Heather Thatcher (3 September 1896 – 15 January 1987) was an English actress in theatre and films.

Dancer

By 1922, Thatcher was a dancer. She was especially noted for her interpretation of an Egyptian

harem Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A har ...

dance. Her exotic clothes were designed in Russia. They featured stencil slits in the waist, trouserettes and sleeves. Her attire was billed as the boldest costume ever shown in Britain.

English theatre

Thatcher played the feminine lead in London stage productions such as ''Oh Daddy'' and ''Warm Corner''. At the London Winter Garden she sang and danced in a revue in 1923. In August 1926, she appeared in ''Thy Name Is Woman'' at the

Q Theatre The Q Theatre was a British theatre located near Kew Bridge in Brentford, west London, which operated between 1924 and 1958. It was built on the site of the former Kew Bridge Studios. The theatre, seating 490 in 25 rows with a central aisle, w ...

. It marked her graduation from musical comedy to serious acting. She continued her London stage work, performing with

June Clyde June Clyde (born Ina Parton, December 2, 1909 – October 1, 1987) was an American actress, singer and dancer known for roles in such pre-Code films as ''A Strange Adventure'' (1932) and ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1933). Early years June Clyd ...

in ''Lucky Break''. Premiering at the Strand Theatre in September 1934, the theatrical presentation was a production of

Leslie Henson Leslie Lincoln Henson (3 August 1891 – 2 December 1957) was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall come ...

. In 1937, Thatcher went to America in ''Full House''. The previous season, she was paired with Ivor Novello in the English rendition.

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...

, Austin Trevor and

Coral Browne Coral Edith Browne (23 July 1913 – 29 May 1991) was an Australian-American stage and screen actress. Her extensive theatre credits included Broadway productions of '' Macbeth'' (1956), '' The Rehearsal'' (1963) and '' The Right Honourable Gent ...

teamed with Thatcher in ''Canaries Sometimes Sing'' (1947). Produced by Firth Shephard, the theatrical presentation opened in Blackpool and moved to London a month later. Thatcher participated in a ''Salute To Ivor Novello'' at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

in September 1951. The production raised funds to run his old home, ''Redroofs''. It had been purchased by the Actors' Benevolent Fund.

Film career

''The Plaything'' (1929), produced by Castleton Knight and

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

, begins as a

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

. It develops into a sound film. The theme concerns a

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

who falls in love with a hedonistic London heiress. Thatcher plays a prominent role as ''Martyn Bennett''. In 1931, she visited Hollywood. As a star of English comedy, she was being compared to

Marilyn Miller Marilyn Miller (born Mary Ellen Reynolds; September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, and the combination of these ...

. In the autumn of 1931, she was invited to a reception following the premiere of '' Strictly Dishonorable'' (1931), at the

Carthay Circle Theatre The Carthay Circle Theatre was one of the most famous movie palaces of Hollywood's Golden Age. Located on San Vicente Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, it opened in 1926 and was demolished in 1969. The auditorium itself was shaped in the f ...

. Among her friends in films were

Anthony Bushell Anthony Arnatt Bushell (19 May 1904 – 2 April 1997) was an English film actor and director who appeared in more than 50 films between 1929 and 1961. He played Colonel Breen in the BBC serial ''Quatermass and the Pit'' (1958–59), and al ...

and Zelma O'Neal. Thatcher was signed by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

in February 1932. She was given a feature role in ''

But the Flesh Is Weak ''But the Flesh Is Weak'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Jack Conway and written by Ivor Novello based on his 1928 play '' The Truth Game''. The film stars Robert Montgomery, Nora Gregor, Heather Thatcher, Edward Everett ...

'' (1932). The film stars Robert Montgomery and is directed by Jack Conway. The film was adapted from a British stage production which showcased Novello. Thatcher was praised for her performance. German actress, Nora Gregor was found disappointing. The English actress "gives a brilliant performance and creates the only human being in the piece." Thatcher sued

Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...

British Productions for breach of contract in a suit which was settled in December 1933. During the filming of '' Perfect Understanding'' (1933) Thatcher's contract was cancelled before the production was completed. No explanation was given. She was excluded from the film when a new author was hired. The replacement writer chose to eliminate her character. ''

The Private Life of Don Juan ''The Private Life of Don Juan'' is a 1934 British comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Douglas Fairbanks, Merle Oberon and Benita Hume. At the age of 51, it was the final role of Fairbanks, who died five years later. Th ...

'' (1934) was also filmed at Elstree Studios. The film has Douglas Fairbanks Sr. as its leading man.

Owen Nares Owen Ramsay Nares (11 August 1888 – 30 July 1943) was an English stage and film actor. Besides his acting career, he was the author of ''Myself, and Some Others'' (1925). Early life Educated at Reading School, Nares was encouraged by his mo ...

plays the title role and Thatcher is Anna Dora, one of the ladies. Later in her career, Thatcher returned to the UK to make films. Among these is '' Will Any Gentleman...?'' (1953), filmed at Elstree Studios in

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly know ...

. Thatcher appears together with George Cole and Veronica Hurst. The film was a short adventure about a hypnotist who puts a man in a trance. Thatcher made her last films in 1955. '' The Deep Blue Sea'' has a screenplay written by

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

and features Vivien Leigh and

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy '' Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this per ...

. Thatcher depicts Aunt May Luton in ''

Josephine and Men ''Josephine and Men'' is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, Donald Sinden and Peter Finch. It also features William Hartnell, Gerald Sim, Thorley Walters, Victor Maddern and John Le ...

'', a comedy starring

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (born 5 October 1923) is a South African-born British former actress, dancer, musician and singer. Recognised as a film and Broadway icon, Johns has a career spanning eight decades, in which she appeared in more than ...

and Peter Finch.

Death

Thatcher died in

Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civ ...

, London in 1987.

Selected filmography

* ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1915) - Extra (uncredited) * ''Altar Chains'' (1916) - Alice Vaughan * '' The Key of the World'' (1918) - Dina Destin * ''

Pallard the Punter ''Pallard the Punter'' is a 1919 British silent sports crime film directed by J.L.V. Leigh and starring Jack Leigh, Heather Thatcher and Lionel d'Aragon. It was based on the 1913 novel '' Grey Timothy'' by Edgar Wallace, set in the world o ...

'' (1919) - Gladys Callender * ''

The First Men in the Moon ''The First Men in the Moon'' is a scientific romance by the English author H. G. Wells, originally serialised in '' The Strand Magazine'' from December 1900 to August 1901 and published in hardcover in 1901, who called it one of his "fantast ...

'' (1919) - Susan * ''

The Green Terror ''The Green Terror'' is a 1919 British silent crime film directed by W. P. Kellino and starring Aurelio Sidney, Heather Thatcher and W.T. Ellwanger. It is based on the 1919 novel '' The Green Rust'' by Edgar Wallace. An American detective battl ...

'' (1919) - Olive Crosswell * '' The Little Hour of Peter Wells'' (1920) - Camille Pablo * '' The Plaything'' (1929) - Martyn Bennett * ''

A Warm Corner ''A Warm Corner'' is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Leslie Henson, Heather Thatcher and Austin Melford. The film's sets were designed by Walter Murton. It was based on a successful play by Franz Arnold and E ...

'' (1930) - Mimi * ''Comets'' (1930) - Himself * ''

Stepping Stones Stepping stones or stepstones are sets of stones arranged to form an improvised causeway that allows a pedestrian to cross a natural watercourse such as a river; or a water feature in a garden where water is allowed to flow between stone steps. U ...

'' (1931) * ''

'' (1932) - Lady Joan Culver * '' It's a Boy'' (1933) - Anita Gunn * '' Loyalties'' (1933) - Margaret Orme * ''

'' (1934) - Anna Dora, an Actress as Actresses Go * '' The Dictator'' (1935) - Lady of the Court * ''

Mama Steps Out ''Mama Steps Out'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by George B. Seitz and written by Anita Loos. The film stars Guy Kibbee, Alice Brady, Betty Furness, Dennis Morgan, Gene Lockhart and Edward Norris. The film was released on February 5, ...

'' (1937) - Nadine Wentworth - the Poet * '' The Thirteenth Chair'' (1937) - Mary Eastwood * '' Tovarich'' (1937) - Lady Kartegann * '' Fools for Scandal'' (1938) - Lady Potter-Porter * ''

If I Were King ''If I Were King'' is a 1938 American biographical and historical film starring Ronald Colman as medieval poet François Villon, and featuring Basil Rathbone and Frances Dee. It is based on the 1901 play and novel, both of the same name, by Just ...

'' (1938) - The Queen * '' Girls' School'' (1938) - Miss Brackett * ''

Beau Geste ''Beau Geste'' is an adventure novel by British writer P. C. Wren, which details the adventures of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion following the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a rel ...

'' (1939) - Lady Patricia Brandon * '' Man Hunt'' (1941) - Lady Alice Risborough * '' Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake'' (1942) - Maggie Martin * ''

We Were Dancing ''We Were Dancing'' is a short comic play in two scenes by Noël Coward. It is one of ten short plays that make up '' Tonight at 8.30'', a cycle written to be performed in groups of three plays across three evenings. The original production, ...

'' (1942) - Mrs. Tyler-Blane * '' This Above All'' (1942) - Nurse (uncredited) * ''

The Moon and Sixpence ''The Moon and Sixpence'' is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, first published on 15 April 1919. It is told in episodic form by a first-person narrator providing a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Stric ...

'' (1942) - Rose Waterford (uncredited) * ''

The Undying Monster ''The Undying Monster'', also known as ''The Hammond Mystery'', is a 1942 American mystery horror film directed by John Brahm and written by Lillie Hayward and Michel Jacoby, based on Jessie Douglas Kerruish's 1922 novel of the same name.Meehan ...

'' (1942) - Christy * ''

Journey for Margaret ''Journey for Margaret'' is a 1942 American drama film set in London in World War II. It stars Robert Young and Laraine Day as a couple who have to deal with the loss of their unborn child due to a bombing raid. It is an adaptation of the book ...

'' (1942) - Mrs. Harris * '' Above Suspicion'' (1943) - English Girl Dancing with Richard (uncredited) * '' Flesh and Fantasy'' (1943) - Lady Flora (uncredited) * ''

Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either direct ...

'' (1944) - Lady Dalroy * ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writt ...

'' (1948) - Countess Lydia Ivanovna * ''

Trottie True ''Trottie True'' is a 1949 British musical comedy film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Jean Kent, James Donald and Hugh Sinclair. It was known as ''The Gay Lady'' in the US, and is an infrequent British Technicolor film of the per ...

'' (1949) - Angela Platt-Brown * '' Dear Mr. Prohack'' (1949) - Lady Maslam * ''

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pre ...

'' (1951) - Eva Barrett (segment "Gigolo and Gigolette") * '' Father's Doing Fine'' (1952) - Lady Buckering * '' The Hour of 13'' (1952) - Mrs. Chumley Orr * '' Will Any Gentleman...?'' (1953) - Mrs. Whittle * ''

Duel in the Jungle ''Duel in the Jungle'' is a 1954 British adventure film combining the detective film with the jungle adventure genres directed by George Marshall and starring Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain and David Farrar. It was shot at the Elstree Studios near ...

'' (1954) - Lady on S.S. Nigeria * '' The Deep Blue Sea'' (1955) - Lady Dawson * ''

'' (1955) - Aunt May Luton (final film role)

References

Citations

General

*''Lima News'', "Has London Gone Crazy About Clothes?", 10 December 1922, Page 38. *''Lima News'', "Why They Covered Up The Three Prettiest Figures in England", 1 April 1923, Page 12. *''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', "English Star Here", 15 September 1931, Page A9. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Silver Wedding Bells", 4 October 1931, Page I2. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Society of Cinemaland", 15 November 1931, Page B19. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Heather Thatcher With

", 2 February 1932, Page A9. *''Los Angeles Times'', "English Play Being Screened", 21 February 1932, Page B11. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Feeble Follow-Up", 24 April 1932, Page B15. *''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "London Stage Notes", 22 August 1926, Page X1. *''New York Times'', "London Film Notes", 6 October 1929, Page X9. *''New York Times'', "Don Juan Is To Be A Film Hero", 17 January 1934, Page X2. *''New York Times'', "The Cable Spies on London", 30 September 1934, Page X1. *''New York Times'', "News of the Stage", 18 September 1936, Page 19. *''New York Times'', "London Notes", 25 October 1947, Page 13. *''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', "Actress' Action Settled", Wednesday, 13 December 1933, Page 4. *''The Times'', "Stage Tribute To Ivor Novello", Saturday, 8 September 1951, Page 8.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thatcher, Heather English stage actresses English film actresses English silent film actresses English female dancers 1896 births 1987 deaths 20th-century English actresses 20th-century English singers 20th-century English women singers