Jennifer Gray (5 November 1916 – 3 February 1962) was a British actress, frequently seen in the West End and on tour between 1934 and 1954. She made only two cinema films, but was often seen on

BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...

television in the late 1940s. Among the roles she created onstage were Daphne Stillington in

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's ''

Present Laughter ''Present Laughter'' is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1939 but not produced until 1942 because the Second World War began while it was in rehearsal, and the British theatres closed. The title is drawn from a song in Shakespeare's ''T ...

'' and Queenie Gibbons in his ''

This Happy Breed ''This Happy Breed'' is a play by Noël Coward. It was written in 1939 but, because of the outbreak of World War II, it was not staged until 1942, when it was performed on alternating nights with another Coward play, ''Present Laughter''. The t ...

'', which premiered on successive nights in September 1942.

Life and career

Early years

Gray was born in

Hankow Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers whe ...

, China, on 5 November 1916, the daughter of Dr Alexander Hugh Skinner, and his wife Winifred Mary, ''née'' Beney.Parker, Gaye and Herbert, p. 987 She was educated at

Westonbirt School Westonbirt School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 11 to 18 located near Tetbury in Gloucestershire in South West England. Founded in 1928. The historical Westonbirt House is part of the school. We ...

and then studied for the stage at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

under

Elsie Fogerty Anne Elizabeth "Elsie" Fogerty (16 December 1865 – 4 July 1945) was a British teacher who departed from the customary practice of “voice and diction” also called elocution. At that time “Voice and Diction” focused entirely on the mou ...

. She made her first professional appearance on the stage at the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...

, London on 16 December 1934, as Thetis in ''Dreams and Ditches''. After that she toured and played in repertory companies at Southend, Folkestone and Hull, before returning to the West End in 1935 in ''Closing at Sunrise''. During the rest of the 1930s she appeared in ''Tovarich'', ''Laughter in Court'', ''In Theatre Street'' and ''This Money Business''. In 1939–41 she toured as Bessie Watty in ''The Corn is Green'', in ''Once a Crook'' and, in a company headed by

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 ...

, Elsie Fraser in ''The First Mrs. Fraser''. She was with the Harrogate Repertory Company in 1941–42. In 1942 Gray created two

roles in the space of two days. In a company headed by Coward, she played Daphne Stillington in ''

'' on 20 September and Queenie Gibbons in ''This Happy Breed'' the following evening. After a 25-week tour, taking in 21 cities and towns in England, Scotland and Wales, the productions opened for a limited season of 38 performances at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

, London in April 1943. After that run finished she joined the cast of Coward's ''

Blithe Spirit Blithe Spirit may refer to: * ''Blithe Spirit'' (play), a 1941 comic play written by Noël Coward * ''Blithe Spirit'' (1945 film), a British comedy film based on the play * ''Blithe Spirit'' (2020 film), a British-American comedy film based on th ...

'' at the

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 se ...

, taking over the part of Edith. At the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in May 1944 she played Pauline Chester in ''How Are They at Home?''; at the

Q Theatre The Q Theatre was a British theatre located near Kew Bridge in Brentford, west London, which operated between 1924 and 1958. It was built on the site of the former Kew Bridge Studios. The theatre, seating 490 in 25 rows with a central aisle, wa ...

in December 1944 she appeared as Felicity in ''Not So Fast, My Pretty''; at the Phoenix Theatre in February 1945 she played Maggie in '' Another Love Story'' and at the Q in May, 1945 she appeared as Arline in ''Wait, My Love''.

Post-war

From October 1945 Gray toured as Sheba in Pinero's

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

, '' Dandy Dick'' with

Sydney Howard Sydney Howard (7 August 1884 – 12 June 1946) was an English stage comedian and film actor born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire.http://www.britishpictures.com/godfrey/card04.htm Stars of British Films A Series of 50 – No. 4 Sydney Ho ...

as the Dean. In 1946 she appeared with the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

company, which was then based at the

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actress ...

, in

James Bridie James Bridie (3 January 1888 in Glasgow – 29 January 1951 in Edinburgh) was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and physician whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor.Daniel Leary (1982) ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: ...

's comedy ''Mr Bolfrey''. During 1946–47 Gray was with the repertory company at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, and she returned to the West End in October 1947 as Mrs Dallas-Baker in a revival of an early Somerset Maugham play, ''Smith''. In 1948 Gray again appeared as Sheba in ''Dandy Dick'', in a production by Athene Seyler with décor by Cecil Beaton at the

Lyric, Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

in April 1948, with

Denys Blakelock Denys Blakelock (22 June 1901 – 9 December 1970) was an English actor, teacher, writer and broadcaster. Life and career Blakelock was born in London on 22 June 1901, son of the Rev Martin Blakelock, vicar of St Andrew's, Muswell Hill, and his wif ...

as the Dean. At the People's Palace in May, 1950 she appeared as Kerenhappuch in ''Bird-cage'', in which she subsequently toured. In a production of '' A Streetcar Named Desire'' in 1951–52 she played Blanche du Bois. She toured in 1953 as Mrs James in ''The Gay Dog'', a farce starring

Wilfred Pickles Wilfred Pickles, OBE (13 October 1904 – 27 March 1978) was an English actor and radio presenter. Early life and personal life Pickles was born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He moved to Southport, Lancashire, with his family i ...

. At the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

in London she succeeded Gabrielle Brune as Hilda in Emlyn Williams's thriller ''Someone Waiting'', in 1954, subsequently touring in the part with the author in the leading male role. In addition to her stage roles, Gray appeared in two cinema films: ''Her Father's Daughter'' (1941) and an adaptation of ''The Gay Dog'' with Pickles and Petula Clark (1954)."Jennifer Gray"
British Film Institute. Retrieved 28 August 2021 For the

she appeared as Sheba in adaptations of Seyler's production of ''Dandy Dick'' on radio in April 1948 and on television in July of that year. Other television appearances were in adaptations of '' Gas Light'' (1947), '' Trilby'' (1947), '' Tons of Money'' (1947) and '' George and Margaret'' (1948). Gray was married to Robert Langford-Jones; she died in Johannesburg on 3 February 1962, aged 45."Obituary", ''The Stage'', 8 February 1962, p. 15

References and sources

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Jennifer 1916 births 1962 deaths 20th-century English actresses 20th-century English singers English stage actresses