Molly Weir
Encyclopedia
Mary Weir, better known as Molly Weir, (17 March 1910 - 28 November 2004) was a Scottish
stage actress, most notable for her role as the long-running (1977–1984) character Hazel the McWitch in the BBC
TV series Rentaghost
. She was the sister of naturalist and broadcaster Tom Weir
.
Born in Glasgow
and brought up in the Springburn
area of the city, Weir began in amateur dramatics. In her early professional career, Weir had been a well-known radio
actress, featuring in many comedy
shows, such as ITMA
. She made her film debut in 1949, and had a regular role as the housekeeper, Aggie McDonald, in the early television sitcom, Life With The Lyons
. During the 1970s and early 1980s she became famous as a writer, with several volumes of best-selling memoirs, notably, Shoes Were For Sunday. She also appeared in a series of television
advertisements for Flash the household cleaning agent. In 1969 she appeared in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
starring Dame Maggie Smith. With Helena Gloag she played the Kerr sisters, the sewing mistresses of Marcia Blaine School for Girls. In 1970 Weir and Gloag repraised their collaboration in Scrooge playing old sisters in debt to Mr Scrooge, played by Albert Finney
.
In the 1970s she was one of the presenters of Teatime Tales, a television series broadcast by STV in which she recalled her childhood. The series also featured Lavinia Derwent
and Cliff Hanley
. In the 1980s, she lampooned this homely image in the comedy series Victoria Wood As Seen On TV
and appeared in a pop video for the Bluebells 1983 hit Young At Heart.
The song "Molly's Lips
" by The Vaselines
(famously covered by Nirvana
) was inspired by Weir, presumably because her Rentaghost character Hazel McWitch typically appeared in whiteface with emphatic red lips.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
stage actress, most notable for her role as the long-running (1977–1984) character Hazel the McWitch in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV series Rentaghost
Rentaghost
Rentaghost is a British children's television comedy show, broadcast by the BBC between 6 January 1976 and 6 November 1984. The show's plot centred on the antics of a number of ghosts who worked for a firm called Rentaghost, which rented out the ghosts for various tasks.-Background:The company,...
. She was the sister of naturalist and broadcaster Tom Weir
Tom Weir
Thomas Weir MBE, better known as Tom was a Scottish climber, author and broadcaster. He was best known for his long-running television series Weir's Way and his trademark woolly bunnet.-Early life and career:...
.
Born in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and brought up in the Springburn
Springburn
Springburn is an inner city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, home to various working and middle-class households.Springburn developed from a small rural hamlet at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Its industrial expansion began with the establishment of a chemical...
area of the city, Weir began in amateur dramatics. In her early professional career, Weir had been a well-known radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
actress, featuring in many comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
shows, such as ITMA
It's That Man Again
It's That Man Again was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran from 1939 to 1949. The title was a contemporary phrase referring to ever more frequent news-stories about Hitler in the lead-up to World War II, and specifically a headline in the Daily Express written by Bert Gunn...
. She made her film debut in 1949, and had a regular role as the housekeeper, Aggie McDonald, in the early television sitcom, Life With The Lyons
Life With The Lyons
Life with The Lyons was a British radio and television domestic sitcom dating from the 1950s .-Overview:Life with The Lyons was unusual in that it featured a real-life American family...
. During the 1970s and early 1980s she became famous as a writer, with several volumes of best-selling memoirs, notably, Shoes Were For Sunday. She also appeared in a series of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
advertisements for Flash the household cleaning agent. In 1969 she appeared in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (film)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a 1969 drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Muriel Spark.The novel was turned into a play by Jay Presson Allen, which opened on Broadway in 1968, with Zoe Caldwell in the title role, a performance for which she won a Tony Award...
starring Dame Maggie Smith. With Helena Gloag she played the Kerr sisters, the sewing mistresses of Marcia Blaine School for Girls. In 1970 Weir and Gloag repraised their collaboration in Scrooge playing old sisters in debt to Mr Scrooge, played by Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
.
In the 1970s she was one of the presenters of Teatime Tales, a television series broadcast by STV in which she recalled her childhood. The series also featured Lavinia Derwent
Lavinia Derwent
Lavinia Derwent was the pen name of Scottish author and broadcaster Elizabeth Dodd MBE .She was born in an isolated farmhouse in the Cheviot hills some seven miles from Jedburgh. She began making up stories about animals at an early age. Her most famous creation was "Tammy Troot" who entranced...
and Cliff Hanley
Cliff Hanley
Clifford Leonard Clark Hanley was a journalist, novelist, playwright and broadcaster from Glasgow in Scotland...
. In the 1980s, she lampooned this homely image in the comedy series Victoria Wood As Seen On TV
Victoria Wood As Seen On TV
Victoria Wood As Seen On TV was a British comedy sketch series starring comedienne Victoria Wood, with Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge...
and appeared in a pop video for the Bluebells 1983 hit Young At Heart.
The song "Molly's Lips
Candy/Molly's Lips
"Candy"/"Molly's Lips" is a vinyl-only split-single from the American rock bands The Fluid and Nirvana. It was released in January 1991 on Sub Pop records and includes the live versions of "Candy" by The Fluid, and "Molly's Lips" by Nirvana....
" by The Vaselines
The Vaselines
The Vaselines are an alternative rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 1986, the band was originally a duo between its songwriters Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, but later added James Seenan and Eugene's brother Charlie Kelly on bass and drums respectively from the band Secession. McKee had...
(famously covered by Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
) was inspired by Weir, presumably because her Rentaghost character Hazel McWitch typically appeared in whiteface with emphatic red lips.
Books
- Shoes Were For Sunday - Originally published: London : Hutchinson, 1970
- Best Foot Forward - Originally published: London : Hutchinson, 1972
- A Toe On The Ladder - Originally published: London : Hutchinson, 1973
- Stepping into the Spotlight - Originally published: London : Hutchinson, 1975
- Walking into the Lyon's Den - Originally published: London : Hutchinson, 1977
- One Small Footprint - Originally published: London : Hutchinson, 1980
- Spinning Like a Peerie - Originally published: Edinburgh : Wright, 1983