Kathleen Byron
Encyclopedia
Kathleen Byron was a British actress of stage, screen and television.
– 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
.
. The director Michael Powell
persuaded her to return to England where she was to make her most successful films. 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.
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-movie
s. 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).
(who predeceased her), who was then working for the BBC
. They had one son and daughter; with a child from Jacob's previous marriage.
Early life
Byron was born Kathleen Elizabeth Fell in West HamWest Ham
West Ham is in the London Borough of Newham in London, England. In the west it is a post-industrial neighbourhood abutting the site of the London Olympic Park and in the east it is mostly residential, consisting of Victorian terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-War social housing...
– now in the London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
. Her father was a railway clerk who later became a Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of the County Borough of East Ham
County Borough of East Ham
East Ham was a local government district in the far south west of Essex from 1878 to 1965. It extended from Wanstead Flats in the north to the River Thames in the south and from Green Street in the west to Barking Creek in the east...
.
She attended the local grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Laurence Olivier in 1946, is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organisation securing the highest standards of training in the performing arts, and is an associate school of the Faculty of Creative Arts of the University of the...
. She made her film debut in Carol Reed
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
's The Young Mr Pitt
The Young Mr Pitt
The Young Mr Pitt is a 1942 British, black-and-white, biographical film, directed by Carol Reed and starring Robert Donat, Robert Morley and John Mills. It was produced by Edward Black, Maurice Ostrer, Twentieth Century Productions Ltd. and Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.-Synopsis:The film...
(1942), in which she had two lines as a maid opposite Robert Donat
Robert Donat
Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
.
Career
In 1943, she married a USAAF pilot, Lt. John Daniel Bowen, and moved to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The director Michael Powell
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
persuaded her to return to England where she was to make her most successful films. She was best known for her roles in the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a multiple-award-winning partnership known as The Archers and produced a series of classic British films, notably 49th Parallel , The...
: as an angel in A Matter of Life and Death (1946), as leading lady opposite David Farrar in The Small Back Room
The Small Back Room
The Small Back Room is a film by the British producer-writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring David Farrar and Kathleen Byron and featuring Jack Hawkins and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the novel of the same name by Nigel Balchin...
(1949), and as the disturbed Sister Ruth in Black Narcissus
Black Narcissus
Black Narcissus is a 1947 film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden...
(1947). Byron was romantically linked with Michael Powell around the time the film was made; he was named as co-respondent
Co-respondent
In English law, a co-respondent is, in general, a respondent to a petition, or other legal proceeding, along with another or others, or a person called upon to answer in some other way.- Divorce :...
when she was divorced in 1950.
Her success in Black Narcissus led her to Hollywood, which resulted with a supporting role in Young Bess
Young Bess
Young Bess is a 1953 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about the early life of Elizabeth I, from her turbulent childhood to the eve of her accession to the throne of England...
(1953). She found the experience an unrewarding one and soon returned to Britain. Her subsequent roles of the time were mostly in B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s. 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
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Emmerdale Farm in 1979, and a small role as Queen Louise of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. 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
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's The Mousetrap (1990), David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's The Elephant Man
The Elephant Man (film)
The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
(1980), the 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Emma
Emma (1996 film)
Emma is a 1996 period film based on the novel of the same name by Jane Austen. Directed by Douglas McGrath, it stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette, and Ewan McGregor.- Synopsis :...
, Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
(1998) and Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff, CBE, FRSL is an acclaimed British playwright, director and scriptwriter, widely judged amongst Britain's foremost television dramatists.-Early life and career:...
's series, Perfect Strangers (2001).
Personal life
In 1953, she married the British journalist and writer Alaric JacobAlaric Jacob
Harold Alaric Jacob was an English writer and journalist. He was Reuters correspondent in Washington in the 1930s, and a war correspondent during World War II in North Africa, Burma and Moscow.-Early life:...
(who predeceased her), who was then working for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. They had one son and daughter; with a child from Jacob's previous marriage.
Partial filmography
- A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
- Black NarcissusBlack NarcissusBlack Narcissus is a 1947 film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden...
(1947) - The Small Back RoomThe Small Back RoomThe Small Back Room is a film by the British producer-writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring David Farrar and Kathleen Byron and featuring Jack Hawkins and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the novel of the same name by Nigel Balchin...
(1949) - Madness of the HeartMadness of the HeartMadness of the Heart is a 1949 British drama film directed by Charles Bennett and starring Margaret Lockwood, Paul Dupuis and Kathleen Byron.-Cast:* Margaret Lockwood - Lydia Garth* Paul Dupuis - Paul de Vandiere* Kathleen Byron - Verite Faimont...
(1949) - The Reluctant WidowThe Reluctant Widow (film)The Reluctant Widow is a 1950 British drama film directed by Bernard Knowles and starring Jean Kent, Guy Rolfe, Paul Dupuis and Lana Morris. It is based on the novel The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer, with the screenplay written by Gordon Wellesley and others. A French governess marries a...
(1950) - Prelude to FamePrelude to FamePrelude to Fame is a 1950 British drama film directed by Fergus McDonell from a story by Aldous Huxley. It starred Guy Rolfe, Kathleen Byron, Kathleen Ryan, and James Robertson Justice.-Synopsis:...
(1950) - Scarlet ThreadScarlet ThreadScarlet Thread is a 1951 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert.-Cast:* Kathleen Byron as Josephine* Laurence Harvey as Freddie* Sydney Tafler as Marcon* Arthur Hill as Shaw* Dora Bryan as Maggie* Eliot Makeham as Jason* Harry Fowler as Sam...
(1951) - Hell is Sold OutHell is Sold OutHell is Sold Out is a 1951 British drama film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Mai Zetterling, Herbert Lom and Richard Attenborough. A woman publishes a book under the name of a man believed to be long dead.-Main cast:...
(1951) - Four DaysFour Days (film)Four Days is a 1951 British drama film directed by John Guillermin. It was based on a play by Monckton Hoffe.-Cast:* Hugh McDermott as Francis Templar* Kathleen Byron as Lucienne Templar* Peter Reynolds as Johnny Keylin* Gordon McLeod as Mr. Keylin...
(1951) - Tom Brown's SchooldaysTom Brown's Schooldays (1951 film)Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1951 British drama film directed by Gordon Parry and starring John Howard Davies, Robert Newton and James Hayter. It is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Hughes. The screenplay was written by Noel Langley....
(1951) - The House in the SquareThe House in the SquareThe House in the Square, also titled I'll Never Forget You and Man of Two Worlds, is a 1951 science fiction film about an American atomic scientist who is transported to the 18th century, where he falls in love. It starred Tyrone Power and Ann Blyth. It was adapted from the play Berkeley Square by...
(1951) - Young BessYoung BessYoung Bess is a 1953 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about the early life of Elizabeth I, from her turbulent childhood to the eve of her accession to the throne of England...
(1953) - Secret VentureSecret VentureSecret Venture is a 1955 British B-movie thriller film directed by R. G. Springsteen and starring Kent Taylor, Jane Hylton and Kathleen Byron.-Plot:...
(1955) - The Elephant ManThe Elephant Man (film)The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
(1980) - EmmaEmma (1996 film)Emma is a 1996 period film based on the novel of the same name by Jane Austen. Directed by Douglas McGrath, it stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette, and Ewan McGregor.- Synopsis :...
(1996) - Saving Private RyanSaving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
(1998) - Les MisérablesLes Misérables (1998 film)Les Misérables is a 1998 film adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel of the same name, directed by Bille August. It stars Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, and Claire Danes....
(1998)
Sources
- McFarlane, Brian. An Autobiography of British Cinema. London: Methuen. 1997. ISBN 0-413-70520-X
External links
- Video of Kathleen Byron
- Obituary in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Obituary in The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
- Obituary in The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
- Kathleen Byron at the CinéArtistes