Mary Bessie Brough was an English actress in theatre, silent films and early talkies, including several Aldwych farces.

Mary was born in London, the daughter of Lionel Brough

Lionel Brough

Lionel Brough was a British actor and comedian. After beginning a journalistic career and performing as an amateur, he became a professional actor, performing mostly in Liverpool during the mid-1860s...

, newspaper seller and actor, who started her stage career at Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 and London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. In middle-age she appeared in more than 60 films, both silent and talkies, where she was best known for her comic characterisations, playing fearsome Cockney

Cockney

The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...

 women in farces. Films included her debut Beauty and the Barge

Beauty and the Barge (1914 film)

Beauty and the Barge is a 1914 British silent comedy film directed by Harold M. Shaw and starring Cyril Maude, Lillian Logan and Gregory Scott. It is an adaptation of the 1905 play Beauty and the Barge by W.W. Jacobs.-Cast:...

, also: A Sister to Assist 'Er (silent version), His Grace Gives Notice

His Grace Gives Notice

His Grace Gives Notice is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and based on the novel His Grace Gives Notice by Lady Laura Troubridge which had previously been adapted into a 1924 film...

, Rookery Nook and Tons of Money.

She died in 1934 in London and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery

West Norwood Cemetery

West Norwood Cemetery is a cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and...

 with her father.

Selected filmography

• Lawyer Quince
  Lawyer Quince (1914 film)
  Lawyer Quince is a 1914 British silent comedy film directed by Harold M. Shaw and starring Charles Rock, Lillian Logan and Gregory Scott. It was made by the London Film Company based on a short story by W. W. Jacobs.-Cast:* Charles Rock - Lawyer Quince...
  
  (1914)
• The Law Divine
  The Law Divine
  The Law Divine is a 1920 silent British crime film directed by H. B. Parkinson and Challis Sanderson. The film is considered to be lost.- Cast :* H. V. Esmond as Captain Jack le Bras* Eva Moore as Edie le Bas* Evelyn Brent as Daphne Grey...
  
  (1920)
• John Forrest Finds Himself
  John Forrest Finds Himself
  John Forrest Finds Himself is a 1920 British silent romance film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Edwards, Chrissie White and Gerald Ames.-Cast:* Henry Edwards - John Forrest* Chrissie White - Joan Grey* Gerald Ames - Ezra Blott...
  
  (1920)
• The Amazing Quest of Mr. Ernest Bliss
  The Amazing Quest of Mr. Ernest Bliss
  The Amazing Quest of Mr. Ernest Bliss is a 1920 British silent comedy film directed by and starring Henry Edwards. As of August 2010, the film is missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" lost films...
  
  (1920)
• Demos
  Demos (film)
  Demos is a 1921 silent British drama film directed by Denison Clift. The film is considered to be lost.- Cast :* Milton Rosmer as Richard Mortimer* Evelyn Brent as Emma Vine* Warwick Ward as Willis Rodman* Bettina Campbell as Adela Waltham...
  
  (1921)
• The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick
  The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick
  The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick is a 1921 British silent comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley based on the novel The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens...
  
  (1921)
• Squibs Wins the Calcutta Sweep
  Squibs Wins the Calcutta Sweep
  Squibs Wins the Calcutta Sweep is a 1922 British silent comedy film directed by George Pearson and starring Betty Balfour, Fred Groves and Hugh E. Wright. Squibs wins a large sum of money on a horse race. It was the sequel to the 1921 film Squibs....
  
  (1922)
• A Sister to Assist 'Er
  A Sister to Assist 'Er (1922 film)
  A Sister to Assist 'Er is a 1922 British silent comedy film directed by George Dewhurst and starring Mary Brough, Polly Emery and Muriel Aked. It was based on the play A Sister to Assist 'Er by John le Breton.-Cast:* Mary Brough ... Mrs. Millie May...
  
  (1922)
• The School for Scandal
  The School for Scandal (1923 film)
  The School for Scandal is a 1923 British silent comedy film directed by Bertram Phillips and starring Queenie Thomas, Frank Stanmore and Basil Rathbone...
  
  (1923)
• Lily of the Alley
  Lily of the Alley
  Lily of the Alley is a 1924 British silent film drama directed by Henry Edwards, who also starred in the film with his wife Chrissie White...
  
  (1924)
• Safety First
  Safety First
  Safety First is a 1926 British silent comedy film directed by Fred Paul and starring Brian Aherne, Queenie Thomas and Mary Brough. It was based on a novel by Margot Neville.-Cast:* Brian Aherne - Hippocrates Rayne* Queenie Thomas - Nanda Macdonald...
  
  (1926)
• Dawn (1928)
• Tons of Money (1930)
• Plunder
  Plunder (1931 film)
  Plunder is a British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls. It also features Ralph Lynn, Winifred Shotter and Robertson Hare...
  
  (1931)

External links

• Mary Brough picture card