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 Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

) 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 Charwoman, chargirl, charlady and char are occupational terms 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 lives as part of the ho ...

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 River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, 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, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

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

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

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. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

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. 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'', ''

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 cod ...

'' 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'' (1931). Another 50 films followed, including '' Gaslight'' (1940), '' In Which We Serve'' (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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

'' (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 Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of power and privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, ...

in '' Mrs. Gibbons' Boys'' (1962), as well as two BBC productions of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

's novels, ''

Martin Chuzzlewit ''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between January 1843 and July 1 ...

'' (1964) and '' Our Mutual Friend'' (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 A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation, primarily in the United Kingdom, that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term ...

'' (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'' (''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 trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...

'' (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 enc ...

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 Actresses from Blackburn English women centenarians