Ethel Coleridge
Ethel Coleridge | |
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| Born | Ethel Coleridge Tucker 14 January 1883 South Molton, Devonshire, England |
| Died | 15 August 1976 (aged 93) London, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
Ethel Coleridge (14 January 1883 – 15 August 1976) was an English actress, best known for her roles in the original Aldwych farces in the 1920s and 1930s.
Life and career[edit]
Coleridge was born Ethel Coleridge Tucker in South Molton, Devonshire, and educated at Bristol University. At the age of 22 she appeared onstage for the first time as a member of the chorus in Carmen.[1] Over the next fifteen years she acted in a wide range of touring companies, and finally made her West End debut in a cast led by Gladys Cooper, in a revival of My Lady's Dress by Edward Knoblock;[2] she played several roles in the piece, including Mrs Moss, "a stout, elderly, motherly type".[1] Following this she was cast as Nancy Sibley in a revival of Knoblock and Arnold Bennett's Milestones.[3] Over the next six years she played character roles in plays ranging from earnest drama to farce, and in 1926 she was recruited by Tom Walls for what became virtually a stock company at the Aldwych Theatre, led by Walls, Ralph Lynn and Robertson Hare, performing Aldwych farces.[1]
At the Aldwych between 1926 and 1931, Coleridge played Gertrude in Rookery Nook; Lady Benbow in Thark; Mrs Orlock in Plunder; Kate, the maid in A Cup of Kindness; Mrs Knee in A Night Like This; and Mona Flower in Turkey Time.[1][4] Established as a character actress, Coleridge continued to be cast in West End productions. Among her best-known roles was the bullying Clara Soppitt in J. B. Priestley's comedy, When We Are Married (1938).[5]
Coleridge continued to act during and after the Second World War, and later appeared on BBC radio and television. She acted in films in the 1930s and 1940s.[6]
Selected filmography[edit]
- Rookery Nook (1930)
- Plunder (1931)
- Laburnum Grove (1936)
- Lonely Road (1936)
- Keep Your Seats, Please (1936)
- Feather Your Nest (1937)
- Penny Paradise (1938)
- Second Best Bed (1938)
- When We Are Married (1943)
- Murder in Reverse? (1945)
- The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Miss Ethel Coleridge, The Times, 18 August 1976, p. 14
- ^ "My Lady's Dress", The Times, 5 April 1920, p. 6
- ^ "Milestones", The Times, 22 November 1920, p. 10
- ^ "Ethel Coleridge | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
- ^ "St Martin's Theatre", The Times, 12 October 1938, p. 12
- ^ "Ethel Coleridge". BFI. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018.
External links[edit]
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