Kathleen Harrison

For Kathleen Harrison (ethnobotanist), see Terence McKenna § Botanical Dimensions.

Kathleen Harrison
Born	(1892-02-23)23 February 1892 Blackburn, Lancashire, England
Died	7 December 1995(1995-12-07) (aged 103) Merton, London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1915–79
Spouse	John Henry Back (1916–61, his death)
Children	3

Kathleen Harrison (23 February 1892 – 7 December 1995) was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett (opposite Jack Warner and Petula Clark) in a trio of British post-war comedies about a working-class family's misadventures, The Huggetts. She later played the charwoman Mrs. Dilber opposite Alastair Sim in the 1951 film Scrooge (US: A Christmas Carol, 1951) and a Cockney charwoman who inherits a fortune in the television series Mrs Thursday (1966–67).

Life and career

Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, Harrison was brought up in London, her father having become borough engineer for Southwark. She was educated at Clapham High School before training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1914–15). She spent some years living in Argentina and Madeira before making her professional acting debut in the UK in the 1920s.

Harrison made her stage debut as Mrs. Judd in The Constant Flirt at the Pier Theatre, Eastbourne in 1926. The following year she appeared in London's West End for the first time as Winnie in The Cage at the Savoy Theatre. Her subsequent West End plays included A Damsel in Distress, Happy Families, The Merchant and Venus, Lovers' Meeting, Line Engaged, Night Must Fall—also acting in the 1937 film version—Flare Path, Ducks and Drakes, The Winslow Boy and Watch It Sailor!.

She had already made her film debut with a minor role in Our Boys (1915), when she appeared in the film Hobson's Choice (1931). Another 50 films followed, including Gaslight (1940), In Which We Serve (1942) and Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), before making her name in later films.

Before and during World War II, she played small parts in numerous British films, including The Ghost Train (1941), Temptation Harbour (1947), and Oliver Twist (1948), and had a small but scene-stealing role as Mrs. Dilber in Scrooge (US: A Christmas Carol, 1951).

Harrison also played Kaney in The Ghoul (1933) and the matriarch in Mrs. Gibbons' Boys (1962), as well as two BBC productions of Charles Dickens's novels, Martin Chuzzlewit (1964) and Our Mutual Friend (1976). She later commented that Dickens was her favourite author. As her cinema appearances became more infrequent, Harrison turned to television. She starred on television as Mrs Thursday (1966–67), a charwoman who inherits £10 million and the controlling interest in a major company.

The Huggett family

Further information: The Huggetts Trilogy

The Huggett family made their first appearance in Holiday Camp (1947). Harrison played the London East End charwoman Mrs Huggett. The actress continued with the role, alongside Jack Warner as her screen husband, in Here Come the Huggetts (1948), Vote for Huggett and The Huggetts Abroad (both 1949), as well as a radio series, Meet the Huggetts, which ran from 1953 to 1961. Although disliked by critics, almost immediately it became one of the most popular programmes of its day. Harrison turned down the title role in writer Jeremy Sandford's Play for Today Edna, the Inebriate Woman (1971).

Harrison also starred with Warner in the film Home and Away (1956), about a working-class family that wins the football pools.

Personal life

Harrison married John Henry Back in 1916; the couple had three children, two sons, and a daughter. She always pretended to be six years younger than her age, but in 1992 she owned up to reaching 100 and received her telegram from the Queen. Harrison died in 1995 at the age of 103. She was predeceased by her husband, John, and a son.

Filmography

Motion pictures

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1931	Hobson's Choice	Ada Figgins
1932	Detective Lloyd	Minor role	Uncredited
	Aren't We All?	Unspecified	Uncredited
	A Blonde Dream	Unspecified	Uncredited
1933	The Man from Toronto	Martha
	The Ghoul	Kaney
1934	The Great Defender	Agnes Carter – Locke's maid
	What Happened Then?	Mrs. Munday	Uncredited
1935	Inside the Room	Nurse	Uncredited
	Dandy Dick	Jane (the maid)	Uncredited
	Line Engaged	Maid
1936	Jury's Evidence
	Broken Blossoms	Mrs. Lossy
	The Tenth Man	Confused voter
	Everybody Dance	Lucy
1937	Aren't Men Beasts!	Annie
	Wanted!	Belinda
	Night Must Fall	Mrs. Terence
1938	Bank Holiday	May
	Jane Steps Out	Bit role	Uncredited
	Convict 99	Mabel
	Almost a Gentleman	Mrs. Barker
	The Terror	Parlor maid	Uncredited
	I've Got a Horse	Mabel
	The Outsider	Mrs. Coates
1939	A Girl Must Live	Penelope
	Home from Home	Mabel
	Who Is Guilty	Polly
	Discoveries	Kitchen maid
1940	Mad Men of Europe	Bit role
	They Came by Night	Mrs. Lightbody
	Gaslight	Bit role	Uncredited
	Tilly of Bloomsbury	Mrs. Welwyn
	The Girl in the News	Cook
	The Flying Squad	Mrs. Schiffan
	Salvage with a Smile	The Housekeeper	Short
	A Call for Arms	Mrs. James	Short
1941	The Ghost Train	Miss Bourne
	Major Barbara	Mrs. Price
	The Remarkable Mr. Kipps	Customer	Uncredited
	Once a Crook	Auntie
	I Thank You	Cook
	A Letter from Home	The Maid	Short
1942	The Big Blockade	Bit Role	Uncredited
	In Which We Serve	Mrs. Blake
	Much Too Shy	Amelia Peabody
1943	Dear Octopus	Mrs. Glossop
	The New Lot	Keith's Mother	Short – Uncredited
1944	It Happened One Sunday	Mrs. Purkiss
1945	Waterloo Road	Bit role	Uncredited
	Meet Sexton Blake!	Mrs. Bardell
	Great Day	Pub customer
	Caesar and Cleopatra	Egyptian woman	Uncredited
1946	Wanted for Murder	Florrie
	I See a Dark Stranger	Waitress	Uncredited
	Carnival	Bit role	Uncredited
1947	Temptation Harbour	Mrs. Slater
	Code of Scotland Yard	Mrs. Catt
	Holiday Camp	Mrs. Huggett
1948	Oliver Twist	Mrs. Sowerberry
	Bond Street	Ethel Brawn
	The Winslow Boy	Violet – the maid
	Here Come the Huggetts	Ethel Huggett
	The Day Begins Early	Mrs. Huggett	Short
	Vote for Huggett	Ethel Huggett
1949	Now Barabbas	Mrs. Brown
	The Huggetts Abroad	Ethel Huggett
	Landfall	Mona's mother
	The Gay Adventure	Isobel
1950	Double Confession	Kate
	Waterfront	Mrs. McCabe
	Trio	Emma Brown Foreman
1951	The Magic Box	Mother in Family Group
	Scrooge	Mrs. Dilber
1952	The Happy Family	Lillian Lord
	The Pickwick Papers	Rachel Wardle
1953	Turn the Key Softly	Granny Quilliam
	The Dog and the Diamonds	Mrs. Fossett
1954	Let's Make Up	Kate
1955	Where There's a Will	Annie Yeo
	Cast a Dark Shadow	Emmie
	All for Mary	Nannie Cartwright
1956	It's a Wonderful World	Miss Gilly
	Home and Away	Elsie
	The Big Money	Mrs. Frith
1957	Seven Thunders	Mme. Abou
1958	A Cry from the Streets	Mrs. Farrer
	Alive and Kicking	Rosie
1961	On the Fiddle	Mrs. Cooksley
1962	Mrs. Gibbons' Boys	Mrs. Gibbons
	The Fast Lady	Mrs. Staggers
1963	West 11	Mrs. Beckett
1969	Lock Up Your Daughters!	Lady Clumsey
1979	The Omega Connection	Elderly lady

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	All for Mary	Nannie Cartwright	TV movie
1956	Rheingold Theatre	Mrs. Mintern	Episode: Treasure in Store
1956	Nude with Violin	Cherry May Waterton	TV movie
1959	BBC Sunday Night Theatre	Mrs. Ashworth	Episode: Waters of the Moon
1959–1960	Theatre Night	Emma Hornett/Gladys Pudney	Episodes: Watch It, Sailor!/How Say You?
1963	Comedy Playhouse	Woman	Episode: Shamrot
1964	Martin Chuzzlewit	Mrs. Prig	TV series
1964	Laughter from the Whitehall	Nannie Cartwright	Episode: All for Mary
1966–1967	Mrs Thursday	Alice Thursday	TV series
1968	Dixon of Dock Green	Kitty Putnam	TV series
1968	BBC Play of the Month	Mrs. Ashworth	Episode: Waters of the Moon
1969	NBC Experiment in Television	Voice	Episode: Pinter People
1973	ITV Sunday Night Theatre	Rose	Episode: The Coffee Lace
1973	Spring & Autumn	Daisy/Ice Cream Vendor
1973	Stars on Sundays	Mrs. Wardle	Episode: Glories of Christmas
1974	Charles Dickens' World of Christmas		TV movie
1976	Shades of Greene	Mrs. Salmon	Episode: The Case for the Defence
1976	Our Mutual Friend	Henrietty Boffin	TV mini-series
1979	Danger UXB	Mrs. Dollery	Episode: The Quiet Weekend

External links

• Kathleen Harrison at IMDb