Mrs. Mills

If one was fortunate enough to know Mrs. Mills (or 'Glad' as she was affectionately known) they were privileged to have had as a friend one of the most lovable people in the world. So much of show business is show - wearing a mask of comedy or tragedy and hiding one's real self, but Mrs. Mills was exactly the same in private life as the 'happy go lucky' image she presented so naturally to the vast audiences, be it television, radio, or in the theatre. She was a jolly, overweight hunk of humanity, a real person whose only aim in life was to make the world that she inhabited a happier place. She first came to the notice of the British public when she made her first record in December, 1961; this was an immediate hit, and Mrs. Mills, who was quite happily and securely working as a civil servant ("earning a little extra playing for dances on certain evenings") had to change the routine of her daily life and join show business, After that, she never looked back, appearing numerous times on television, contributing to hundreds of radio programmes, and playing every major theatre in the United Kingdom. She also appeared with tremendous success in Canada, South Africa, and Germany. Every LP she made was a best seller and her singles popular hits which were the party attractions in many homes. Her piano playing had the happy sound that was completely synonymous with her wonderful, cheerful personality. She was happily married to Bert Mills, and she and her husband lived with Glad's 'Little Mum' in Penn, Buckinghamshire. She passed away in February 1978 and the age of 55.