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Rona Anderson (3 August 1926 – 23 July 2013) was a Scottish stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in TV series and on the stage and films throughout the 1950s. She appeared in the films '' Scrooge'' and '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' and on TV in '' Dr Finlay's Casebook'' and ''
Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...
''.


Biography

Rona Anderson was born in Edinburgh to James and Evelyn (née Thomson) Anderson. She was educated in her home town and briefly in
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
during the war. She trained for the stage at the Glover Turner-Robertson School in Edinburgh. In 1951, she married fellow actor Gordon Jackson, with whom she had appeared in '' Floodtide'' (1949) and remained with him until his death from bone cancer on 15 January 1990.


Stage work

Anderson had an English accent despite being brought up in Scotland. She made her first appearance on the stage at the Garrison Theatre in April 1945 in a production of '' Peg o' My Heart''. From 1945 through 1949, she played various parts with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. At the 1950
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
, Anderson played the role of Venus in a production of ''The Queen's Comedy''. She made her London debut in October 1951 at the Piccadilly Theatre in '' The White Sheep of the Family''. Anderson went on two tours in 1955. In March of that year, she toured as Sabrina in '' Sabrina Fair''. In September 1955, she toured as Mary in '' All for Mary''. In October 1958, she played Mary Tufnell in '' Once a Rake'' at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. Anderson appeared in the premier of '' Savages'' in 1973. She appeared at the Mermaid Theatre in their 1978 production of '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'', which transferred to 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 ...
. In 1981, she played Frances Shand Kydd in the
Ray Cooney Raymond George Alfred Cooney Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 30 May 1932) is an English playwright, actor, and director. His biggest success, ''Run for Your Wife (play), Run for Your Wife'' (1983), ran for nine years in London's West E ...
comedy, '' Her Royal Highness'' at the
Palace Theatre, London The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. Its red-brick facade dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus, London, Cambridge Circus behind a small plaza near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Chari ...
starring Marc Sinden.


Film career

Rona Anderson posing with leading members of the New Zealand national cricket team, New Zealand cricket team Rona Anderson's first major film was the drama '' Sleeping Car to Trieste'' (1948) directed by John Paddy Carstairs. Anderson played the role of Alice (originally named "Belle" by Dickens) in '' Scrooge'' (1951), a film adaptation of Charles Dickens's ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...
''. She appeared alongside Lee Patterson in '' Man with a Gun'' (1958), directed by
Montgomery Tully Montgomery Tully (6 May 190410 October 1988) was an Irish film Film director, director and writer. Film career Born in Dublin, Tully studied at the University of London, and originally entered the film industry as a director of documentaries. ...
, while her last major film appearance was in '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969). Following this film she continued her work on the stage and in television series. From 1953 until 1983, Anderson appeared in several British television programmes. She appeared in three episodes of '' The Human Jungle'' (1964–1965) during its second season. Anderson played the role of Mary on the British sitcom '' Bachelor Father'' (1970–1971). Anderson later appeared in an episode of the long-running crime series '' The Professionals'' entitled ''Cry Wolf'', in which her husband, Gordon Jackson, played George Cowley.


Critical assessment

Of her numerous roles in British B films in the 1950s, the film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane wrote: "She was essentially crisp and wholesome, in her open Scots prettiness and brought a proper spirited resourcefulness to these assorted plucky heroines, making them a good deal more endearing and credible than the screenplays deserved."


Personal life and death

Anderson was married to the actor Gordon Jackson from 1951 until his death in 1990. Anderson died on 23 July 2013, aged 86.Death of Rona Anderson
''Daily Telegraph'', 26 July 2013


Selected filmography

* '' Sleeping Car to Trieste'' (1948) – Joan Maxted * '' Floodtide'' (1949) – Mary Anstruther * ''
Poet's Pub ''Poet's Pub'' is a 1949 British second feature ('B') comedy film directed by Frederick Wilson and starring Derek Bond, Rona Anderson and James Robertson Justice. It was written by Diana Morgan based on the 1929 novel of the same title ...
'' (1949) – Joanna Benbow * '' The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery'' (1950) – Mary Game * '' Torment'' (1950) – Joan * '' Her Favourite Husband'' (1950) – Stellina * '' Home to Danger'' (1951) – Barbara Cummings * '' Scrooge'' (1951) – Alice * '' Whispering Smith Hits London'' (1952) – Anne * ''
Circumstantial Evidence Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact, such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly, i.e., without need ...
'' (1952) – Linda Harrison * '' Noose for a Lady'' (1953) – Jill Hallam * '' Black 13'' (1953) – Claire * ''
Double Exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be id ...
'' (1954) * '' The Black Rider'' (1954) – Mary Plack * ''
Stock Car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southe ...
'' (1955) – Katie Glebe * '' Little Red Monkey'' (1955) – Julia Jackson * '' The Flaw'' (1955) – Monica Oliveri * '' A Time to Kill'' (1955) – Sallie Harbord * '' Shadow of a Man'' (1956) – Linda Bryant * '' Soho Incident'' (aka ''Spin a Dark Web'') (1956) – Betty Walker * '' Man with a Gun'' (1958) – Stella * ''
Devils of Darkness ''Devils of Darkness'' is a 1965 British horror film directed by Lance Comfort and starring William Sylvester, Hubert Noël and Carole Gray. It was written by Lyn Fairhurst. It was the last feature film directed by Comfort. Plot Count Sini ...
'' (1965) – Anne * '' River Rivals'' (1967) * '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969) – Miss Lockhart


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Rona 1926 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Scottish actresses Actresses from Edinburgh Scottish film actresses Scottish stage actresses Scottish television actresses