Ruth Kettlewell
Encyclopedia
Ruth Kettlewell was a noted English actress who, by her own admission, was a “character bag”: that is a recognisable face to regular TV watchers but not a household name.
, Kettlewell was the second daughter of a clergyman and was educated at Casterton School. From there she went on to art college art, herself marrying a curate
at the age of 18, and often playing small parts in amateur dramatic
productions. Her husband died from scarlet fever
caught while serving as a wartime
army padre
. She herself served in the Women's Land Army
from 1942 to 1946.
and by the late 50s had managed to secure small West End
roles. In 1959 she had her first film role in Room at the Top. She even acted in Norwegian for a Scandinavian children's film.
, Joan Sims
and Deryck Guyler
. She is perhaps best known for her role in the early episodes of All Gas and Gaiters
where she played Mrs Grace Pugh-Critchley the Dean
's wife. In 1966, she had a small role in the seminal Cathy Come Home
.
A specialist in landladies and mothers-in-law, she was equally at home with both adult or children's material. In the early 1970s she played alongside Scottish comedy double-act Mike Hope and Albie Keen
in BBC TV's "Hope and Keens Crazy House" later reprised as "Hope and Keen's Crazy Bus". Like many actors she continued to work well into her eighties.
, where she also served as churchwarden
and sacristan
.
She died on 17 July 2007 in London
.
Life to death of husband
Born Ruth Anne Berry on 13 April 1913 in WorcesterWorcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, Kettlewell was the second daughter of a clergyman and was educated at Casterton School. From there she went on to art college art, herself marrying a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at the age of 18, and often playing small parts in amateur dramatic
Amateur theatre
Amateur theatre is theatre performed by amateur actors. These actors are not typically members of Actors' Equity groups or Actors' Unions as these organizations exist to protect the professional industry and therefore discourage their members from appearing with companies which are not a signatory...
productions. Her husband died from scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
caught while serving as a wartime
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
army padre
Padre
Padre may refer to:* Partnership for Acid Drainage Remediation in Europe PADRE* An IDE for the Perl programming language, see Padre * A Military Chaplain* A member of the San Diego Padres baseball team...
. She herself served in the Women's Land Army
Women's Land Army
The Women's Land Army was a British civilian organisation created during the First and Second World Wars to work in agriculture replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls...
from 1942 to 1946.
Early career
Kettlewell began her career in repand by the late 50s had managed to secure small West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
roles. In 1959 she had her first film role in Room at the Top. She even acted in Norwegian for a Scandinavian children's film.
TV and radio breakthroughs
In the 1960s Kettlewell's television career unfolded and she worked alongside the likes of Harry WorthHarry Worth
Harry Worth was an English comedy actor and comedian...
, Joan Sims
Joan Sims
Joan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
and Deryck Guyler
Deryck Guyler
Deryck Guyler was an English actor, best known for his portrayal of officious, short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as Please Sir! and Sykes.-Early life:...
. She is perhaps best known for her role in the early episodes of All Gas and Gaiters
All Gas and Gaiters
All Gas and Gaiters was a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of "John Wraith" when writing the pilot...
where she played Mrs Grace Pugh-Critchley the Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
's wife. In 1966, she had a small role in the seminal Cathy Come Home
Cathy Come Home
Cathy Come Home is a 1966 BBC television play by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach, about homelessness. An industry poll rated it as the best British television drama ever made. Filmed in a gritty, realistic drama documentary style, it was first broadcast on 16...
.
A specialist in landladies and mothers-in-law, she was equally at home with both adult or children's material. In the early 1970s she played alongside Scottish comedy double-act Mike Hope and Albie Keen
Hope and Keen
Mike Hope and Albie Keen were a British comedy double act. Cousins, the sons of British variety comedians Syd and Max Harrison, they first formed their act in 1956....
in BBC TV's "Hope and Keens Crazy House" later reprised as "Hope and Keen's Crazy Bus". Like many actors she continued to work well into her eighties.
Filmography
- Room at the Top (1959)
- Friends and NeighboursFriends and NeighboursFriends and Neighbours is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Arthur Askey, Megs Jenkins and Peter Illing. At the height of the Cold War, a working-class British family have to entertain two visitors from Russia.-Cast:...
(1959) - Sons and LoversSons and Lovers (1960 film)Sons and Lovers is a British 1960 film adaptation of the D. H. Lawrence novel Sons and Lovers. It was adapted by T. E. B. Clarke and Gavin Lambert and directed by Jack Cardiff...
(1960) - The Clue of the New PinThe Clue of the New Pin (1961 film)The Clue of the New Pin is a British crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Paul Daneman, Bernard Archard and James Villiers....
(1961) - The Yellow Teddy BearsThe Yellow Teddy BearsThe Yellow Teddy Bears is a 1963 British drama film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring Jacqueline Ellis, Iain Gregory, Raymond Huntley and Georgina Patterson...
(1963) - Oh! What a Lovely WarOh! What a Lovely WarOh! What a Lovely War is a musical film based on the stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963,...
(1969) - No Blade of GrassNo Blade of Grass (film)No Blade of Grass is a 1970 British-American apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Cornel Wilde and starring Nigel Davenport, Jean Wallace and John Hamill. It is an adaptation of the novel The Death of Grass by John Christopher...
(1970) - ZeppelinZeppelin (film)Zeppelin is a 1971 British World War I action/drama film of a fictitious German attempt to raid Great Britain in a giant Zeppelin and steal the Magna Carta from its hiding place in one of Scotland's castles...
(1971) - Professor Popper's ProblemProfessor Popper's ProblemProfessor Popper's Problem was a film made in 1974 turned into a 6 part serial by Mersey Film Production for the Children's Film Foundation.-Plot:...
(1974) - The Black PantherThe Black Panther (film)The Black Panther is a 1977 British thriller film directed by Ian Merrick and starring Donald Sumpter, Debbie Farrington and Marjorie Yates. Ex-soldier turned armed robbery Donald Neilson kidnaps an heiress.-Cast:* Donald Sumpter - Donald Neilson...
(1977) - Adventures of a Private EyeAdventures of a Private EyeThe Adventures of a Private Eye is a 1977 British sex comedy film starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H. Corbett and Liz Fraser. It was the second in the trilogy of 'Adventures' films after the 1976 film Adventures of a Taxi Driver...
(1977) - Crystalstone (1987)
- Great Balls of Fire!Great Balls of Fire! (film)Great Balls of Fire! is a 1989 American biographical film directed by Jim McBride and starring Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis. Based on a biography by Myra Lewis and Murray M. Silver Jr., the screenplay is written by McBride and Jack Baran...
(1989) - Funny BonesFunny BonesFunny Bones is a 1995 comedy-drama film from Disney's Hollywood Pictures. It was written, directed and produced by Peter Chelsom, co-produced by Simon Fields, and co-written by Peter Flannery. The music score was by John Altman and the cinematography by Eduardo Serra...
(1995)
Selected television roles
- Don't Wait UpDon't Wait UpDon't Wait Up is a British sitcom that aired for six series from 1983 to 1990 on BBC1. It starred Nigel Havers, Tony Britton and Dinah Sheridan, and was written by George Layton...
- On The BusesOn The BusesOn the Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney which was broadcast in the UK from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the Corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential...
- The Howerd ConfessionsThe Howerd ConfessionsThe Howerd Confessions was a British comedy television series which originally aired on ITV in 1976. It featured comedian Frankie Howerd in "confessing" various adventures during his life....
- Juliet BravoJuliet BravoJuliet Bravo is a British television series, which ran on BBC1 between 1980 and 1985. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over control of a police station in the fictional town of Hartley in Lancashire.-Programme name:...
Later life
A devout Anglo-Catholic and active member of the Actors’ Church Union, she directed many amateur productions with a devotional theme for her church, St Augustine of Canterbury, HighgateHighgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
, where she also served as churchwarden
Churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church or congregation of the Anglican Communion, usually working as a part-time volunteer. Holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parish council, parochial church council, or in the case of a...
and sacristan
Sacristan
A sacristan is an officer who is charged with the care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents.In ancient times many duties of the sacristan were performed by the doorkeepers , later by the treasurers and mansionarii...
.
She died on 17 July 2007 in 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...
.