Ruth Kettlewell (born Ruth Anne Berry; 13 April 1913 – 17 July 2007) was an English actress. She was, by her own admission, a "character bag"; that is, a face recognisable to regular television viewers, but not a household name.''Times'' Obituary
/ref>

Early life

Kettlewell was born as the second daughter of a

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, and was educated at Casterton School and at art college. She married a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

, the Rev Robert Kettlewell, at the age of eighteen. Her husband died from the

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...

that he caught while serving as a wartime army padre. She herself served in the

Women's Land Army The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the ...

from 1942 to 1946.

Career

Early career

After playing small parts in many amateur dramatic productions, Kettlewell began her career in

repertory theatre A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

at the Little Theatre, Great Yarmouth; first with Aurora Productions Limited and later with the Great Yarmouth Repertory Company. By the late 1950s, she had managed to secure small West End roles. In 1959, she had her first film role in '' Room at the Top''. She also acted in Norwegian for a

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n children's film.

TV and Radio breakthroughs

In the 1960s, Kettlewell's television career unfolded and she worked alongside the likes of Harry Worth,

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress and comedienne, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for ...

and

Deryck Guyler Deryck Bower Guyler (29 April 1914 – 7 October 1999) was an English actor, best remembered for appearances in sitcoms such as ''Please Sir!'' and ''Sykes (TV series), Sykes''. Early life Guyler was born in Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula, C ...

. She is perhaps best known for her role in the early episodes of ''

All Gas and Gaiters ''All Gas and Gaiters'' is a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC One, BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of John Wraith when writing th ...

'', where she played Mrs Grace Pugh-Critchley, the Dean's wife. In 1966, she had a small role in the seminal ''

Cathy Come Home "Cathy Come Home" is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a 200 ...

''. A specialist in landladies and mothers-in-law, she was equally at home with both adult and children's material. In the early 1970s, she played alongside the Scottish comedy double-act Mike Hope and Albie Keen in BBC TV's ''Hope and Keens Crazy House'', later reprised as ''Hope and Keen's Crazy Bus''. Like many actors, she continued to work well into her eighties. In her obituary,

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

noted that "By her own admission ...Ruth Kettlewell often played battleaxes, but it kept her in regular work...for half a century, sometimes only in fleeting roles. A lifelong Christian, she even felt sympathy for those on the receiving end of her characters' stern actions."

Later life

A devout

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

and an active member of the Actors’ Church Union, she visited the shrine of

Our Lady of Walsingham Our Lady of Walsingham is a title given to Mary, the mother of Jesus, venerated by Catholics and high-church Anglicans. According to tradition, the title is linked to a Marian vision experienced in 1061 by Lady Richeldis de Faverches, an Angl ...

on numerous occasions. She directed many amateur productions with a devotional theme for her church, St Augustine of Canterbury,

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

,Parish web-site
/ref> where she also served as a

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

and a

sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...

. She died on 17 July 2007 in London.

Filmography

Film

* '' Room at the Top'' (1959) - Thespians Member (uncredited) * '' Friends and Neighbours'' (1959) - Woman in club * '' Sons and Lovers'' (1960) - Mrs. Bonner * ''

Edgar Wallace Mysteries The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''Th ...

'' - ( The Clue of the New Pin (1961 film)) - (1961) - Mrs. Rushby * '' The Yellow Teddy Bears'' (1963) - Mrs. Seymour * ''

Oh! What a Lovely War ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' is a 1969 British epic comedy historical musical war film directed by Richard Attenborough (in his directorial debut), with an ensemble cast, including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth Mo ...

'' (1969) - Duchess Sophie (uncredited) * '' No Blade of Grass'' (1970) - Fat Woman * ''

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

'' (1971) - Mrs. Parker * ''

Professor Popper's Problem ''Professor Popper's Problem'' is a 1975 British children's science fiction comedy film directed by Gerry O'Hara, starring Charlie Drake in the title role. Featuring a number of child actors, Todd Carty, Milo O'Shea, and Sydney Bromley also ap ...

'' (1974) - Meter Maid * ''

Adventures of a Private Eye ''Adventures of a Private Eye'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H. Corbett and Liz Fraser. It followed '' Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' (1976), and was followed b ...

'' (1977) - Mrs. Grimpton * '' The Black Panther'' (1977) * ''Crystalstone'' (1987) - Dolores * '' Great Balls of Fire!'' (1989) - Dowager * '' Funny Bones'' (1995) - Camilla Powell

Television

* '' Swallows and Amazons'' (1963) as Mrs. Jackson * ''

'' (1966-1969) - Grace Pugh-Critchley / Mrs. Beems * '' On the Buses'' (1970-1971) - the Nurse * '' The Good Life'' (1975) - Woman * '' The Howerd Confessions'' (1976) - the Magistrate * ''

Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC One, BBC1. The theme of the series concerned ...

'' (1980) - the Magistrate * '' In Loving Memory'' (1980) - Big Madge Butley * '' Don't Wait Up'' (1984) - Mrs Fletcher * '' That's My Boy'' (1984) - Miss Falkender

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kettlewell, Ruth 1913 births 2007 deaths Actors from Worcester, England English Anglo-Catholics English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Actresses from Worcestershire