Ruth Dunning (17 May 1909 – 27 February 1983), born Mary Ruth Dunning, was a Welsh actress of stage, television, and film. Although her year of birth was long given as 1911, her birth was registered in

Holywell Holywell may refer to: England * Holywell, Bedfordshire * Holywell, Cambridgeshire * Holywell, Cornwall * Holywell, Dorset * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Sussex * Holywell, Gloucestershire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Ho-Hoo#Hol, location in ...

in 1909.

Early life

Mary Ruth Dunning was born in

Prestatyn Prestatyn (; ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085. Origin of name The name Prestatyn d ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

, in 1909.

Career

Stage

As a young actress, Dunning was a member of an amateur theatre company in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

. In 1934, she took over a part from

Wendy Hiller Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', describ ...

in '' Love on the Dole'', at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...

in London. Other stage appearances for Dunning included

Val Gielgud Val Henry Gielgud CBE (28 April 1900 – 30 November 1981) was an English actor, writer, director and broadcaster. He was a pioneer of radio drama for the BBC, and also directed the first ever drama to be produced in the newer medium of te ...

's ''Punch and Judy'' (1937),

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-th ...

's ''Gentleman Unknown'' (1938),

Ted Willis Edward Henry Willis, Baron Willis (13 January 1914 – 22 December 1992) was an English playwright, novelist and screenwriter who was also politically active in support of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. He created several television serie ...

' ''The Eyes of Youth'' (1959), and Willis' adaptation of Gorky's ''

Mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

'' (1961).

Film and television

Dunning found fame in the role of Gladys Grove in

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

's '' The Grove Family'' (1954–1957), also portraying that character in the 1955 film '' It's a Great Day''. In 1956, she appeared in a television commercial for

Persil Persil (, ) is a German brand of laundry detergent manufactured and marketed by Henkel around the world except in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Latin America (except Mexico), China, Australia and New Zealand, where it is manufactured an ...

laundry detergent, on the first night of

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

's broadcasts in the north of England. In 1962 she was awarded the

British Academy Television Award for Best Actress This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress. The British Academy Television Awards began in 1955. The Best Actress award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until ...

for her work on ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Ca ...

''. Other screen roles played by Dunning included Leonie in '' Intimate Relations'' (1953), Auntie B. in '' Urge to Kill'' (1960), Mrs. Mitchell in '' Hoffman'' (1970), Betty Atherton in ''The Sextet'' (1972), Agnes Henderson in '' The House in Nightmare Park'' (1973), Miss Minchin in ''

A Little Princess ''A Little Princess'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905. It is an expanded version of the short story "Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's", which was serialized in '' St. Nicholas ...

'' (1973), Mildred Finch in '' An Unofficial Rose'' (1974–1975), Lesley Whittle's mother in '' The Black Panther'' (1977), and Mrs. Crabtree in '' Children of the Stones'' (1977).

Personal life

Ruth Dunning was married to actor Jack Allen. She died in 1983, aged 73, in London. The Ruth Dunning and Jack Allen Collection at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

holds some of her papers, including contracts, scripts, and photographs.

Partial filmography

* '' Save a Little Sunshine'' (1938) - Miss Dickson * ''

The Woman in the Hall ''The Woman in the Hall'' is a 1947 British drama film directed by Jack Lee and starring Ursula Jeans, Jean Simmons, Cecil Parker. The screenplay was written by Lee, Ian Dalrymple Ian Dalrymple (26 August 190328 March 1989) was a British ...

'' (1947) - Shirley Dennison * '' Intimate Relations'' (1953) - Leonie * '' The Weak and the Wicked'' (1954) - Prison Matron * '' Man of the Moment'' (1955) - Gladys Grove (uncredited) * '' It's a Great Day'' (1955) - Gladys Grove * '' Urge to Kill'' (1960) - Auntie B * '' And Women Shall Weep'' (1960) - Mrs. Lumsden * '' Dangerous Afternoon'' (1961) - Miss Letty Frost * '' The Three Lives of Thomasina'' (1963) - Mother Stirling * '' Undermind'' (1965) ( episode: "Waves of Sound") - Dr. Margaret Whittaker * '' Hoffman'' (1970) - Mrs. Mitchell * '' The House in Nightmare Park'' (1973) - Agnes Henderson * '' The Black Panther'' (1977) - Lesley's Mother

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunning, Ruth 1909 births 1983 deaths Best Actress BAFTA Award (television) winners Welsh film actresses Welsh stage actresses Welsh television actresses 20th-century Welsh actresses People from Prestatyn