Rosalie Sylvia Crutchley (4 January 1920 – 28 July 1997) was a British actress. Trained at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

, Crutchley was perhaps best known for her television performances, but had a long and successful career in theatre and films, making her stage debut as early as 1932, and her screen debut in 1947. She had dark piercing eyes and often played foreign or rather sinister characters. She also played many classical roles, including Juliet in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'', Hermione in ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cri ...

'', and Goneril in ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

''. Crutchley died at The Harley Street Hospital in London in 1997.

Career

Her screen debut was as a violinist who is murdered in ''

Take My Life ''Take My Life'' is a 1947 British crime film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Hugh Williams, Greta Gynt and Marius Goring. It was adapted from Winston Graham's 1947 novel of the same name. It was shot at Pinewood Studios and on loca ...

'' (1947). She played Madame Defarge twice in adaptations of '' A Tale of Two Cities'', in both the 1958 film, and in the 1965 television serialisation of the same story. She played

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

in the 1970 TV series, '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'', and played the same character in its sequel, ''

Elizabeth R ''Elizabeth R'' is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson as Queen Elizabeth I of England. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the ABC in Australia and broadcast in Amer ...

'' (1971). She had previously portrayed Henry's first wife Catherine of Aragon in the 1953 film The Sword and the Rose. Other roles included Mrs Sparsit in '' Hard Times'' (ITV, 1977), and ''

Electra Electra (; grc, Ήλέκτρα) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, '' Electra'' by Sophocles and '' Electra'' by Euripides. She is also the centra ...

'' (1974). She also starred in the 1979 BBC TV production of '' Testament of Youth'', playing the role of the Principal of Somerville College, Oxford. She was in the films '' Quo Vadis'' (1951), as Acte, the former mistress of the Emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

(

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

), and '' The Haunting'' (1963), as the sinister housekeeper Mrs. Dudley. Crutchley also appeared in film adaptations of two A.J. Cronin novels, '' The Spanish Gardener'' (1956) and '' Beyond This Place'' (1959), and played the flinty maiden aunt in the TV adaptation of '' Brendon Chase'' (1980–81). She had two guest roles in '' Casualty'', in 1992 and 1995. She also had a short, but memorable, appearance in the film '' Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994). She appeared in only one film musical, ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay '' I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cerva ...

'' (1972), based on the successful stage production, as

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

's housekeeper. In the role, her less-than-good singing voice was used for intentionally comic effect in the song "I'm Only Thinking of Him". Her last appearance was in the pilot episode of the TV detective series, ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'', playing Lucy Bellringer. This was shown in 1997, shortly before she died.

Personal life

She was married twice, first to actor

Dan Cunningham Dan Cunningham (1 January 1917 – September 2001) was a British actor who made few screen appearances but was a noted stage actor, performing at Eichstätt. He appeared in Laurence Olivier's ''Richard III'' (1955) as Lord Grey. He was married ...

in 1939 and secondly to actor Peter Ashmore in 1946. Both marriages ended in divorce. She had two children, the physicist

Jonathan Ashmore Jonathan Felix Ashmore (born 1948) is a British physicist and Bernard Katz Professor of Biophysics at University College London. Early life and education He is the son of Rosalie Crutchley who played Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities. Ash ...

and Catherine Ashmore, the theatrical photographer.

Filmography

Film

Television

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crutchley, Rosalie 1920 births 1997 deaths Actresses from London English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses 20th-century English actresses Best Actress BAFTA Award (television) winners