Doris Hare

Doris Hare
Born	Doris Breamer Hare (1905-03-01)1 March 1905 Bargoed, Glamorgan, Wales, UK
Died	30 May 2000(2000-05-30) (aged 95) Northwood, London, England, UK
Nationality	British
Occupations	Actress comedian singer dancer
Years active	Career 1908–1993, film 1934–1993
Spouse	John Alexander Fraser Roberts (m. 1941–73, divorced)
Relatives	Kate Hare (mother) Bertie Hare (brother) Betty Hare (sister) Winifred Hare (sister)

Doris Breamer Hare, MBE (1 March 1905 – 30 May 2000) was a Welsh actress, singer, dancer and comedienne, active in New York and London, as well as Scotland, she is best known for being the second actress to portray Mrs Mabel, Ethel "Mum" Butler, usually called Ethel, in the popular sitcom On the Buses alongside Reg Varney.

Biography

Hare was born in Bargoed, Glamorgan. Her parents had a portable theatre in South Wales and it seemed inevitable that she would become a part of it, making her debut at the age of three in Current Cash and appearing in juvenile troupes all over Britain as a child, before going solo as 'Little Doris Hare', appearing in music hall, variety, cabaret, revues and pantomimes. One of five, her brother, Bertie Hare and her sisters Betty Hare and Winifred Hare Braemer were also actors and performers

In 1930, the actress toured in The Show's the Thing, taking the part made famous by Gracie Fields. In 1932 she appeared in the West End in Noël Coward's show Words and Music, alongside John Mills. In 1936 she made her Broadway debut in Night Must Fall. During the war she joined Evelyn Laye to put on a revue for the troops and compered Shipmate's Ashore on the BBC Forces Programme for the Merchant Navy, earning her the MBE in 1946.

In 1958, she created the role of Grannie Tooke in the original production of Sandy Wilson's musical version of Valmouth at the Lyric Hammersmith. She also performed on the recording of this production made by Pye Records in 1959, where she duetted with Cleo Laine, who was standing in for Bertice Reading. In 1982, when this musical was revived by John Dexter at Chichester Festival Theatre, Doris Hare, Bertice Reading, Fenella Fielding and Marcia Ashton all played the roles they had played in the original production.

In 1963 she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and in 1965 joined the National Theatre at the Old Vic. She acted in plays by Shakespeare, Shaw, Pinero, and Pinter.

Having turned down the role of Ena Sharples in Coronation Street in 1960, Hare did play Alice Pickens in the series during 1969. She was due to marry Albert Tatlock, but the wedding never took place.

That same year Hare came to national attention in the role of Mrs Butler in On the Buses, taking over the part from Cicely Courtneidge in the second series of the ITV comedy. The series ran until 1973 and spawned three spin-off films On the Buses (1971), Mutiny on the Buses (1972) and Holiday on the Buses (1973) in which Hare recreated her small-screen role. The cast also performed a stage version of the popular series in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1988.

In 1974 Hare spent a year in the West End farce No Sex Please, We're British and made her final stage appearance, aged 87, at the London Palladium alongside John Mills in a tribute to Evelyn Laye.

Hare won a Variety Club of Great Britain Special Award for her contributions to show business in 1982. She died at Denville Hall the actors retirement home in Northwood, London in 2000, aged 95.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1935	Night Mail		Uncredited
1935	Jubilee Window		Uncredited
1935	Opening Night
1938	Luck of the Navy	Mrs. Maybridge
1939	Discoveries	Bella Brown
1939	She Couldn't Say No	Amelia Reeves
1948	It's Hard to Be Good	Minor Role	Uncredited
1948	Here Come the Huggetts	Mrs. Fisher
1949	The History of Mr. Polly	May Pant
1950	Dance Hall	Blonde
1953	Thought to Kill	Agnes
1954	Double Exposure	WPC
1955	Tiger by the Tail	Nurse Brady, hospital property clerk
1955	No Smoking	Customer
1957	Strangers' Meeting	Nellie
1958	Another Time, Another Place	Mrs. Bunker
1960	The League of Gentlemen	Molly Weaver
1964	A Place to Go	Lil Flint
1969–1973	On the Buses	Mabel "Mum" Butler	67 episodes
1971	On the Buses
1972	Mutiny on the Buses
1973	Holiday on the Buses
1975	Confessions of a Pop Performer	Mrs. Lea
1976	Confessions of a Driving Instructor
1977	Confessions from a Holiday Camp
1980	Why Didn't They Ask Evans?	Rose Pratt	TV movie
1986	Never the Twain
1990	Nuns on the Run	Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart
1994	Second Best	Mrs. Hawkins	(final film role)

External links

• Doris Hare at IMDb
• A Video clip of Doris Hare on her This Is Your Life on YouTube