Rona Anderson
Encyclopedia
Rona Anderson is a Scottish
stage, film, and television actress. Her first stage appearance took place at the Garrison Theatre
in April 1945. She also appeared in the original production of Whose Life Is It Anyway?
. Anderson's first major film was the 1948 drama Sleeping Car to Trieste
. In 1951, she married fellow actor Gordon Jackson
, with whom she had appeared in the 1949 romantic drama Floodtide
. Her last major film was The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
, after which she appeared in various plays and television series.
, Scotland
, on August 3, 1928, to parents James Anderson and Evelyn Anderson (née Thomson). She was educated in her home town and in Ottawa
. Anderson was trained for the stage at the Glover Turner-Robertson School in Edinburgh. She married fellow actor Gordon Jackson
in 1951 after having appeared alongside him in the romantic drama Floodtide
in 1949. Jackson died of bone cancer on January 15, 1990.
in April 1945 in a production of Peg o' My Heart. From 1945 through 1949, she played various parts with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. At the 1950 Edinburgh Festival
, Anderson played the role of Venus in a production of The Queen's Comedy. Anderson made her London
debut in October 1951 at the Piccadilly Theatre
. Anderson went on two tours in 1955. In March of that year, she toured as Sabrina in Sabrina Fair
. In September, she toured as Mary in All for Mary
. In October 1958, she played Mary Tufnell in Once a Rake at the Theatre Royal, Windsor
. Anderson appeared in the premier of Savages in 1973. She appeared at the Mermaid Theatre
in their 1978 production of Whose Life Is It Anyway?
, which later transferred to the Savoy Theatre
.
directed by John Paddy Carstairs
. Anderson played the role of Alice in the Scrooge
, the 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol
. In 1958, she appeared alongside Lee Patterson
in Man with a Gun
directed by Montgomery Tully
. Anderson's last major film appearance was in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
in 1969, after which she continued her work on the stage and in television series.
From 1953 through 1983, Anderson appeared in several British television programs. She appeared in three episodes of The Human Jungle
during its second season. Anderson played the role of Mary on the British sitcom Bachelor Father in 1970 and 1971. Anderson later appeared in an episode of the long-running crime series The Professionals
, in which her husband played George Cowley.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
stage, film, and television actress. Her first stage appearance took place at the Garrison Theatre
Garrison Theatre
The Garrison Theatre is a 280 capacity venue in Lerwick, Shetland with a sprung proscenium stage with fixed raked seating. It has 19 rows, named A to S which either has 8, 12, 13, 15 or 16 seats in each row....
in April 1945. She also appeared in the original production of Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Whose Life is it Anyway?
Whose Life Is It Anyway? is a play by Brian Clark adapted from his 1972 television play of the same title. The play premiered at the Mermaid Theatre in London's West End in 1978 starring Tom Conti as Ken.-Plot:...
. Anderson's first major film was the 1948 drama Sleeping Car to Trieste
Sleeping Car to Trieste
Sleeping Car to Trieste is a 1948 is a British film directed by John Paddy Carstairs. The film is a remake of the 1932 film Rome Express, with essentially the same characters and many of the same actors.-Plot:...
. In 1951, she married fellow actor Gordon Jackson
Gordon Jackson (actor)
Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE was a Scottish Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals....
, with whom she had appeared in the 1949 romantic drama Floodtide
Floodtide
Floodtide is a 1949 British romantic drama film directed by Frederick Wilson and starring Gordon Jackson, Rona Anderson, John Laurie and Jimmy Logan. A young Scotsman becomes a ship designer instead of following the family tradition and entering farming...
. Her last major film was The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (film)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a 1969 drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Muriel Spark.The novel was turned into a play by Jay Presson Allen, which opened on Broadway in 1968, with Zoe Caldwell in the title role, a performance for which she won a Tony Award...
, after which she appeared in various plays and television series.
Biography
Rona Anderson was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, on August 3, 1928, to parents James Anderson and Evelyn Anderson (née Thomson). She was educated in her home town and in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. Anderson was trained for the stage at the Glover Turner-Robertson School in Edinburgh. She married fellow actor Gordon Jackson
Gordon Jackson (actor)
Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE was a Scottish Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals....
in 1951 after having appeared alongside him in the romantic drama Floodtide
Floodtide
Floodtide is a 1949 British romantic drama film directed by Frederick Wilson and starring Gordon Jackson, Rona Anderson, John Laurie and Jimmy Logan. A young Scotsman becomes a ship designer instead of following the family tradition and entering farming...
in 1949. Jackson died of bone cancer on January 15, 1990.
Stage work
Anderson made her first appearance on the stage at the Garrison TheatreGarrison Theatre
The Garrison Theatre is a 280 capacity venue in Lerwick, Shetland with a sprung proscenium stage with fixed raked seating. It has 19 rows, named A to S which either has 8, 12, 13, 15 or 16 seats in each row....
in April 1945 in a production of Peg o' My Heart. From 1945 through 1949, she played various parts with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. At the 1950 Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
, Anderson played the role of Venus in a production of The Queen's Comedy. Anderson made her London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
debut in October 1951 at the Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...
. Anderson went on two tours in 1955. In March of that year, she toured as Sabrina in Sabrina Fair
Sabrina Fair
Sabrina Fair is a romantic comedy written by Samuel A. Taylor. It ran on Broadway for a total of 318 performances, opening at the National Theatre on November 11, 1953. Directed by H. C...
. In September, she toured as Mary in All for Mary
All for Mary
All for Mary is a 1955 UK Comedy Film brought to the screen by Paul Soskin Productions for The Rank Organisation. It was based on a play written by the English husband and wife team of Kay Bannerman and Harold Brooke. It was directed by Wendy Toye, produced by Paul Soskin with the screenplay by...
. In October 1958, she played Mary Tufnell in Once a Rake at the Theatre Royal, Windsor
Theatre Royal, Windsor
The Theatre Royal, Windsor is located in the town of Windsor, Berkshire, England, directly across the road from Windsor Castle.The present building was opened on 17 December 1910 after the previous theatre had burned down on 18 February 1908, under the ownership of Sir William Shipley.With the...
. Anderson appeared in the premier of Savages in 1973. She appeared at the Mermaid Theatre
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
in their 1978 production of Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Whose Life is it Anyway?
Whose Life Is It Anyway? is a play by Brian Clark adapted from his 1972 television play of the same title. The play premiered at the Mermaid Theatre in London's West End in 1978 starring Tom Conti as Ken.-Plot:...
, which later transferred to the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
.
Filmography
Rona Anderson's first major film was the 1948 drama Sleeping Car to TriesteSleeping Car to Trieste
Sleeping Car to Trieste is a 1948 is a British film directed by John Paddy Carstairs. The film is a remake of the 1932 film Rome Express, with essentially the same characters and many of the same actors.-Plot:...
directed by John Paddy Carstairs
John Paddy Carstairs
John Paddy Carstairs was a British film director and television director , usually of light-hearted subject matter. He was also a comic novelist and painter....
. Anderson played the role of Alice in the Scrooge
Scrooge (1951 film)
Scrooge, released as A Christmas Carol in the United States, is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an...
, the 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
. In 1958, she appeared alongside Lee Patterson
Lee Patterson
Lee Patterson was a Canadian film and television actor.After attending Ontario College of Art, Patterson moved to England, where he specialized in playing virile American types in British films...
in Man with a Gun
Man with a Gun
Disambiguation: For the 1955 Robert Mitchum Western film, see Man with the GunMan with a Gun is a 1958 British crime film directed by Montgomery Tully from a screenplay by Michael Winner. It starred Lee Patterson, Rona Anderson and John Le Mesurier....
directed by Montgomery Tully
Montgomery Tully
Montgomery Tully was an Irish film director and writer. Born in Dublin, Tully worked on low-budget British films, mostly crime dramas. One of his efforts, No Road Back, featured a young Sean Connery in a very early role...
. Anderson's last major film appearance was in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (film)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a 1969 drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Muriel Spark.The novel was turned into a play by Jay Presson Allen, which opened on Broadway in 1968, with Zoe Caldwell in the title role, a performance for which she won a Tony Award...
in 1969, after which she continued her work on the stage and in television series.
From 1953 through 1983, Anderson appeared in several British television programs. She appeared in three episodes of The Human Jungle
The Human Jungle
The Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Weekend Television by the small production company Independent Artists and screened by the ITV Network...
during its second season. Anderson played the role of Mary on the British sitcom Bachelor Father in 1970 and 1971. Anderson later appeared in an episode of the long-running crime series The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
, in which her husband played George Cowley.