Renee Houston
Encyclopedia
Renée Houston was a Scottish
comedy actor
and revue
artist who appeared in television and film roles.
Born in Johnstone
, Renfrewshire
, as Katherina Houston Gibbin, she toured music halls and revue with her sister Billie Houston as the Houston Sisters.
In 1926, the sisters made a short musical film, the script of which Reneé had written. It was produced by Lee de Forest
, whose process, Phonofilm
, enabled a soundtrack to be played alongside the film (a year before The Jazz Singer
).
Houston married three times, the second was to Patrick Ahearne, the brother of Brian Aherne
. Her third husband was the actor Donald Stewart.
In her later years she specialised in battleaxe roles, notably as shop steward Vic Spanner's (Kenneth Cope
) formidable mother in Carry On At Your Convenience
(1971). She published her autobiography in 1974 which was entitled Don't Fence Me In.
Houston was also in the early episodes of radio's The Clitheroe Kid
and a regular guest on radio panel show 'The Petticoat Line' chaired by Anona Winn.
She died in London
at the age of 77 on 9 February 1980.
Television
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
comedy 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...
and revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
artist who appeared in television and film roles.
Born in Johnstone
Johnstone
Johnstone is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire and larger historic county of the same name in the west central Lowlands of Scotland.The town lies three miles west of neighbouring Paisley and twelve miles west of the centre of the city of Glasgow...
, Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
, as Katherina Houston Gibbin, she toured music halls and revue with her sister Billie Houston as the Houston Sisters.
In 1926, the sisters made a short musical film, the script of which Reneé had written. It was produced by Lee de Forest
Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. De Forest invented the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes relatively weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age", as the Audion helped to usher in the widespread use...
, whose process, Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
, enabled a soundtrack to be played alongside the film (a year before The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
).
Houston married three times, the second was to Patrick Ahearne, the brother of Brian Aherne
Brian Aherne
Brian Aherne was a British actor of both stage and screen, who found success in Hollywood.-Early life and stage career:...
. Her third husband was the actor Donald Stewart.
In her later years she specialised in battleaxe roles, notably as shop steward Vic Spanner's (Kenneth Cope
Kenneth Cope
Kenneth Cope is an English actor. He is most famous for his roles as Marty Hopkirk in Randall and Hopkirk , Jed Stone in Coronation Street and Ray Hilton in Brookside.- Career :...
) formidable mother in Carry On At Your Convenience
Carry On at Your Convenience
Carry On at Your Convenience, released in 1971, is the 22nd film of the Carry On series and was the first box office failure of the series. The failure has been attributed to the film's attempt at exploring the political themes of the trade union movement, crucially portraying the union activists...
(1971). She published her autobiography in 1974 which was entitled Don't Fence Me In.
Houston was also in the early episodes of radio's The Clitheroe Kid
The Clitheroe Kid
The Clitheroe Kid was a long-running BBC radio comedy show featuring diminutive Northern comedian Jimmy Clitheroe in the role of a cheeky schoolboy, who lived with his family at 33 Lilac Avenue in an un-named town in the north of England. Jimmy's best friend was Ozzie, alias Oswald Higginbottom, a...
and a regular guest on radio panel show 'The Petticoat Line' chaired by Anona Winn.
She died in 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...
at the age of 77 on 9 February 1980.
Appearances
Major Films- BlightyBlighty (film)Blighty is a 1927 British World War I silent film melodrama, directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Ellaline Terriss, Lillian Hall-Davis and Jameson Thomas...
(1927) - Happy Days are Here AgainHappy Days Are Here Again (film)Happy Days Are Here Again is a 1936 British musical drama film directed by Norman Lee and starring Renee Houston, Billie Houston and Shirley Houston. A pair of sisters have ambitions to take to the stage when they realise they're parents act is finished. It was also known as Stage Folk and Variety...
(1936) - Old Bill & Son (1941)
- Two Thousand WomenTwo Thousand WomenTwo Thousand Women is a 1944 British comedy-drama war film about a camp of interned British women in Occupied France. Three RAF aircrewmen whose bomber had been shot down enter the camp and are hidden by the women from the Germans...
(1944) - Lady Godiva Rides AgainLady Godiva Rides AgainLady Godiva Rides Again is a 1951 British comedy film starring Diana Dors, about a small-town English girl who wins a beauty contest and heads for greater fame. It features Joan Collins in her movie debut as an uncredited beauty contestant...
(1951) - The Belles of St Trinian'sThe Belles of St Trinian'sThe Belles of St Trinian's is a comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School, released in 1954. It and its sequels were inspired by British cartoonist Ronald Searle. Directed by Frank Launder and written by him and Sidney Gilliat, it was the first of a series of five...
(1954) - Track the Man DownTrack the Man DownTrack the Man Down is a 1955 British drama film written by Paul Erickson and directed by R.G. Springsteen.The melodramatic crime caper centers on a robbery at a greyhound racetrack that results in the unintentional murder of a guard...
(1955) - A Town Like AliceA Town Like Alice (film)A Town Like Alice is a 1956 British drama film, based on the novel by Nevil Shute and with Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch in the leading roles. The film does not follow the whole novel, concluding at the end of Part Two of the book, and many plot details are truncated or omitted...
(1956) - Time Without PityTime Without PityTime Without Pity is a thriller about a father trying to save his son from execution for murder.It stars Michael Redgrave, Ann Todd, and Leo McKern.-Plot:David Graham has only 24 hours to save his son, Alec, from hanging...
(1957) - The Adventures of Robin HoodThe Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)The Adventures of Robin Hood is a popular British television series comprising 143 half-hour, black and white episodes. It starred Richard Greene as the outlaw Robin Hood and Alan Wheatley as his nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The show aired weekly between 1955 and 1959 on ITV in London in the...
(1958) - The Horse's MouthThe Horse's Mouth (film)The Horse's Mouth is a 1958 film directed by Ronald Neame and filmed in Technicolor. Alec Guinness wrote the screenplay from the 1944 novel The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary, and also played the lead role of Gulley Jimson, a London artist.-Synopsis:...
(1958) - And the Same to YouAnd the Same to YouAnd the Same to You is a 1960 film directed by George Pollock. It stars Brian Rix and William Hartnell.-Cast:*Brian Rix as Dickie 'Dreadnought' Marchant*William Hartnell as Walter 'Wally' Burton*Leo Franklyn as Rev...
(1960) - No My Darling DaughterNo My Darling DaughterNo My Darling Daughter is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and featuring Michael Redgrave, Michael Craig, Roger Livesey, James Westmoreland, and Juliet Mills...
(1961) - Twice Round the DaffodilsTwice Round the DaffodilsTwice Round the Daffodils is a 1962 British comedy drama film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Juliet Mills, Donald Sinden, Donald Houston, Kenneth Williams, Ronald Lewis, Andrew Ray, Joan Sims and Jill Ireland. A new group of patients arrive at a hospital to be treated for tuberculosis where...
(1962) - The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the Opera (1962 film)The Phantom of the Opera is a 1962 British film based on the novel by Gaston Leroux. The film was made by Hammer Film Productions.-Plot:The film opens in Victorian London on a December night in 1900....
(1962) - Nurse on WheelsNurse on WheelsNurse on Wheels is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas, and starring Juliet Mills, Ronald Lewis, and Joan Sims.Nurse on Wheels shares its cast and production team with the Carry On films, but the film is not an official member of the Carry On series.-Cast:* Juliet Mills as Joanna...
(1963) - Carry On CabbyCarry On CabbyCarry On Cabby is the seventh Carry On film. Released in 1963, it was the first one written by series mainstay Talbot Rothwell from a story by Sid Green and Dick Hills...
(1963), Molly - Carry On SpyingCarry On SpyingCarry On Spying is a 1964 film, the ninth movie in the Carry On film series. It marks Barbara Windsor's first appearance in the series. Series regulars Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Jim Dale are present. Bernard Cribbins makes the second of his three Carry On appearances...
(1964), Madame - Tomorrow at TenTomorrow at TenTomorrow at Ten is a 1964 British thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring John Gregson, Robert Shaw, Kenneth Cope and William Hartnell in his final film appearance.-Plot:...
(1964) - Carry On at Your ConvenienceCarry On at Your ConvenienceCarry On at Your Convenience, released in 1971, is the 22nd film of the Carry On series and was the first box office failure of the series. The failure has been attributed to the film's attempt at exploring the political themes of the trade union movement, crucially portraying the union activists...
(1971), Agatha Spanner - Legend of the WerewolfLegend of the WerewolfLegend of the Werewolf is a 1975 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis. It stars Peter Cushing.-Plot summary:A boy that has been raised by wolves is displayed as a circus freak. Then he grows up, becomes a zookeeper and falls in love with a prostitute...
(1975)
Television
- Doctor in the HouseDoctor in the HouseDoctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.It was the most popular box office...
- Watch it Sailor
- The SaintThe Saint (TV series)The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
- MaigretMaigretJules Maigret, Maigret to most people, including his wife, is a fictional police detective, actually a commissaire or commissioner of the Paris "Brigade Criminelle" , created by writer Georges Simenon.Seventy-five novels and twenty-eight short stories about Maigret were published between 1931 and...
- Z Cars
- Dixon of Dock GreenDixon of Dock GreenDixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...