Geraldine McEwan

Geraldine McEwan (born Geraldine McKeown on 9 May 1932) is an English actress, with a diverse history in theatre, film and television. From 2004–2009 she appeared as Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple shown on ITV1 in the UK, and PBS in the U.S.

Background

She was born Geraldine McKeown on 9 May 1932, in Old Windsor, Berkshire, England, daughter of Donald McKeown and his wife Nora (Burns). She was married to the former Principal of RADA, Hugh Cruttwell, who died in 2002.

Life and work

McEwan attended Windsor County Girls' School and her extensive theatrical career began at 14 as assistant stage manager at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. She made her first appearance on the Windsor stage in October 1946, as an attendant of Hippolyta, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and played many parts with the Windsor Repertory Company from March 1949 to March 1951 including a role in the Ruth Gordon bio play Years Ago opposite guest player John Clark. She made her first West End appearance at the Vaudeville Theatre on 4 April 1951 as Christina Deed in Who Goes There! in which she made a marked success.^[1]

Her career blossomed, with performances in such award-winning productions as The Rivals, The Way of the World, and The Chairs. she also appeared, with Kenneth Williams in the original 1965 production of Loot by Joe Orton, which closed at the Wimbledon Theatre before reaching London.^[2] She spent several seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1950s and early 1960s, where she played in many of the Shakespeare comedies; her roles included a rendition of Olivia in Twelfth Night in 1958.

McEwan worked more than once with Laurence Olivier on both stage and screen, most notably in The Dance of Death staged by Glen Byam Shaw for the National Theatre at the Old Vic in February 1967.^[3]

She made her directing debut in 1988 with the Renaissance Theatre Company's touring season, Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road, co-produced with the Birmingham Rep, and ending with a three month repertory programme at the Phoenix Theatre in London. McEwan's contribution was a light romantic staging of As You Like It, with Kenneth Branagh playing Touchstone as an Edwardian music hall comedian. In the same season Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi also made their debuts as directors.^[4]

Her most famous role occurred in 1991 when she played Mortiana in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. This enormously successful film raised her profile incredibly following her famous quote "The painted man, he haunts my dreams".

Her numerous television credits include the highly acclaimed The Barchester Chronicles with Alan Rickman, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Mulberry, and Mapp and Lucia. She was also in an episode of Red Dwarf, playing a computer. In 2002, she starred in Peter Mullan's The Magdalene Sisters, giving a performance as Sister Bridget.

In 2004, Geraldine McEwan was selected by Granada Television as the new face of Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple. Despite the show enjoying success, McEwan announced her retirement and did so from the role after filming the third series. She has now handed the challenge over to Julia McKenzie.^[5]

In 2005, she provided the voice of Miss. Thripp in the film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and A Matter of Loaf and Death.

Honours

Geraldine McEwan declined the OBE and, later, declined to be made a Dame.

Awards

1983: London Evening Standard Award for Best Actress, for The Rivals

1991: BAFTA for Best Actress, for Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

1995: Evening Standard Best Actress Award for "The Way of the World"

1998: nominated: Tony Award -Best Actress "The Chairs"

Selected filmography

Playing Miss Marple in Marple, ITV, 2004-2008

References

External links

• Official website
• Geraldine McEwan at the Internet Movie Database