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Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane as Old Mother Riley and her daughter Kitty
Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British music hall act.[1][2]
Old Mother Riley (full comedy name: Daphne Bluebell Snowdrop Riley) is an Irish washerwoman and charwoman character, devised by Lucan (born Arthur Towle).[1][3] His wife Kitty McShane played Old Mother Riley's daughter, Kitty.[1] It was essentially a drag act but also a double act. The couple played music halls, theatres, and broadcast on radio and appeared in films. Lucan was voted sixth biggest British box-office star by the Motion Picture Herald in 1943.[4][5] In 1939, Jimmy Clitheroe appeared in an Old Mother Riley pantomime called The Old Woman who Lives in a Shoe,[6] and then the following year had a part in the film, Old Mother Riley in Society. The Film Fun comic included an “Old Mother Riley” strip cartoon in the 1940s.
Old Mother Riley was the first and arguably the most influential drag act on stage and screen. Although nothing like the glamorous acts like Danny La Rue, Old Mother Riley proved that drag could be a smash hit with audiences and make you a star. The Old Mother Riley films also proved that drag could be an acceptable part of comedy and storytelling. Previous to Old Mother Riley, drag was a mixture of singing acts and short comedy sketches in music halls across the UK.
Roy Rolland was Lucan's understudy and stand-in, and after Lucan's death in 1954 he continued to play the Old Mother Riley character in pantomime, on television and in cabaret until the 1980s.[1]
The character and show exist in a comic lineage that extends to Mrs. Brown's Boys.[7]
^ abcdGifford, Denis (26 August 1997). "Obituary Roy Rolland". The Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
^"Old Mother Riley homepage". Archived from the original on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
^"Britmovie". Old Mother Riley: The Life and Career of Arthur Lucan. Britmovie. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
^Matthew Coniam (2009-09-13). "The 1944-45 Motion Picture Almanac". Movietone News. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
^"Arthur Lucan – the man who was "Old Mother Riley"" (PDF). Brent.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
^"Vintage British Comedy". Old Mother Riley. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
^McMullan, Thomas (24 December 2018). "How Mrs Brown's Boys became a critic-proof hit". BBC News. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
OldMotherRiley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British...
OldMotherRiley in Society is a low budget 1940 black and white British comedy film, directed by John Baxter, and starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane...
OldMotherRiley Overseas is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Anthony Holles. In the...
OldMotherRiley Detective is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Hal Gordon. It was part...
acting partner of Arthur Lucan, with whom she appeared in a series of OldMotherRiley stage shows and films from the 1930s to the 1950s. Catherine McShane...
that was filmed at Nettlefold Studios. This was the final film of the OldMotherRiley film series, and did not feature Lucan's wife and business partner...
Knights for a Day (1937) O-Kay for Sound (1937) Oh, Mr Porter! (1937) OldMotherRiley (1937) Please Teacher (1937) The Show Goes On (1937) Smash and Grab...
OldMotherRiley, Headmistress is a low-budget black-and-white 1950 British comedy film, starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. The 13th film in the...
OldMotherRiley in Business is a 1941 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Cyril Chamberlain. It was...
1885 – 17 May 1954) was an English actor who performed the drag act OldMotherRiley on stage, radio and screen, with a series of comedy films from the...
OldMotherRiley at Home is a 1945 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Freddie Forbes. It is the...
second in the OldMotherRiley series of films, and is also known by its re-release title, OldMotherRiley Catches a Quisling. OldMotherRiley is sacked...
OldMotherRiley Joins Up is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane, Martita Hunt, Bruce Seton...
comedian and stage actor who was the understudy for Arthur Lucan as OldMotherRiley and who took over the role following the death of Lucan in 1954, playing...
dates, and in films, with stars of the day including Arthur Lucan (as OldMotherRiley), George Formby, Vera Lynn, and Frank Randle. In 1959, Clitheroe was...
Danielle Riley Keough (/ˈkiːoʊ/ KEE-oh; born May 29, 1989) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut in a supporting part in the musical...
Citizen (1942) and OldMotherRiley Detective (1943). She appeared on the London stage in 1943 aged 17, playing the part of 12-year-old Fuffy in Junior Miss...
as Vogue. She also appeared in several 1950s films, the first being OldMotherRiley Headmistress (1950) in which she was billed as Catherine Carleton,...
Bryan A Spot of Bother (1938) - An Occasional Bar-Lady (uncredited) OldMotherRiley in Business (1941) Unpublished Story (1942) - Mrs. Duncan (uncredited)...
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