Geraldine McEwan
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| Geraldine McEwan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Geraldine McKeown May 9, 1932 Old Windsor, Berkshire, England |
| Years active | 1946 - present |
Geraldine McEwan is a British actress (of Irish extraction) with a diverse and successful history in theatre, film and television, making her first appearance in 1946.
She was born Geraldine McKeown on 9 May 1932, in Old Windsor, Berkshire, England, daughter of Donald McKeown and his wife Nora (Burns). She was married to the former Principal of RADA, Hugh Cruttwell, who died in 2002.
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[edit] Life and work
McEwan attended Windsor County Girls' School and her extensive theatrical career began at 14 as assistant stage manager at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. She made her first appearance on the Windsor stage in October 1946, as an attendant of Hippolyta, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and played many parts with the Windsor Repertory Company from March 1949 to March 1951 including a role in the Ruth Gordon bio play Years Ago opposite guest player John Clark. She made her first West End appearance at the Vaudeville Theatre on 4 April 1951 as Christina Deed in Who Goes There! in which she made a marked success.[1]
Her career blossomed, with memorable performances in such award-winning productions as The Rivals, The Way of the World, and The Chairs. she also appeared, with Kenneth Williams in the largely disastrous original 1965 production of Loot by Joe Orton, which closed at the Wimbledon Theatre before reaching London.[2] She spent several seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1950s and early 1960s, where she played in many of the Shakespeare comedies; her roles included an innovative rendition of Olivia in Twelfth Night in 1958.
McEwan worked more than once with Sir Laurence Olivier on both stage and screen, most notably in The Dance of Death staged by Glen Byam Shaw for the National Theatre at the Old Vic in February 1967, one of Olivier's most unsparing and greatest performances.[3]
She made her directing debut in 1988 with the Renaissance Theatre Company's touring season, Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road, co-produced with the Birmingham Rep, and ending with a three month repertory programme at the Phoenix Theatre in London. McEwan's contribution was a light romantic staging of As You Like It, with Kenneth Branagh playing Touchstone as an Edwardian music hall comedian. In the same season Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi also made their debuts as directors.[4]
Her numerous television credits include the highly acclaimed The Barchester Chronicles with Alan Rickman, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Mulberry, and the immensely popular Mapp and Lucia. She was also in an episode of Red Dwarf, playing a computer that can predict the future. In 2002, she starred in Peter Mullan's The Magdalene Sisters, giving an unforgettable performance as Sister Bridget.
In 2004, McEwan was selected by Granada Television as the new face of Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple. An impressive critical response and high ratings worldwide for the four episodes transmitted in the UK, Canada and the U.S., secured a second series. McEwan retired from the role after filming the third series, and was replaced by Julia McKenzie.[5]
In 2005, she provided the voice of Miss Thripp in the film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
[edit] Awards
1983: London Evening Standard Award for Best Actress, for The Rivals
1991: BAFTA for Best Actress, for Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
1995: Evening Standard Best Actress Award for "The Way of the World"
1998: nominated: Tony Award -Best Actress "The Chairs"
[edit] Selected filmography
| Name | Year | Roles | Other titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Dance of Death | 1969 | Alice | |
| No Kidding | 1960 | Catherine Robinson | Beware of Children (U.S.) |
| There Was a Young Lady | 1953 | Irene | |
| The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones | 1976 | Lady Bellaston | |
| Escape from the Dark | 1976 | Miss Coutt | The Littlest Horse Thieves (U.S.) |
| The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie | 1978 | Jean Brodie | |
| Henry V | 1989 | Alice | |
| Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves | 1991 | Mortianna | |
| The Love Letter | 1999 | Constance Scattergoods | |
| The Magdalene Sisters | 2002 | Sister Bridget | |
| Vanity Fair | 2004 | Lady Southdown | |
| Carrie's War | 2004 | Mrs. Gotobed |
[edit] Playing "Miss Marple" in Marple ITV 2004-2007
| Name | Year |
|---|---|
| Miss Marple: The Body in the Library | 2004 |
| Miss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage | 2004 |
| Miss Marple: 4.50 from Paddington | 2004 |
| Miss Marple: A Murder Is Announced | 2005 |
| Miss Marple: Sleeping Murder | 2005 |
| Miss Marple: The Moving Finger | 2006 |
| Miss Marple: By the Pricking of My Thumbs | 2006 |
| Miss Marple: The Sittaford Mystery | 2006 |
| Miss Marple: Towards Zero | 2006 |
| Miss Marple: Nemesis | 2006 |
| Miss Marple: At Bertram's Hotel | 2007 |
| Miss Marple: Ordeal by Innocence | 2007 |
[edit] References
- ^ Who's Who in the Theatre, 17th edition, Gale (1982)
- ^ Prick Up Your Ears by John Lahr, Knopf (1978)
- ^ The National: The Theatre and Its Work 1963-1997 by Simon Callow, Nick Hern Books (1997)
- ^ London Theatre in the 20th Century by Robert Tanitch, Haus (2007)
- ^ Conlan, Tara. "McEwan retires from Marple role", Guardian Unlimited, Guardian News and Media, 2008-01-23. Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
