Geraldine McEwan
Encyclopedia
Geraldine McEwan is an English
actor
with a diverse history in theatre
, film
, and television
. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple
, the Agatha Christie
sleuth, for the series Marple
.
, Berkshire
, England
, the daughter of Donald McKeown and his wife, Nora (Burns). She was married to the former principal of RADA
, Hugh Cruttwell
, who died in 2002.
. 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 had a marked success.
Her career blossomed, with 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 original 1965 production of Loot
by Joe Orton
, which closed at the Wimbledon Theatre
before reaching London. She spent several seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company
in the late 1950s and early 1960s, playing in many of the Shakespeare comedies; her roles included a rendition of Olivia in Twelfth Night in 1958.
McEwan worked more than once with 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.
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.
She played Mortiana in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
.
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 Mapp and Lucia
. She was also in the Cassandra episode of Red Dwarf
, playing a prescient computer. In 2002, she starred in Peter Mullan
's The Magdalene Sisters
, giving a performance as Sister Bridget.
In 2004, Geraldine McEwan was selected by Granada Television
as the new face of Miss Marple
, the Agatha Christie
sleuth, for the series Marple
. McEwan announced her retirement from the role after filming the third series.
In 2005, she provided the voice of Miss. Thripp in the film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
and A Matter of Loaf and Death
.
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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
with a diverse history in theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
, the Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
sleuth, for the series Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
.
Background
She was born Geraldine McKeown on 9 May 1932 in Old WindsorOld Windsor
Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire.-Location:...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the daughter of Donald McKeown and his wife, Nora (Burns). She was married to the former principal of RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
, Hugh Cruttwell
Hugh Cruttwell
Hugh Percival Cruttwell was an influential teacher of drama and principal of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.-Biography:...
, who died in 2002.
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, WindsorTheatre Royal, Windsor
The Theatre Royal, Windsor is located in the town of Windsor, Berkshire, England, directly across the road from Windsor Castle.The present building was opened on 17 December 1910 after the previous theatre had burned down on 18 February 1908, under the ownership of Sir William Shipley.With the...
. She made her first appearance on the Windsor stage in October 1946 as an attendant of Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
and played many parts with the Windsor Repertory Company from March 1949 to March 1951, including a role in the Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon Jones , better known as Ruth Gordon, was an American actress and writer. She was perhaps best known for her film roles such as Minnie Castevet, Rosemary's overly solicitous neighbor in Rosemary's Baby, as the eccentric Maude in Harold and Maude and as the mother of Orville Boggs in the...
bio play Years Ago opposite guest player John Clark
John Clark (actor/director)
Ivan John Clark is an English actor, director, producer, and writer with British, American and Canadian citizenship. He is also known as the ex-husband of actress Lynn Redgrave, to whom he was married for 33 years.-Early career:...
. She made her first West End appearance at the Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
on 4 April 1951 as Christina Deed in Who Goes There!, in which she had a marked success.
Her career blossomed, with performances in such award-winning productions as The Rivals
The Rivals
The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.- Production :...
, The Way of the World
The Way of the World
The Way of the World is a play written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London...
, and The Chairs. She also appeared with Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
in the original 1965 production of Loot
Loot (play)
Loot is a two-act play by the English playwright Joe Orton. The play is a dark farce that satirises the Roman Catholic Church, social attitudes to death, and the integrity of the police force....
by Joe Orton
Joe Orton
John Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
, which closed at the Wimbledon Theatre
New Wimbledon Theatre
The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Grade II listed Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J B Mullholland. Built on the site of a large house with spacious grounds the theatre was designed by...
before reaching London. She spent several seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
in the late 1950s and early 1960s, playing in many of the Shakespeare comedies; her roles included a rendition of Olivia in Twelfth Night in 1958.
McEwan worked more than once with Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
on both stage and screen, most notably in The Dance of Death staged by Glen Byam Shaw
Glen Byam Shaw
Glen Byam Shaw was an English actor and theatre director, known for his dramatic productions in the 1950s and his operatic productions in the 1960s and later....
for the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
in February 1967.
She made her directing debut in 1988 with the Renaissance Theatre Company
Renaissance Theatre Company
The Renaissance Theatre Company was founded in 1987 by Kenneth Branagh and David Parfitt as a development of the work they had been doing periodically on the London 'Fringe', producing and appearing in lunchtime shows, leading up to Branagh's full-scale production of Romeo and Juliet, at the Lyric...
'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
Phoenix Theatre (London)
The Phoenix Theatre is a West End theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located on Charing Cross Road . The entrance is in Phoenix Street....
in London. McEwan's contribution was a light romantic staging of As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, with Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
playing Touchstone as an Edwardian music hall comedian. In the same season Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
and Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
also made their debuts as directors.
She played Mortiana in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. Kevin Costner heads the cast list as Robin Hood...
.
Her numerous television credits include the highly acclaimed The Barchester Chronicles
The Barchester Chronicles
The Barchester Chronicles is a 1982 British television serial produced by the BBC. It is an adaptation of Anthony Trollope's first two Barchester novels, The Warden and Barchester Towers, and was directed by David Giles...
with Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (TV serial)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit was a critically acclaimed 1990 BBC television drama, directed by Beeban Kidron. Jeanette Winterson wrote the screenplay, adapting her semi-autobiographical first novel of the same name . The BBC produced and screened three episodes, running to a total of 2 hours and...
, Mulberry
Mulberry (TV series)
Mulberry was a fantasy situation comedy airing on BBC One in the early 1990s.The creative team behind the programme included writers John Esmonde and Bob Larbey....
, and Mapp and Lucia
Mapp and Lucia
Mapp and Lucia is a collective name for a series of novels by E. F. Benson, and is also the name of a television series based on those novels.-The novels:...
. She was also in the Cassandra episode of Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
, playing a prescient computer. In 2002, she starred in Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...
's The Magdalene Sisters
The Magdalene Sisters
The Magdalene Sisters is a 2002 film written and directed by Peter Mullan about teenage girls who were sent to Magdalene Asylums, otherwise known as the 'Magdalene Laundries': homes for women who were labeled as "fallen" by their families or society...
, giving a performance as Sister Bridget.
In 2004, Geraldine McEwan was selected by Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
as the new face of Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
, the Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
sleuth, for the series Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
. McEwan announced her retirement from the role after filming the third series.
In 2005, she provided the voice of Miss. Thripp in the film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 British clay-mation animated comedy horror film, the first feature-length Wallace and Gromit film. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations, and released by DreamWorksPictures...
and A Matter of Loaf and Death
A Matter of Loaf and Death
A Matter of Loaf and Death is an animated television short created by Nick Park, and the fourth of his shorts to star his characters Wallace and Gromit...
.
Honours
Geraldine McEwan declined the OBE and later declined to be made a Dame.Awards
1983: London Evening Standard Award for Best Actress, for The RivalsThe Rivals
The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.- Production :...
1991: BAFTA for Best Actress, for Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (TV serial)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit was a critically acclaimed 1990 BBC television drama, directed by Beeban Kidron. Jeanette Winterson wrote the screenplay, adapting her semi-autobiographical first novel of the same name . The BBC produced and screened three episodes, running to a total of 2 hours and...
1995: Evening Standard Best Actress Award for The Way of the World
The Way of the World
The Way of the World is a play written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London...
1998: Nominated: Tony Award Best Actress The Chairs
Selected filmography
| Name | Year | Roles | Other titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| There Was a Young Lady | 1953 | Irene | |
| No Kidding No Kidding (film) No Kidding is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas featuring Leslie Phillips, Geraldine McEwan and Irene Handl, Noel Purcell and Julia Lockwood. The film is adapted from Verily Andersons novel Beware of Children.-Plot:... |
1960 | Catherine Robinson | Beware of Children (U.S.) |
| The Dance of Death | 1969 | Alice | |
| 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 ( tv series) | 1978 | Jean Brodie | |
| Foreign Body Foreign body A foreign body is any object originating outside the body. In machinery, it can mean any unwanted intruding object.Most references to foreign bodies involve propulsion through natural orifices into hollow organs.... |
1986 | Lady Ammanford | |
| Henry V Henry V (1989 film) Henry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. Branagh stars in the title role, and wrote the screenplay. The film was highly acclaimed on its release.... |
1989 | Alice | |
| Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. Kevin Costner heads the cast list as Robin Hood... |
1991 | Mortianna | |
| The Love Letter | 1999 | Constance Scattergoods | |
| Food of Love Food of Love Food of Love is a 2002 Spanish/German film based on the 1998 novel The Page Turner by David Leavitt. The screenplay was written by Ventura Pons who also directed the feature.... |
2000 | Novotna | |
| The Magdalene Sisters The Magdalene Sisters The Magdalene Sisters is a 2002 film written and directed by Peter Mullan about teenage girls who were sent to Magdalene Asylums, otherwise known as the 'Magdalene Laundries': homes for women who were labeled as "fallen" by their families or society... |
2002 | Sister Bridget | |
| Vanity Fair Vanity Fair (2004 film) Vanity Fair is a 2004 British-American costume drama film directed by Mira Nair and adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name... |
2004 | Lady Southdown | |
| The Lazarus Child The Lazarus Child The Lazarus Child is a 2004 American drama film directed by Graham Theakston. It was filmed in Canada and the United Kingdom. Entitled The Last Door in Canada.-Plot:... |
2004 | Janet | |
| Carrie's War Carrie's War Carrie's War is a 1973 children's novel by Nina Bawden, set during the Second World War and following two evacuees, Carrie and her younger brother Nick. It is a common fixture in secondary schools.-Plot:... |
2004 | Mrs. Gotobed | |
| Arrietty | 2011 | Haru {voice} |
Playing Miss Marple in Marple, ITV, 2004-2008
| Name | Year |
|---|---|
| Marple: The Body in the Library | 2004 |
| Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage | 2004 |
| Marple: 4.50 from Paddington | 2004 |
| Marple: A Murder Is Announced | 2005 |
| Marple: Sleeping Murder | 2005 |
| Marple: The Moving Finger | 2006 |
| Marple: By the Pricking of My Thumbs | 2006 |
| Marple: The Sittaford Mystery | 2006 |
| Marple: At Bertram's Hotel | 2007 |
| Marple: Ordeal by Innocence | 2007 |
| Marple: Towards Zero | 2008 |
| Marple: Nemesis | 2008 |