She bore a startling resemblance to Elizabeth II. In “The Naked Gun” and other movies, and in comedy sketches on TV, she wore the crown lightly.
Jeannette Charles, who transformed a portrait rejected by a royal art show into a career as a Queen Elizabeth II look-alike in movies and on television, died on Tuesday in Great Baddow, England. She was 96 — the same age as the monarch when she died two years ago.
“Mum was a real character and a force of nature,” her daughter, Carol Christophi, said in announcing Mrs. Charles’s death, in a hospice. “She had an amazing life.”
Mrs. Charles first acted in small repertory roles in regional theater. But her uncanny resemblance to the queen distracted audiences, who giggled and guffawed when she appeared onstage.
That led to her playing the queen professionally — and for laughs — launching her on a career that lasted decades (until she retired in 2014 because of arthritis), if not quite as long as Elizabeth’s.
She played the queen in films like “The Naked Gun,” “National Lampoon’s European Vacation” and “Austin Powers in Goldmember.” She appeared in character everywhere from an episode of “Saturday Night Live” to supermarket openings.
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Source: Movies - nytimes.com
