Johnnie Mortimer partnership with Brian Cooke. A version of "Man about the House" later transferred to America under the name "Three's Company". The partnership also wrote two plays, the first a theatrical version of "George and Mildred" (later renamed "When the Cat's Away" after the death of actress Yootha Joyce who played Mildred). The second was "Situation Comedy", and featured two TV situation comedy writers struggling to come up with an idea for a new series (in the end they write a stage play instead). Johnnie Mortimer John Mortimer, born in Clare, Suffolk, (2 July 1931 – 2 September 1992) professionally Johnnie
Yootha Joyce her own success, and dreaded the thought of being typecast as Mildred Roper. She appeared posthumously in her last recorded television performance, duetting with Max Bygraves on his variety show "Max". The episode was aired on 14 January 1981. The actor/comedian Kenneth Williams wrote of the performance that "...she looked as though she was crying..." He also went on to mention her in a later entry in his diary (9 April 1988) that she was "a lady who made so many people happy and a lady who never complained". In 1986 the Smiths used an image of Joyce on the