Karen Dotrice
Encyclopedia
Karen Dotrice is an English
actress known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney
's feature film adaptation
of the Mary Poppins
book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey
(one of the Channel Islands
) to two accomplished stage
actors. Her career began on stage, expanded into film and television
roles, and concluded with a short run as Desdemona
in the 1981 pre-Broadway
production of Othello
. In 1984, Dotrice retired from show business to focus on motherhood; she has three children from two marriages. She was named a Disney Legend
in 2004.
and Kay Dotrice, two Shakespearean
actors who met and married while performing in repertory
theatre productions in England
. She was born in the Channel Islands (where her father was also born). She has two sisters, Michele
and Yvette
, both of whom are actresses. Her godfather was actor Charles Laughton
, who was married to Elsa Lanchester
, one of the co-stars of Mary Poppins.
Dotrice was a toddler when her father joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (later the Royal Shakespeare Company
) in 1957. By age four, she was ready to perform, making her début in an RSC production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle
by Bertolt Brecht
. There, a Disney
scout saw Dotrice and brought her to Burbank, California
, United States
, to meet Walt Disney
.
as a girl whose relationship with her father is mended by the magical reappearance of her cat. While Dotrice was in California, her father stayed in England—where he was portraying King Lear
—and Walt Disney personally took care of her family, often hosting them in his Palm Springs
home. Dotrice took quickly to Disney as a father figure, calling him "Uncle Walt". She said the admiration was mutual: "I think he really liked English kids. He was tickled pink by the accent and the etiquette. And when I was being very English and polite, he would look proudly at this little charge who had such good manners."
Film historian
Leonard Maltin
said Dotrice "won over everyone" with her performance in The Three Lives of Thomasina, and she was signed to play Jane Banks (along with Thomasina co-star Matthew Garber
as her brother, Michael) in Mary Poppins. Disney's part-live-action
, part-animation
musical adaptation of the Poppins children's books by P. L. Travers
starred David Tomlinson
as a workaholic
father and Glynis Johns
as a suffragette
mother who are too busy to spend any time with their children. Instead, they hire a nanny (Julie Andrews
) who takes Jane and Michael on magical adventures designed to teach them—and their parents—about the importance of family. Poppins was Disney's biggest commercial success at the time and won five Academy Awards
, making its stars world-famous
. Dotrice and Garber were praised for their natural screen presence; critic
Bosley Crowther
wrote, "the kids ... are just as they should be," while author Brian Sibley
said, "these charming, delightful young people provided a wonderful centre for the film."
Dotrice and Garber paired up again in The Gnome-Mobile
(1967) as the grandchildren of a rich lumber mogul who stumble across a gnome forest and help keep the gnomes from dying off. Starring Walter Brennan
in a dual role, The Gnome-Mobile failed to perform on a par with Poppins at the box office, and Dotrice did not make another film appearance as a child.
After The Gnome-Mobile, "the kids" no longer kept in contact with each other. In an interview for the 40th Anniversary Edition DVD release of Mary Poppins, Dotrice recalled how she learned of Garber's death (in 1978): "I remember his mum, Margot, calling ... to let us know that Matthew had died. That was— so unexpected. ... I wished I had picked up the phone over the years, I wished I had treated him more like a brother; but he's indelibly printed in all of our minds, he's eternal ... an amazing little soul."
Dotrice later appeared as Alex Mackenzie in The Thirty Nine Steps (1978) with Robert Powell
and John Mills
. The third film based on the John Buchan novel
, this was her only feature film as an adult. According to Allmovie, Dotrice played "an imperiled heroine [who] was an invention of the Hitchcock version
; the Buchan story is essentially 'boys only'."
serial Napoleon and Love. The nine-hour, dramatised account of the of Napoleon I of France
starred Ian Holm
and Tim Curry
.
In 1975, she played housemaid Lily Hawkins in six episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs
during its fifth and final season. The series—a narrative of the upper-class Bellamy family and their servants in the early twentieth century—was one of the most popular programmes produced by London Weekend Television
for ITV
. It also proved popular when shown in the United States on Masterpiece Theatre
, and was "beloved throughout much of the world."
Dotrice took on the role of Maria Beadnell in the serial Dickens of London
(1976), starring her father as Charles Dickens
. In 1977, she appeared with Ann-Margret
in Joseph Andrews, a German telefilm based on the Henry Fielding
novel Joseph Andrews
.
In 1978, Dotrice made her final screen appearance, playing Jenny in the BBC2
Play of the Week, She Fell Among Thieves. Starring Malcolm McDowell
and Eileen Atkins
, Thieves made its U.S. début on 5 February 1980—the first film screened as part of the PBS
Mystery!
series.
production of Othello
opposite James Earl Jones
and Christopher Plummer
. Reviewers were less than kind; calling her "the only serious let-down" in the cast, David Richards of The Washington Post
wrote, "Dotrice is not Desdemona. She is a Desdemona doll, reciting her lines in a thin, reedy voice and moving through the tragedy with a rare somnolence." Dianne Wiest
took the role in the 1982 Broadway production and received similar reviews.
Dotrice virtually disappeared from public life following her retirement. She was married to English actor Alex Hyde-White
from 1986 to 1992; they have a son, Garrick. In 1994, Dotrice married then-Universal Studios
executive Edwin "Ned" Nalle and later gave birth to two children, Isabella and Griffin.
She provided spoken-word adaptations of Disney's The Little Mermaid
, Beauty and the Beast
and Pocahontas
; in 2001, she lent her voice to a sing-along release of Mary Poppins and was interviewed for the ABC
television special, Walt: The Man Behind the Myth; she was, however, done with acting. "I'll never go back," she told Hello!
magazine in 1995, "because you don't have to put on any make-up."
Dotrice was coaxed back into the spotlight twice in 2004: She was named a Disney Legend at a ceremony in Burbank (at which Matthew Garber
was honoured posthumously), and she was interviewed and provided audio commentary for the 40th Anniversary Edition Mary Poppins DVD release.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
's feature film adaptation
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
of the Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is a series of children's books written by P. L. Travers and originally illustrated by Mary Shepard. The books centre on a magical English nanny, Mary Poppins. She is blown by the East wind to Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London and into the Banks' household to care for their...
book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
(one of the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
) to two accomplished stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
actors. Her career began on stage, expanded into film and television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
roles, and concluded with a short run as Desdemona
Desdemona (Othello)
Desdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello . Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a man several years her senior. When her husband is deployed to Cyprus in the service of the...
in the 1981 pre-Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. In 1984, Dotrice retired from show business to focus on motherhood; she has three children from two marriages. She was named a Disney Legend
Disney Legends
Established in 1987, the Disney Legends program recognizes people who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. The honor is awarded annually during a special ceremony....
in 2004.
Early life
Born into a theatre family, Dotrice is the daughter of RoyRoy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice, OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:...
and Kay Dotrice, two Shakespearean
Shakespeare's plays
William Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. Traditionally, the 37 plays are divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy; they have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being...
actors who met and married while performing in repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
theatre productions in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. She was born in the Channel Islands (where her father was also born). She has two sisters, Michele
Michele Dotrice
Michele Dotrice is an English actress best known for her portrayal of Betty, the long-suffering wife of Frank Spencer, played by Michael Crawford, in the BBC sitcom Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, which ran from 1973 to 1978....
and Yvette
Yvette Dotrice
Yvette Dotrice is an English actress known for her role as Wendy Crisp during the 25-year run of the television soap opera Crossroads.Dotrice is the daughter of Shakespearean actors Roy and Kay Dotrice. Her sisters, Karen and Michele, also are actresses....
, both of whom are actresses. Her godfather was actor Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
, who was married to Elsa Lanchester
Elsa Lanchester
Elsa Sullivan Lanchester was an English-American character actress with a long career in theatre, film and television....
, one of the co-stars of Mary Poppins.
Dotrice was a toddler when her father joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (later the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
) in 1957. By age four, she was ready to perform, making her début in an RSC production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than its natural parents....
by Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
. There, a Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
scout saw Dotrice and brought her to Burbank, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, to meet Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
.
Film
At age eight, Dotrice was hired in 1964 to appear in The Three Lives of ThomasinaThe Three Lives of Thomasina
The Three Lives of Thomasina is a 1964 British-American Disney fantasy feature film starring Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, and child actress Karen Dotrice in a story about a cat and her influence on a family. The screenplay was written by Robert Westerby and Paul Gallico and was based upon...
as a girl whose relationship with her father is mended by the magical reappearance of her cat. While Dotrice was in California, her father stayed in England—where he was portraying King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
—and Walt Disney personally took care of her family, often hosting them in his Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
home. Dotrice took quickly to Disney as a father figure, calling him "Uncle Walt". She said the admiration was mutual: "I think he really liked English kids. He was tickled pink by the accent and the etiquette. And when I was being very English and polite, he would look proudly at this little charge who had such good manners."
History of film
The history of film is the historical development of the medium known variously as cinema, motion pictures, film, or the movies.The history of film spans over 100 years, from the latter part of the 19th century to the present day...
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
said Dotrice "won over everyone" with her performance in The Three Lives of Thomasina, and she was signed to play Jane Banks (along with Thomasina co-star Matthew Garber
Matthew Garber
Matthew Adam Garber was a British actor best known for his role as Michael Banks in Walt Disney's 1964 film Mary Poppins...
as her brother, Michael) in Mary Poppins. Disney's part-live-action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
, part-animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
musical adaptation of the Poppins children's books by P. L. Travers
P. L. Travers
Pamela Lyndon Travers OBE was an Australian novelist, actress and journalist, popularly remembered for her series of children's novels about the mystical and magical nanny Mary Poppins...
starred David Tomlinson
David Tomlinson
David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson was an English film actor. He is primarily remembered for his roles as authority figure George Banks in Mary Poppins, fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and as hapless antagonist Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug.-Early life:Born...
as a workaholic
Workaholic
A workaholic is a person who is addicted to work.The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it...
father and Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
as a suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
mother who are too busy to spend any time with their children. Instead, they hire a nanny (Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
) who takes Jane and Michael on magical adventures designed to teach them—and their parents—about the importance of family. Poppins was Disney's biggest commercial success at the time and won five Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, making its stars world-famous
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
. Dotrice and Garber were praised for their natural screen presence; critic
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
wrote, "the kids ... are just as they should be," while author Brian Sibley
Brian Sibley
Brian Sibley is an English writer. He is author of over 100 hours of radio drama and has written and presented hundreds of radio documentaries, features and weekly programmes.- Early life :...
said, "these charming, delightful young people provided a wonderful centre for the film."
Dotrice and Garber paired up again in The Gnome-Mobile
The Gnome-Mobile
The Gnome-Mobile is a 1967 Disney musical film, directed by Robert Stevenson. It was one of the last films personally produced by Walt Disney....
(1967) as the grandchildren of a rich lumber mogul who stumble across a gnome forest and help keep the gnomes from dying off. Starring Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
in a dual role, The Gnome-Mobile failed to perform on a par with Poppins at the box office, and Dotrice did not make another film appearance as a child.
After The Gnome-Mobile, "the kids" no longer kept in contact with each other. In an interview for the 40th Anniversary Edition DVD release of Mary Poppins, Dotrice recalled how she learned of Garber's death (in 1978): "I remember his mum, Margot, calling ... to let us know that Matthew had died. That was— so unexpected. ... I wished I had picked up the phone over the years, I wished I had treated him more like a brother; but he's indelibly printed in all of our minds, he's eternal ... an amazing little soul."
Dotrice later appeared as Alex Mackenzie in The Thirty Nine Steps (1978) with Robert Powell
Robert Powell
Robert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
and John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
. The third film based on the John Buchan novel
The Thirty-nine Steps
The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. It first appeared as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine in August and September 1915 before being published in book form in October that year by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh...
, this was her only feature film as an adult. According to Allmovie, Dotrice played "an imperiled heroine [who] was an invention of the Hitchcock version
The 39 Steps (1935 film)
The 39 Steps is a British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll....
; the Buchan story is essentially 'boys only'."
Television
Dotrice appeared as Desirée Clary in the Thames TelevisionThames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
serial Napoleon and Love. The nine-hour, dramatised account of the of Napoleon I of France
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
starred Ian Holm
Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
and Tim Curry
Tim Curry
Timothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....
.
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
during its fifth and final season. The series—a narrative of the upper-class Bellamy family and their servants in the early twentieth century—was one of the most popular programmes produced by London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. It also proved popular when shown in the United States on Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
, and was "beloved throughout much of the world."
Dotrice took on the role of Maria Beadnell in the serial Dickens of London
Dickens of London
Dickens of London is a 1976 television miniseries from Yorkshire Television based on the life of English novelist Charles Dickens. Both Dickens and his father John were played by British actor Roy Dotrice. The series was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Marc Miller...
(1976), starring her father as Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
. In 1977, she appeared with Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
in Joseph Andrews, a German telefilm based on the Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the author of the novel Tom Jones....
novel Joseph Andrews
Joseph Andrews
Joseph Andrews, or The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams, was the first published full-length novel of the English author and magistrate Henry Fielding, and indeed among the first novels in the English language...
.
In 1978, Dotrice made her final screen appearance, playing Jenny in the BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
Play of the Week, She Fell Among Thieves. Starring Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
and Eileen Atkins
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
, Thieves made its U.S. début on 5 February 1980—the first film screened as part of the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
Mystery!
Mystery!
Mystery! is an episodic television series that debuted in 1980 in the USA. It airs on PBS and is produced by WGBH...
series.
Later life
In 1981, Dotrice took the role of Desdemona in the Warner TheatreWarner Theatre (Washington, D.C.)
The Warner Theatre is a theater located at 513 13th Street, N.W. in Downtown Washington, D.C.. The basement level is at 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue.-History:...
production of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
opposite James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
and Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
. Reviewers were less than kind; calling her "the only serious let-down" in the cast, David Richards of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
wrote, "Dotrice is not Desdemona. She is a Desdemona doll, reciting her lines in a thin, reedy voice and moving through the tragedy with a rare somnolence." Dianne Wiest
Dianne Wiest
Dianne Wiest is an American actress. She has had a successful career on stage, television, and film, and has won two Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Wiest has also been nominated for a BAFTA Award.-Early life:...
took the role in the 1982 Broadway production and received similar reviews.
Dotrice virtually disappeared from public life following her retirement. She was married to English actor Alex Hyde-White
Alex Hyde-White
Alex Punch Hyde-White is an English born, US raised film and television actor. He is sometimes credited as Alex Hyde White. In 1978 he signed with Universal Pictures as one of the last "contract players" in Hollywood, in a group that included Lindsay Wagner, Andrew Stevens and Sharon...
from 1986 to 1992; they have a son, Garrick. In 1994, Dotrice married then-Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
executive Edwin "Ned" Nalle and later gave birth to two children, Isabella and Griffin.
She provided spoken-word adaptations of Disney's The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
, Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
and Pocahontas
Pocahontas (1995 film)
Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
; in 2001, she lent her voice to a sing-along release of Mary Poppins and was interviewed for the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television special, Walt: The Man Behind the Myth; she was, however, done with acting. "I'll never go back," she told Hello!
Hello!
Hello is a weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, published in the United Kingdom since 1988. Hello is sister magazine to ¡Hola!, the Spanish weekly magazine launched in Spain in 1944...
magazine in 1995, "because you don't have to put on any make-up."
Dotrice was coaxed back into the spotlight twice in 2004: She was named a Disney Legend at a ceremony in Burbank (at which Matthew Garber
Matthew Garber
Matthew Adam Garber was a British actor best known for his role as Michael Banks in Walt Disney's 1964 film Mary Poppins...
was honoured posthumously), and she was interviewed and provided audio commentary for the 40th Anniversary Edition Mary Poppins DVD release.
Feature films
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | The Three Lives of Thomasina The Three Lives of Thomasina The Three Lives of Thomasina is a 1964 British-American Disney fantasy feature film starring Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, and child actress Karen Dotrice in a story about a cat and her influence on a family. The screenplay was written by Robert Westerby and Paul Gallico and was based upon... |
Mary McDhui |
| Mary Poppins Mary Poppins (film) Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by... |
Jane Banks | |
| 1967 | The Gnome-Mobile The Gnome-Mobile The Gnome-Mobile is a 1967 Disney musical film, directed by Robert Stevenson. It was one of the last films personally produced by Walt Disney.... |
Elizabeth Winthrop |
| 1978 | The Thirty Nine Steps | Alex Mackenzie |
Television
| Year | Programme | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Napoleon and Love | Desirée Clary |
| 1975 | Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a... |
Lily Hawkins |
| 1976 | Dickens of London Dickens of London Dickens of London is a 1976 television miniseries from Yorkshire Television based on the life of English novelist Charles Dickens. Both Dickens and his father John were played by British actor Roy Dotrice. The series was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Marc Miller... |
Maria Beadnell |
| 1977 | Joseph Andrews | Pamela |
| 1978 | She Fell Among Thieves | Jenny |