Kathleen "Kitty" McShane (19 May 1897 – 24 March 1964) was an Irish actress, best known as the wife and acting partner of

Arthur Lucan Arthur Lucan (born Arthur Towle; 16 September 1885 – 17 May 1954) was an English actor who performed the drag act Old Mother Riley on stage, radio and screen, with a series of comedy films from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Early life ...

, with whom she appeared in a series of ''

Old Mother Riley Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British music hall act. Old Mother Riley (full comedy name: Daphne Bluebell Snowdrop Riley) is a ...

'' stage shows and films from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Early life

Catherine McShane was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, the fourth of seventeen children born to Daniel and Kate McShane, of whom only seven survived to adulthood. In 1910

was touring Ireland and was playing his

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European Fable, folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the Broth ...

'' in Dublin. Here he met McShane, who successfully auditioned for a part in the show as a singer. Aged just 16 she married the 28-year-old Lucan on 25 November 1913 at the Church of St Andrews in Dublin. The couple had one son, Donald Daniel Towle (2 October 1915, Dublin – 10 February 1975).

'Old Mother Riley'

McShane and Lucan became a popular

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

and film double act during their nearly forty years together. They gradually evolved the stage characters of

, with Lucan appearing in drag as Mrs Daphne Snowdrop Bluebell Riley from Dublin, and McShane playing her daughter 'Kitty Riley', whose wayward ways resulted in many of Mother Riley's amusing reactions. McShane appeared in 14 of the 15 'Old Mother Riley' films. Lucan and McShane's marriage was difficult, possibly due to the rumours of McShane's many affairs and volatile temperament, and they separated in 1951. In McShane's last film, ''Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure'' (1951), their scenes were filmed on separate days. McShane opened a beauty salon, which failed, while Lucan continued to support her financially. Following Lucan's death in 1954, McShane continued the act with impersonator

Roy Rolland Roy Rolland (29 June 1921 – 16 August 1997) was an English comedian and stage actor who was the understudy for Arthur Lucan as Old Mother Riley and who took over the role following the death of Lucan in 1954, playing it until about 1977. Bio ...

playing the 'Mother Riley' role, but the venture was not successful. The death of her partner, Billy Bleach, from cancer of the bladder in December 1963 led to McShane having serious problems with alcohol.Bruce Dessau
''Beyond a Joke: Inside the Dark World of Stand-Up Comedy''
Arrow Books (2012) - Google Books pg. 59 McShane was found dead at her London home on Tuesday 24 March 1964, aged 66, from undisclosed causes. In 1982

Alan Plater Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s. He is best known for the sitcom ''Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt'' and th ...

wrote a play about

's life with Kitty McShane, ''

On Your Way, Riley ''On Your Way, Riley'' is a 1982 play by Alan Plater and a 1985 Yorkshire Television drama of the same name about the private and theatrical partnership of husband and wife 'Old Mother Riley' music hall performers Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane ...

'', with songs by

Alex Glasgow Alex Glasgow (14 October 1935 – 14 May 2001) was an English singer-songwriter from Low Fell, Gateshead, England. He wrote the songs and music for the musical plays ''Close the Coal House Door'' and '' On Your Way, Riley!'' by Alan Plater, and ...

.On Your Way, Riley
, 1983, playbill and details, ''The Queen's Theatre'' website. Accessed 27 September 2007. A TV adaptation was broadcast on ITV in 1985, with

Brian Murphy Brian Murphy may refer to: Sportspeople * Brian Murphy (Jamaican cricketer) (born 1973), Jamaican cricketer * Brian Murphy (Zimbabwean cricketer) (born 1976), Zimbabwean cricketer * Brian Murphy (baseball) (born 1980), American head baseball coac ...

and

Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, columnist and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...

in the leading roles.

Filmography

*'' Stars on Parade'' (1936) *'' Kathleen Mavourneen'' (1937) *''

'' (1937) *'' Old Mother Riley in Paris'' (1938) *'' Old Mother Riley, MP'' (1939) *''

Old Mother Riley in Society ''Old Mother Riley in Society'' is a low budget 1940 black and white British comedy film, directed by John Baxter, and starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. It is the fifth in the long running Old Mother Riley series, and features the screen ...

'' (1940) *'' Old Mother Riley Joins Up'' (1940) *'' Old Mother Riley's Circus'' (1941) *'' Old Mother Riley's Ghosts'' (1941) *''

Old Mother Riley in Business ''Old Mother Riley in Business'' is a 1941 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Cyril Chamberlain. It was the sixth in the long-running Old Mother Riley series of films. Old Mother Riley's pub ...

'' (1941) *'' Old Mother Riley Detective'' (1943) *'' Old Mother Riley Overseas'' (1943) *''

Old Mother Riley at Home ''Old Mother Riley at Home'' is a 1945 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Freddie Forbes. It is the 11th film in the long-running Old Mother Riley series. Plot summary Mother Riley's d ...

'' (1945) *''

Old Mother Riley's New Venture ''Old Mother Riley's New Venture'' is a low-budget black-and-white 1949 British comedy film, starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Chili Bouchier. It is the twelfth in the long-running Old Mother Riley films, and was the first of the series ...

'' (1949) *''

Old Mother Riley Headmistress ''Old Mother Riley, Headmistress'' is a low-budget black-and-white 1950 British comedy film directed by John Harlow and starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. The screenplay was by Ted Kavanagh and Harlow. The 13th film in the Old Mother Ri ...

'' (1950) *'' Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure'' (1951)

Notes

External links

*
McShane on 'The Complete Index To World Film since 1895'
{{DEFAULTSORT:McShane, Kitty 1897 births 1964 deaths Irish stage actresses Irish film actresses 20th-century Irish actresses Actresses from Dublin (city)