Goodnight, Lou...

Some wise bastard once wrote: "The first sign that you know you have a crush on someone is when you Google that person’s name." Well, I did google Lou Gish a long time ago. I thought she was hot as Jeff Murdoch's boss / GF in the BBC series Coupling. She was brilliant in the episode "Naked" especially in the end, when she did her striptease dance.

Lou Gish died 9 days ago, 20 February, of cancer - she was only 35, a couple of months younger than Delia (or 38, depending on who is reporting). I did not know much about her, I've only seen her in Coupling, she wasn't well-known in the US. Except for anglophiles like me, Lou was a virtual unknown.

Maybe because I identified with Jeff Murdoch - geeky, awkward, hapless, perpetually adolescent, socially inept, but inspite of himself, got the girl anyway - that I am saddened by Lou's death. As Julia Davis, she gave hope to millions of Jeff Murdoch's around the world, The German Shepherd included. (When he eventually lost Julia, Jeff made an emergency trip to the island of his dreams, Lesbos... Jeff, the HERO!)

But Lou wasn't just Julia Davis, she was so much more: she was an acclaimed stage actress and an accomplished artist. Fiona Laird wrote in The Independent: "It was while she was playing the title role in The Duchess of Malfi at Salisbury Playhouse in 2002 that Gish had a recurrence of the cancer that had first been diagnosed three years previously, and it is a testament to her talent and determination that she was able not only to produce a striking performance of real intelligence, depth and clarity, but also to deal with the considerable pain to which her illness was subjecting her.

I first met Lou Gish in 1994. I heard her laugh before I even saw her face. When I saw it, about five minutes later, I was struck not only by her beauty, but also by the joie de vivre she emanated. Her friendliness and charm were irresistible and within weeks we were friends for life.

One of her greatest gifts, aside from those as an actress and as a friend, was as artist. From her little doodles by the phone to her gorgeous charcoal life-drawings and her exquisite line drawings and watercolours, her skill was more than evident. In 2004 she had a small exhibition at a gallery in West Hampstead. She was better than a "part-timer"; this was someone with an undeniable gift.

Lou Gish was heroic in her long struggle with cancer. Although she would have it that she was only "doing what she had to do", to onlookers her bravery seemed extraordinary."

Now cracks a Noble heart:

Goodnight sweet Prince(ss)

And flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest...

RIP

Louise Curram (Lou Gish)

27 May 1970 - 20 February 2006

Keywords: Delia Gallagher