Joan Hickson; BBC Television’s Miss Marple

Joan Hickson, veteran British character actress who found international fame as a septuagenarian playing Agatha Christie’s detective Miss Marple on the BBC television series, has died. She was 92.

Hickson, who began her career on stage in 1927 and appeared in more than 100 films, died Saturday in Colchester, England, 55 miles northeast of London.

“Retirement is fatal,” the actress often said. “Luckily, in my profession you don’t have to retire.”

Her last appearance was in the 1992 film “Century,” set in 1900 in London.

Born in Kingsthorpe, Northampton, England, Hickson saw “Cinderella” at the age of 5 and settled upon becoming an actress. She learned her craft at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Considering herself not pretty enough for leading roles, she gravitated to character parts, demonstrating a versatility by playing titled ladies and maids equally well.

She made her debut in London’s West End in 1928, appearing in “The Tragic Muse,” and then joined the Oxford Repertory Company.

Her feature film debut came in 1937 with “Love From a Stranger.” She later appeared in the comedy film series “Carry On. . . ,” which was popular in American art houses.

Hickson began her work in television at the medium’s outset, appearing in the BBC mystery “Busman’s Honeymoon” in 1947. A decade later, she portrayed a receptionist in the drama series “The Royalty,” and in the mid-1960s, she played housekeeper to a vicar in the comedy series “Our Man at St. Mark’s.”

The actress earned critical praise for her role in the stage version of “A Day in the Death of Joe Egg,” which she reprised in the 1972 film of the same title.

Hickson made her Broadway debut in 1977 in “Bedroom Farce,” earning a Tony award.

But it was as Miss Marple that most audiences around the world remember her. The BBC mystery series was seen in 30 countries, including the United States, broadcast on PBS from 1986 to 1989. She later appeared in the role in movies seen on cable’s A&E; channel in the early 1990s.

Certainly not the first Miss Marple, Hickson hesitated when she was offered the role, considering herself too frail for the storied sleuth. A 40-year-old note from Christie, found by her daughter, inspired her. The author, after seeing Hickson in another of her plays in 1945, had written: “I hope you will play Miss Marple one day.”

Queen Elizabeth, a fan, granted Hickson the Order of the British Empire in 1987.

The widow of neurologist Eric Butler who died in 1967, Hickson is survived by their son and daughter.