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Ariana Baio
Apr 04, 2022
'I'm a very big fan': Lady Gaga meets June Brown on The ...
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Actress June Brown, known for her role as Dot Cotton in British soap opera EastEnders, has died at the age of 95, and tributes from news outlets and fans are honoring the late actress's legacy.
Brown was known for her feisty personality and attitude toward life - but there's one aspect of her back story that had social media doing a double-take on Monday.
Despite the actress's successful career, she never wanted to be in film or television. As a child, Brown wanted to be an osteopath and often experimented with dissection to fuel her love for medicine.
"There was nothing June Brown liked better than putting a rabbit in a biscuit tin, gassing it, and then cutting it up," a tribute from The Timesreported.
“Nowadays people would scream in horror at the thought,” she was quoted as once saying, “but we were not sentimental about field animals. I loved dissection."
On Twitter, unsurprisingly, jaws dropped:
Has anyone ever been cancelled within hours of dying as fast as June brown and that rabbit?— disco in furlough (@disco in furlough) 1649092931
finding out June Brown used to kill rabbits certainly wasn't on my 2022 bingo cardhttps://twitter.com/thetimes/status/1510998654940815362\u00a0\u2026— Kieran (@Kieran) 1649096007
Between June Brown gassing rabbits as a youth and this, go home internet, you\u2019re drunk.https://twitter.com/skynews/status/1510929103859372037\u00a0\u2026— Permanently Annoyed Celt \u3013\u3013 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Permanently Annoyed Celt \u3013\u3013 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1649096308
pov: you\u2019re a rabbit trapped in june brown\u2019s biscuit tin xpic.twitter.com/Nhu6Dq6w8Q— David Chipakupaku \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddff\ud83c\uddf2 (@David Chipakupaku \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddff\ud83c\uddf2) 1649096561
Not many people know that June Brown was a successful singer back in the day.\n\nMy old Dad had one of her albums. Gassing Rabbits in a Biscuit Tin, I think it was called.— Ben Affleck\u2019s Existential Fag Break (@Ben Affleck\u2019s Existential Fag Break) 1649094412
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Through interviews, it's clear Brown's attitude towards life was admired by many, including Lady Gaga who once appeared on the Graham Norton Show alongside Brown.
On social media, fans shared their experience with Brown, attesting to her funny personality.
When I was a kid I wrote to June Brown saying I wanted to be an actor. A signed postcard came back from Elstree with the words \u2018Don\u2019t do it\u2019 written on it. We\u2019ve lost one of the greats. RIP June Brown.pic.twitter.com/6q6GmarYlo— Danny Lee Wynter (@Danny Lee Wynter) 1649075716
As a kid, gutted that EastEnders didn't do set tours, I sent #JuneBrown a disposable camera & asked if she could snap some set pics for me instead - the kindnesses of her heart she took time out to snap these for me. What a legend #RIPJuneBrown #EastEnderspic.twitter.com/mm8MuumwUq— Shaun (@Shaun) 1649092452
Brown's family announced her passing in a statement posted to BBC EastEnders Twitter page.
"We are deeply saddened to announce our beloved mother, June, passed away very peacefully at her home in Surrey on Sunday evening, with her family by her side. We would kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this very difficult time"
The anecdotes are a testament to Brown's beloved personality which will continue to live on through her work.
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