In the final episode of the miniseries Nolly, we see Noele Gordon starring in the musical Gypsy, touring the Far East, making a triumphant cameo appearance on Crossroads, then falling ill. What did happened to Nolly next? We’re filling in more details on what all happened to this dynamic and seemingly tireless woman.
- 1.
Noele Gordon Returned to Theater
After three decades on TV, Nolly returned to stage musicals, starring first in a production of Gypsy. She told the British program What a Picture! that, “As soon as I knew I was leaving television I’d already been offered the part of Rose in Gypsy and … I just knew that if I was going to go back to theater, that I better go in at the deep end and start with something really difficult.”
For the next few years, “Gordon’s theatrical career went from strength to strength,” according to the 2012 ITV tribute documentary, The Unforgettable Noele Gordon. She appeared as Madame Dubonnet in The Boyfriend, a production that toured the Middle East in 1982. Gordon then reprised a role she’d had 30 years prior; that of Sally Adams in Irvin Berlin’s Call Me Madam. Though she’d received a devastating diagnosis of stomach cancer shortly beforehand, Gordon toured in a one-woman show about the life of composer Cosima Wagner in 1983. Her final acting performance was in 1984’s No, No, Nanette—a role she started six months after undergoing cancer treatment. Just three weeks into the run, she was rushed to the hospital and had to withdraw from the show.
- 2.
Nolly Remained Interested in TV Presenting
Gordon said in various chat show interviews that she’d be interested in returning to the role of TV host after her stage work ended. She maintained that a future position as breakfast television presenter was already being negotiated. Meanwhile, The Noele Gordon Archive notes she did occasionally guest-present features and reports for the news program ATV Today, made fundraising appeals on televised charity programs, and presented the winner of Best Single Drama at the 1983 British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards (BAFTAs).
- 3.
Gordon Returned for Two Crossroads Episodes
Nolly briefly returned to her soap Crossroads in August 1983 “when the program acknowledged that they needed her,” writes The Telegraph (UK). Across two consecutive episodes, her character has a chance meeting in Venice with her onscreen daughter. The morning after the first episode aired, Gordon told the British show TV-AM that “It did feel awfully strange going back to being Meg Mortimer after a couple of years. … One of the reasons I went back to the show, not the main one, is that people are quite convinced I’ve still been on the QE2 these past two years.”
By 1985, producers were sketching out her return to the soap. “The plan was to bring her back on an occasional basis, starting with a three month stint, reports Chronicle Live news (UK). Ultimately, Gordon was too ill to do so. Crossroads would bow out three years later.
- 4.
Noele Gordon Died in 1985
Gordon succumbed to complications from cancer, dying at her Birmingham home in April 1985—the same month she’d been due to reprise her role on Crossroads for a new producer.
She is buried next to her mother in St Mary’s Church in Ross-On-Wye near Hereford. The Noele Gordon Archive reports that at a public memorial held in May, “thousands of fans turned out and packed Birmingham Cathedral to say goodbye.” Interestingly, her headstone only gives the date of her death. It reads,”Noele Gordon – actress – who died 14th April 1985. In loving memory of dear Nolly who devoted her life to her career. Her personality and ability established her as a national figure in British entertainment and she is deeply missed by us all.”
