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Coral Edith Browne (23 July 1913 – 29 May 1991) was an Australian-American stage and screen actress. Her extensive theatre credits included
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
productions of ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'' (1956), ''
The Rehearsal'' (1963) and ''
The Right Honourable Gentleman'' (1965). She won the 1984
BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
TV film ''
An Englishman Abroad
''An Englishman Abroad'' is a 1983 BBC television drama film based on the true story of a chance meeting of actress Coral Browne with Guy Burgess, a member of the Cambridge spy ring who spied for the Soviet Union while an officer at MI6. The pr ...
'' (1983). Her film appearances included ''
Auntie Mame
''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father.
The book is often desc ...
'' (1958), ''
The Killing of Sister George
''The Killing of Sister George'' is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was later adapted into a The Killing of Sister George (film), 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich.
Stage version
Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio ser ...
'' (1968), ''
The Ruling Class'' (1972) and ''
Dreamchild
''Dreamchild'' is a 1985 British drama film written by Dennis Potter, directed by Gavin Millar, and produced by Rick McCallum and Kenith Trodd. The film, starring Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Nicola Cowper and Amelia Shankley, is ...
'' (1985). She was also actor
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
's third wife.
Family
Coral Edith Browne was the only daughter of railway clerk Leslie Clarence Brown (1890–1957), and Victoria Elizabeth Brown (1890–?), née Bennett, both of
Victorian birth. She and her two brothers were raised in
Footscray, a suburb of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
Career
She studied at the
National Gallery Art School. Her amateur debut was as Gloria in
Shaw's ''You Never Can Tell'', directed by
Frank Clewlow.
Gregan McMahon
Gregan McMahon, CBE (2 March 1874 – 30 August 1941)Allan Ashbolt,McMahon, Gregan (1874–1941), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, MUP, 1986, pp 336–337. Retrieved 2 October 2009
was an Australian actor and theatrical director ...
snapped her up for her professional debut as "Margaret Orme" in ''Loyalties'' at Melbourne's
Comedy Theatre
The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011, on 2 May 1931, aged 17. She was still billed as "Brown", the "e" being added in 1936.
At the age of 21, with just £50 on her and a letter of introduction to famed actress
Marie Tempest
Dame Mary Susan Etherington, (15 July 1864 – 15 October 1942), known professionally as Marie Tempest, was an English singer and actress.
Tempest became a famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, sh ...
from Gregan McMahon,
she emigrated to England where she became established as a stage actress, notably as leading lady to
Jack Buchanan
Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...
in Frederick Lonsdale's ''
The Last of Mrs Cheyney'', W. Somerset Maugham's ''
Lady Frederick
''Lady Frederick'' is a comedy by the British writer W. Somerset Maugham, written early in his career. The play was first seen in London in 1907, and was very successful, running for 422 performances. The title role was played by Ethel Irving. I ...
''
and Alan Melville's ''Castle in the Air''. She was a regular performer in productions at the
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Pala ...
in London and was resident in
the hotel for many years, including throughout
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. When the original British touring production of ''
The Man Who Came to Dinner
''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of N ...
'' ran into financial difficulty and could not be produced in London, Browne borrowed money from her dentist and bought the rights to the play, successfully staging it at the Savoy. She received royalties from the play from all future productions.
She began film acting in 1936, with her more famous roles being Vera Charles in ''
Auntie Mame
''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father.
The book is often desc ...
'' (1958), Mercy Croft in ''
The Killing of Sister George
''The Killing of Sister George'' is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was later adapted into a The Killing of Sister George (film), 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich.
Stage version
Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio ser ...
'' (1968), and Lady Claire Gurney in ''
The Ruling Class'' (1972). Her television debut came in January 1938, when she appeared in a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Television production of ''The Billiard Room Mystery''. Throughout her career, she was a regular performer on BBC Radio and appeared in numerous radio dramas, including ''Dinner at Eight'', ''The Second Mrs. Tanqueray'', ''The Caspary Affair'', ''The Tragedy of Othello'', ''Oedipus The King'', ''Hamlet'', ''The Infernal Machine'',