Dame.Margaret Rutherford
(1892 - 1972)So many superlatives come to mind in describing Margaret Rutherford... delightful, sweet, grandmotherly, huggable, charming, endearing and so on. She was born May 11, 1892 in Balham, London, England the only child of William Benn and Florence Rutherford. Her father murdered her grandfather just before she was born and because of this tragedy she was christened with her mother's surname. Her mother died when she was 3 and she was then raised by two aunts who had a passion for the theatre and staged children's plays. Margaret made her acting debut at an early age but wouldn't return until she reached middle age. She first taught speech and piano and later studied drama at the Old Vic. She made her film debut in the 1930s. Her troll-like face was an asset in her portrayal of eccentric characters. Her best know films were Agatha Christie's Miss Marple series. Among her other film credits were: "Dusty Ermine" (1936) as Evelyn Summers aka Miss Butterby, her film debut; "Troubled Waters" (1936); "Missing, Believed Married" (1937) as Lady Parke; "Beauty and the Barge" (1937) as Mrs. Baldwin; "Big Fella" (137) as Nanny; "Catch As Catch Can" (1937) as Maggie Carberry; "Talk of the Devil" (1937) as Housekeeper; "Have You Brought Your Music" (1938); "Spring Meeting" (1941) as Aunt Bijou; "Quiet Wedding" (1941) as Magistrate; "The Yellow Canary" (1943) as Mrs. Towcester; "The Demi-Paradise" (1943) as Rowena Ventnor; "English Without Tears" (1944) as Lady Christabel Beauclerk; "Blithe Spirit" (1946) as Madame Arcati; "Meet Me At Dawn" (1947) as Madame Vernorel; "Miranda" (1948) as Nurse Carey; "Her Favorite Husband" (1949) as Mrs. Dotherington; "Passport to Pimlico" (1949) as Prof. Hatton-Jones; "The Happiest Days of Your Life" (1950) as Muriel Whitchurch; "The Magic Box" (1951) as Lady Pond; "Innocents in Paris" (1952) as Gladys Inglott; "Miss Robin Hood" (1952) as Miss Honey; "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1952) as Miss Letitia Prism; "Castle in the Air" (1952) as Miss Nicholson; "Trouble in Store" (1953) as Miss Bacon; "Curtain Up" (1953) as Catherine Beckwith/Jeremy St. Clair; "Mad About Men" (1954) as Nurse Carey; "The Runaway Bus" (1954) as Miss Cynthia Beeston; "Aunt Clara" (1954) as Clara Hilton; "An Alligator Named Daisy" (1955) as Prudence Croquet; "Just My Luck" (1957) as Mrs. Dooley; "The Smallest Show on Earth" (1957) as Mrs. Fazackalee; "I'm All Right Jack" (1959) as Aunt Dolly; "Murder She Said" (1961) as Miss Marple; "On the Double" (1961) as Lady Vivian; "The V.I.P.'s" (1963) as the Duchess of Brighton, for which she won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actress in 1963; "The Mouse on the Moon" (1963) as Grand Duchess Gloriana XIII: "Murder Ahoy" (1964) as Miss Jane Marple; "Murder Most Foul" (1964) as Miss Jane Marple; "Chimes at Midnight" (1965) as Mistress Quickly; "The Alphabet Murders" (1965) as Miss Marple; "Arabella" (1967) as Princess Ilaria and "A Countess from Hong Kong" (1967) as Miss Gaulswallow, her last film. She was married to actor Stringer Davis, who appeared in the Miss Marple films with her, from 1945 through to her death in 1972. She was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 1961 and proclaimed a Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth in 1967. Agatha Christie honored her by dedicating her novel "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" to her in 1963. She died of pneumonia on May 22, 1972 at Chalfont St. Peter, Buckinghamshire, England at the age of 80.
From Great Character Actors, Page 2.
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