Ms. Syms appeared in notable British dramas such as “Victim” and “Ice Cold in Alex.”
In Britain, “Victim” was a modest box office success, but it became a reference point for public and political debate over anti-gay laws. In one scene in the film, a police officer reminds a colleague that “there was a time” when it was against the law to be a Puritan in Britain.The film’s influence was widely credited with helping build support for Britain’s Sexual Offenses Act of 1967 that decriminalized same-sex relationships.
Ms. Syms played the wife who gradually comes to terms with her husband’s sexuality as he investigates a blackmail plot against him.as the husband, was among the first major English-language films in wide release to deal openly with gay issues at a time when many countries, including Britain and the United States, outlawed same-sex relations. in the New York Times described the noir-style “Victim” as “rather shoddily constructed” but hailed its courage.
Ms. Syms took pride, however, in being seen as an actress willing to give any role a try. She was a sultry chorus girl in the beatnik-era musical “Expresso Bongo” starring rock singer Cliff Richard, played part of a love triangle in the romantic drama “The World of Suzie Wong” and, until 2010, had a recurring part as a dressmaker in the BBC series “Eastenders.” In 1991, she portrayed former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in “Thatcher: The Final Days.
Sylvia May Laura Syms was born June 1, 1934, in London, where her father was a trade union leader and passed along to her a lifelong loyalty to the Labour Party and the rights of workers.As a child, Ms. Syms and her siblings were evacuated from London during the German airstrikes in World War II. Her mother stayed behind in the city as an auxiliary nurse and suffered a head injury during a bombing raid. She died in 1946, leaving Ms.
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