Kathleen Byron
| Kathleen Byron | |
|---|---|
 Byron in a trailer for Black Narcissus |
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| Born | Kathleen Elizabeth Fell[1] 11 January 1921 West Ham, London, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 18 January 2009 (aged 88) Northwood, London, England |
| Other names | Kathleen Jacob |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1938–2001 |
| Spouse |
Daniel Bowen (m. 1943–1950) |
Kathleen Byron (11 January 1921 – 18 January 2009)[2] was a British actress of stage, screen and television.
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[edit] Early life
Byron was born Kathleen Elizabeth Fell in West Ham[3] – now in the London Borough of Newham. Her father was a railway clerk who later became a Labour mayor of the County Borough of East Ham.
She attended the local grammar school and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She made her film debut in Carol Reed's The Young Mr Pitt (1942), in which she had two lines as a maid opposite Robert Donat.[2]
[edit] Career
In 1943, she married a USAAF pilot, Lt. John Daniel Bowen, and moved to the United States. The director Michael Powell persuaded her to return to England where she was to make her most successful films.[2] She was best known for her roles in the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger: as an angel in A Matter of Life and Death (1946), as leading lady opposite David Farrar in The Small Back Room (1949), and as the disturbed Sister Ruth in Black Narcissus (1947). Byron was romantically linked with Michael Powell around the time the film was made; he was named as co-respondent when she was divorced in 1950.[2]
Her success in Black Narcissus led her to Hollywood, which resulted with a supporting role in Young Bess (1953). She found the experience an unrewarding one and soon returned to Britain. Her subsequent roles of the time were mostly in B-movies. In the 1960s and 1970s, she did mostly television work, including the role of Mme Celeste Lekeu in two episodes of the BBC drama Secret Army in 1977, a brief stint on the soap opera Emmerdale Farm in 1979, and a small role as Queen Louise of Denmark in Edward the Seventh in 1975.
Byron continued to act into the 1980s, 1990s and the new millennium, her film, theatre and television work included Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap (1990), David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980), the 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Stephen Poliakoff's series, Perfect Strangers (2001).
[edit] Personal life
In 1953, she married the British journalist and writer Alaric Jacob (who predeceased her), who was then working for the BBC. They had one son and daughter; with a child from Jacob's previous marriage.[4]
[edit] Death
She died 18 January 2009 in Northwood in London.[5]
[edit] Partial filmography
- A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
- Black Narcissus (1947)
- The Small Back Room (1949)
- Madness of the Heart (1949)
- The Reluctant Widow (1950)
- Prelude to Fame (1950)
- Scarlet Thread (1951)
- Hell is Sold Out (1951)
- Four Days (1951)
- Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951)
- The House in the Square (1951)
- Young Bess (1953)
- Secret Venture (1955)
- The Elephant Man (1980)
- Emma (1996)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Les Misérables (1998)
[edit] References
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009) |
- ^ BFI biodata
- ^ a b c d Kathleen Byron obituary, 21 January 2009 The Daily Telegraph accessed 21 January 2009
- ^ Birth records index stored at
- ^ Kathleen Byron obituary, Brian Baxter 19 January 2009 The Guardian accessed 21 January 2009
- ^ Kathleen Byron: Actress who played Sister Ruth in "Black Narcissus" obituary 20 January 2009, The Independent accessed 21 January 2009
[edit] Sources
- McFarlane, Brian. An Autobiography of British Cinema. London: Methuen. 1997. ISBN 0-413-70520-X
[edit] External links
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