles contracted to the Rank Organisation.
She was a member of The Company of Youth, the Rank Organisation's acting school often referred to as "The Charm School"
and was often photographed for the front covers of cinema magazines and for publicity shots. Her peak year in films was 1958, where she appeared in three prominent film roles, notably as the leading lady opposite Tommy Steele in The Duke Wore Jeans.
June made an early television appearance in an episode of Boyd Q.C. and in episodes of Tales from Dickens as Dora Spenlow. She was Norman Wisdom's leading lady in Follow a Star.
She took over the role of Dickie Henderson's wife from Anthea Askey in ITV's The Dickie Henderson Half Hour in The Dickie Henderson Show.
After the Dickie Henderson Show, June retired from acting to be replaced by Isla Blair in the next series A Present for Dickie. In 1970 June returned to appear in the last episode.

Personal life and death

After her final appearance on television in the last episode of Dickie Henderson's show, she took over the licence, from her parents, of The Royal Hotel in Redcar. She was briefly married to Charles Kenneth Cooke, an ICI worker. After the marriage ended she returned to the south of England and spent her time living in Baker Street, London and became romantically linked with Hughie Green the Double Your Money television games show host in the 1960s.
Laverick died on 19 October 2017, at the age of 86.

Selected stage