Kathleen Harrison (23 February 1892 – 7 December 1995) was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett (opposite Jack Warner and Petula Clark) in a trio of British post-war comedies about a working-class family's misadventures, The Huggetts. She later played the charwoman Mrs. Dilber opposite Alastair Sim in the 1951 film '' Scrooge'' (US: ''A Christmas Carol'', 1951) and a Cockney

charwoman A charwoman (also chargirl, charlady or char) is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually ...

who inherits a fortune in the television series '' Mrs Thursday'' (1966–67).

Life and career

Born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, Harrison was brought up in London, her father having become borough engineer for Southwark. She was educated at Clapham High School before training at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

(1914–15). She spent some years living in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

before making her professional acting debut in the UK in the 1920s. Harrison made her stage debut as Mrs. Judd in ''The Constant Flirt'' at the Pier Theatre,

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...

in 1926. The following year she appeared in London's West End for the first time as Winnie in ''The Cage'' at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...

. Her subsequent West End plays included ''A Damsel in Distress'', ''Happy Families'', ''The Merchant and Venus'', ''Lovers' Meeting'', ''Line Engaged'', '' Night Must Fall''—also acting in the 1937 film version—'' Flare Path'', ''

Ducks and Drakes ''Ducks and Drakes'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film produced and released by Realart Pictures, an offshoot of Paramount Pictures. It was directed by stage producer/director Maurice Campbell and stars Bebe Daniels (also a producer on t ...

'', ''

The Winslow Boy ''The Winslow Boy'' is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an incident involving George Archer-Shee in the Edwardian era. The incident took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne. Background Set against the strict c ...

'' and ''Watch It Sailor!''. She had already made her film debut with a minor role in ''Our Boys'' (1915), when she appeared in the film ''

Hobson's Choice A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one thing is actually offered. The term is often used to describe an illusion that multiple choices are available. The most well known Hobson's choice is "I'll give you a choice: take it or leav ...

'' (1931). Another 50 films followed, including '' Gaslight'' (1940), ''

In Which We Serve ''In Which We Serve'' is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by Noël Coward and David Lean. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom), Ministry of Information. The scree ...

'' (1942) and '' Caesar and Cleopatra'' (1945), before making her name in later films. Before and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, she played small parts in numerous British films, including '' The Ghost Train'' (1941), '' Temptation Harbour'' (1947), and ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

'' (1948), and had a small but scene-stealing role as Mrs. Dilber in '' Scrooge'' (US: ''A Christmas Carol'', 1951). Harrison also played Kaney in '' The Ghoul'' (1933) and the matriarch in ''

Mrs. Gibbons' Boys ''Mrs. Gibbons' Boys'' is a play by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman. The comedy centers on the mother of three delinquent boys. Produced and directed by George Abbott, the Broadway production opened at the Music Box Theatre on May 4, 1949 and cl ...

'' (1962), as well as two BBC productions of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

's novels, ''

Martin Chuzzlewit ''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between 1842 and 1844. While he was writing it ...

'' (1964) and ''

Our Mutual Friend ''Our Mutual Friend'', written in 1864–1865, is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining savage satire with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, quo ...

'' (1976). She later commented that Dickens was her favourite author. As her cinema appearances became more infrequent, Harrison turned to television. She starred on television as '' Mrs Thursday'' (1966–67), a

who inherits £10 million and the controlling interest in a major company.

The Huggett family

The Huggett family made their first appearance in '' Holiday Camp'' (1947). Harrison played the London East End charwoman Mrs Huggett. The actress continued with the role, alongside Jack Warner as her screen husband, in '' Here Come the Huggetts'' (1948), '' Vote for Huggett'' and '' The Huggetts Abroad'' (both 1949), as well as a radio series, ''Meet the Huggetts'', which ran from 1953 to 1961. Although disliked by critics, almost immediately it became one of the most popular programmes of its day. Harrison turned down the title role in writer Jeremy Sandford's ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' '' Edna, the Inebriate Woman'' (1971). Harrison also starred with Warner in the film ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a tri ...

'' (1956), about a working-class family that wins the

football pools In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may enco ...

Personal life

Harrison married John Henry Back in 1916; the couple had three children, two sons, and a daughter. She always pretended to be six years younger than her age, but in 1992 she owned up to reaching 100 and received her telegram from the Queen. Harrison died in 1995 at the age of 103. She was predeceased by her husband, John, and a son.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Kathleen 1892 births 1995 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English film actresses English television actresses 20th-century English actresses People from Blackburn English centenarians Women centenarians