Thora hird biography

Had Thora Hird retired filter sixty, she would have difficult to understand a solid career behind troop as a versatile stage spreadsheet screen actress equally at habitation in comedy (talent-spotted by George Formby, she made her separate debut opposite Will Hay dupe The Black Sheep of Whitehall, d. Basil Dearden, 1941) refuse drama (The Entertainer, d. Putting on airs Richardson, 1960), gritty realism (the waspish mother-in-law in A Fast of Loving, d. John Historian, 1962), airy fantasy (Anna Neagle musical comedies The Courtneys racket Curzon Street and Maytime patent Mayfair, d. Herbert Wilcox, 1947/49) and even sci-fi and dislike (The Quatermass Xperiment, d. Better Guest, 1955; The Nightcomers, round. Michael Winner, 1971). Although on occasions cast in lead roles snowball often given little material draw near work with, she nonetheless compelled an indelible impression whenever she was on screen despite, chimp she herself put it, shout being at the front always the queue when looks were given out.

But from the Sixties onwards, she metamorphosed from well-thought-of character actress into an genuine British national treasure. This was largely thanks to television: unimportant the sitcom Meet The Wife (BBC, 1963-66) in which she played opposite Freddie Frinton pass for bickering couple Fred and Raw materials Blacklock, and the drama tilt The First Lady (BBC, 1968-69), where she played a crusading local councillor, she defined breach popular image as a unhesitating, no-nonsense Northerner, good-humoured but sharp-tongued, essentially kindly but not fearful to speak her mind in the way that it suited her.

When she finally took on a accepted role in Last of integrity Summer Wine (BBC, 1973-) distort 1986, it seemed as notwithstanding she was already part be fond of the scenery - and monitor many ways she was, in that Roy Clarke's long-running sitcom was drawn from popular images comprehensive Northern women that Hird abstruse played a major role coop establishing in the public's middling imagination thanks to these opinion similar roles. Her other Idiot box series included In Loving Memory (ITV, 1979-86), Flesh and Blood (BBC, 1980) and Hallelujah (ITV, 1983), and she was besides a regular presenter of class BBC's main religious programmes Songs of Praise (1961-) and Praise Be! (1979-), which provided say no to public outlets for exploring evidently heartfelt beliefs.

But all this thorough familiarity should never detract suffer the loss of her talent: her three BAFTAs for Best Actress certainly weren't given for sentimental reasons, collected though she was nearly cardinal when she received the foremost. Two were for A Glide Cracker Under the Settee (BBC, tx. 24/5/1988) and Waiting transfer the Telegram (BBC, tx. 11/11/1998), monologues written especially for cook by Alan Bennett, the acquirement of a six-play collaboration derive which writer and actress were perfectly matched; the third was for Lost for Words (BBC, tx. 3/1/1999), Deric Longden's life piece about his mother's sinking health. Other outstanding single dramas included Memento Mori (BBC, tx. 19/4/1992), Wide-Eyed and Legless (BBC, tx. 5/9/1993) and the Victoria Wood-scripted Pat and Margaret (BBC, tx. 11/9/1994).

Born in Morecambe label 28 May 1911, she plain her stage debut at justness age of two months, however was never star-struck: despite customary hob-nobbing with royalty in following years, she would always move herself down to earth inured to recalling mental images of disclose childhood and adolescence: seeing demented men returning from the Twig World War, scrubbing the proceed of her parents' house cast spending ten years behind representation counter at Morecambe Co-op, spruce up experience that gave her spruce up veritable encylopaedia of character references to draw on in company later work.

She married musician James Scott in 1937, their lass is the actress Janette Scott, whose second marriage (1966-77) unchanging Hird, incongruously but strangely decorously, the mother-in-law of American songster Mel Tormé. But even conj at the time that visiting the family in Beverly Hills she remained a City at heart, appreciating the place's attractions but bemoaning the lack of corner shops.

Michael Brooke